Comer,
COMer said:
It's getting a little picky but it sounds like you want to make sure you aren't overloading any part of the hitch, or mounts, and the ball itself needs to be a 1" shaft and solid, to be rated for 5000#. Some are 3/4" and use bushings. Usually there is a rating plate or sticker on the hitch itself that might tell you how they rated it.
Just to clarify things, I'm a bit confused with your statement and may not be understanding your description. Most hitch receivers mounted (welded or screwed) onto the undercarriage of a frame are 2" shaft receivers. There are 1" shaft receivers, but I doubt they are rated to 5,000 #. The ball mounts are usually 2" or 2 1/4" size for that weight rating.
For units like Remco or Blue Ox, there is no ball involved, you just slip the shaft into the hitch receiver. These tow bars can be purchased to handle different weights. I'm sure there are other tow bars; but I'm not familiar with them. There is also a unit that is attached to the front of the towed car, is an "A" frame shape and has a ball mount receiver on the point of the "A" frame. It folds down and sets on a ball receiver that is already inserted into the hitch receiver shaft. I don't see those very often.
Cheam2,
As soon as you have the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) of your motorhome and the CGVWR (combined gross vehicle weight rating) we can help figure it out more closely. It would be good also, if you have a place to weight your RV to be certain of your weight. It's also better to weight it fully loaded as if you are getting ready to travel in it.
I had a '93 Chevy 454 in a 1 ton truck. That truck came with a 10,000# hitch receiver. The CGVWR was 10,000# and the truck itself weighted something like 6800#. So just as a truck, I only had 3200# to pull or carry. I greatly over-exceeded that CGVWR by pulling a horse trailer that weighted 8,000# and had a cabover camper that weighted 3,000#. It's a wonder I didn't have some type of problem over time; but I didn't.
Marsha~