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Old 01-28-2020, 11:57 AM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tuffr2 View Post
I have a 2017 F-250 and wondering if I can tow a 6,000lb Rockwood 2511s without W/D or sway control. I have not bought this trailer yet but plan to this late spring.....
If you're buying from a dealer than by all means have it worked into the deal. Better safe than sorry.
Everyone has no sway ….. until they don't.
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Old 01-28-2020, 02:31 PM   #30
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Get the sway & w/d. I've done both with my Solaire. Not worth it unless the extent of your towing is 10 miles up the road to the local state park.
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Old 01-29-2020, 06:03 AM   #31
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Ive pulled the jayco with and without wd on the work dodge. I cant tell the difference either way. I use a wd hitch on the f350 because of the hitch rating, i wouldnt run it if i didnt have to. You can fix handling issues by loading it correctly, and if its loaded correctly you can hook up to any appropriately rated truck with any hitch.
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Old 01-29-2020, 08:40 AM   #32
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sway is caused by overloaded tongue and to light on the tongue. Properly loaded it wont sway period. Try it see if it sways. If does add a little water to the tanks and see if it helps. if not then wdh may be needed.
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Old 01-29-2020, 10:17 PM   #33
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sway is caused by overloaded tongue and to light on the tongue. Properly loaded it wont sway period. Try it see if it sways. If does add a little water to the tanks and see if it helps. if not then wdh may be needed.
True. But sway is also caused by wind and pressures generated by trucks and other large vehicles passing in close proximity like the next lane.
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Old 01-30-2020, 05:10 AM   #34
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The pressure from passing trucks etc causes push, not sway. If sway is induced by that push then the trailer is not properly loaded.
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Old 01-30-2020, 09:03 AM   #35
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The pressure from passing trucks etc causes push, not sway. If sway is induced by that push then the trailer is not properly loaded.
I had a 2010 Heartland North Trail. 31', 7200 lbs. It came with the Wide Traxx axle spacing. Factory TW was under 10%. I loaded the TT as best I could and got 900 lbs for TW. 12.5%
I towed it with a 2010 F150 Max Tow. Used an EQ 4 pt sway control 1000/10,000 WDH.
I always got push pull.. Never had white knuckle sway, just a lot of constant wiggle.
Problem was that even with the correct TW it swayed bcause the axles were way to far forward. 31' x 8' of surface was easily moved because it was easy to push the rear portion that was behind the axles. IMO only TT's with correct axle position will tow properly without some kind of sway control.
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Old 01-31-2020, 06:47 AM   #36
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mdregoiw

I personally will not pull a trailer over 1000 pounds empty without an equalizer hitch. An equalizer hitch (weight distributing) makes the entire towing vehicle carry the weight of what is being towed, instead of just the rear axle.
I am sure that you have seen trailers being towed down the highway, and the connection point (hitch) is lower to the ground than both the front of the towing vehicle and the rear of the trailer. An equalizer hitch corrects this. This hitch also works as a sway control.
Furthermore, and you may not realize it, even if you think the towing vehicle can handle it, towing a trailer will, most of the time, affect your headlights when you are towing at night.
BEWARE OF THE TORSION BARS!
When hooked up properly, there is a great deal of pressure. When setting the equalizer hitch, you have to tighten up the torsion bars, then removing, just the opposite. Keep kids and any others that might get in the way, away from you while you are hooking up or removing the equalizer hitch.
Way back, 30-40 years ago, when I first started using an equalizer hitch, we were on a dirt road up in the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming. Somebody in my party needed to go to the bathroom and asked me to stop. When they got back in the towing vehicle, I put in gear and tried to drive on towards our destination. Towing vehicle would not move. I got out and checked. I found that I had stopped in a pothole and my rear tires were not even touching the ground. I put it into 4-wheel drive, and off we went.
Moral of the story is an equalizer hitch really does put weight on the front of the towing vehicle. If I had not had 4-wheel drive, I would have had to release the torsion bars, pulled forward to flat ground and rehook the torsion bars.

