# Stick With Factory Hitch Or Go Aftermarket ???



## Snow (Sep 27, 2011)

So, had a slight fender bender with the truck the other day ... well DS did ... and the truck still runs but looks like sh%$, dented sheet metal from just after of the passenger door along the extended cab and the box to just forward of the wheel well.... So now instead of spending a lot of $$$ repairing the damage and then spending about another 2G's on a new exhaust system, tranny cooler, rear spring/shocks and other small repairs to set this now battered 20yr old truck up for towing the 21rs , that we would just buy something NTU .. and from this search comes the following...

Been reading various forums to do with all three of the truck manufactures we are currently looking at and I am discovering something pretty alarming ... I knew GM had a couple years of bad hitches and failures, but I didn't realize this had been going on for 7 plus years ...














Also read that a few, (much less in numbers) factory hitches on Dodge and Ford have also failed over the years ... So the big question is ... should I be looking at skipping the factory hitch and tow package (tp) and getting an aftermarket hitch installed afterwards ?? This also meens that I would have install an aux. tranny cooler (no biggie) as well as possibly a larger rad, alternator etc ... Unless of course, If I bought something with the factory T.P I could also just replace the factory hitch ...

What say you's ????


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Get the factory tow package and then upgrade the hitch if it appears to be a weak link. You can then sell the factory hitch on Craigslist or E-Bay.


----------



## cdn campers (Oct 31, 2011)

have you thought about the nissan titan or the toyota tundra. i have the factory tow package which includes the cooler and can tow almost 10,000 pounds. my model is the 4x4 pro . the toyota tundra is also a very nice truck as well. but price point toyota gets expensive to add all the options in.. titan has a factory sprayed bed liner were toyota is aftermarket only.


----------



## cdn campers (Oct 31, 2011)

nissan canada has a 82 month payment plan and 0% fin


----------



## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

Adding all the "stuff" to upgrade a regular TV to "factory" tow package level is significantly expensive.

Tranny cooler, oil cooler, bigger brakes and rotors on all four wheels (usually), bigger radiator, stronger shocks, attacking the wiring under the dash to add the brake controller (easy but still takes effort upside down!), plus welding a big hitch assembly to the rear end, and so forth.

I haven't heard of bad things about factory trailer hitches, so defer to those who have. But I do know that adding a factory tow package is neither trivial nor cheap.


----------



## Snow (Sep 27, 2011)

Thanks for the input .. I wasn't getting excited, and will probably get something that's equipped with a factory t.p. I can get the hitch replaced if need be .. I was more shocked at how many brands and for how long this has gone on for ..


----------



## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

CamperAndy said:


> Get the factory tow package and then upgrade the hitch if it appears to be a weak link. You can then sell the factory hitch on Craigslist or E-Bay.


I agree. I bought my 2007 Chevy 2500HD Crew Cab with the factory tow package. I've never had a problem with my truck, but got rid of that round-tube hitch right away. It flexed too much to allow the WD hitch to transfer weight forward. But I was unable to sell it on ebay or in the local papaer, so I still have it in my shed.

I replaced it with a Putnam XDR, which works very well!

I recommend my strategy, because adding all the rest of the stuff is a LOT more expensive than buying it installed from the factory (HD brakes, transmission, shocks, a tranny cooler and engine oil cooler, a larger capacity radiator, a tranny temp gage, and a trailer wiring harness, to name a few). The hitch is the cheapest thing to add/replace and the connection between the trailer and the truck should not be something that you should have to worry about.

Just my opinion.

Mike


----------



## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

Oh, heck yeah - get the factory tow package and replace the parts that you don't like. My towing mirrors, pre-wiring for the brake controller and gauges were enough to convince me. The rear differential may also be geared differently, and you really don't want to go about replacing that one!!


----------



## Justman (Jul 22, 2006)

I've replaced the factory hitch on both of my trucks with the Putnam XDR. The round tube hitches Chevy/GMC puts on their trucks are pretty weak. The Putnam flexes MUCH less (if at all) than the factory round tube. The only negative impact on my 2500 is that I can't put on an aftermarket rear diff cooler and the spare is pretty snug.


----------



## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

I also replaced the factory receiver on my 1999 Silverado with a Putnam XDR. The thing is built like a tank. No bounce whatsoever. When I traded in the the 1999 for a 2009 Silverado, I kept the XDR and put it on the new truck.

Putnam is out of business but Curt has taken over the XDR design and just list them as class V with 2" receiver tube. At least that is what the rep from Curt told me.


----------

