Uncap builds towing and trailer parts B2B ecommerce on Shopify for manufacturers and distributors selling hitches, wiring, brake controllers and trailer running gear to installers, dealers, auto parts retailers, trailer builders and repair shops. The trade runs two fitment models in one catalog. A receiver hitch or a wiring harness fits a vehicle, and CURT's vehicle lookup asks for body style and bed system as well as year, make and model. An axle, hub or bearing fits a spec sheet: capacity, bolt pattern, spindle and brake size. And a towing setup is only rated as high as its lowest-rated component, so the rating has to travel with the order.
Last updated
The trade runs two fitment models in one catalog, and a towing setup is only rated as high as its lowest-rated component.
A hitch is built for one vehicle, and its class does not say which. CURT's hitch guide puts it plainly: "most receiver hitches are made vehicle-specific. In other words, not all 5 classes are available for each vehicle." The wiring follows the vehicle too: CURT says "Every CURT wiring harness is vehicle-specific and comes with all necessary components for a complete installation." CURT's vehicle lookup carries fields beyond year, make and model for sub model, body style, bed system, engine, wheelbase, drive type, spring and suspension, transmission and manufacturer body code. Fifth wheel and gooseneck hitches, which CURT lists as "Pickup trucks only," add the bed to the question.
A class is a range. The part number carries the rating. CURT's chart puts a Class 3 hitch on a 2-inch receiver at up to 8,000 lbs gross trailer weight and 800 lbs tongue weight, and a Class 4 at up to 10,000 and 1,000. Then it adds that "Each individual hitch comes with its own specific weight ratings which may or may not reach the maximum range of the designated hitch class," and that "Trailer hitch weight ratings vary by part number." A storefront that sells "Class 3" as a number promises more than some Class 3 part numbers carry.
The setup is rated at its weakest link. CURT again: "your towing capacity is always limited to the lowest-rated towing component, whether the hitch, an accessory, the vehicle, your trailer or any other component of the towing system." An installer ordering a hitch, a ball mount and a ball is building a system, and the lowest rating in that cart is the one that counts.
Trailer parts fit a spec sheet, not a vehicle. A trailer builder orders running gear the way Dexter's light duty axle order form lays it out: capacity, hub face, spring center, spindle type (straight, 4-inch drop, or 6-inch drop on a 3.5K axle), brake type, stud size and wheel bolt pattern, from 5 on 4.50 up to 8 on 6.50. The form notes that "Dexter builds axles to order per customer specifications." Axles are subject to a 50% restock fee if returned, the customer pays freight both ways, and "Some combinations may not work pending on options chosen." One wrong field gets expensive.
The same brake can ride on different bearings. In the bearing replacement chart in Dexter's light duty service manual, a 10 by 2 1/4 inch brake appears on a 3.5K axle with an L44610/L44649 outer bearing, and on a 4.4K six-bolt axle with an LM67010/LM67048 outer. The chart lists the industry cup and cone number next to Dexter's kit number, and for service Dexter asks for the axle's nine digit lot (serial) number, found on axles produced after April 2001. A shop that orders a bearing by brake size alone can get the wrong one.
Trailer lighting sits under a federal standard. FMVSS 108 applies to trailers, except pole trailers and trailer converter dollies. It also covers "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment for replacement of like equipment on vehicles to which this standard applies." A replacement lamp or reflective device specified in the standard's Table I, other than a headlamp, "may be marked with the symbol 'DOT' which constitutes a certification that it conforms to the requirements of this standard." On conspicuity, S6.1.1.1 says: "Each trailer of 2032 mm or more in overall width, and with a GVWR over 10,000 lbs., except a trailer designed exclusively for living or office use, and each truck tractor must be equipped with retroreflective sheeting, reflex reflectors, or a combination of retroreflective sheeting and reflex reflectors as specified in S8.2." For a trailer builder, the lamp's marking and the conspicuity material belong on the product record, not in a rep's head.
Vehicle fitment for hitches and wiring runs on Uncap Garage, a shipped app, and trailer spec matching and system ratings are built during implementation from your data.
The tow vehicle side runs on Uncap Garage. Uncap Garage puts Year-Make-Model fitment on a Shopify storefront, powered by ACES and PIES data, and it is built for automotive parts and accessories merchants. Buyers build their garage by year, make, model and engine and keep it across visits. Fits and doesn't-fit badges show on every product and variant, and a coverage console shows what is mapped and what is missing. Where a hitch or harness turns on body style, bed system or wheelbase, carrying those attributes into the selection is built during implementation from your ACES data. Whether your applications already exist as ACES data is confirmed during scoping.
The trailer side is built from your spec data. Garage is a vehicle fitment product, and it is not used for running gear. Spec matching for trailer parts is built during implementation: the buyer narrows by axle capacity, then bolt pattern, spindle and brake size, and sees the hubs, drums, bearings and seals that fit. Lookup by industry bearing number, and routing an axle lot number to your counter, are built the same way from your cross-reference and spec tables.
