Can anyone explain to me what the different class's of hitches mean? Class I, II, III, upper class, lower class, Physics class??????
First time owner of a CX-7, GT, AWD.....love the car and want to get a hitch to haul utility stuff.
The larger the number of the class of hitch the more weight it is designed to tow.
So my old C2500 trucks class 4 hitch could tow 10,000 lbs. I routinely towed a 2,000 lbs trailer with a 3,000 lbs car on it.
Class 1 (Class I) hitch
Trailer hitch with capacity of up to 2,000 lbs gross trailer weight and 200 lbs tongue weight.
Class 2 (Class II) hitch
Trailer hitch with weight-carrying rating of up to 3,500 lbs gross trailer weight and 300/350 lbs tongue weight.
Class 3 (Class III) hitch
Trailer hitch with weight carrying rating of up to 5,000 lbs gross trailer weight and 500 lbs tongue weight. Also sometimes used to refer to a hitch with any 2" receiver, regardless of rating.
Class 4 (Class IV) hitch
Trailer hitch with weight carrying rating of up to 10,000 lbs gross trailer weight and 1,000 - 1,200 lbs tongue weight. Although many times any hitch with a capacity greater than 5,000 lbs gross weight is referred to as a Class 4.
But if your manufacture rates your vehicle less, listen to them. They are basing this on items like frame/body strength, spring rate, Braking power, power from the engine, rear end strength, transmission strength etc..
You can put a class 3 or 4 hitch on but when loading a heavy trailer the required tongue weight to keep it stable will exceed your vehicles rear springs and when you shift the weight off the tongue it will start whipping back and forth when you try to go even 55 mph. Many people who buy these little Japanese Pickup trucks fall for the 1/2 ton rating towing capacity. They just are not safe to do this. I know the guy who purchased my Brother In Laws GTO drag car and trailer showed up with a Toyota 1/2 ton to tow it home. We advised him to go back and rent a Full Size truck and come back. He informed us that the Dealer assured him that it would tow 8,000 lbs so this would be no problem. When he loaded the car correctly the springs collapsed to the frame. So he moved the car back until it raised it up a bit. He got on the freeway and got only 5 miles when its whipping got worse and worse as he speeded up to 65 mph. Until the Car/Trailer departed the highway Towing the Toyota Pickup backward off the freeway totaling the whole thing.
