GMC Sierra hitch replacement/upgrade

Fabrik8

Overcomplicator
Joined
May 27, 2015
Location
Huntersville
I've become the technical adviser for my non-technical neighbor, who has a 2000 Sierra 2500 non-HD.
The truck pretty much lives with a landscaping trailer on it, or a bass boat after working hours (I'm out on that boat a few times a week, so I like to help him out).

So the receiver is worn out. The receiver tube is pretty sloppy and the crosspin hole is a nice oval. He wants to fix it, and I suggested that the best way to fix it is to spend $150 and just get a new Curt/DrawTite/Reese hitch. He thinks that's a good deal, so that's easy.

Anyway, I looked at the practically-unreadable sticker on the old hitch (OEM probably?), and the only thing I can see is "5000", which is about right for a Class 3 hitch. It's got pretty beefy frame brackets, so it's probably OEM and is underrated for the actual capacity.

Class 3 hitches for that truck are mostly rated for 6000 pounds. I like a bit of extra overkill, so I'm thinking a Class 4 might be a relatively cheap upgrade (extra $40) and bump up to 10k-12k pound rating. Same receiver size.

Is there any reason that a Class 4 wouldn't be a drop-in replacement for the existing hitch if they mount the same way, etc....?
 
Nah. Those trucks are so common that almost every company makes a bolt on hitch for them. Some of them even bolt to the bumper just like the factory ones did.
 
He wants a Class 3 and save the extra little amount of money. He's actually going to do a bunch of landscape work for me so I'm going to buy him the hitch as payment.

Square tube Draw-Tite for $142, not a bad deal.

Any real advantage to the bumper bolted ones? The Draw-Tite is rated the same as the bumper attachment Curt, and has a higher weight distribution load rating than the Curt so should be slightly stronger. Little details....

He's had the truck painted last year so I'm sure the bumper is going to need to be loosened and re-positioned slightly if a bumper bolted hitch is mounted. Can't remember if the existing hitch has the bumper tabs or not.
 
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Just a little less defelction, I'd guess. The 1/2 tons and non-HD 2500s are an open C frame at the back, so every little bit would help I suppose.
 
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