What size hitch do I need for my trailer?
Hitch class is sized to your loaded trailer weight — and the class chart is only the first of three numbers to check.
Step 1: know the real weight
A scale ticket is the loaded weight. How to weigh a truck and trailer is the CAT Scale layout. This page does not add a percent to dry weight, and it does not state a scale price.
Step 2: the hitch class chart
| Class | Weight-carrying | Tongue weight | With weight distribution | Typical trailers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | up to 2,000 lb | up to 200 lb | — | Small utility, bike racks |
| 2 | up to 3,500 lb | up to 350 lb | — | Utility, pop-ups, small boats |
| 3 | up to 8,000 lb | up to 800 lb | up to 12,000 lb / 1,200 lb tongue | Campers, boats, equipment |
| 4 | up to 10,000 lb | up to 1,000 lb | up to 12,000 lb / 1,200 lb tongue | Travel trailers, larger boats |
| 5 Xtra Duty | 16,000–17,000 lb | 2,400–2,550 lb | 17,000 lb / 2,400–2,550 lb tongue | Large campers, equipment |
CURT's published class chart. A specific receiver can be rated lower than the class maximum. Capacity stops at the lowest-rated component, and no hitch increases what the vehicle can tow. SAE J684 is the trailer-hitch standard. This class chart and the ball chart below are CURT's published ratings. They are not a copy of that standard's tables. Ball diameter still has to match the coupler on the trailer.
Worked numbers for one weight in that band: what size hitch for a 5,000 lb trailer.
Step 3: the ball
| Ball diameter | Gross trailer weight | Typical |
|---|---|---|
| 1-7/8 in | 2,000–3,500 lb | Light-duty utility, small fishing boats |
| 2 in | 3,500–12,000 lb | Most common; utility, boats, many campers |
| 2-5/16 in | 6,000–30,000 lb | Heavier travel trailers |
| 3 in | 30,000 lb | Gooseneck |
Match the coupler's stamped diameter first. The ball's gross rating must exceed the loaded trailer, and ratings vary by part number. An adjustable 2 in / 2-5/16 in mount only helps if each ball matches a coupler you actually tow.
Step 4: weight distribution — the line most people miss
CURT rates weight distribution separately from weight-carrying. On Class 3 and Class 4 that column is up to 12,000 lb gross and 1,200 lb of tongue, above the weight-carrying caps. Use it when the rear squats, the trailer sways, or the headlights pitch up — the front axle has unloaded. A WDH redistributes tongue weight across the tow vehicle axles. It does not raise the vehicle's tow rating. Size the spring bars to the measured tongue weight, not to the biggest bars on the shelf. How to measure the tongue number first: the tongue weight guide.
The hitch is never the only limit
A Class 4 receiver, which CURT rates up to 10,000 lb weight-carrying, does not raise what the truck can tow. Four ratings all bind: the manufacturer's tow rating, the GCWR, the payload (tongue weight plus passengers plus cargo), and the hitch class. Read the truck's door-jamb sticker and owner's manual, and run all four in the towing calculator before buying hardware. Published 2026 maxima, with the configuration each one belongs to, are on the 2026 truck towing capacity chart.
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Everything here is standard stock: Class III/IV receivers, adjustable dual-ball mounts, WDH kits by tongue-weight bracket, and tongue-weight scales for verification. Class III receivers on Amazon · WDH kits on Amazon · tongue scales on Amazon
Reading the rating stickers you already own
Every piece of this system is stamped, and the stamps beat the marketing: the receiver has a weight-carrying and weight-distributing rating on a sticker or stamp on its face; the ball mount has its capacity cast into the shank; the ball lists a gross-weight rating. CURT's ball chart runs 2,000 to 3,500 lb for 1-7/8 in, 3,500 to 12,000 lb for 2 in, and 6,000 to 30,000 lb for 2-5/16 in, and a given part can sit anywhere in that span. The coupler on the trailer lists the ball diameter it demands. Chain them: coupler → ball → mount → receiver, each rated at or above your loaded weight — and the weakest link, not the strongest, is the system's rating.
