To equalize (hitch) or not

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by lola and i

It sure seems that you have a good understanding of your situation, congrats. My 1cent suggestion would be to thoroughly investigate the Anderson weight distribution system, it really doesn't do as much for weight distribution as the name implies and that is good for you. The best thing about the Anderson hitch is the rock steady sway and bounce control, the easy hitch/unhitch and it's silent operation is also a plus. You can also easily customize the amount of weight distribution as needed as your trip load weight changes.

Here's a link to get you started.

https://youtu.be/HRoQ_yQZQwQ

I'll check it out, thanks.


Dave

[Airstreamer6]

Dave, all the reasons for not using a WDH on your rig, as stated so far, certainly applies to your rig. May I add one more that may not have been mentioned: those four tires under the rear end.

As many have found out, one of the worse vehicles on slick roads is a dually. That is because with four tires distributing the weight, each tire has less weight to support and thus what it gains in the can-support-more-weight department loses in the friction-per-tire department. This is easily demonstrated on slick roads, where each tire has less friction and more float and the results are often slip-and-slide city.

So, removing weight from those relatively low-friction tires seems to be ill-advisable to me.

With your rig, I'd tow without a WDH, but I would watch out for the effects of wind and passing vehicles and would consider investing a hundred bucks or so in a couple of classic friction sway control bars.

In my case, I don't use a WDH on my F250 diesel because of the weight of that cast-iron engine right over the front axle, along with a couple hundred pounds of gear I have in a cargo box attached to and hanging past the front end that applies additional weight leverage on the front axle.

So, the 850 pounds of rear hitch weight from my 27-foot trailer is easily handled by my heavy front end.

However, I did find the need for a couple of simple friction sway-control bars; not for sway per se, but to eliminate a little jiggle I can sometimes feel when those big square-front trucks pass me on the Interstates. In fact, the way I know that I forgot to install or to properly tighten the friction bars is when that little jiggling sensation occurs. It's not much, but it's enough to get my attention. A proper tightening of the friction bars eliminates that completely for me.

You may not need the sway control. Only experience will show that.

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by Airstreamer6

Dave, all the reasons for not using a WDH on your rig, as stated so far, certainly applies to your rig. May I add one more that may not have been mentioned: those four tires under the rear end.

As many have found out, one of the worse vehicles on slick roads is a dually. That is because with four tires distributing the weight, each tire has less weight to support and thus what it gains in the can-support-more-weight department loses in the friction-per-tire department. This is easily demonstrated on slick roads, where each tire has less friction and more float and the results are often slip-and-slide city.

So, removing weight from those relatively low-friction tires seems to be ill-advisable to me.

With your rig, I'd tow without a WDH, but I would watch out for the effects of wind and passing vehicles and would consider investing a hundred bucks or so in a couple of classic friction sway control bars.

In my case, I don't use a WDH on my F250 diesel because of the weight of that cast-iron engine right over the front axle, along with a couple hundred pounds of gear I have in a cargo box attached to and hanging past the front end that applies additional weight leverage on the front axle.

So, the 850 pounds of rear hitch weight from my 27-foot trailer is easily handled by my heavy front end.

However, I did find the need for a couple of simple friction sway-control bars; not for sway per se, but to eliminate a little jiggle I can sometimes feel when those big square-front trucks pass me on the Interstates. In fact, the way I know that I forgot to install or to properly tighten the friction bars is when that little jiggling sensation occurs. It's not much, but it's enough to get my attention. A proper tightening of the friction bars eliminates that completely for me.

You may not need the sway control. Only experience will show that.

Thanks,

That's definitely one of the factors playing on my mind. The more and more I think about, read and listen to people's thoughts, the more convinced I get that actually removing weight from the rear axle is a bad idea in my particular circumstance.......and whilst my setup should be naturally resistant to sway for many reasons (my truck is 50% heavier than the trailer, suspension, shocks and tires are very stiff both up and down as well as side to side, trailer is said to be an excellent tow due to tank placement, adequate tongue weight, high quality load range E tires and shocks on all four wheels, etc. etc.), I still worry about sway in extreme circumstances......though I believe that a properly setup trailer will correct itself with the sway reducing in amplitude until it subsides....

