Which Weight Distribution Hitch?

[Zulu Kono]

Just bought a '97 Dutchmen 26' TT.
Tow vehicle is a '96 Chevy K2500 Suburban with 7.4 vortec.
The trailer sits pretty high, like the axels were flipped.
The Suburban, otoh, is completely stock.
Super saggy at the hitch, so I'm planning to get a weight
distribution hitch for it, but there are so many different ones.
Any opinions on which brand is superior and why?
Thanks in advance!

[scrapperjohn]

We use the Andersen WDH & like it.
Works great & no bars to deal with.

[TexasPSDX]

Love our Pro Pride

[runamuck]

I have only had one so far and it seems to work fine. I dont get any sway. I only tow at around 68-69 but if I dont set cruise I occasionally catch myself going over 70 so cant say about higher speeds than that. cross wind gusts sometimes get my attention but all in all our 28' 6000# travel trailer tows fine behind my 1500 Ram laramie 4x4 ccsb with 5.7 and 3.92 gears. the hitch I have is a Husky centerline with the 800# bars.

[Zulu Kono]

Thanks to those who replied!
Andersen was a contender.
Pro Pride is way too bougie for us.
After a lot of research, I pulled the trigger on a Blue Ox SwayPro 1500.
Seems like the best thing for the money.
I'll report back after I've had a chance to use it.

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by Zulu Kono

Thanks to those who replied!
Andersen was a contender.
Pro Pride is way too bougie for us.
After a lot of research, I pulled the trigger on a Blue Ox SwayPro 1500.
Seems like the best thing for the money.
I'll report back after I've had a chance to use it.

That should work well for you. Do yourself a favor though and get an 18-24" breaker bar and socket to use for attaching/detaching the chains instead of the little hand-tool that Blue Ox provides. Also, use the tongue jack to lift the rear of the the truck up several inches after you drop the tongue on it before attaching/detaching the chains. It will make it so much easier.

[carybosse]

Originally Posted by Zulu Kono

...
The Suburban, otoh, is completely stock.
Super saggy at the hitch, so I'm planning to get a weight
distribution hitch for it, but there are so many different ones.
...

My eyes focused on this, a WD hitch will not fix issues of a worn out suspension.

[Zulu Kono]

Originally Posted by carybosse

My eyes focused on this, a WD hitch will not fix issues of a worn out suspension.

"Super saggy" may have been hyperbolic.
The Suburban's suspension's in good shape, but it needs a WDH.
Here's a photo from about 30 minutes after I bought it,
and getting ready to make the 200-mile trek home.
This load needs leveled!

[sirtate]

Originally Posted by Zulu Kono

Thanks to those who replied!

Andersen was a contender.

Pro Pride is way too bougie for us.

After a lot of research, I pulled the trigger on a Blue Ox SwayPro 1500.

Seems like the best thing for the money.

I'll report back after I've had a chance to use it.

I've got a SwayPro.
It's good.
Buy a proper socket wrench for the cams.

[Zulu Kono]

Ordered my SwayPro from Amazon yesterday
morning (Monday) before I left for work.
It was here when I got home from work today (Tuesday).
Literally the fastest shipping of anything I've
ever bought online, and I don't have Prime.
The hitch is different than what I was expecting.
All the ones I saw on YouTube had kind of a
spring-tab thing on the sockets to lock the bars in.
Mine has holes drilled through the sockets and bars and came
with lynch pins to secure the bars into them like the TrackPro has.
Don't know if I got an old discontinued design, or a newer updated one.
Anyhoo, looking forward to getting it set up this weekend.

[ttavasc]

I think you got a newer model. The BlueOx website now shows the pins securing the bars to the hitch head as opposed to the spring tabs like mine has. Also, does the tool for the rotating latches look like a small lug wrench or is it still a wide flat bar? I suspect that a lot of the resellers haven't updated their images with the newer model which isn't uncommon.

[CharlesinGA]

Your rear suspension needs some help, don't expect the hitch to do it all. Where the hitch head goes to attach to the shank, if it is not a smooth or snug fit, you probably want to shim it to keep from crushing the ears on the head. That is cast steel (I called and asked). BO does not make a shim, but Reese does, a Reese Pro Series PS58444 shim. Shim is .040" thick. Put the head on the shank, shove the bolts thru, clamp it gently to one side, take feeler gauges and measure the gap, mine was almost exactly .040" if it is enough, buy two shims, etrailer has them, about $10 each. Better than cracking it.



Cross bolt torque is 260 lb/ft
Torque for nut on bottom of the ball is 450 lb/ft
Do not skimp on this, if you don't have the tools, take it to a truck shop that has a torque wrench that goes high enough.



By all means, go to Harbor Freight and buy a 24 inch ½dr breaker bar and a 12 pt one inch socket, you will need it.

Take a red permanent marker and sit down and color the 9th link from the free end (not the bar) so you will always be right.

I really feel like the 1500 lb bars are too much, what is the GVWR of the trailer? Do you KNOW the tongue weight? A 26 ft trailer is about 8000 lb gross, and will be about 1000 lbs tongue weight.

I looked at the BO web site. Looks like the new bars have the weight dimples, the hole for the old style lock on top, and are cross drilled for the lock pin like the new ones. I suggest you get more lock pins (tractor supply possibly) as they WILL get lost or damaged.

Charles

[Zulu Kono]

Originally Posted by ttavasc

I think you got a newer model. The BlueOx website now shows the pins securing the bars to the hitch head as opposed to the spring tabs like mine has. Also, does the tool for the rotating latches look like a small lug wrench or is it still a wide flat bar? I suspect that a lot of the resellers haven't updated their images with the newer model which isn't uncommon.

The wrench they sent does look sort of like a lug wrench.
It's not the flat one I saw on YouTube.
The wrench fits very sloppily onto the rotating mechanism.
Kind of disappointing considering what these hitches cost,
but it did come with a 2 5/16 ball rated at 20,000 lbs.
already mounted on it, which I wasn't expecting.
I'll probably be using my own socket and
breaker bar so I don't round off those hex nuts.

[Cat]

Originally Posted by runamuck

I have only had one so far and it seems to work fine. I dont get any sway. I only tow at around 68-69 but if I dont set cruise I occasionally catch myself going over 70 so cant say about higher speeds than that. cross wind gusts sometimes get my attention but all in all our 28' 6000# travel trailer tows fine behind my 1500 Ram laramie 4x4 ccsb with 5.7 and 3.92 gears. the hitch I have is a Husky centerline with the 800# bars.

x2 with 2015 F150 4x4 crew cab 26' 7500 trailer with great towing.