they told me what the truck was rated to tow and gave me a weight recomendation. my question was what is the rating of the hitch. it doesn't even matter at this point i ordered the draw tite 41929 for the back and the draw tite 65057 for the front. i cant put my life in the hands of some brain dead ***** at dodge. and for the record, they didn't tell me i could tow 10k with that hitch. they told me i could tow 10k with the truck.

 

I guess I just don't get where you're coming from. If the 'truck' is rated to tow 10,000 lb., then that includes all elements that make up the truck - wheels, springs, transmission, and, yes, hitch. If the truck is only rated to tow 10,000 it's unlikely that you'll tow more (because who knows what else would fail first?), so if the hitch actually could handle 11,000 in other applications it really doesn't matter - it's not going to help here. The hitch certainly is rated at at least 10,000 or they wouldn't use it. So where does your frustration come from? Replacing the hitch isn't going to increase your towing capacity.

Just confused...

Rob

 

This is not technically true. You can often buy a truck rated to tow way more than the hitch is rated at. For example most 2/3500 series are listed at what they are rated to tow with a 5th wheel. Adding this equipment will not change tow rating, but it will change what the truck can tow as equipped from the factory. You can tow 10K with my 1500 on a weight carrying (as opposed to distributing) hitch, so long as it is aftermarket.

All that said, the stock towing on a power wagon is not great. That is really not it's intended purpose.

 

The tongue weight on the factory hitch is 1200lbs, so buy the weight distribution bars and keep the stock hitch because they are rated the same. (it's not needed for loads under 5000lbs).

Under the chart in the PDF linked are the 'fine points'
Save your $$$

 

What you say about the ratings is true, but in those cases the manufacturer always includes information about what extra/upgraded equipment is required to tow those higher loads. Such as:

*That's a generic note from the Dodge towing PDF that probably applies to the regular 2500 or 3500.

Even if you buy a hitch with a higher rating, it isn't going to change the towing characteristics of the RAM. The truck needs weight distributing hardware to go over 5000 on the rear hitch, even if your replacement hitch is stronger. It's about vehicle dynamics in this case, not overall strength of materials.

Rob

 

i give up. please let this thread die so nobody reads this insanity.

 

Sorry to have tried to help. I'll try to avoid that in the future.