Two details people miss on used rigs: the receiver may have been on a previous vehicle with different ratings, and hitch bolts loosen. Use the torque in the hitch maker's instructions, and recheck the bolts after a sway. If the receiver has shifted on the frame, fix that before you tow.
Safety chains are part of the hitch too: cross them under the coupler so a coupler failure lets the tongue ride on the crossed chains instead of plowing the road, keep enough slack to turn but never enough to drag, and use rated S-hooks or shackles — never the spring clips that came with a bike rack.
Everything here is standard stock: Class III/IV receivers, adjustable dual-ball mounts, WDH kits by tongue-weight bracket, and tongue-weight scales for verification. Class III receivers on Amazon · WDH kits on Amazon · tongue-weight scales on Amazon
Drop and rise: the height the class chart does not set
Class picks the rating. It does not pick how high the ball sits. CURT's adjustable-hitch guide measures both vehicles parked and level. Measure from the ground to the top inside edge of the receiver. In the guide's example that height is 21-3/4 inches. Level the trailer, then measure from the ground to the bottom edge of the coupler. In the same example that height is 15-1/2 inches. Subtract the coupler height from the receiver height. The example's difference is 6-1/4 inches of drop, which the guide describes as roughly 6 inches. CURT says to choose an adjustable hitch with at least 1 inch of extra rise or drop beyond the number you calculated. The guide says CURT adjustable hitches can raise the ball as much as 9 inches or drop it as much as 12 inches. An unlevel trailer, the same guide says, can increase sway and lengthen braking distance. The photographs and approximations in that guide are for demonstration and are not the specification of a particular hitch. The part you buy has its own range.
The mount's height does not replace its weight rating. On a 5,000 lb loaded trailer at 10 percent — the floor of CURT's 10–15 percent tongue band — TTC.tongueWeight returns 500 lb, inside the band, with targets of 500, 600, and 750 lb. CURT Class 3 weight-carrying covers up to 8,000 lb gross and 800 lb of tongue, so 500 lb of tongue fits that column. A 6-1/4 inch drop on a mount rated under that tongue still fails. Measure your own receiver and coupler; do not copy the 21-3/4 and 15-1/2 inch example onto a different truck. The connection order after the mount is chosen is how to hook up a trailer.
Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below. Spot an error? Email jpanasuk@gmail.com.
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Sources for the drop example
- CURT, "The Complete Buyer's Guide for Adjustable Trailer Hitches." https://www.curtmfg.com/curt-adjustable-trailer-hitch-buyers-guide. Accessed October 3, 2026.
- CURT, "How to Measure Tongue Weight." https://www.curtmfg.com/trailer-parts/couplers/learn-more. Accessed October 3, 2026.
- CURT Manufacturing, "Types of Trailer Hitches and Hitch Classes." https://www.curtmfg.com/types-trailer-hitches. Accessed October 3, 2026.
FAQ
What size hitch for a travel trailer?
Many travel trailers land in Class 3 or Class 4. CURT lists Class 3 to 8,000 lb weight-carrying and 12,000 lb with weight distribution, and travel-trailer balls as 2 in or 2-5/16 in. Match the coupler and the loaded weight, then run tongue weight through the calculator before you buy hardware.
Can my hitch be bigger than I need?
Up to Class III/IV on a vehicle that can handle it, yes — headroom is free capability. But the receiver's rating never raises the truck's: tow rating, GCWR, and payload still bind, and a Class V receiver bolted to a crossover is a Class V number with Class II reality.
Does tongue weight count against payload?
Yes. Tongue weight counts against payload. Hitch hardware counts too, once you have weighed it and entered it. This page does not publish a hitch weight. The payload check is in the calculator.
Next: hardware picks in best hitches & weight distribution, the four-rating explainer in towing capacity explained, and trailer sway when tongue weight is under the band.
Sources & Standards
Sources for the ratings and rules cited on this page: