CheckMyTow

Class 5 hitch: the top of the receiver ladder

20,000 lb of gross trailer weight through a 2" or 2-1/2" opening. Above this there is no Class 6 — there's a different hitch entirely.

Edited by Kirill Dvoryashin · Updated July 2026

Max trailer (GTW)

20,000 lb

Max tongue

2,700 lb

Receiver

2" or 2-1/2"

With WDH

—

Weight-carrying ratings (industry convention published by CURT, Draw-Tite, Reese and others; receivers are tested to the SAE J684 standard). In the class ladder, Class 5 covers loaded trailers of 10,001–20,000 lb — below that, Class 4 already does the job.

What a Class 5 hitch is for

Class 5 is heavy-duty hardware: heavy-duty trucks, large rvs, commercial trailers. The opening moves to 2" or 2-1/2" (manufacturers commonly split their Class 5 lines into a 2" heavy-duty tier and a 2-1/2" commercial tier), the mounting hardware gets correspondingly serious, and the ratings top out the receiver ladder at 20,000 lb GTW with a 2,700 lb tongue cap.

Note what the label of a typical Class 5 receiver does not carry: the separate with-WDH uplift that defines Class 3 and 4. At these weights a weight-distribution hitch is still commonly used for control and front-axle load, but the receiver's published cap is usually a single pair of numbers. And the tongue math turns unforgiving: 15% of a 18,000 lb trailer is 2,700 lb — exactly at the class cap, and far beyond any half-ton's payload. That is why most rigs this heavy leave the bumper entirely (see below).

Real vehicles in this range

Reference tables stop at the hardware. Ours can go one step further: of the 159 US vehicle configurations in our OEM-sourced dataset, 68 carry a published tow rating inside the Class 5 band (10,001–20,000 lb) — meaning Class 5 is the smallest receiver whose weight-carrying rating covers what these vehicles are rated to pull at their maximum. Every number links to the model's config-level page with its OEM source.

Ford F-250 Super Duty 13,300–20,000 lb · 12 configs in this class
  • 6.7L Power Stroke Turbo Diesel V8 (2017–2026) 14,700–20,000 lb
  • 6.7L Power Stroke Turbo Diesel V8 High-Output (2023–2026) 18,200 lb
  • 7.3L V8 (2020–2026) 15,000–18,200 lb
  • 6.8L V8 (2023–2026) 16,600 lb
  • 6.2L V8 (2017–2022) 13,300–15,000 lb
Ford F-150 10,100–14,000 lb · 19 configs in this class
  • 3.5L EcoBoost V6 (2021–2026) 11,000–14,000 lb
  • 5.0L V8 (2021–2026) 10,400–13,000 lb
  • 3.5L PowerBoost hybrid V6 (2021–2026) 11,000–12,700 lb
  • 3.0L Power Stroke Turbo Diesel V6 (2021) 12,100 lb
  • 2.7L EcoBoost V6 (2021–2023) 10,100 lb
GMC Sierra 1500 10,800–13,300 lb · 10 configs in this class
  • 3.0L Duramax Turbo Diesel I6 (2022–2026) 12,900–13,300 lb
  • 6.2L V8 (2019–2024) 11,800–13,000 lb
  • 5.3L V8 (L84) (2019–2021) 10,900–11,300 lb
  • 5.3L V8 (2022–2024) 10,800–11,200 lb
Chevrolet Silverado 1500 11,000–13,300 lb · 10 configs in this class
  • 3.0L Duramax Turbo Diesel I6 (2022–2026) 12,900–13,300 lb
  • 6.2L V8 with DFM (L87) (2019–2022) 12,200–13,300 lb
  • 6.2L EcoTec3 V8 (2023–2026) 13,200 lb
  • 5.3L V8 with DFM (L84) (2019–2021) 11,100–11,600 lb
  • 5.3L EcoTec3 V8 (2022–2026) 11,000–11,300 lb
Ram 1500 11,190–12,750 lb · 8 configs in this class
  • 5.7L HEMI V8 eTorque (2019–2026) 11,190–12,750 lb
  • 3.0L EcoDiesel V6 (2020–2023) 12,560 lb
  • 5.7L HEMI V8 (2019–2023) 11,280–11,620 lb
  • 3.0L Hurricane I6 Twin Turbo (Standard Output) (2025) 11,340–11,550 lb
Toyota Tundra 10,200–12,000 lb · 9 configs in this class
  • 3.4L i-FORCE TT V6 (389 hp) (2022–2026) 11,160–12,000 lb
  • 3.4L i-FORCE MAX hybrid V6 (437 hp) (2022–2025) 11,170–11,450 lb
  • 5.7L V8 (2015–2021) 10,200–10,500 lb

Ratings as published in OEM towing guides for properly equipped vehicles; the model pages list every configuration with its source. A vehicle's factory receiver can be a class below its rating — the door-jamb area and the receiver label tell you what's actually installed.

Rated past 20,000 lb? That's not a Class 5 problem

Class 5 is the end of the receiver ladder — there is no Class 6. Yet 2 configurations in our dataset are factory-rated above 20,000 lb for conventional towing:

Ratings like these come with their own specifically rated factory receivers, and this is the territory where gooseneck and 5th-wheel hitches take over: they mount in the truck bed ahead of the rear axle, put 15–25% of the trailer's weight directly on the frame instead of a cantilevered receiver tube, and are rated on their own scale. If your trailer is heading past 20,000 lb, the receiver class table is no longer the table you need.

Class 5 vs Class 4

Class 5 is rated 20,000 lb gross trailer weight and 2,700 lb tongue — double Class 4's bare 10,000 lb / 1,000 lb — and uses a 2" or 2-1/2" opening instead of Class 4's 2". Class 4 receivers publish a with-WDH uplift to 14,000 lb; Class 5 ratings are typically published without one. Past 20,000 lb, no receiver class applies — that is gooseneck and 5th-wheel territory. Full Class 4 breakdown →

The class is a hardware ceiling, not permission

Everything on this page rates the receiver. Your vehicle brings three more limits — its tow rating, GCWR, and payload — and the working limit of the rig is the smallest number anywhere in the chain, ball mount and ball included. A Class 5 receiver on a vehicle rated below 20,000 lb doesn't add an ounce of capacity; a vehicle rated above it turns the receiver into the binding limit. When two numbers disagree, the smaller one is the truth you tow by.

Not sure this is your class? The hitch class selector picks the smallest class that clears your trailer and tongue weight — then the tow-match calculator checks all four limits together.

Related: hitch classes I–V, the full table · tongue weight guide .