Ratings that travel with the kit. Each hitch, ball mount, ball and coupler carries the rating on its own part number. When an installer puts several in one cart, the storefront shows the lowest rating among them, with a reminder that the vehicle's own limit still applies. That logic is built during implementation from the ratings in your product data.
Built-to-order axles are quoted, not carted. Uncap Quotes runs configure, price, quote inside the Shopify admin. Negotiated prices, tiers and volume breaks apply automatically, exceptions go to the right approver, and quotes carry validity windows and a full revision history. The axle configuration rules (capacity, hub face, spring center, spindle, brakes and bolt pattern) are built during implementation on top of that workflow. With those rules built in, each quote revision keeps the spec as quoted, and the approved quote becomes a Shopify order in one click. For made-to-order lines, a promise date in place of a stock count is built during implementation from your ERP.
Installers, dealers and builders on their own accounts. In Uncap Portal, each buyer gets real multi-user accounts with roles and permissions and sees their assortment and pricing. A trailer builder's monthly running gear order sits on a reorder list. Budgets, approvals and limits per user set what each counter employee can order, and NET terms, invoices and payments sit in the portal. If your branches also install hitches, Portal lets a Shopify store sell services alongside standard ecommerce products through one checkout, so installation labor can be sold with the parts.
On whether the ERP vendor's own commerce product is safer. For a manufacturer on Epicor Kinetic, the case for the ERP vendor's commerce product is that it sits closest to the ERP. Uncap's published products do not include trailer spec matching or system ratings; on Shopify, that layer is built during implementation from your data, while vehicle fitment runs on Garage, a shipped app. So the question is how directly the storefront reads Kinetic. Integration runs through an owned Uncap Connect app embedded in Shopify, or a managed iPaaS integration. On the Connect route there is no separate middleware. Uncap Connect keeps inventory, orders, customers and pricing in real-time, two-way sync, and it syncs "customer-specific pricing, credit terms, and tax rules." The ERP stays the system of record.
Proof, labeled at its true distance. Uncap has not published a towing or trailer parts case study. The closest builds are automotive. Kooks, a headers and exhaust manufacturer, runs vehicle-fitment search by year, make, model and engine from a PDM Automotive PIM. Infor Visual ERP keeps stock and pricing current, and wholesale buyers get secure B2B portals with custom pricing. Its published results are a 22% conversion rate uplift and a 38% reduction in total cost of ownership. E3 Spark Plugs runs a Year-Make-Model tool and a cross-reference application for competitor SKUs. Vehicle fitment and cross-reference, yes. Trailer spec matching, not yet.
Vehicle fitment ships in Uncap Garage, quoting and approvals in Uncap Quotes, and trade accounts in Uncap Portal, and trailer spec matching, system ratings, industry number lookup and axle configuration rules are built during implementation from your data.
Year, make, model and engine selection with fits and doesn't-fit badges through Uncap Garage, from ACES and PIES data or your own.
Capacity, bolt pattern, spindle and brake size narrowing hubs, drums, bearings and seals, built during implementation.
The bearing number off the old part resolves to your kit.
Ratings carried per part number, with the lowest in the cart shown to the buyer.
The axle spec captured on an Uncap Quotes quote with revision history, and the approved quote becomes a Shopify order in one click.
DOT marking and conspicuity material shown as product attributes from your data, so a trailer builder or repair shop can filter on it.
Installers, dealers and trailer builders on multi-user accounts with their own assortment and pricing through Uncap Portal.
Pricing, inventory, customers and orders kept current between Shopify and the ERP.
Vehicle fitment for hitches and wiring. Year, make, model and engine selection with fits and doesn't-fit badges through Uncap Garage, with body style, bed system and wheelbase attributes built during implementation.
Trailer spec selector. Capacity, bolt pattern, spindle and brake size narrowing hubs, drums, bearings and seals, built during implementation.
Industry number lookup. The bearing number off the old part resolves to your kit, built during implementation from your cross-reference table.
Lowest rating in the cart. Ratings carried per part number, with the lowest in the cart shown to the buyer, built during implementation.
Axle configuration on a quote. The axle spec captured on an Uncap Quotes quote with revision history, with the configuration rules built during implementation.
Lamp and conspicuity attributes. DOT marking and conspicuity material shown as product attributes from your data, configured during implementation.
Accounts for each buyer type. Installers, dealers and trailer builders on multi-user accounts with their own assortment and pricing through Uncap Portal.
ERP sync, Connect or managed iPaaS. Pricing, inventory, customers and orders kept current between Shopify and the ERP, through an owned Uncap Connect app embedded in Shopify, or a managed iPaaS integration.
The line between product and build, in writing. Vehicle fitment ships in Uncap Garage, quoting and approvals in Uncap Quotes, and trade accounts in Uncap Portal. Trailer spec matching, system ratings, industry number lookup and axle configuration rules are built during implementation from your data. The scope says which is which.
Credentials you can check. Uncap is a Shopify Platinum Partner, on Shopify since 2013, with 380+ unified storefronts launched on Shopify.
