hey man if u got good insurance hook up and let it ride

 

You guys made me curious so i went out to lookmy factory hitch has 2 bolts going to the bumper behind the lic plate.

 

OK - I think I have the answer - finally....

I went to ye old Dodge Dealership yesterday and looked a couple of trucks - one with the tow package and one without.

The only difference in the rear crossmember is that the hitch assembly is welded to the crossmember with the tow package. Both trucks have the same 'upper' bracket which is directly below the bumper - i.e - if you didn't have a tow package (no reciever), you would end up using the bumper and threading the hitch ball through the bumper and through this piece of steel, which is actually the rear crossmember.

So - that said - I don't think - in the Dodge products, there is a bracket that connects the bumper to the hitch assembly - it's the same piece of steel in either case.

BUT - I also found out some other information from the kid that sold me my truck a year and a half ago.... He found some documentation in one of his books that said that when using the factory Class IV hitch, towing any trailer above 5K and / or 500 lbs. tongue weight (weight carrying), a weight distributing hitch is RECOMMENDED. Note that it doesn't say it's REQUIRED.

Sigh - clear as mud, right?