I am looking for some advice on a hitch and or reciever.
I have an 01.5 with the trailering pkg. which I believe gives it the extra spring.
I tow several different trailers as follows

11,000 lb. boat to and from the marinia each year 80 miles 1 way.

4,300 lb boat (dry weight) I plan to tow this boat more frequently maybe 15 times a year.

2000 ? lb boat 15-20 times ayear

29' 1998 TT mostly stays at my fish camp but who knows it's pretty nice I might want to tow (I have weight dist set-up)

Small utility trailer for Garden tractor, H.D. misc...

I know that these trailers should be level when I tow them. All except the big boat have 2" ball big boat 2-5/16
I have the OEM 5000/10000 lb hitch. the big boat is too heavy. the 4300 lb boat is towed by this kind of hitch all the time( even though it is heavy 4300 dry weight +140 gal gas + alum tossion axle trailer. maybe 6200 lbs with gear) The travel trailer is O.K. with this hitch (under 10,00
Sooo my question here is If I change hitches what would be a good choice ( I just read the putnam thread) and should I have a reciever for all the diff trailers or is adjustable height O.K.

Thanks for reading thru this I wanted to give you as much info as I could.

Blackjack Sportfishing

 

turn your numbers around most factory hitches usally are 10000lb trailer weight and 1000 hitch weight or what every your numbers on. how much sense does it make for them to put that low of a rating on a 3/4ton

 

Qoute from dodge cowboy83
"turn your numbers around most factory hitches usally are 10000lb trailer weight and 1000 hitch weight or what every your numbers on. how much sense does it make for them to put that low of a rating on a 3/4ton"

Nothing wrong with these Numbers It's a standard class IV Factory hitch as far as I know 5000 lb without the weight dist. and 10,000 lb with it the tounge weight is 500 and 900 respectively. I thought that is what my post indicated.

 

My bad i forgot if you read the fine print they do say with the wd hitch but if you want a good strong hitch have you thought about a rear bumper that is rated for 10k with out the wd hitch?

 

I have a couple Draw-tite hitches, and they are regular 2' receiver rated for 1,000 tongue, and 10,000 trailer weight. They jump to 1200 and 12000 with a wd setup. It is a real meaty hitch, and they go for around 230 bucks.

If I were you, I would go that route, and get one of the tri-ball hitches from Northern Tool, or a local shop. They have a 1 7/8's, 2", and 2 5/16 ball on a slide bar that also slides up or down on a shaft from 6" drop to a 6.5" rise. I think they are about $140, and would allow you to get a variety of trailers level, and would tow about anything. They are rated at like 6,000lb's for the small ball, and 10,000 lb's for the 2 and 2 5/16's.

I wish you well
Jay

 

You could go with the Putnam Class V, or Reese has a monster 2 1/2" reciever, but it has the same weight ratings as the 2" Putnam. From the research I have done, Putnam has the heaviest rating of any 2" hitch. Also at a good price. I got mine for 240 bucks.

 

I was just looking at those Putnam class V's on ebay. Looks like you can get one for $125 plus $25 shipping. They say it is a direct bolt on. I was looking at which model fits what, and it looks rather confusing. I was looking at a www.hitchesonline.com, and it is equally retarded. Anybody know what model would fit a 97 ext. cab 3500? This Putnam maybe a better deal then the Draw'tite's I have on my other trucks, if I can order the right model that is.

Jay

 

Well if I read this correctly, what you need for the BIG Boat and the TT is a Weight Distributing Hitch of course they will probably be set at different heights due to the weight. You could eve use a WD hitch for the 4300lb boat. You will need a completely different draw bar for the LIGHT trailers due to the fact the back of the truck won't come down as far.
Yes it's expensive but worth buying the different draw bars and ***** to do the jobs right