Towing a Trailer Rated for 15,500 Pounds with A 15,000 Pound Rated Hitch

Updated 04/19/2010 | Published 04/16/2010

Products Featured in This Question

Reese 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch - Dual Jaw - 16,000 lbs

(396)

$520.01

Replacement Head Support for Select Plus Series Fifth Wheel Hitches by Draw-Tite and Reese

$448.95

Replacement Head with Crossmember for Reese 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch - 16,000 lbs

(12)

$410.14

Question:

i have a reese 15k hitch .i am purchasing a new trailer which has a unloaded weight of 11700 and a max gvw of 15500, i will never load to the max and do not pull far, am i ok with my hitch.

asked by: dean g

Expert Reply:

Congratulations on the purchase of a new RV. For safety reasons, I can not recommend the setup that you are suggesting. Even though your, # 30046, hitch is rated to tow 15,000 pounds, the potential to overload the hitch exists. I would recommend upgrading your 15k hitch to at least a 16k model. There are two models that you can use to upgrade your existing hardware to either 16,000 pounds or 20,000 pounds.

The Replacement 16K Fifth Wheel Hitch Head, item # RP30047A, would use your existing fifth-wheel legs to upgrade the current setup to 16,000 pounds, which will work with the new trailer. You may want to consider upgrading to the 18K Select Plus Fifth Wheel Head Kit, item # 58292 and the Replacement Head Support for Select Plus Series Fifth Wheel Hitches, item # 58293, which will allow for greater towing capacity in the future. These items have recently been upgraded to 20,000 pounds capacity (see instructions link).

expert reply by: Jesse M