What Dual Hitch Receiver Can I Use With A Winch And A Trailer With 10,000 lb Gross Trailer Weight

Updated 11/06/2021 | Published 11/05/2021

Products Featured in This Question

Malone 2" Dual Purpose Hitch Receiver

(203)

$134.95

Gen-Y Adjustable 2-Ball Mount w/ Stacked Receivers - 2" Hitch - 7-1/2" Drop/Rise - 10K

(681)

$289.95

Question:

I have a 12lb pull winch mounted in my truck bed and I pull items under 1,000 lbs. up ramps into my truck. Winch is on a portable mount with long cables and remote control, and I want to be able to put it in the dual hitch while I have my 24 foot 10,000 lb GVW trailer attached to the truck and use the winch to pull tractor or car on to the trailer. Can I use the top tube to attach my winch?

asked by: Michael V

Expert Reply:

I do have a solution for you, but you will not be able to use any of the traditional dual hitch adapters, since these are designed primarily for flat towing. The Malone 2" Dual Purpose Hitch Receiver you linked to your question is unique, since it was designed for towing a trailer and carrying something like a bike rack. It has a maximum tongue weight of 400 lbs and a maximum gross trailer weight of 4,000 lbs. Not only is this significantly less the the 10,0000 lb gross vehicle weight of your trailer, but adding the adapter will reduce the maximum tongue weight and the maximum gross trailer weight of the hitch receiver on your 2012 Dodge Ram Pickup by 50%. (You can consult your owner's manual to find those totals and calculate the new totals.) You will will be limited to which one of the two, Malone Dual Hitch Receiver or your truck's hitch receiver, has the lowest weight totals.

We usually calculate the tongue weight of a trailer as 10% - 15% of the trailers gross trailer weight. This means, that ideally, you would need a setup that has a maximum tongue weight of 1,000 lbs - 1,500 lbs, or comes close to that weight. The Malone Dual Hitch Receiver does not provide enough tongue weight for your intended application.

My recommendation is the Gen-Y Adjustable 2-Ball Mount w/ Stacked Receivers - 2" Hitch - 7-1/2" Drop/Rise - 10K, part # 325-GH-314. It is designed for towing trailers, it comes with a ball mount, and a hitch receiver. The maximum tongue weight is 1,500 lbs and the maximum gross trailer weight is 10,000 lbs. You can still mount your winch in the hitch receiver and you will not have to worry about the additional weight added to your trailer as you use your winch to load vehicles.

I have included a product description link and a video demo link below.

expert reply by: Mark Smith