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  1. #1
    Fireside Member
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    Questions on Ford's OEM 5th Wheel Hitch

    Greetings All. Posted this on another forum but like to know what Grand Design owners think.

    I just picked up a 2019 F450 that has the OEM hitch already installed. My questions are...

    1. Are specs available for it? It has the Reese logo, but I cannot find any specs on Reese or Ford's website.
    2. Does anyone know the actual weight of the entire hitch? Trying to determine how much of it eats into my payload capacity.
    3. I think it is a 2-piece hitch. If that is the case, is it a real pain to take out when not towing? To give me more bed space, and perhaps a little better fuel economy.
    4. When shopping for the F450, I was just going to add the Anderson Ultimate or Superlite Goose ball hitches after I picked it up, but this one came with the 5th wheel hitch. Any reason to immediately switch them for either of the two I mentioned, or for something like a B&W?



    Thanks in advance for your replies.
    Carl & Jacqueline
    We R B.O.B. (Boomers on Bikes)
    2020 Momentum 349M
    2019 Ford F450 6.7L PowerStroke

  2. #2
    Seasoned Camper
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    Middle TN
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    I think the current Ford Accessory (Reese) 5th hitch is good for 27,500#, but I think that changed in the 2020MY. I'm not a fan of the Reese, but plenty of folks are (but maybe they've never had anything different :-)). I've had the AUH, Demco & B&W products. All are good hitches... but I do think the B&W is the best I've owned so far. I have the B&W in my 2019 F450 and is the 25,000# version for Ford OEM Pucks. I can have it out in roughly 5min by myself if needed (comes out in two pieces). Honestly, it was about the same time to get the AUH out, but with the B&W I don't need a socket and a torque wrench to install/remove it. Having said that, I rarely remove it and it lives under my tonneau.
    2022 Momentum 351M-R
    2019 Ford F450 Platinum CC 6.7L Powerstroke FX4; Truck Covers USA American Work Tonneau; B&W 25K hitch; Airlift 5000 Ultimate+ w/WirelessAir; ZRoadZ back-up lamps
    Gone: 2018 Reflection 28BH; 2017 Ford F350 Platinum CCSB 6.7L Powerstroke FX4; 2015 GMC Denali 2500HD CCSB Dmax
    Gone but still in the family: 2004.5 Chev 2500HD CCSB LTZ Dmax

  3. #3
    Rolling Along
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    I don't think a 150# hitch is going to make a nickles worth of payload difference in a F450
    2010 Jayco 26(SOLD)
    2011 Keystone Outback 277RL(SOLD)
    2021 Grand Design 268BH
    2013 Ford F250 XLT, 6.2L Gas

  4. #4
    Long Hauler D2Reid's Avatar
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    Dec 2016
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    When I bought my F450 in 2019 two OEM hithes where offered. I ordered the one with the 27,500 weight capacity. The capacity is listed on a label to the side. It's a Reese.

    I never weighed mine. I am guessing around 100#. You can take the top off by removing two pins. If you do take note of the orientation of the springs underneath. I put the top on backwards once and it really made things interesting till I figured it out. I am not as strong as I once was so I take mine apart to move it.

    My former hitch had a rail system in it with four pins. This one has the 4 puck holes. So it's basically the same process. Some folks put little pad locks on the puck bars to keep malicious people from "unhooking" the hitch. I just have hitch pins in mine. But you definitely need some type of locking device to keep the bars from coming undone.

    As far as a reason to switch it out. I find this hitch pretty finicky when it comes to hitching and unhitching. You have to about spot on height/left to right alignment; to get it to hook up. A little low is much better than a little high. But you have to aligned perfectly for it to hook up. I have had it 2 years and I move often. It still takes me some time and effort to get it right.

    I have learned to have a little weight on it while unhooking. Chocked and front jacks down I put the truck into reverse to get the pressure off the hook in the hitch, then put it into park. If it's pretty level I will put it into neutral, then park. This leave a very slight amount of pressure on the hook. Then when I pull the release bar the truck will roll forward a couple of inches. It takes a bunch of practice to get this right. Early on I would pull the bar, put the truck in gear to pull out, only to have the bar slide back in and lock. After a frustrating attempts at this I would get DW to pull the truck out while I held the bar open. I was considering drilling a hole to put another pin in to hold it open, but have since gotten better at getting the right angle and pressure to get a successful pullout.

    A couple of points on the pro side, the single hook latch is easy to observe when checking to make the sure the hitch pin is locked in. The locking pin on the handle is easy. It's a good tight hitch without slop in it. My old hitch had a little play in it and would make clunking noise when I stopped or started.

    I have two large equipment boxes in the bed of my truck. For the most part I leave the boxes and the hitch inside. I have a roll top bed cover that covers everything keeps it out of sight and out of the weather. When necessary it takes me about 30 minutes to load or unload the bed, including removing the hitch. The boxes are heavy and have to partially unloaded to move.

    Even though I was frustrated with the hitch at first I was not frustrated enough to spend another grand on a different hitch. With time and practice we have come to an understanding and get along ok.
    Dallas
    2017 Momentum 376TH, 2019 Ford F450, Dual Rear Wheel, 4x4, diesel.
    2015 Harley-Davidson Street, XG750

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