General towing question

[Chakir]

I see the bumper of my 02 says no more than 500lbs tongue weight for a trailer. Is the receiver underneath also limited to 500lbs, or does that have some other limitation? I'd rather learn before I do something stupid.

Thanks

[EArmsF350]

It is wise to listen to some manufacturers recommendations but I have had bumper hitch trailers on with over 10 ton GVW on them. I have yet to break a reciever to this date. But I did start using a little redneck ingenuity after wondering the same thing. What I did was put a log chain around my gooseneck ball and the other end around the shank of the reciever hitch. I placed a 4x6x1/4" angle iron about 12" long on the end of my truck bed so the chain had something to lay on besides the thin metal of my bed floor. I took a load binder and snubbed the chain while the trailer was empty, then loaded the trailer. Believe it or not the log chain placed like that acts as an equilizer and the gooseneck ball took all of the stress off the rear end of the truck and the reciver itself.

[codysweat]

ive never seen them break and i wouldnt worry 1 bit ive seen these trucks loaded down heavier than the gvw on a semi lol just make sure all bolts are tight and inspect it before hauling just while your hooking up.