Its hard to identify.. but I just took a pic of my stock hitch on the 06 2500 Ram..

It has a large round pipe running from frame rail to frame rail.. and the actual hitch is welded to it..

I have the same hitch as jeepmom

Well I work at the dodge dealer and what he has is a add on at the dealership. I have put a flew of them on and I thought they was rated for 5000lb. no way I would pull my 10000lb trailer with it !

95 to 03.... apple, meet orange. There is so much differance between those two builds we might as well have someone throw an opinion of a toyota in too for the mix.

I have had both the bolt on and the one piece hitches. The only difference i see is the one is welded on every where the other one bolts. The pic in the first post just shows the part that would bolt on if it didnt have a factory hitch. The big round tube that goes from frame rail to frame rail is on all the rams trailer package or not. I dont know what tow rating is but i dont think they are rated for 10k, i thought it was around 5k and with a weight distrubtion hitch it was 7,5k.

towing weight didn't do that, tongue weight did. trailers need to be scaled and set up properly.

But that over the counter dodge bolt on hitch you had was the same as i added to my 1/2 ton daytona and it was only rated at 5K towing with a 500 lb tongue weight.

Here is what was added to your truck from the dealer:

https://www.dodgeparts.com/product_info....122f3659cc43726

Hitch 2003-2008 (Part Number-82207911AB)



Click to enlarge
Designed as a one-piece welded assembly for added strength, Mopar's Hitch Receivers match your vehicle's towing capacity. Covered with two-layered E-coated paint finish to resist rust. Features a 5,000-lb tow rating, 500-lb tongue weight rating, 2.0" opening

Note: (for trucks built After November 2002 Check your door sticker for the build date . Hitch for 2003 built before november 2002 is listed on the site as 2002 .Not for SRT-10)

Fits Model: Ram Truck
Fits Model Year(s): 2003-2008
Price: $123.60


Current Reviews: 7

This product was added to our catalog on Tuesday 31 December, 2002.

You are right, mine was added at the dealership but the sticker on it out of the Mopar box said 1,200 tongue and 12,000 tow capacit, I'll shoot a picture of it tomorrow.

Rt66jim works as a doge dealership as a parts manager and had him look it up for me in case i couldn't get mine fixed and he found the part number and verified
It was rated at 1,200 and 12,000lbs WDH.

But I agree with you guys, I'll be ordering a real class V hitch when I get back. I'm heading out tomorrow for Monster Mopar at 7am or I would do it this weekend. I feel confident that it will make this trip, repaired and braced so better than it was and it has lasted 155,000 miles and a lot of those were towing my trailer.

I have the same "hitch" on my 2002 Ram quad cab.It's a Draw Tite and says I can tow 10K with it.I only have 5500# loaded,I tow the Demon and a open trailer but I think I'll switch the hitch.I have been using it for 10 years now with no problem.

Wade, the factory cross tube on your truck in NOT intended to be removed. Your truck has the "dealer" installed hitch, where they just bolt up the center section rather than welding it at the factory.

The center section can be removed to install a B&W unit or Torklift SuperHitch.

Here's some links for you to look at BEFORE you remove your factory hitch.

I have the Torklift SuperHitch installed with the Dodge "Factory" hitch on my 03 Dually.

http://www.towshop.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=8&idcategory=2


http://www.towshop.com/bw-25211-hitch-install.pdf

http://www.towshop.com/D1101-superhitch-installation-instructions.pdf

The rear frame rails and the crosstube on all RAM TRUCKS from 2002(DR mdl) and up. Have hydro formed frame rails and are not to be welded on as per Chrysler.

Just got a good look at mine. Same rig and there are several places around the reciever that are not welded that could have been to make it stronger. I'll be working mine over!