Factory Hitch Ratings

[maestro]

So I finally have my '93 Extended AWD licensed and on the road, replacing my '91 shorty. It's time now for me to get it ready to tow the travel trailer around so I have ordered a Hayden 679 tranny cooler and am pulling off the stock rusty hitch to have it sand blasted and powder coated. They are only charging me 50 bucks to do it. The funny thing about this hitch is that it has a lower 'dead weight' rating (200 lbs) than the aftermarket hitch I had on my '91 (350 lbs) which was definitely NOT as beefy as this one. The factory hitch on the '93 has a 3 inch main tube for crying out loud! Check out the factory ratings on the sticker in the photo. Yes, it says its a V5.

So I want to know if I can load more dead weight on this thing, should have a 500 pound rating for sure like the Hidden Hitch which doesn't even run two bolts into the main frame on each side like this one does. Any input? Can anyone post a photo of their sticker or type in the rating?

I've also uploaded a photo of my old '91 showing my trailer hooked up running 'stock' fibreglass springs and no weight distribution. I bought a nice pair of coil-over rear shocks for the '91 but never got around to putting them in so they are now going into the '93. Monroe SensaTrac: http://www.monroe.com/products/Sensa-Tr ... -Absorbers They add another 1200 pounds of support over the stock suspension. I am thinking of getting an Andersen W/D, anti-sway set up for it. http://www.andersenhitches.com/Catalog/ ... hitch.aspx

[LiftedAWDAstro]

I don't know for sure about the dead tongue weight but if it has the 2 extra mounts that go into the frame near the bumper, I know on all of my van with that style hitch we could load way more than 200# on them with no issues.

As for the Anderson hitch, I like that hitch. Was actually thinking of selling the off-brand one I have and buying an Anderson. I would love to see how it performs for you.