Looking for a heavy-duty receiver hitch

[Mattchu60]

I am looking to buy a heavy-duty (class IV or V) hitch for my K10. The only hitches I can find are Class III hitch which are rated for 600 lbs on the tongue.

I will be using the truck to haul a trailer which will have various heavy objects, one main thing is in the spring it will be loaded with corn/bean seed. While the trailer carries most of the weight, sometimes we will have a 2-3 pallets with 30-36 bags of seed each, with each bag weighing around 50 lbs each. The trailer will carry a lot of that weight, but usually one pallet is going to be in the front and will distribute a ton of weight to the truck.

I need something heavy duty. I see that there is a class IV hitch I can get for a K30, I wonder if that would bolt up to my truck. I know the frames are different, but it may work. Otherwise I may get a luverne step bumper - rated for 1,000 lbs on the tongue.

Any ideas? Anyone else running something like this that they can FYI me about?

 

[AMW]

just buy the k30 hitch and weld it on to the truck if bolt holes dont line up thats what my buddy did few years back hitch never came off

 

[bucket]

IMHO, if you really need a heavy duty hitch, then you need a heavy duty truck too. Or at least strong springs and a 3/4 ton rear axle.

 

[Mattchu60]

I found one locally yesterday, local shop says they can get a class V hitch for it.

I dont plan on throwing a massive amount of weight on it, just dont want a class III hitch that wont be able to handle the weight. Usually we go pretty slow with the loaded trailer and only around 4-5 miles.

Considering rebuilding the chassis on the truck in the new year or two with 8-bolt driveline. Has the HD 1/2 springs in the back now.

Toyed with just getting a K30 Single wheel chassis and throwing my motor/trans/body on it. Would be a nice work truck.

 

[wheelerboy12]

dont you have an 8000lb towing and 800lb toung right off your bumper? or is my bumper not stock?

 

[78 Chevyrado]

My Stock '78 Step Bumper has 4000 Trailer Weight and 400 lbs Tounge weight stamped into the center of it.

 

[jake wells]

gooseneck or 5th wheel is the way to go if you want a heavy duty receiver but i would only recommend it on C20/K20 and up because of DOT regulations

 

[kickdeez]

Bringing this back from the depths...

I am looking for a class IV or V for my 2500 Suburban. All I've been able to find are class III. Anybody come across any heavy duty receivers for our trucks???

 

[bucket]

I still have the same opinion as my previous post. A new (not old and rusted) class III hitch will work fine for anything you can put behind a 2500 Burb. The hitch will be stronger than the frame it bolts to. Just pick the brand that appears to be built the strongest, particularly look for one with the widest (front-rear) frame mount surface.

 

[kickdeez]

I don't necessarily disagree with you; however, I am a relatively conservative minded person and don't believe there is such a thing as overkill, lol. Plus, I regularly tow at or over the rated capacity of an average Class III receiver, so I would like to upgrade this component. I have completely swapped over to full 1 ton running gear and brakes. Front suspension has been upgraded, and will be swapping rear springs and shocks soon. May even add air bags to the rear at some point. Tires will be Load Range E (when I get around to it).

I found HD receivers for the pickup trucks, but none for the burb. Apparently the burb frame angles downward at the rear, where the pickup trucks are straight. Looks like I'll probably have to make/add some frame stiffeners and potentially fabricate my own receiver (or modify the one I have). Just thought I'd check in here before going that route. If anybody has gone down this road with a suburban, I'd be interested to see what you've done.

 

[RThiel]

Take it to a machine shop and have one built. I would think it shouldn't cost much more than a commercially made one, and probably better quality too.

 

[yevgenievich]

I believe there is nothing beyond class 3 because of the manufacturer rating capacity. With weight distribution, class 3 is good for 1k/10k load. Class 4 puts the load limit beyond what a 2500 suburban would be rated for. Either a custom steel bumper with frame reinforcement or a modified truck hitch with frame mounting reinforcement would be needed. I have class 3 on mine and have been good with loads up to 7k so far.

 

[kickdeez]

I have definitely pulled 10k lb loads without a load distribution hitch. I haven't had any problems so far. But I would like to be able to hook up a heavy load without having to think twice about my rig's towing capacity. Sounds like I will definitely need to look into frame reinforcement and either a custom bumper (which is something I already have the desire for), or a custom hitch.

 

[bucket]

I've put 30K behind a class III hitch many times before, no weight distribution. It's fine with good working brakes and no crazy tongue weight. You don't want too much tongue weight anyway if you want to keep the front tires planted.

 

[bucket]

But I will also say that if a custom hitch is under consideration, that would get my vote.