In case you are upgrading your Ford receiver for more tongue weight rating, here are some pic’s and things I ran into. On my new camper which is a 10,000# GVWR, 32 foot camper, the rear living area floor plan loads tongue heavy as there is not much aft of the TT axles to offset it. And as such when I fully load the camper I can trip the stock Ford receiver rating. So I went the Reese Towbeast 2 1/2” receiver route.
Here is the Ford stock receiver. It is a very good receiver. I had no issues setting up WD with it, just it stops at a 1,250# WD rating. And I only used it up to that rating. It is also a 2” receiver.
This same rating is on the 2005 Excursions, the F250 and the SRW F350. The DRW F350 has a 2 1/2” 1,500# rated receiver and the F450 has a 2 1/2” 1,600# WD rated receiver.
And here is the Reese Towbeast replacing it.
Here are the rating stickers:
The F350 SRW stock one:
And the Reese Towbeast
Now a few things that came up. First was getting the Ford one off. They used blue removable Lock-tite on the bolts and they fought me to the last thread. All 8 of them. Good thing I have a 3/4” drive socket set. My 1/2 impact would not even touch it.
Here are the 2 side by side.
Next was a surprise. Ford uses 18mm bolts and Reese uses 1/2”. I was not keen on pulling on a 1/2” bolt in a 3/4” hole. And since the frame is riveted there is a clearance hole in the receiver to miss the rivet head. This would mean that the 1/2” bolt would be dead centered in the 3/4" hole. So I opened up the front 4 holes to reuse the Ford 18mm bolts. I would of done the rear ones too but they where slotted.
Here is the drilling and the mount under the truck.
Next was time to hitch up and reset the WD along with the 1,700# WD bars. The new 2 1/2” shank and the receiver height where slightly different so a total WD redo was in order. The receiver worked well in the WD setup. I could tweak the head tilt and the truck would respond no questions asked.
Here is a top shot of how Reese mates the 2 1/2" shank into the 2” 1,700# WD rated HP hitch head.
And now to my last little issue. The safety chains hooks. I wish all the receiver manufactures would make a standard chain hole. These hooks worked fine on my Putnam receiver I had on my older 2500 Suburban but on the Ford receiver the tow hooks had to come in from the side and would not hang right. Since I knew I was eventually going to change receivers, I left them that way until I upgraded. Well now I have a new issue. The safety clasps won’t fit. So I need to go to the next size up hook to get the claps to work. Oh well.
The truck and trailer handle great so having to get 2 new tow hooks is not that bad in the big picture of things. And now I can continue loading the front bed room and front cargo hole in the camper as the tongue weight will go up. Then I can readjust the WD one more time. Hopefully the weather will cooperate this coming weekend and we can go camping. YEH!
Hope this helps someone else doing an upgrade on what to look for.
Happy Camping
John
John & Cindy
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10
CC, SB, Lariat & FX4 package
21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR
Ford Tow Command
1,700# Reese HP hitch & HP Dual Cam
2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver
2004 Sunline Solaris T310SR
(I wish we where camping!)
Do you now have 7-links under tension on your DC snap-ups? Looks like you have more clearance between your spring bar and yoke (even with the top mounted TT coupler) than your prior 5-links under tension set-up on the Burb. I did notice the raised ball.
Oh, nice receiver!
Turk2500
05 Jayco Eagle, 278FBS, UVW 7,063lbs, GVWR 9,000lbs.
Tongue Weight: Dry 913lbs/Loaded 1,200lbs.
02 Chevy, 2500HD/4x4, 6.0L/4:10, EC/LS/SB, Prodigy, GCWR 16,000lbs.
TV/TT loaded: 14,700lbs.
Putnam XDR Class V, Reese HP Dual Cam.
00 HD Road King Classic.
John very nice job, I would suggest you cross your chains though, in Ohio anyway it’s the law and everyone knows how the OSHP likes to write tickets.
Don
Very nice! the only thing I don`t like is the fact that some hitches don`t have the crossbar going through the side plates, like the stock ford part! I think going through the side plates makes it a much stronger connection than just a weld.
The Reese on my old Dodge van was just welded to the side plates. and to this day I still didn`t feel comfortable with only a weld holding 900lbs.
Wife kim
Son brandon 7yrs
Daughter marissa 6yrs
Dog shadow
07 Cherokee 32B
02 Excursion 4X4 V-10 4.30 gear
Reese HP dualcam,Prodigy brake controller,
Air lift air bags.
Better to have a bad day of
camping than a good day at work!
Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote: John very nice job, I would suggest you cross your chains though, in Ohio anyway it’s the law and everyone knows how the OSHP likes to write tickets.
Don
Don,
If John's TT is like my TT...my chains originate from a single 'hook' on the frame. I can cross them but they just flop over since there is a common pivot point on the TT...
NOW on my BOAT trailer..the chains come off each SIDE of the trailer frame...NO common point...THOSE I cross and they stay crossed!
So I gave up crossing my chains as they don't stay crossed...not sure how many TT's out there have my design...all I know is that mine don't work when I 'cross' them.
John,
NICE JOB!...looking forward to seeing it in person!!!...what a MONSTER RECEIVER! Great job on the install and pictures...I always like seeing your handy work!...especially now that you're back on the right side of the BLUE OVAL! (you know I couldn't pass that up!)
Joe good point mine also come form the center but I can, cross them. Would think if they won’t stay crossed there would be little they could do to you.
However I have seen first hand how hard a DOT Bear in Ohio will hunt until he finds at least three violations he can site you for.
Don
I agree with joe. my TT is the same way. now on our old Award TT they were attached to either side of the frame. I cross them, but they don`t do much when crossed.
Nice job on the receiver.
I'm surprised anyone would put up with safety chains that not only can't do their full job, but are illegal in most states. Good luck.
2008 Dodge 3500 CTD LB SRW 4X4 6-Speed Auto
P3 Blue Ox Sway Pro
2007 Komfort 212
Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote: John very nice job, I would suggest you cross your chains though, in Ohio anyway it’s the law and everyone knows how the OSHP likes to write tickets.
Don
Don,
Actually the chains are crossed and I’m a firm believer in doing it. The picture is a bit miss-leading. I'll see if I can dig up a better one showing this.
Across the front of the tongue is a piece of re-bar welded. And thru it both chains are connected at the same middle point. So even while crossed at the apex, they slide together in one spot right in the middle. This is becoming more common place now a days as a method of attachment as I see other brands TT’s doing it.
I do cross them as it still gives a level of center pulling if you decouple, however it does not look as pronounced as when they are bolted up the side of the frame. I actually even tie wrap 1 hook so I know it is the one that always goes on the driver side. Just Like I do 1 WD bar.
And thanks for the kinds words and looking out for something I may have missed.
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