Weight Distribution & Sway control Systems

[1010]

I am looking for advice on a good weight distribution & sway control system. We are selling our current TT that has a cam system which I have found to work very well. Our new TT is 35' long, two vehicle is a 3/4 ton extra cab F250 diesel. Does any one have the Husky Center Line system? I have been told it is great, but a drawback (could be huge) is that the tow vehicle and trailer have to be lined up exactly straight. Any one know how straight is "straight?". I would appreciate any feed back on the WD&SC hitches being used.

Thanks, 1010

[Englishman]

We have a 32' bullet and use a standard wd with sway bar and it pulls fine behind our 2500. No sway even when trucks past or when the wind picks up.

[scbwr]

With our new trailer, I purchased an Equalizer 4 pt. hitch w/sway control. I've only towed for about 3 hours so far, but it has worked great and is pretty easy to hitch/unhitch. However, I'm only towing 27' overall and around 6K.

For 10 years, I towed a 30' Sunline, around 8K loaded and used a Hensley hitch. It was superb....never one hint of a sway. The Hensley also requires that you be pretty much in a straight line to hitch. Using a "tongue twister" under the trailer's jack pin makes it possible to move the trailer tongue to the left or right a couple of inches. If I were towing a large trailer such as yours, I would still be using the Hensley.

Over the years, the Equalizer and Reese dual cam hitches have been very popular systems and have performed well as long as they are set up properly.

Hensley and Pull Rite systems are much more expensive. Just about all owners of these systems sing their praises, including me, but many tend to think that they are "overkill".
So, I'd suggest Hensley, Pull Rite, Equalizer or Reese dual cam...but that's not to say other options wouldn't work.

[TXiceman]

If you have been happy with the Reese Dual Cam, why change. We used the Dual Cam on the last trailers, a 28' and a 35' Silver Avion. It takes a bit more to set it up, but well worth the effort.

Ken

[chaps2018]

35' TT, 1 ton dually, husky round bar WDH, husky friction sway control, 20K miles no problems, drives so smoothly the wife comfortably drives the rig (when not in town) ;-)

[Nomad04]

I use Equalizer 4 point system towing a 30 foot travel trailer. It works very well and is easy to hitch and unhitch.

[myredracer]

I might be easier to ask what the best flavor of ice cream is... You will get all sorts of opinions on what's the best sway control. If you want to see how hotly debated and opinionated it can get, try RV.net! I do like the looks and design of the Centerline WDH.

One question I've never seen answered is what the towing experience and feel is like between the pro-active self-centering types (Husky Centerline, Hensley, Reese DC, etc) and the friction type (add-on bars or Equal-i-zer 4 point).

The friction types require the driver to manually return the TV to a straight driving line. If you didn't, the TV would remain at an angle relative to the trailer. OTH, the self-centering types exert a force to push the TV and trailer together in a straight line. There has to be a difference in how the two types feel and work. Just curious if anyone here has direct experience with both?

Our Reese trunnion DC works great with our 29' TT and 3/4 ton truck. Yes, it can be more work to set up as I found out, but now love it. Doesn't matter how many semis pass us or how windy it gets, it runs straight as an arrow at 60 mph on the freeway. Our old TT was 20' and was towed by a 1/2 ton and we had no sway control. It was a continuous white knuckle drive (WDH was set up right) and after 3 or 4 hours of driving, I was totally exhausted. Don't have to be in a straight line with the DC to hook up or unhook but it does help a bit. I can think of times where we have had to hook up and unhook and had to be at an angle. I sure would not tow without and type of sway control now. It's really sad that the way most people find out about these is by reading RV forums.

You'll even find some people saying that you don't need sway control at all and if you get into a sway situation, you just reach down to your b/c and hit the" SOL" button. I think that's ridiculous. For the kind of money invested in a TT and the potential safety risk I can't imagine not spending a few more $$ on a decent WDH and sway control. Even if you don't get into a dangerous sway situation, without sway control, the TV and TT may not be stable and smooth enough for an enjoyable driving experience (BTDT myself).

We've done 40+ nights of camping this year and many at our regular cg with about 250 sites. I glance at everyone's hitches while out walking around. Have only seen 2 Reese dual cam WDHs and a handful of Equal-i-zer 4 point hitches. Have not seen a single Hensley, Propide or Centerline or other fancy WDH. I would guess that around 90% of the WDH hitches I've seen this year have no sway control at all. I find that to be quite surprising. I also see a lot of incorrectly set up WDHs and/or overloaded TVs but that's another story...

[1010]

I have been looking at the ProPride 3p and like what I see (except the price), though I have not read any reviews that go into any detail about hooking up and unhooking. I don't think there is that much difference (price wise) that would sell me regarding to towing but I am interested if the ProPride makes it easier to hook up on uneven ground and at an angle (which may be an issue with a 34' TT at times). I also like the idea of not having to deal with putting on & removing bars, now is all this worth the cost? Not sure, but I am going to call ProPride and see what they have to say. The Husky Centerline looks like it would work well, but that 5 degrees on either side to hook and unhook could be an issue.

Thanks to all that have replied.

