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Upgrading Hitch on 1500


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I have the oem hitch on my truck now. I am looking to upgrade to a Class 4 or 5 hitch. I am trying to decide between a Curt 14301 and a 15522. The 15522 is discontinued, but I have found one available locally. Does anyone have any pictures of aftermarket hitches on your truck?

 

I like the 15522 since it raises the hitch a few inches up towards the bumper. I really dislike having the hitch hang down under the bumper like the stock hitch does.

 

Any other brands that you guys have that work well? Again, looking for 10000 to 12000 weight carrying capacity hitches. Thanks...

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That advice might save your life and others if you're towing that much weight with a 1500.

 

Where in my question is anything about towing that much weight? The towing limit on my truck is 9600. It would be nice to have a hitch rated for that much. The stock hitches are not.

 

Towing a 7000 GVWR car trailer would put the stock hitch over its limit. Are you implying that is too much trailer to pull with a 1500?

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You made the right choice. I did the same thing. Upgraded my 1500 from the OEM hitch to the Curt that raised the receiver box up a couple few inches.

 

This had nothing at all to do with towing outside of the vehicles capability and everything to do with a more substancial hitch. I towed with both and can feel the difference. The OEM seemed squishy and the Curt felt much firmer. Maybe just my imagination but using Google images to search for Chevy OEM hitch failure scared the beejeepers out of me and I will not tow with one of those again if I can help it. Certainly not on my own rig.

 

I tow a large travel trailer camper that is safely within the vehicles limits with a WD hitch.

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Here is a comparison of the Curt hitch I bought to replace the factory tin foil hitch on our '10-1500. Model #15322

 

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While with this model you can see a little bit of the cross tube in the center (from what I remember- ended up getting a 2500HD a couple months later after installing), it is very little, and is even more stout than #15522 (higher rating & heavier). Set the factory hitch down on concrete, it sounded like a tin can, the Curt was a "thud"!

 

I bought the Curt because the factory hitch would twist when the wd bars were "latched" for towing our tt.

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Thanks for the pictures of the hitch. Can you put up a pic of the back of the truck? Trying to decide how much it hangs down.

 

I appreciate the rest of the responses as well.

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The OP needs to look at the payload amount listed underneath his tires sizes inside the driver's door jam. Here some news-your payload is around 1500 pounds and an 8,000 pound trailer has 1,200 pounds in tongue weight. Add a passenger and your over your legal payload.

 

As a general rule due to "payload" limitations a half ton truck CANNOT TOW it's maximum trailer weight.

 

What does this mean? If your involved in an accident you will be sued for operating a motor vehicle in a negligent manner.

 

education here-

http://changingears.com/rv-sec-tow-vehicles-understand.shtml

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Wow that curt is substancialy stronger looking. I hate how the factory hitch hangs so low behind the bumper for no reason. How dose it look on the truck?

 

Thanks for the pictures of the hitch. Can you put up a pic of the back of the truck? Trying to decide how much it hangs down.

I appreciate the rest of the responses as well.

We no longer have our '10-1500 so I can't post a pic, sorry. But as you see on Etrailers site, it fits very close to the bumper. I couldn't believe the difference either between the two hitches!

 

If the funds allow, go with the most stout hitch you can.

 

You don't use a wd hitch on the car trailer, do you? With a 7k gvwr, it's an open trailer, correct?

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