Why Does etrailer Hitch for Sprinter Have More Capacity than the Vehicle

Updated 11/30/2025 | Published 11/29/2025

Question:

If Mercedes limits the tongue weight on my Sprinter to 750 lbs with a weight distributing hitch does this mean I can use this hitch instead and now carry up to 1,000 lbs tongue weight when using weight distribution?

asked by: Brian

Expert Reply:

Hey Brian, with any towing setup you are limited by the lowest rated component as the overall capacity as that is what would be what fails first. So even if you have a hitch rated higher you would be limited by the vehicle's capacity. So why do we make a hitch that is rated higher than the vehicle? Well we designed the hitch to be as strong as we could make it then we rated it independently from the vehicle and that's why it has a higher capacity.

expert reply by: Jameson C