To equalize (hitch) or not

[nicky8668]

Originally Posted by Dave Pelletier

ok, new question; should I use an equalizing hitch or not?

I suspect the overwhelming response will be, "of course you should" ....but here's why Im thinking maybe not; my new trailer weighs in at a dry weight of just under 5500lbs and has a GVWR of 7500lbs.....my truck is a one ton, dually, diesel, quad cab, long box with a custom heavy overload spring pack, rancho 9000 adjustable shocks and a "class V" superhitch rated at 1500 lbs deadweight.... the truck also weighs in at 8,338 lbs empty.

Yes, i know the truck is overkill for the trailer, but its what I have. I've always used wd hitches before but there are negatives ( less weight in the rear can lessen traction in slippery conditions; you sometimes need to remove the bars if you are going up or down a big dip offroad; and just the added steps to hitch and unhitch). Compared to the 4000+ lbs of my Bigfoot camper, the 600 or 700 lb tongue weight of the new trailer may not even engage the overload springs!

So, thoughts? 🙂

We are on the same boat. I tow my 17 ft 2500 lbs (3500 lbs GVWR) camper using an F250. I used husky centerline hitch (cheap knockoff equalizer) because I have it for my previous setup. Do I need to? Probably not, but if you have it, just use it. If you don’t, dont waste your money.

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by NevadaNick

Wouldn’t it be harder to control ?

Maybe......but maybe not as hard as an F150 with a WD hitch....that's the real question - the truck is massively overkill for the trailer......not quite a Peterbuilt pulling a tent trailer but close! LOL




Dave

[move on]

You do not need, nor do you want, to use a weight distribution hitch on a 1 ton truck to pull a 5500 lb trailer. There is a common misconception that a WD hitch is a safety device. It is not. It has been proven both mathematically and through extensive testing that removing weight from your rear axle with a WD hitch is destabilizing as it makes the tow vehicle more susceptible to oversteer. The only reason to use a WD hitch is if your tow vehicle is too small and the load on the hitch would otherwise overload your rear axle. That's not the case here.

You also do not need a sway control device. The truck is big enough that the trailer won't sway at any highway speed.

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by move on

You do not need, nor do you want, to use a weight distribution hitch on a 1 ton truck to pull a 5500 lb trailer. There is a common misconception that a WD hitch is a safety device. It is not. It has been proven both mathematically and through extensive testing that removing weight from your rear axle with a WD hitch is destabilizing as it makes the tow vehicle more susceptible to oversteer. The only reason to use a WD hitch is if your tow vehicle is too small and the load on the hitch would otherwise overload your rear axle. That's not the case here.

You also do not need a sway control device. The truck is big enough that the trailer won't sway at any highway speed.

With the condition that the trailer needs to have enough tongue weight and be otherwise stable, I agree; I'm just going to try it and see how it goes, but I'm really doubting I'll notice anything untowards. ......as I said, I routinely haul a Wells Cargo 24' car trailer (28' long, 7,500 lbs loaded) without a WD hitch without a problem.

Again, I have in the past and will continue to herald the virtues of the WD hitch depending on the tow vehicle and trailer/load....just not sure it makes sense with my current setup.

Dave

[move on]

Yes, tongue weight is important, especially on a cargo trailer where it's easy to misload. I find that with travel trailers, if they're designed properly, it's difficult to get the tongue weight less that 10%. It's a good idea to check it though.

BTW, most modern trucks come standard with electronic sway control, so in the unlikely event that any excessive sway takes place, you're covered.

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by move on

Yes, tongue weight is important, especially on a cargo trailer where it's easy to misload. I find that with travel trailers, if they're designed properly, it's difficult to get the tongue weight less that 10%. It's a good idea to check it though.

BTW, most modern trucks come standard with electronic sway control, so in the unlikely event that any excessive sway takes place, you're covered.

yes, we're very careful with the car trailer whether we are hauling vehicles or our scissor lift. My truck is a 2003, so no electronic aids at all except front ABS.

Dave

[Dave Pelletier]

this is one article that started me down the " no WD hitch this time" road;
https://rvbooks.com.au/towing-without-a-wdh/

...then again, maybe they think this way because Australia is upside down! LOL

Dave

[move on]

Here is another link.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?...view=1up&seq=1

This study was done by Richard H Klein for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 1977. It is the definitive study on weight distribution hitches. He calls them a necessary evil as they can destabilize the tow vehicle. They were necessary back them because nobody had access to a decent sized tow vehicle.

[Jshopes81]

We pulled our 09 jayco 324 bhds with a newer ram 3500 and my dually. Used wd on the dually because the hitch didnt have the rating without it but the dodge has the big class 5 hitch and does have the rating to do it. I used a reese triball with the ram and never experienced the least bit of an issue with sway or sag. I would run it and see how it does before getting into a wd hitch with your reciever having enough rating for the tongue weight.