GOOD LUCK WITH
TOWING ADVENTURES
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Old 02-01-2020, 02:03 AM   #37
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I personally will not pull a trailer over 1000 pounds empty without an equalizer hitch. An equalizer hitch (weight distributing) makes the entire towing vehicle carry the weight of what is being towed, instead of just the rear axle.
That's not true at all. With a properly set up weight distributing hitch, your front axle has less weight on it than it does with no trailer attached. If you manage to increase front axle weight over what it has stock, your hitch is way too tight and it will tow horribly. All of the weight of your trailer tongue is carried by the rear axle. In fact, because of leverage, the rear axle gains more weight than just the tongue weight of the trailer.


What a weight distributing hitch does, is help the front axle regain some of the weight it lost by applying a torque to the frame.



Quote:
Originally Posted by mdregoiw View Post
Way back, 30-40 years ago, when I first started using an equalizer hitch, we were on a dirt road up in the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming. Somebody in my party needed to go to the bathroom and asked me to stop. When they got back in the towing vehicle, I put in gear and tried to drive on towards our destination. Towing vehicle would not move. I got out and checked. I found that I had stopped in a pothole and my rear tires were not even touching the ground. I put it into 4-wheel drive, and off we went.
Moral of the story is an equalizer hitch really does put weight on the front of the towing vehicle. If I had not had 4-wheel drive, I would have had to release the torsion bars, pulled forward to flat ground and rehook the torsion bars.
I don't think that's a true story. If your rear axle didn't have enough weight to touch the ground in a pothole, it wouldn't have enough traction to propel you down a dirt road in the first place. There's also no way for a weight distributing hitch to apply enough torque to your receiver to lift the rear axle off the ground without destroying itself, the trailer tongue, or the receiver while you're driving it down the road. (Assuming it could even do it under the static load of hitching it up. You'd likely crush the tongue long before you lifted the rear axle.)
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Old 02-01-2020, 07:45 AM   #38
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I don't think that's a true story. If your rear axle didn't have enough weight to touch the ground in a pothole, it wouldn't have enough traction to propel you down a dirt road in the first place. There's also no way for a weight distributing hitch to apply enough torque to your receiver to lift the rear axle off the ground without destroying itself, the trailer tongue, or the receiver while you're driving it down the road. (Assuming it could even do it under the static load of hitching it up. You'd likely crush the tongue long before you lifted the rear axle.)[/QUOTE]

Stinkbug stance shouldve been the first clue.
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Old 02-02-2020, 02:46 PM   #39
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I think I will try it and if ok - good. If I don't like it I can then buy a WD hitch.

But would like to know for sure or else I will try to work a WD hitch into my trailer deal.
If a dual axel trailer you don’t need sway control.

You can buy a WD hitch on line for under $300. Whether you need one depends on your springs and tongue weight . Even the ones without sway bars control sway.
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Old 02-02-2020, 03:00 PM   #40
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I haven’t read through all the post but I will say my buddy had the same opinion. He had an F250 diesel and the truck had power to spear and was rowing about the same as you. I had an F150 towing about the same trailer. He insisted he didn’t need a weight distribution hitch with sway control. Everything was great until we hit some cross winds. He ended up in the ditch with the trailer on its side. I had no issues at all. I took my trailer home and when I returned his trailer was sitting upright on the road. We put my Equalizer hitch on his truck and trailer to tow it home. He couldn’t believe the difference. Before our next trip he had an Equalizer brand hitch installed of course on his new trailer since the insurance company totaled his old one. He wouldn’t leave home without it now.
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Old 02-02-2020, 03:01 PM   #41
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Extra hint: be sure to get an electric tongue jack. You can buy one online for about $100 if it doesn’t come with. Easy to install.

Use it when you hook and unhook the bars on the WD hitch. Snug the bars with the receiver just above the ball. They’ll tighten as you lower. Likewise put the jack down, undo the ball, and lift before undoing torsion bars. Reduces risk of high tension throwing your handle at you.
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Old 02-02-2020, 03:16 PM   #42
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Do what you want but!

According to Ford specs.
On a F250 without a WHD system the hitch is limited to 6,000 pounds and 600 pounds tongue load maximum.
Check Ford Fleet documents for more info.


https://www.fleet.ford.com/towing-guides/
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