[Dan berkey]

I tow a 40 foot 11000 lb bunk house...I have the husky centerline hitch, I LOVE it!!!!!!! I had the place I bought it set it up and the difference between the husky and the old reese hitch with a friction sway control is like night and day......go with the centerline hitch

[MarkHay]

I am not a seller of Anderson Weight Distribution Hitches but I am an RV owner with a trailer that needs sway control. As I read all of these comments about WDH I thought, "none of these people know about the Anderson Weight Distribution Hitch." I have just recently learned about the Anderson WDH. It is different than all the other WDH out there. It does not use trunion bars either for weight distribution or sway control. It is easier to connect up/disconnect your trailer, doesn't use a sway control bar to control sway, no need to remove a bar to back up your trailer. The sway control is built in to the ball with a break pad in a unique but simple manner. You can find Blogs with comments about the hitch from owners who have used it and say it is much easier to use than the trunion type weight distributing hitches. I have not purchased one of these hitches yet because I just learned about them, but I plan to. From what I can see on-line they are worth looking in to. Videos are out there also explaining how they work and how to install them. Just google the Anderson Weight Distribution Hitch.

[1010]

Originally Posted by Dan berkey

I tow a 40 foot 11000 lb bunk house...I have the husky centerline hitch, I LOVE it!!!!!!! I had the place I bought it set it up and the difference between the husky and the old reese hitch with a friction sway control is like night and day......go with the centerline hitch

Thanks for the input, I think I will be going with the Husky, if they ever get my trailer built and delivered. When we bought the trailer we were told it would arrived at the end of August, 1st week of Sept the latest. Delivery date is now Nov. 8th..

[1010]

Originally Posted by MarkHay

I am not a seller of Anderson Weight Distribution Hitches but I am an RV owner with a trailer that needs sway control. As I read all of these comments about WDH I thought, "none of these people know about the Anderson Weight Distribution Hitch." I have just recently learned about the Anderson WDH. It is different than all the other WDH out there. It does not use trunion bars either for weight distribution or sway control. It is easier to connect up/disconnect your trailer, doesn't use a sway control bar to control sway, no need to remove a bar to back up your trailer. The sway control is built in to the ball with a break pad in a unique but simple manner. You can find Blogs with comments about the hitch from owners who have used it and say it is much easier to use than the trunion type weight distributing hitches. I have not purchased one of these hitches yet because I just learned about them, but I plan to. From what I can see on-line they are worth looking in to. Videos are out there also explaining how they work and how to install them. Just google the Anderson Weight Distribution Hitch.

I have never heard of Anderson WDH, I looked it up and have watched a few videos, it definitely has peaked my interest. There is a dealer in town, I have done business with them many many times over the years and they are the best when it comes to welding, fabrications and anything related to towing. I am going to talk to them and see what they have to say about the Anderson WDH system. Anderson WDH is unknown to me and it might be exactly what I am looking for. Thanks

[1010]

Originally Posted by myredracer

I might be easier to ask what the best flavor of ice cream is... You will get all sorts of opinions on what's the best sway control. If you want to see how hotly debated and opinionated it can get, try RV.net! I do like the looks and design of the Centerline WDH.

One question I've never seen answered is what the towing experience and feel is like between the pro-active self-centering types (Husky Centerline, Hensley, Reese DC, etc) and the friction type (add-on bars or Equal-i-zer 4 point).

The friction types require the driver to manually return the TV to a straight driving line. If you didn't, the TV would remain at an angle relative to the trailer. OTH, the self-centering types exert a force to push the TV and trailer together in a straight line. There has to be a difference in how the two types feel and work. Just curious if anyone here has direct experience with both?

Our Reese trunnion DC works great with our 29' TT and 3/4 ton truck. Yes, it can be more work to set up as I found out, but now love it. Doesn't matter how many semis pass us or how windy it gets, it runs straight as an arrow at 60 mph on the freeway. Our old TT was 20' and was towed by a 1/2 ton and we had no sway control. It was a continuous white knuckle drive (WDH was set up right) and after 3 or 4 hours of driving, I was totally exhausted. Don't have to be in a straight line with the DC to hook up or unhook but it does help a bit. I can think of times where we have had to hook up and unhook and had to be at an angle. I sure would not tow without and type of sway control now. It's really sad that the way most people find out about these is by reading RV forums.

You'll even find some people saying that you don't need sway control at all and if you get into a sway situation, you just reach down to your b/c and hit the" SOL" button. I think that's ridiculous. For the kind of money invested in a TT and the potential safety risk I can't imagine not spending a few more $$ on a decent WDH and sway control. Even if you don't get into a dangerous sway situation, without sway control, the TV and TT may not be stable and smooth enough for an enjoyable driving experience (BTDT myself).

We've done 40+ nights of camping this year and many at our regular cg with about 250 sites. I glance at everyone's hitches while out walking around. Have only seen 2 Reese dual cam WDHs and a handful of Equal-i-zer 4 point hitches. Have not seen a single Hensley, Propide or Centerline or other fancy WDH. I would guess that around 90% of the WDH hitches I've seen this year have no sway control at all. I find that to be quite surprising. I also see a lot of incorrectly set up WDHs and/or overloaded TVs but that's another story...

I have to agree with you, everyone has their favorite "flavor" but unless you ask you may always stick to vanilla. I have used the Reese Dual Cam System with a 3/4 ton pu and a 28' TT and I would recommend it. Our new trailer delivery date is two months past what was promised (another topic) so the dealer is willing to provide the hitch & install of my choice, well they were balking at the idea of a Propride. We spent two months at an Oregon State park and I was looking for a "fancy" WDH that would be better then the dual cam system I was using.

[txdad]

If your current system works, why change it?