Scoped before it is built. The Uncap Blueprint is a fixed-price, four-week Shopify migration plan, credited 1:1 toward implementation. It covers solution architecture, a data migration taxonomy, an ERP integration audit, UX and flow prototyping, total cost of ownership and a risk register, and ends with a fixed-cost implementation estimate. For a towing and trailer parts business, that architecture work can cover hitch applications, trailer spec tables, part-number ratings and the ERP integration. You walk with everything you need to brief any agency or your in-house team.
This page sits under auto parts and aftermarket ecommerce, which covers ACES and PIES fitment, jobber and fleet tiers, core charges and supersession; this page goes down to the hitch on the truck and the running gear under the trailer. Bed and cab accessories fitted by cab and bed configuration, such as tonneau covers, truck boxes and racks, are covered on truck and off-road accessories. Vehicle wheels sold on bolt pattern, center bore and offset are covered on wheel and tire distributor ecommerce. For how the fitment standards work, see the field notes on ACES and PIES fitment data standards. For the ERP side, see the Epicor Kinetic integration, the Epicor Vision integration, or the full list of ERP integrations.
Bring two documents. The first is your hitch and wiring application guide for one popular half-ton pickup. The second is an axle order form a trailer builder sent you last month. Together they show how deep your vehicle fitment runs and how many fields a running gear order has to get right.
Book a strategy session with Uncap, or start with a Blueprint if what you need first is the vehicle fitment, the spec tables and the ratings logic written down and costed.
Not necessarily. On Shopify, vehicle fitment for hitches and wiring runs on Uncap Garage, a shipped app, and trailer spec matching and system ratings are built during implementation from your data. So the deciding question is how directly the storefront reads Kinetic. Integration runs through an owned Uncap Connect app embedded in Shopify, or a managed iPaaS integration. On the Connect route, inventory, orders, customers and pricing stay in real-time, two-way sync with no separate middleware to maintain, and Kinetic stays the system of record.
In CURT's chart, Class 1 and Class 2 share a 1-1/4 inch receiver and differ in rating, up to 2,000 and 3,500 lbs gross trailer weight. Class 3 moves to a 2-inch receiver and up to 8,000 lbs. Each hitch has its own rating, which may not reach the top of its class.
Not by the receiver. In CURT's chart, Class 3 and Class 4 both use a 2-inch receiver. Class 3 rates up to 8,000 lbs gross trailer weight and 800 lbs tongue weight, and Class 4 up to 10,000 and 1,000. CURT adds that "Trailer hitch weight ratings vary by part number," so the rating on the part number, not the receiver size, is what the order has to carry.
No. CURT states that "no hitch ever increases the maximum weight a vehicle can tow," and that towing capacity is limited to the lowest-rated component: hitch, accessory, vehicle or trailer. Showing the lowest rating among the components in a cart is built during implementation.
It matches the spec: axle capacity, bolt pattern, spindle and brake size, or the industry bearing number off the old part. Brake size alone is not enough, because in Dexter's bearing chart the same 10 by 2 1/4 inch brake sits on axles with different outer bearings. A spec selector and industry number lookup are built during implementation from your tables.
No. Uncap Garage is Year-Make-Model fitment for automotive parts and accessories, powered by ACES and PIES data, and it can also take your own fitment data, so it covers the tow vehicle side: hitches and wiring matched to the vehicle. Trailer running gear fits a spec rather than a vehicle, so the trailer spec selector is built during implementation from your capacity, bolt pattern, spindle and brake data, alongside Garage on the same storefront.
FMVSS 108 permits the mark rather than requiring it for these lamps: each original equipment or replacement lamp or reflective device specified in its Table I, except for a headlamp, "may be marked with the symbol 'DOT' which constitutes a certification that it conforms to the requirements of this standard." Certification itself is required. Federal law (49 U.S.C. 30115) says a manufacturer or distributor of motor vehicle equipment "shall certify to the distributor or dealer at delivery that the vehicle or equipment complies with applicable motor vehicle safety standards," and that "Certification of equipment may be shown by a label or tag on the equipment or on the outside of the container in which the equipment is delivered." Conspicuity material is marked by rule: FMVSS 108 requires the letters DOT-C2, DOT-C3 or DOT-C4 on retroreflective sheeting and DOT-C on conspicuity reflex reflectors. On the storefront, DOT marking is shown as a product attribute from your data, configured during implementation, so a trailer builder or repair shop can filter on it.
Uncap publishes twelve ERP family integrations: Acumatica, Cin7, Epicor, Fishbowl, Infor, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, Odoo, Oracle, QuickBooks, Sage and SAP. For towing and trailer parts, the Epicor Kinetic page fits made-to-order manufacturers and the Epicor Vision page fits parts distributors. Integrations are delivered through an owned Uncap Connect app embedded in Shopify, or a managed iPaaS integration. For a specific ERP and the depth of sync you need, the Uncap team confirms fit directly.
The auto parts page covers parts sold by vehicle application and part number: ACES and PIES fitment, jobber and fleet tiers, core charges and supersession. This page covers what towing adds: hitch and wiring fitment below the model, ratings capped by the lowest-rated component, and running gear sold by capacity, bolt pattern and spindle.
