My old tow rig had a Valley hitch rated @ 10,000 lb weight distributing. Also had a Reese 16k 5th wheel. Brake control, Tekonsha Prodigy Weight distributing ball mount is Reese, Valley 10,000 lb 1 1/4" shank 2 5/16" ball, and 1200 lb tongue weight weight distributing bars are Draw tite. New truck is coming with a hitch, if it's crappy I'll likely buy a Reese Titan or Drawtite for it, they look to be the best on the market. What are y'all runnin? I know the Tekonsha was the king of the crop 4 years ago when I bought it, but now, there are even better brake controls out there. Whatcha got? I'm a tool junkie so I always like to hear about new equipment.
Currently have a Drawtite controller that was in the Burb whaen I bought it, looks to be a bottom of the line model, I think it's on it's way out. The hitch is a factory unit I believe.
i have a BrakeSmart. my dad loves it, but as you all know i have yet to use it. once i use it i will give an update. the dodge came with a very nice class 4 hitch that i used while i only had the 16 foot bumper pull. it worked out fine. now i have a B&W turn over ball hitch and it rocks, also from waht i am told, but i will give an update once i get back. i have to drive from eugene oregon to camp pendleton cali. should be nice test drive. glad i bought the exhaust brake... Grant
What ever reciever hitch comes factory on an '01. I'm working on getting a ball in the bed for our gooseneck and I am probably going to go with a Tekonsha Prodigy controller when I have the money.
I am replacing my flimsy factory hitch with a Class 5 Reese Titain 2.5" reciever. I already have the hitch in my garage and this thing is huge compared to what GM is useing. The factory hitch is fine for calss 3 towing but when you tow at max load with GM factory hitch there has been reports of the gusset welds cracking. If the cracks go unknoticed then the hitch has failed in-tow. I already know I will be max loading my rig so I upgraded to a true class 5 hitch. Oh and I will probly just run the Prodigy for it's simplicity. The Brakesmart is way to expensive for a controller.... .02c Burt
I ordered my truck with the factory Class V 2.5" hitch rated at 15k, it's apprantly a Reese Titan made for Ford to put on the F-350s, but only the duallys are available with it from the factory. Brake controller is also a factory Ford unit, integrated with the ABS and all that fancy shizzle. Not sure what to do for the hitch itself yet, I need to find a good WD one though since I'll need it when I'm running a slide-in and the truck on a trailer. Fer regular "everyday" use I was thinking about one of these -
Interesting, I was not aware there was a general problem with the "class 5" GM hitch on the HDs. I know of a fair few towing heavy tag alongs on the stock hitch with no issues that I am aware of. I don't put more than around 8k on it but maybe I need to look into it... Other than that, I added a 30k Reese rail kit with full frame plates and a "goosey" to it last summer. Wired in the bed for a standard 7 pin plug too. Controler is a freebie (bday gift) top line (at the time) DrawTite I got from my Dad's RV store. All digital with builtin circuit test and all that, but it's not the new Prodigy clone. Works well enough for me that I'm not looking for anything else, but then again my truck is way over rated for anything I pull now.
Most of the issues with GM factory hitches I read over at rv.net A handfull of RVers have posted up having cracks in the welds or for some of the more unlucky folks the hitch failing in tow. This is only for the newer hitches that GM is using 01 & up I think. The new design uses a round stock crossmember with the receiver welded to the round stock via gussets. Unlike the old style were you have square stock with the receiver welded INTO the crossmember, not under it. Crazy thing is they simply add more gussets to the hitch to change the weight classification...
Interesting. Shouldn't be a problem for my use, but I'll keep that in mind if I ever start pulling a heavy tag along, and I'll keep an eye on it just the same anyway. Thanks.
I'm still on the fence about goosy/5er hitch in my new truck. I want sliding, and I want no rails in the box, and you can't drill holes in the top or the bottom of the Dodge framerails......so it's looking like it's going to get expensive.
I run a custom Gooseneck hitch, for my gooseneck, I also run a PacBrake 4" exhaust brake and a Brakesmart Controler, that's not installed yet. I can control the trailer with the Blazer on it no problem. Down hill up hill, no problem. The tagalong hitch is a factory Dodge kit. Never have had a proplem with it.
