anybody towing 3/4 burb 6.0L towing 9K+ LBS
Hi folks, I have a have 2006 2500 burb with 6.0L 4.10. with WDH - tow rating 9600 LBS. we are looking to upgrade campers to weighing between 9K - 9.5K LBS. ANybody have any experience pulling...
Forum Discussion
Burbman...
There are some features about your Kolossus V hitch (no longer available) that I liked... including how the side plates are flanged on the top and bottom, how the cross tube passes through the side plates and isn't just butt welded, and how the Kolossus has the two center bolts that tie into the 500 lb capacity of the factory bumper (made by "Flex-In-Gate"... key word = "flex").
Unlike other Cequent "Class V" hitches, the Kolossus V didn't require drilling any holes into the frame flanges (the worst possible place to drill into a truck frame... on the frame flange, especially forward of the rear spring hangars). Sadly, the Kolossus V for this application was discontinued seven (7) years ago, and is no longer available.
What I don't like about it is the inboard facing flanges. If I were to install a hitch like that, I would try and find a way to box the top and bottom flanges of the frame together. I thought that John Barca's execution of doing just that was quite clever, using the materials he had on hand. To reduce the cyclical flexing stress on the lower frame flange, he put in vertical bushings machined to fit flush inside the frame channel, and replaced the original bolts with longer bolts that clasped the top and bottom frame flanges together, buttressed apart by the vertical bushing. The flange of his hitch was tied into this monolithic stack.
That solution effectively "boxed" the frame at the hitch mounting area, and distributed the stress from being borne by the lower frame flange alone, to being borne by the frame's upper flange and vertical web tied together as a unit.
He didn't have the center mounting points that your Kolossus V has though, so some of your stress is distributed to your frame web by virtue of your Flex-n-Gate bumper, which attaches to frame via brackets to the web.
Anyway, I have not seen lower frame flanges bent up with the Kolossus. I have seen lower frame flanges bent, in person, with other aftermarket hitches. The bend/buckling occurs in the forward most hole (towards the axle).
I use 1,200 lb. spring bars with the factory hitch. Tongue weight is typically about 1,200 lbs, or about 15% of trailer GVWR. (not 10%) Tongue weight rating of factory hitch is 1,500 lbs. WD.
Burbman, I thought you had a different aftermarket hitch before you found the Kolossus? Isn't that right?
As for the weight and for the OP's original question... yes I tow with a 6.0/4.10/4sp but not over 9K. The OP did ask a second question about hitches, hence this tangent.
There are some features about your Kolossus V hitch (no longer available) that I liked... including how the side plates are flanged on the top and bottom, how the cross tube passes through the side plates and isn't just butt welded, and how the Kolossus has the two center bolts that tie into the 500 lb capacity of the factory bumper (made by "Flex-In-Gate"... key word = "flex").
Unlike other Cequent "Class V" hitches, the Kolossus V didn't require drilling any holes into the frame flanges (the worst possible place to drill into a truck frame... on the frame flange, especially forward of the rear spring hangars). Sadly, the Kolossus V for this application was discontinued seven (7) years ago, and is no longer available.
What I don't like about it is the inboard facing flanges. If I were to install a hitch like that, I would try and find a way to box the top and bottom flanges of the frame together. I thought that John Barca's execution of doing just that was quite clever, using the materials he had on hand. To reduce the cyclical flexing stress on the lower frame flange, he put in vertical bushings machined to fit flush inside the frame channel, and replaced the original bolts with longer bolts that clasped the top and bottom frame flanges together, buttressed apart by the vertical bushing. The flange of his hitch was tied into this monolithic stack.
That solution effectively "boxed" the frame at the hitch mounting area, and distributed the stress from being borne by the lower frame flange alone, to being borne by the frame's upper flange and vertical web tied together as a unit.
He didn't have the center mounting points that your Kolossus V has though, so some of your stress is distributed to your frame web by virtue of your Flex-n-Gate bumper, which attaches to frame via brackets to the web.
Anyway, I have not seen lower frame flanges bent up with the Kolossus. I have seen lower frame flanges bent, in person, with other aftermarket hitches. The bend/buckling occurs in the forward most hole (towards the axle).
I use 1,200 lb. spring bars with the factory hitch. Tongue weight is typically about 1,200 lbs, or about 15% of trailer GVWR. (not 10%) Tongue weight rating of factory hitch is 1,500 lbs. WD.
Burbman, I thought you had a different aftermarket hitch before you found the Kolossus? Isn't that right?
As for the weight and for the OP's original question... yes I tow with a 6.0/4.10/4sp but not over 9K. The OP did ask a second question about hitches, hence this tangent.
