I need help with tow hithces!?

Question

I have a dodge dakota (sport, 2x4, v6) and I want to tow some jet skiis. I have no knowlodge on towing hitches at all. I'd need an anatomy lesson on the whole hitch including the square box thing where the metal thing thing goes (that pulls the boat) and the wires. I also need to know what size metal thing I need if I want to try towing bigger at some point (not the ball, but the thing the ball goes on). I also need to know how much my truck can tow. The manual says a bunch of different weights up to 8k LBS, the dealership said 3kLBS, the truck's bumper says 2000kLBS and other people have told me 5-8kLBS. I'd like to get a quote from the shop that does it near me but I have no idea what their talking about with the size and all that. Please help!

Answer 1

Just take the easy way out... have a friend tow the trailer and stuff over for you while you drive your truck over... then tell the guy at the shop that you want to tow THAT with THIS and let him figure it out...

When in doubt, I do that all the time.

Answer 2

For jet skiis, a ball on the bumper will do. For heavier than jet skiis or a riding lawnmower type trailer you need to add on a frame mounted hitch. Class 1 type hitches are the small square holes in the middle..about 1 inch. Those usually tow between 2 and 3 thousand pounds. For heavier you need class 3 hitch. Thats the one thats is about 2 inches square. Those tow between 3 and 5 k. The part that goes into the hitch is called the tongue. That is where the ball mounts. Most balls are either 1-7/8" or 2". They have diff dia shanks as well. Thats the part with the threads on it. For heavy towing, use the larger dia shank, think it's one inch. Also there are different type tongues. Some are a drop down style, and are used to get the ball even with the trailer tongue when the trailer is level. As far as wiring its pretty standard. If your vehicle has no provision for trailer wiring, tap into the main wiring harness or you can go to each light on the back. Brown is park light, green is left turn, orange is right, and the trailer ground is white. Dont think the trailer will ground through the hitch, it wont. The lights will flicker, and eventually stop altogether when the ball gets some wear on it. This is some basic info, u-haul can give you the specifics on the exact towing weights for each class hitch. Hope this helps a bit!

Answer 3

Your truck is rated to tow up to 4500lbs. A tow hitch receiver and wiring harness costs about $450-$500 depending on the company you purchase the hitch from. Personally I prefer using UHAUL for my tow hitch receivers, as they do a great job installing the receiver on the tow vehicle and also all the wiring they can do. I also recommend purchasing a brake controller at the same time you purchase your hitch/receiver due to the fact that since they already have to tie into the wiring for the trailer lights, they can save you money by installing that brake controller at the same time while they have everything apart.

For your application you need a Class III Receiver and a standard 2" Drop hitch and depending on the trailer you have or will be getting you will most likely need a 2" ball for that hitch (the part that the front of the trailer actually connects to) and the hitch slides into the square hole in the receiver on the tow vehicle. Make sure the trailer you have or will get has safety chains, and if the trailer is over 2,000 pounds (empty) it does require trailer brakes by law, (the reason I mentioned getting the trailer brake controller earlier).

A Class I Tow hitch receiver accepts 1" hitches
A Class II Tow hitch receiver accepts 1-1/4" hitches
Class III/IV Tow hitch receivers accept 2" hitches.

Never tow anything from a bumper, as most newer vehicles bumpers aren't attached to much of anything, and are mostly plastic. A correctly installed tow hitch receiver, is either welded, bolted, or a combination of the above attached to the frame of the vehicle.

The tow hitch (the thing the ball mounts to) depends on your towing application. A standard hitch rated between 3,000-6,000 pounds will be fine for most towing you will do. Although if you decide to tow something larger such as a travel trailer I suggest an equilizer hitch (can be quite expensive $300-600) this hitch equilizes the trailer tongue weight over more of the truck frame which reduces the chances of the trailer swaying in heavy winds, or when passed by a big rig. This type of hitch is also quite heavy so its not recommended for light towing applications such as in your case.

As far as wiring, especially in newer vehicles I recommend having a hitch installer do the wiring, as they have all the right tools and equipment, and harnesses on hand to do the installation correctly the first time. Plus they can also test for wiring faults later down the road if there's ever an issue.

If you need further assistance with this issue feel free to contact me at [e-mail]

Answer 4

First of all does your truck have a reciever hitch on it " the square box thing" ? Then you will also need a stinger or ball mount kit " the metal thing" that goes in the reciever hitch. You can get the ball mount kits with a 2in, 4in, or 6in drop. Two inch should be good for what you are towing. The jet ski trailer will probably need a two inch ball. Most reciever hitches are rated for 5,000 to 8,000 lbs. You will want the reciever hitch to have a two inch opening for the ball mount kit.

Hope this helps. Have fun at the lake :)

Answer 5

in a nutshell heres what ya got now, the bumper is good for 2000 lbs towing capacity. if you put on a class 3 ( III ) hitch it goes to 5,000. a class 4 ( IV ) hitch will bring ya up around 8,000 though the most your truck will handle is 7,000. the wires is called a harness, the square box thing is called a reciever. most times you can pretty much do whatever towing you plan on with a class 3 hitch.

Answer 6

you did not mention what year your truck is , you also failed to mention whether or not it's 4 wheel drive , 4x2 is a short bed , that means that the manufacturer of your truck would not advise going over their recomendations, but if you install a class 2 reciever and ball set you will have no problem pulling a couple of jet ski's on a trailer, you don't need anything fancy for a wiring harness just a 4 pin flat set up - you can buy the whole setup from wal-mart for $140.00 + tax then have a u-haul place or some one similar install it for you they will test the wiring harness connections to make sure everything is working properly before you leave the store. you will also need a blinker made for trailering so that your directionals work properly once the trailer is plugged into the harness.

Answer 7

First off you need a class 2 or a class 3 hitch, as far as how much and where to get one installed I would advise you to find a U-haul store in your local area. I had one done there a few years back when I needed one for my boat. Look in your yellow pages and you should find one. They are reasonable and willing to share their knowledge with you.

Answer 8

go to Uhaul, and they can set you up w/ the correct hitch for your application, as well as the lighting for the trailer. I did it too and they did a great job


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Answer 9

take it to the shop & tell them to speak in lamens terms and break it all down for you, they should be happy to help