Upgrading the hitch worth it?

[H4ppyB34r]

I have a 2022 F150 HDPP Max tow 6.5ftbed 4x4 and 3.5L EcoBoost.

My payload is 2485 and 13800lb tow rating. I have airbags going in this weekend.

I wanted to see if it's worth upgrading to an actual class 4/5 hitch?

The one on here is rated for 5k conventional and anything over that is WDH required?

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[Tall Tail]

That sticker is one of the things that I was not happy with. Ford Motor Company
advertised it as a class IV then put a jenky derating sticker on it. By definition, a Class IV has up to a 10,000 lb GTW capacity and up to a 1,000 lb TW capacity. I would like to see Ford justify there numbers and eliminate there false advertising.

PS
I should be clear that SAE lists these numbers as UP TO x lbs. So between 5k and 10k lbs. But I haven't seen another class IV rated for 5k lbs. Class III can do up to 5k lbs non WD.

 

[powerboatr]

I have a 2022 F150 HDPP Max tow 6.5ftbed 4x4 and 3.5L EcoBoost.

My payload is 2485 and 13800lb tow rating. I have airbags going in this weekend.

I wanted to see if it's worth upgrading to an actual class 4/5 hitch?

The one on here is rated for 5k conventional and anything over that is WDH required?

that 500 lb tongue weight irritates me to no end
and 5k weight carrying.
i to am about to upgrade with a more robust hitch
they have them that drop down right below the factory receiver so you don't loose ground clearance
i have a 12k car trailer that is 1800 empty so i am over the 500 lbs tongue before i even load it.
really weird at why they derated or put such a low ball hitch on the frame.
https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Ford/F-150/2021/C26HR.html?VehicleID=20216003224

 

[H4ppyB34r]

Yep, I'm thinking the DrawTite class 4/5

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Ford/F-150/2021/DT35MR.html?VehicleID=20216004281

I'll remove the factory one and install this one in it's place.

The add one ones sit 2-3 inches lower than the factory, and even that one will get hung up on a decent hill/rock if I'm off the beaten path.

 

[Pedaldude]

Next to the recirculate that turns itself off; the shitty factory hitch is the biggest bullshit.

$50,000 for a truck, nearly $4K of that for the HDPP/Max Tow and they install a half assed god forsaken Class III/IV Kmart bike rack hitch.

WTF was the reasoning behind this decision? Does going with a derated, lower spec. hitch even save money compared with a proper one?

These aren’t passenger cars or even station wagons but trucks with 4,800lb rear GAWRs. The 500lb tongue weight is a sick joke!

Have you tried towing without airbags? I have the regular cab and it barely even moves when I jump on the bumper.

 

[tony72cutlass's']

So is the towing capacity chart basically a huge joke?

This is very disappointing that my buddys Kia SUV can tow more than our trucks

 

[tony72cutlass's']

barely even moves when I jump on the bumper.

Im not gonna try jumping on the hitch because my fat a$$ might break it off apparently lol

 

[hussar1683]

So is the towing capacity chart basically a huge joke?

This is very disappointing that my buddys Kia SUV can tow more than our trucks

I’m pretty sure your buddy’s Kia also has a better payload. It’s a joke that a body on steel frame truck has a lower payload capacity than a minivan lol

 

[Buyer2021]

Yep, I'm thinking the DrawTite class 4/5

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Ford/F-150/2021/DT35MR.html?VehicleID=20216004281

I'll remove the factory one and install this one in it's place.

Note that the OE hitch serves as a 'bumper brace' and trucks without the receiver have a different 'bumper brace without the receiver'. When you remove the OE hitch to install the Draw-Tite do you intend to also install the ''bumper brace without the receiver' in its place?

Pics from Gen 14 Workshop Manual bumper R&R section showing bumper brace with receiver and without receiver:

Nope, I've never looked and have no idea of the Ford PN or cost for the 'bumper brace without receiver' shown above.

 

[powerboatr]

the factory hitch is also listed as part of the frame. for crash stuff i assume
the above post beat me to it ?
vice removing it, just cut off the lower hanging part and install a hitch for a truck that DID not come from factory with a hitch

really cracks me up at the weirdness on the factory hitch

 

[Buyer2021]

.... vice removing it, just cut off the lower hanging part and install a hitch for a truck that DID not come from factory with a hitch

That's probably do-able to provide the required clearance for the Draw-Tite.

Probably exhaust more than one cut-off wheel on the angle grinder to get 'er done .....

 

[H4ppyB34r]

Hacking up a perfectly "good" weak sauce bumper and hitch is no go. If this is the case, I would just swap the entire rear bumper...

Looking now...

Holy cow, the prices on some of these is INSANE, 2k or more for a rear bumper?

I wish a Legend series from RanchHand would work on non SD trucks, I had one on my old Super Duty, and more than one minivan and tiny/sad car had destroyed itself upon coming into contact, only to leave a few scrapes on the Schedule 40 steel bumper, along with a puddle of oil/coolant as it's spirit escaped

 

[tony72cutlass's']

Has anyone towed more than the 5,000# with the factory hutch?

Im willing to bet someone at Ford did a calculation which prompted the sticker. I’d love to know what load the hitch actually yields at in the real world.

Also where is the sticker lol

 

[H4ppyB34r]

I did a thread on my first heavier tow a little while back. Just under 10k pounds.
https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/thr...miles-9500lbs-and-120miles.13605/#post-278733

I have towed that trailer with several different tractors around the same weight 4 more times since then.

The sticker is on the bottom of the hitch, closer to the driver side.

I'm was definitely within the 13800lb towing limit, but over the 5k regular/non-WDH hitch, which is what prompted this thread.

I did notice that the truck is super sensitive to how evenly the load is on the trailer. I had to roll back one of the excavators about 4 inches to get more of the weight on the trailer and off the tongue.

The guys that loaded it didn't care, but I wasn't about to pull that bouncing contraption

 

[powerboatr]

Has anyone towed more than the 5,000# with the factory hutch?

Im willing to bet someone at Ford did a calculation which prompted the sticker. I’d love to know what load the hitch actually yields at in the real world.

Also where is the sticker lol

yes
i had close to 6k on the last run with ROCKS
truck squatted 1 degree down. i had them load the rocks about 1 foot of pallet in front of front axle so truck had good tongue weight but not to much.
i am puzzled at how they rated it so low for no wd loads? at max wd loads that load is still transferred through hitch frame to truck attachment bolts
wd just transfers weight to front wheels to keep truck level and more controllable by putting weight on steer tires .
maybe the low tongue is to keep rear sag under control with the lighter springs on non heavy tow pack trucks???

edit
I was just reminded the trailer weighed 1800 with out tool box and now with tool box and all its stuff inside , trailer weighed 2100 lbs at the feed store. so i was closer to 6400lbs on the last rock load.

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