At this point, I could just run without anything and probably be "fine".....problem is I'm not a "fine" kinda guy! LOL

I've narrowed down my options to:

- a friction style sway control
- an electronic sway control like the Hayes Sway Master
- an Andersen Hitch which is WD but offers good friction sway control and I'm thinking I could leave the chains set up on the light side.

If I upgrade (downgrade) to a lighter truck in the future since I really no longer need the dually, the electronic sway control would be built in so the aftermarket unit would be useless.....conversly if I get a smaller truck, a WD system may be necessary so already owning the Andersen setup would be beneficial...

And just to add to the confusion, my buddy has a slightly used ProPride (Hensley) setup which, due to the design, is the only hitch that completely eliminates sway from even starting...

decisions, decisions,

Dave

[Rob_M]

I apologize for not reading the complete thread, but has it been mentioned that a load distribution hitch puts more weight on the trailer tires? Not a good thing unless you are compensating for towing with too light-duty of a truck.

In the OP’s situation he absolutely does not need or want a load distribution hitch. He can add friction sway control if necessary or just for peace of mind, but if the tongue weight is where it should be he won’t need that either.
I said it before and I will say it again with a bumper pull trailer of similar weight behind my truck I experienced more tendency to sway with the load distributing hitch than without. I had to set the bars so light that one fell off when I pulled through a dip into a parking lot.

[lola and i]

The Hensley from your neighbour is a top quality unit, new it is a bit pricey although depending on the cost your neighbour is asking it could be a good deal for you, keep in mind it is a heavy unit and in my opinion it's more difficult to hitch/unhitch than the Anderson unit. My suggestion would be contact Anderson directly via telephone and talk to them and ask all your questions, I found them to be very helpful and knowledgeable when I talked to them before I purchased my Anderson unit, my situation of tow vehicle vs trailer mismatch is not all that different from your situation. I'm driving a 30' Class A gas motorhome with a 18,000 pound chassis pulling a 27 foot enclosed trailer that weighs 4,400 pounds loaded. You are correct that you can set the chain tension light on the Anderson for your current situation and benefit from the anti-sway and if your tow vehicle or trailer weight changes you can easily adjust the tension, One example would be if your grey and black tanks are almost full versus empty you can easily set the tension to your liking also in one example described above it was mentioned to not take too much weight off your rear dual tires especially if it's raining or slick roads which is a very good point, with the Anderson you could easily back off the tension on the chains and gain traction on the tires as needed. I am not real familiar with the Hensley adjustability but I don't think you could easily do that with the Hensely. Overall I am very very satisfied with my Anderson unit and the peace of mind of the the lifetime warranty doesn't hurt.

Best of luck with whatever is your choice.

[Dave Pelletier]

Thanks,

The unit from my buddy is actually a ProPride which (if I understand correctly) is an updated version of the Hensley.....it's also supposed to be easier to use but I haven't tried either of them before.

The ProPride is extremely expensive new and I could get it at a healthy discount but it is a big, heavy complicated hitch that I'm pretty sure I don't really need.......but if it's a bargain and actually eliminates sway, I could overlook the other stuff.....the biggest question is can it be used either without the WD bars or with them only lightly engaged; I've tried searching for the info but I may have to call the manufacturer to know for sure.

The Anderson sounds like it could be a winner if I can run it with little/no tension on the chains.

Dave

[NevadaNick]

You could almost carry the weight of the trailer in the bed of the truck, the hitch weight is negligible.

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by NevadaNick

You could almost carry the weight of the trailer in the bed of the truck, the hitch weight is negligible.

Agreed; I was more concerned with my back, installing and using it at 200lbs.....the truck doesn't care. ......Yeah, I never thought about it like that but it's true; I'd be slightly over the GVWR but about 500 lbs under the GAWR and well under the tire ratings with the trailer in the truck box.

