Towing - Weight Distribution Hitch ?

[CharlesinGA]

Originally Posted by youwatec

I heard that puts undue stress on the A-Frame where the hitch is installed. Been watching YouTube

Some frames are well made, some are very poorly made. The largest manufacturer of frames makes some very crappy stuff, thin metal, weak, poor welding, bad design, just about anything you can think of. Then SOME weight distributing hitches have spring bars that are spring in name only, so stiff they don't properly flex. These exert lots of extra pressure on the both the tow vehicle and the trailer.

Its a perfect storm of the above, combined with an owner not realizing the limitations of the hitch and the trailer and the road surface they are on.

Charles

[sirpurrcival]

Having towed a 6800 lb Travel trailer with a 1/2 ton nissan titan. I would suggest that the WD hitch is probably not a bad idea. I ended up adding an extra leaf to each rear spring on my vehicle to add some stiffness even with the WD hitch. The tow rating for the Titan was 9800 lbs. One easy way to check is to actually hook up a trailer or two on a lot without the WD hitch and look to see how much sag you get when the trailer is fully resting on the hitch. If you see a noticeable rise in the front end (2 inches measuring the gap between tire tread and edge of fender) then you will need a WD hitch. Even a rise of 1 inch may make the tracking and steering of the vehicle feel a bit more vague and therefore dangerous.
If I were to do it all again, I would have gone for a 3/4 ton P/U in the first instance. I wasn't thinking TT when I bought my truck but my choice certainly made things trickier when I did decide to buy a trailer.

When I sold the trailer, the person who bought it came with a RAM 3500. When he dropped the trailer onto the hitch, it didn't even blink. But he needed a hitch and the WD Hitch I had was included so he used it anyway.

[DR60]

Originally Posted by youwatec

Does your travel trailer sway? That’s my biggest fear.

I am pulling a 36'TT with a crew cab long bed 3/4 ton pickup. The truck and trailer are pretty well matched.
Without seeing the numbers, your F150 and a 21' TT are also pretty well matched. The only way you will know for sure is either do a deep dive into the weight of the truck and ready to camp weights of both. OR load them up and head to a truck scale. You will also want to watch your weight balance as you load food, ice chests, and gear into the trailer.
To reduce sway, you will want to be under your trucks axle rating and have a tongue weight of 12 to 15% of the trailers total weight. And you will want 60% of the trailers weight in front of the axle. If you meet those conditions, you will most likely have a stable sway free ride. Good Luck DR

[Wellibe]

Originally Posted by Cumminsfan

Page 10 says 5000/500 lbs without a WDH.
14000/1400 lbs with a WDH.

https://www.ford.com/cmslibs/content...Info_Dec16.pdf

This is the answer right here.^^^ How much is the trailer's GVWR? Multiply that number by 0.13 to get an estimate of loaded tongue weight (or 0.15 if you want to be extra safe). If the result is over 500 lbs, you need a WDH. Keep in mind that anything you put in the bed will also weigh down the rear axle, so if you're hauling a decent amount of cargo while you're towing, you might need a WDH even if the tongue weight is less than 500 lbs.

I tow a 20' (24' OAL) "X-Lite" trailer with my 2015 F-150, and I definitely need a WDH to keep the steering under control.

[youwatec]

I agree. Buying my 150…I never expected to enter the world of RVing. So, I have to do the best with what I got.

[Wellibe]

No worries...your F-150 should be able to handle a trailer in that size range as long as it has a decent payload capacity. The WDH is just part of the fun of towing a travel trailer.