Weight Distribution Hitch

[Tulecreeper]

Just for discussion - and to get some of y'all spun up - what are preferences in WDH's? I personally like the Andersen models. Fewer pieces and parts, easier installation, etc.

 

[SniperDroid]

Equalizer... easy on, easy off. WDH with Anti-Sway.

 

[John Jensen]

^^^^^^ Same as he said.

 

[Jerrybob]

Depends what you're towing.......I pull a Casita trailer......my Ram is set up for 11,600 tow capacity......don't need WDH when towing.........my two cents.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Depends what you're towing.......I pull a Casita trailer......my Ram is set up for 11,600 tow capacity......don't need WDH when towing.........my two cents.

The question is obviously for those who use a WDH. I don't use one either when I'm only pulling my utility trailer with maybe a ton of cement and lumber.

 

[crash68]

Depends what you're towing.......I pull a Casita trailer......my Ram is set up for 11,600 tow capacity......don't need WDH when towing.........my two cents.

Doesn't matter what the truck is capable of towing but what the trailer weighs determines if you need a WDH. If the trailer is above 5K lbs a WDH should be used.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Doesn't matter what the truck is capable of towing but what the trailer weighs determines if you need a WDH. If the trailer is above 5K lbs a WDH should be used.

There is a rule of thumb that says, "If the loaded trailer weighs more than 50% of the loaded weight of the tow vehicle, a WDH should be used." In other words, my truck weighs ~6000# as it sits right now. By that rule, if I tow a trailer weighing more than 3000# I should be using a WDH. I more than likely don't need one, but the safe thing to do is use one.

 

[Jane S]

Equalizer... easy on, easy off. WDH with Anti-Sway.

This is the correct answer.

 

[crash68]

I more than likely don't need one, but the safe thing to do is use one.

More people need to follow this kind of thinking, sadly there are those that think because they have an HD truck they don't need to use a WDH.
It's not about the weight or what the truck is capable of, but the physics that the weight of the trailer uses against the truck.

 

[Tulecreeper]

More people need to follow this kind of thinking, sadly there are those that think because they have an HD truck they don't need to use a WDH.
It's not about the weight or what the truck is capable of, but the physics that the weight of the trailer uses against the truck.

Exactly, Crash. I've been towing one kind of trailer or another all my adult life, more than 40 years, and I maintained a CDL up until I retired 10 years ago so I know all about weights, towing capacity, tongue and pin weight ratios, etc. I can't tell you how many times I've had people comment to me, "I don't understand why I'm having trouble towing this trailer. My towing capacity is 8000 pounds, and the trailer specs say it only weighs 7500 pounds." Then I come to find out they tossed in 1500 pounds of gear, their fresh and black water tanks are always full, and their front tires are barely touching the ground because their max tongue weight is 750 pounds but they have 1000 pounds sitting on the hitch. I have to tell them that the are grossly overweight because they started out with only 500 pounds of wiggle room and then tossed in 1500 pounds more than allowed.

WDH's are for the most part a pain to set up and take down, just to set them up again, but the results of not doing so makes it worth taking the time to do it right.

 

[Wire4money]

I’m using the Recurve R3. The bars are actually above the hitch for ground clearance.

 

[jawzs2]

Blue Ox Sway Pro, really don't notice much of a difference from my old Reese w\sway control, both work fine.

 

[HuskerRam]

I’m using the Recurve R3. The bars are actually above the hitch for ground clearance.

That's what I use to...nothing fancy, but it gets the job done.

 

[Jerrybob]

Doesn't matter what the truck is capable of towing but what the trailer weighs determines if you need a WDH. If the trailer is above 5K lbs a WDH should be used.

I agree.......our trailer is less than 3500lbs loaded and I don't need a WDH......on the other hand......when I pull my car trailer with a tractor or other vehicle loaded....I use my WDH.

 

[ramffml]

Anderson no sway for me. It has some pretty significant advantages over the other systems.

 

[GrumpyOleMan]

I use the Equalizer to tow my 7k travel trailer. A bit noisy compared to others but it works great.

 

[chopperdog45]

I love my Andersen.

 

[zrock]

i agree with alot of the comments above about hitches being needed when you reach a certain weight... But people really need to learn how to set these up properly.. I ran a campground for 8 years and i would say 80% of the people came in with a under/oversized hitch and far from set up properly.. It was actually a little scary to see how people were set up sometimes and a few customers i actually called DOT on them as they were not safe for the road.. May have lost a few customers but i could sleep at night knowing they did not kill someone.

 

[MMiller]

We live in our RV fulltime and tow it to a new location every week. We've been running the Anderson WD Hitch and love it. After you've set it up the first time, it's easy to hook up and disconnect. No clunky bars to mess with, it's more lightweight overall, don't need to disconnect anything for manuevering into tight places... Somebody had given us an old Reese WD Hitch, but we used it once before switching to the Anderson. Our truck is capable of towing our trailer without the WD hitch, but you can tell the difference when towing and I much prefer the ride with the WD hitch.

 

[stdyrln]

Equalizer here also- other than the squeak and creeks when you do tight turns or add some slope changes i have never had my trailer do anything other than bounce from the crappy manufacture spring setups- never a wiggle or any indication it wants to push my truck around. Had turn and burns through windy areas and the truck would get pushed around more without the trailer than with it in my experience. Expensive, but so are my kids- buy a good system and upgrade the trailer tires and camping with your cheaply made shed on a cheaper trailer frame can be easier.