[vanman250]

Use the Equal-i-zer brand hitch and be safe. If you use it you will notice the difference and you won’t have the ohh crap moment. No guessing here. Speaking from experience and the experience of others I know.

[Suru11]

We used to have a 1 ton Ford diesel dually and when towing our little 5,000 pound loaded trailer we didn't know it was back there. Even in high winds and up and down hills. Never thought to get a WDH. But, the poor Ford started to break down a lot and diesels are expensive to fix, so we replaced it with a Ram 1500 4x4 that can tow up to 10,000 pounds. Unfortunately, we had to get a WDH with the anti-sway bar because in high winds or when a big semi would pass us, the trailer swayed all over the place. We tried adjusting the hitch down, but it didn't make much difference. We never had a problem towing with the dually.

I think the big problem with our trailer though, is that most of the heavy stuff such as the kitchen, bath, holding tanks, and fridge is behind the axels. There is too much weight in the rear of the trailer. Next trailer we get, I'm going to look for something that has most of the weight toward the front.

[Firehoser75]

Some RVer's don't understand that there is much more to "overloading" than just the various ratings of the truck or fifth wheel, or TT.
You can potentially be overloaded in one or more of the following areas:
Total hitched weight of both units
Individual weight of either unit as loaded and used
Individual axle weight
Even individual tire or wheel weight
For safety reasons, all must be within their specified limits. Many people do not follow or may not even know these limits and "get away with it". Some don't !
Many RVer's regularly exceed (some by fairly large amounts) the speed rating of the trailer tires. Many "get away with this" as well. Some do not and experience a blow out or worse. They have a speed rating for a reason.

Dave, it sounds like you have a good understanding of your loads, and that you plan to verify this by weighing your unit. Good idea. As far as sway control, why avoid it. For a small cost in dollars and "extra" work hitching and unhitching, why not opt for the "peace of mind" that having additional sway control might bring?

JMHO.

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by Dave Pelletier

ok, new question; should I use an equalizing hitch or not?

I suspect the overwhelming response will be, "of course you should" ....but here's why Im thinking maybe not; my new trailer weighs in at a dry weight of just under 5500lbs and has a GVWR of 7500lbs.....my truck is a one ton, dually, diesel, quad cab, long box with a custom heavy overload spring pack, rancho 9000 adjustable shocks and a "class V" superhitch rated at 1500 lbs deadweight.... the truck also weighs in at 8,338 lbs empty.

Yes, i know the truck is overkill for the trailer, but its what I have. I've always used wd hitches before but there are negatives ( less weight in the rear can lessen traction in slippery conditions; you sometimes need to remove the bars if you are going up or down a big dip offroad; and just the added steps to hitch and unhitch). Compared to the 4000+ lbs of my Bigfoot camper, the 600 or 700 lb tongue weight of the new trailer may not even engage the overload springs!


So, thoughts? ��

If it unloads the front axle then you will need the WD hitch. Yes in certain situations you may find it requires less tension on the torsion bars to maintain balance which many times is due to having stiffer bars than required for the combination. A lot depends on the distance between the center line of the axle and the hitch ball. Archimedes still rules as far as leverage is concerned. You would likely need lighter torsion bars if you find the front end gets too light then for the Bigfoot camper.

On my old truck an 1970 Power Wagon W200 E20 Special which had 12 leafs in the springs and a W600 drive train sectioned at the factory to fit the track of a W200 plus an 8 Ton PTO Winch with 200 feet of 5/8 inch Steel Cable on Extended Frame Rails sticking out of the front of the truck along with a Custom AutoCar Style Structural Steel Step Bumper on either side of the winch and a Fisher Severe Duty Snow Plow Frame mounted underneath so that it was very front heavy, did not require an equalizing hitch for a 700 lb tongue weight.

That truck with a manual locking transfer case also had posi-traction in the back and limited slip in the front combined with manual steering so it was a workout to drive. It came with 16 ply 16.5 inch low profile tires similar to what you'd see on a low boy tow truck. Friends called it "The Beast" and the 440 cu inch engine allowed it to live up to that name. The manual 4,000+ lb 12 inch clutch (no hydraulics) helped build up your left leg too but thankfully it had the 12 inch Power Assisted Brakes to help with the stopping. Empty you needed a kidney belt if you were going to spend a long day behind the wheel on rough roads.

[367pete]

Originally Posted by JSPulliam21

I wouldn't waste the money. Sway control is the only question, but you will have to gauge the picker factor for yourself. My 33 footer needs the sway control the andersen hitch provides in windy situations even with a dually. Airbags handle the rear sag just fine.

If you run a decent tire a lot of the sway will go away. Pulled 32 foot Hornet with only WD hitch behind 2wd srw Ford super duty 250 with a 7.3 no sway bars and never had an issue, even going across Wyo. in the wind. I had Samson tires on there and on my Monty 3400 RL had 14 ply Samson 265/80 / 16s. No pucker, just straight ahead Fred