Trailer Hitches

A lot of people own cars, trucks, and vans with trailer hitches on them but don't know what class hitch they own. The receiver hitch comes in 5 different classes and your needs are determined by the amount of weight you will be towing with your vehicle. Knowing the class of your trailer hitch will also be important when ordering a Tilt-N-Raise antenna mount. Even if you are unable to determine the class of your trailer hitch you can still place and order, just be sure to measure the inside of the receiver. The receiver is the mount that is permanently mounted to the rear (or front) of your vehicle. The most common receiver sizes are 1.25", 2.00", and the larger 2.50" models.

Trailer Hitch Classes

Basically the receiver hitch comes in 5 different classes:

• Class 1 – This trailer hitch has a capacity of up to 2,000 pounds gross trailer weight and 200 pounds of tongue weight.
• Class 2 – This trailer hitch has a capacity of up to 3,500 pounds gross weight and 350 pounds tongue weight.
• Class 3 – This trailer hitch has a capacity of up to 5,000 pounds gross and 500 pounds tongue weight. Class 3 is sometimes used when referring to a hitch with a 2" receiver regardless of the actual rating.
• Class 4 - This trailer hitch has a capacity of up to 10,000 pounds gross trailer weight and 1,000-14,000 pounds tongue weight. As is similar to eh Class 3 people refer to any hitch with a capacity greater than 5,000 pounds gross weight is referred to as a Class 4 hitch.
• Class 5 – This trailer hitch has a capacity greater than 10,000 pounds gross trailer weight and 1,000-12,000 pounds tongue weight. The Class 5 is generally a 2.50” receiver but in some special cases it might be a 2” receiver.

Front Mounted Trailer Hitches

While it may sound odd to have a 'trailer' hitch mounted to the front of your vehicle there are some quite practical applications for them. For some applications the front mounted hitch can be used to secure a recovery winch or even a tow loop. Some boat owners use front mounted hitches to put their boats in the water. The majority of the front mounted trailer hitches are made for specific vehicles while some rear mounted hitches are a universal product. Here is a partial list of vehicles that manufacturers make front mount hitches for:

• Buick front-mounted hitches.
• Chevrolet front-mounted hitches.
• Dodge front-mounted hitches.
• Ford front-mounted hitches.
• GMC front-mounted hitches.
• Honda front-mounted hitches.
• Hummer front-mounted hitches.
• Isuzu front-mounted hitches.
• Jeep front-mounted hitches.
• Lincoln front-mounted hitches.
• Mazda front-mounted hitches.
• Mercury front-mounted hitches.
• Mitsubishi front-mounted hitches.
• Nissan front-mounted hitches.
• Oldsmobile front-mounted hitches.
• Suzuki front-mounted hitches.
• Toyota front-mounted hitches.