Whats the difference between a class III and IV hitch?

seems like everywhere i look, they group the 3's and 4's together. what is the real difference. And is this what actually gives the truck with towing package the 6500lbs over the 4000lbs limit?

 

Along with that....

Don't forget - receivers & balls have weight ratings also.
If/when you buy a receiver & ball - make sure they are properly rated for your setup.

 

thanks for the clarifications. so in theory, since the toytoa tow packages comes with a class IV hitch, the truck could "hold" 10,000 lbs and 1000 tongue weight (assuming the proper ball of course). But the truck isn't made to "tow" that much.

It could hold the weight, just cant tow that weight?

 

No.....

When you have a 6500lb towing capacity, it EXCEEDS the max capacity of a Class III hitch - and why Toyota uses Class IV.

The truck can tow/haul whatever is classified in the owners manual. Surely - you can try to tow/haul more than that, but in the world of paperwork, legalities, and lawsuits....That's all toyota cares about - is what's in the manual.

 

sorry, what i was trying to say was. with my truck sitting in place, not towing or even moving. i could, in theory, put 10,000lbs trailer on. But not try to tow it.

 

Depending on tongue weight, you'll probably bottom out just sitting there...

 

Delmarva is right....
The way you are explaining it (in theory) - has nothing to do with anything but tonque weight.

A hitch is rated for the hitch only. What you install that hitch on is a totally different animal. Towing/hauling is a lot more than just the hitch. Surely - the engine itself could tow/haul a lot more - but there are other things involved. Things like, frame & vehicle structure, driveline/axles, braking, steering & controllability.

 

haha sorry...i was pretty much thinking outloud with the whole "just sitting there" thing.

thanks for all the info!

 

I really appreciate your information on the differences between the class III & class IV, but now I have a question. I just had a class III installed last week, but it attached to both the frame and the bumper. Do I have a problem? Is this a faulty install? or the wrong hitch? I was planning to rent a small trailer or pop up & go camping in another week, but now I'm not so sure.

 

The Gen 2 hitch uses some of the same mounts that the rear bumper uses. No problem with the hitch attached to the bumper.