Dave

[lola and i]

Originally Posted by Dave Pelletier

Thanks,

The unit from my buddy is actually a ProPride which (if I understand correctly) is an updated version of the Hensley.....it's also supposed to be easier to use but I haven't tried either of them before.

The ProPride is extremely expensive new and I could get it at a healthy discount but it is a big, heavy complicated hitch that I'm pretty sure I don't really need.......but if it's a bargain and actually eliminates sway, I could overlook the other stuff.....the biggest question is can it be used either without the WD bars or with them only lightly engaged; I've tried searching for the info but I may have to call the manufacturer to know for sure.

The Anderson sounds like it could be a winner if I can run it with little/no tension on the chains.

Dave

Yes you can run it with little/no tension on the chains, I do. My recommendation from experience is if your going run the chains with almost no tension that you replace the factory adjustment nut with a nylon lock type nut or double nut it so the nut can't back all the way off.

Directly from the Anderson website.

Weighing in under 60 lbs, this good-looking but tough work horse is rated up to 14,000 lbs GTWR (1400 lbs tongue). That means it can handle all of your heavy-duty trailer needs. This system also does double duty, because you can use it as a standard ball mount if you need to tow without weight distribution.

Source.

https://andersenhitches.com/Catalog/...ion-hitch.aspx

[Dave Pelletier]

Just an update; we took the trailer on a road trip this weekend and I just hooked it to the ball mount (no WD setup). We traveled about 5hrs on everything from 25mph forestry roads to 70 - 75mph on the highway and I'm pleased to report the trailer was rock steady; zero sway issues and it towed as well as any setup I've towed in the past (with or without WD setups). My only issue is that the TT tongue weight put the supension right at the point of engagement for my HD overloads and that made the gravel road ride very rough; I currently plan on removing the overloads and, if necessary, switching to airbags to see if that helps the ride. I also aired the tires down to a more reasonable level which did help a bunch on the return trip.

Cheers,
Dave

[Redfour5]

Try it without as your TV is to say the least robust. I'm thinking you will get your answer quickly.

[Brad Wilf]

Originally Posted by Dave Pelletier

Just an update; we took the trailer on a road trip this weekend and I just hooked it to the ball mount (no WD setup). We traveled about 5hrs on everything from 25mph forestry roads to 70 - 75mph on the highway and I'm pleased to report the trailer was rock steady; zero sway issues and it towed as well as any setup I've towed in the past (with or without WD setups). My only issue is that the TT tongue weight put the supension right at the point of engagement for my HD overloads and that made the gravel road ride very rough; I currently plan on removing the overloads and, if necessary, switching to airbags to see if that helps the ride. I also aired the tires down to a more reasonable level which did help a bunch on the return trip.

Cheers,
Dave

Dave, before pulling over loads out. I ran into the same issue with just engaging overloads a few years back, granted it was when hauling my Lance TC, so a bit of bed weight. I installed some 2x2 square 1/4 in wall sq blocks between the overload pads and the mounts, took most of the sway out, biggest things was it took up that gap from the over loads to the pads. No more “hitting” pads, just lightly rested on them, rode much nicer when loaded, when empty, no issues as I had at least 1/4 in gap...

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by Brad Wilf

Dave, before pulling over loads out. I ran into the same issue with just engaging overloads a few years back, granted it was when hauling my Lance TC, so a bit of bed weight. I installed some 2x2 square 1/4 in wall sq blocks between the overload pads and the mounts, took most of the sway out, biggest things was it took up that gap from the over loads to the pads. No more “hitting” pads, just lightly rested on them, rode much nicer when loaded, when empty, no issues as I had at least 1/4 in gap...

Thanks Brad. I took another look and the overloads are resting on the stops with the trailer hooked up. I think the problem is that i replaced the factory overloads with much heavier ones to deal with my 6,000 lb previous payload.....now it's just way too stiff.

Dave