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brialin · 02-24-2019, 08:22 AM

I just went to a Rv show in Worcester MA and talked to dealers how can they move so many rvs from one show to another so quickly. Both said they have a lot of trucks of their own and also hire private truckers. They also said they do not use weight distribution hitches which makes it faster. They also said they have never had any problems towing this way because they use trucks that are heavy enough to pull these rvs. They do not use 1/2 ton trucks because they are too light for the job. Does this make any sense? I have no experience with weight distribution hitches. I have a 5th wheel camper and a equipment trailer with a pintle hook that does not use a weight distribution hitch. I also move construction equipment and gross out at 130,000 lbs. Are the dealers taking a risk or do they have the right equipment to do the job?

BTFT · 02-24-2019, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brialin

I just went to a Rv show in Worcester MA and talked to dealers how can they move so many rvs from one show to another so quickly. Both said they have a lot of trucks of their own and also hire private truckers. They also said they do not use weight distribution hitches which makes it faster. They also said they have never had any problems towing this way because they use trucks that are heavy enough to pull these rvs. They do not use 1/2 ton trucks because they are too light for the job. Does this make any sense? I have no experience with weight distribution hitches. I have a 5th wheel camper and a equipment trailer with a pintle hook that does not use a weight distribution hitch. I also move construction equipment and gross out at 130,000 lbs. Are the dealers taking a risk or do they have the right equipment to do the job?

I have been pulling trailers all of my life. I have been full-timing for 4+ years. I drive a 2016 RAM 2500 TDSL. My trailer is a 34 foot bumper pull.

I also hauled RV's to dealers for a short time.

I have never had the need for a WDH. And pulled my trailer more than 60k+ miles with 3 trips to Alaska (one in March in winter conditions) and one RT to Cabo San Lucas in the Baja as well as ALL over the US.

Now my contention and experience is that if you load the RV correctly (which is not difficult) and DRIVE it correctly you will have no problem.

Now The RV hauling company I worked for demanded that we use WDH's but not for the reason you may assume. They wanted it because the trailers WERE EMPTY and unloaded. They claimed this helped mitigate the effect of high winds.

I felt no difference in towing with one or without one. To test this theory I recently pulled my trailer from Tucson to South Central Texas WITH the WDH. I felt absolutely no difference between that and just my regular hitch.

Mudfrog · 02-24-2019, 08:57 AM

Not a trailer guy here but it makes sense.

Kinda like pulling my boat, I don't need anything like a wdh to do it safely. Its tongue weight behind my little Jeep isn't enough to ever cause any issues. I would think the same would go for pulling a 30 foot travel trailer behind a heavier duty tow vehicle. For instance, a tongue weight of 1000 lbs isn't going to leverage much weight off the front axle of a Super Duty F350 diesel.

**JohnRR** · 02-24-2019, 09:32 AM

They are correct it’s all in the equipment

Not uncommon to gross over 200K on two lane icy snow covered roads when towing Michigan Trains (11 axle semis)

Clomok · 02-24-2019, 12:01 PM

When I was working for the dealers as a driver, we never used a WDH, the brackets scratched the paint, lock pins would create divots in the frame. Now your arguing with customers why this new trailer is “used”. Not using a WDH makes the front end feel very light, but your mindful of this. Did 400k miles hauling around SoCal and AZ without one. On my personal rig, I always used one