Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

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Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

October 05, 2006, 06:48:10 PM

I was perusing the owner's manual for my '85 Cougar (what's left of it :( ) and noticed an interesting bit in the towing section.

The manual states V6/V8s can tow 2000 lbs, but with the towing package - V8s can tow up to 3500 lbs. The manual also states the 3500 lbs is with a WD hitch.
Currently, one can only buy Class I (2k lb) and Class II (3.5k lb) hitches (both use 1 1/4" receivers). Did Ford ever offer a Class III hitch?

It'd be pretty tough to tow 3500 lbs w/o a WD and not exceed the rear GAWR.

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #1 – October 05, 2006, 07:05:19 PM

i have seen class 3 hitches for our cars, but i'll be damed if i can rember where. i never wanted one because i dont want to be able to see it at all, pluss, i realy shouldnt be towing anything with my car when i have the jeep. i do know how ever that i wouldnt tow 3500# with one of our cars. stopping was a issue before, even with the bigger rear brakes. turning can be an issue also, i wouldnt want to jack knife and mess up my pretty plastic bumper.

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #2 – October 05, 2006, 09:39:20 PM

o0o0 man when i bought my t bird , it came with a hitch and i just removed it haha. i was like "hell no this aint no tow truck , lemme get this shyt off" lol

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #3 – October 05, 2006, 10:41:29 PM

My 84 turbo coupe has a hitch on it. It is the little class 1 hitch. I did tow a coupe of small car with it and the cars on a car dolly. It did great. That was before I owned it and my buddy had it. Don't know if they offer a bigger hitch than the class 2 but I would think that the towing package had better springs and bigger brakes.

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #4 – October 05, 2006, 10:59:43 PM

I tow regularly with my car ever since I sold the Dakota (in fact the trailer is attached to the T-Bird out in the yard right now). I don't tow anything big, though - just a 4X8 utility trailer with an ATV or building materials that won't fit in the Volvo, or whenever I go get furnace oil (it stinks too much to carry it inside the car). I find that although the car has more than enough power to tow, it is not well suited to it, especially with the stock 10" brakes. IT does much better with the 11" brake upgrade, though, and I imagine once I get that TC rear in with the 3.55 gears and disc brakes it'll be even better. Having a huge-ass tranny cooler (I think it's rated for somewhere north of 12k pounds) helps too :D Hopefully it'll be moot, though, as I want to get another truck before deer season.

I've never heard of a WD hitch for one of these cars - I do know, however, that the 87-88 owners manuals specifically forbid using them. The max towing capacity for the 87-88 is 2000 pounds with a weight carrying hitch. 87-88 Turbo Coupes are not supposed to be used for towing at all (which makes the fact that my parts TC had a class 1 hitch on it strange). I've got a class III on the Bird, but I'd never tow 3500 lbs with it.

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #5 – October 05, 2006, 11:04:01 PM

I was bored...so I put together a small spreadsheet showing axles weight changes for given payloads and WD hitch forces.

As is...it is set up for a 1987 5.0L Thunderbird.
Linky

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #6 – October 06, 2006, 12:28:08 AM

Here's the manual's (a horribly fuzzy copy) section pertaining to towing.

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #7 – October 06, 2006, 09:01:04 AM

I guess that since I have an 84 Turbo coupe that it is fine to tow with. LOL I wouldn't tow anyhting with it unless I absolutely had to. Just had to chime in seeing how I'm out ho'ing around.

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #8 – October 06, 2006, 01:36:17 PM

Jeremy: I'll post the images you requested here since attachments can't be used in PM's

First, the trailer towing section from an '87 owner's manual:

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #9 – October 06, 2006, 01:38:16 PM

And now some pics of my hitch (sorry for the poor quality of the pics, it ain't easy getting a camera in there):

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #10 – October 06, 2006, 01:39:32 PM

...And the label (with weight rating and part no):

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #11 – October 06, 2006, 01:47:10 PM

In the first pic of the hitch you can see that it bolts through the frame using one of the bumper "shock" bolts, as well as to the body (I had to drill the holes for the smaller bolts - what a treat that was).

Second pic kinda shows the same thing, so in retrospect it's redundant.

Third pic - I'm not realy sure what that shows :D I was trying to show where the hitch bolts onto the bumper support. Since the hitch mounts to both the frame end and the bumper end of the support I would imagine it renders the shock absorbers useless. I may try to get better pics later on...

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #12 – October 06, 2006, 02:55:46 PM

Ah, I have the 36219 also. It is a class II though.
The search continues! :)

Thanks for the pictures.

Hitch capable of weight distribution ever produced?

Reply #13 – October 06, 2006, 10:35:07 PM

I guess it is, looking back at the towing specs you posted. I always though 3500 pounds was class III... Oh well, it'll tow anything I ever want...