Here is the back story. Quite a few years back I got a call from my nephew that he needed his car towed. Julie and I figured we have this nice Ford Dually, why not use it? So we go down to U-Haul and prepare to rent a trailer. Well, because the truck is lowered the trailer would not be level and the guys there suggest we install a receiver hitch. About $550 bucks and 3 hours later we are on our way down to San Diego to tow the nephews car on a U-Haul trailer back to our place. I even remember the guy installing it saying, "this is all the trailer hitch you'll ever need" and then he mumbled something about 12,000 lbs.
Fast forward to a week or two ago. I crawl under the truck to check the rating of the hitch just to double check that it is going to be up to the task of towing our existing trailer with the upgraded steel diamond plate deck and the new enclosed car hauler trailer we ordered a few weeks ago. What I found when I looked at the tag was this; 5,000 lbs. max rating with 500 lbs. tongue weight and 8,000 lbs max rating for weight distribution with 800 lbs. max tongue weight. Ahhhh, where is the 12,000 lbs hitch I was led to believe I paid for? Being as anal retentive as I am, I dug up the receipt and sure enough the part number on the receipt is the one I payed for so I at least don't feel cheated. But really, where did this kid come up with a 12,000 lbs. rating? I may at some time use a weight distribution system but I don't want to be at the limit of the receiver every time I tow. I called a local wholesaler and got a brand new 10,000 lbs receiver hitch with a 12,000 lbs weight distribution max for $165. A very good deal I think and I already have a 12,000 lbs rated rise ball mount and a 10,000 lbs 2-5/16" ball. Now the entire system is up to the task.
Here is a snap shot of the U-Haul receiver I removed. Anyone looking for a hitch? It's universal mount.
And here is a picture of the new Curt 14001 that replaces the U-Haul receiver.
Here are a couple pics of the new one installed.
The point of this thread is to ask you all to check the rating of your hitch before you tow. You may think you are within the limits of your vehicle and the trailer hitch and may be surprised when you check. Don't find out when something breaks. I feel as though I dodged a bullet on this one.