Really need WD and sway control?

[nashvillebill]

Just bought a 2002 Fleetwood Mallard 25' bumper pull, trailer GVWR around 6800. Double axle trailer of course.

I've got a '94.5 F250 with the Powerstroke, 4x4, supercab, long bed. No suspension mods other than an add-a-leaf in the front. I've towed my 21' boat hundreds of miles at a time on interstate as well as back roads, in high winds, without any sway problems, and also towed lots of other stuff (loaded car trailers, etc), never have used weight distributing hitch or sway control.

Money's awfully tight right now, and I've got a hard time trying to mentally justify the need for a weight distributing hitch. My logic: the truck's front end is already awfully darn heavy, and the rear springs are awfully stiff. If the 680 lbs tongue weight of the trailer unloads the front end of the truck by a couple of hundred pounds....so what? I've had my flatbed trailer loaded with a lot more tongue weight than this camper trailer ever will, and the truck didn't seem to even notice. Hmmm...

Sway control sure sounds like a great idea, but I've never had a sway problem before. Furthermore, my turning radius already sucks (even without a trailer, thanks to the 4WD front axle and the 158 inch wheelbase)...with a friction type sway control, I'd have to disconnect it every time I go around a sharp corner. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif[/img] Okay, that leaves dual-cam: The Reese strait-line is around $500 on the internet, plus shipping, so this sure is making me wonder.


Help me out guys, what's your opinions?

[djousma]

If you read your owners manual, and have the stock receiver, you will find that the receiver is rated 500# tounge/5000#trailer without weight distribution, and possibly 1200# tounge/12000# trailer weight with weight diestribution.

If it were me, I'd get the reese dual cam, and be done with it.

Dave

[nashvillebill]

I don't have the stock receiver, I've got an aftermarket rated 7500 lbs weight carrying, 10,000 weight distributed.

[Rich807]

but what is it rated to carry for tongue weight? Weight distribution doesn't change how much lbs your pulling down the road, it just moves some of the weight off the tongue and onto the rear axles.

FWIW, my opinion on sway stuff is that most moderns TTs are well designed and go down the road great without any sway control. Weight distribution is important for almost any TT though.

Just my .02.

[nashvillebill]

Hitch is rated 750 lbs tongue weight in weight-carrying, and 1000 lbs tongue weight weight-distributed.

FWIW, my truck weighs around 6500 lbs wet, more or less. It's got 2/3 of that on the front end probably. This is why I'm having a hard time seeing the need for weight distributing...so what if the trailer unloads the front end by a couple hundred pounds, there's already 4000 lbs on the front axle.

[DezRacer]

I would be shocked if your trailer tounge was only 680 lbs, if that is true it probably is not loaded properly. It should be 12-15% of the total trailer weight. So it will be heavier than you think, and you will need a WD hitch. And with 15% weight on the tounge, you won't need sway control. Do it right.

[nashvillebill]

I'm not trying to be overly obstinate, just trying to see what the WD really gets me.

The trailer manufacturer claims a dry tongue wight of 562 lbs. I arbitrarily picked 680 lbs wet, but hey, let's pick 750 lbs tongue weight wet, which would be 11% of the trailer's GVWR. The trailer hitch is roughly 3 ft back of the rear axle of the truck. The truck's wheelbase is roughly 13 feet. So the 750 lbs tongue weight on the trailer hitch would unload the front axle by a whopping 173 lbs (750 times 3, divided by 13). The rear axle sees 173 lbs on top of the additional 750 lb tongue weight, for a total of 923 lbs more on the rear axle (compared to an empty unhitched truck).

If you pulled the front of the truck empty onto a set of scales, I bet the front axle would weigh about 4000 lbs, and the rear axle about 2500 lbs. So now we put the trailer on the non-WD ball. The front axle now weighs 173 lbs less. That's only a 4% unloading of the front axle.

Suppose my guess of 4000 lbs is high, let's say the front axle is 3500 lbs (making the empty truck's weight distribution 3500 front, 3000 back). Now the front axle's unloading has risen to a "tremendous" 5%.

I'm just having trouble seeing the need for WD for my truck. Shorter, lighter trucks, sure. But when the empty truck weighs more than the trailer, and the truck has a very long wheelbase with a diesel engine weighting the front end down, what's the real justification? Again, I'm not trying to be an a$$....but if I'm going to fork over more than $500 for a WD hitch, I need some real convincing.

[Rich807]

You absolutely cannot believe what the manufacturer says the numbers are. I was told last fall that the industry was finally being forced to put the real #s for each and every coach as it rolls off the assembly line.

Not only that, YOU have to factor in how YOUR trailer is loaded. A lot of trailers have the not only the fresh but also the black and grey tanks forward of the front axle. That's potentially a lot of weight added to the tongue depending on how full your tanks are.

The other things that weigh a lot that are normally forward of the rear axles are closets, pantries, refers, stoves/ovens, bathrooms etc. All the stuff you put in those ends up contributing to tongue weight depending on your coach.

Don't be cheap. If you're going to get into this hobby you need to do it right or it'll bite you later on down the road. I understand about having to penny-pinch but you cannot half-ass this particular stuff.

Load your trailer like you'd normally have it configured for a trip, then spend the $5-$10 to have it and your truck scaled out at the nearest truck stop, moving company, gravel pit or plant.

Again, I penny pinch myself but if you're wrapped around the axle about potentially having to spend 5 bills to have the safe right setup for towing your trailer then maybe you need to re-think wether or not it's for you. RVing costs money to do it right.

Good luck to ya.

[nashvillebill]

I follow your logic about the tongue weight being significantly higher than it might appear, so setting up the hitch for the 1000 lb tongue weight WD may be the way to go...sigh....guess I'll have to wait for that new downpipe...

I still have one concern, though. How much vertical angle can a WD hitch accomodate, let's say you have to drive over a rise or through a dip. Assuming the tail end of the trailer doesn't drag, can the WD bars deflect enough to allow the truck/trailer to "bend" up or down in the middle?

[Rich807]

Bill,

I pull a toyhauler over a lot of rough terrain at a lot of off-road rec areas i.e. sand dunes, moutains/forest areas etc. There's no problem with up-and-down articulation and the WD hitch....none.

What you'll need to do is adjust your ball height correctly (which you should do even w/out a WD hitch). There's a process that you measure the bumper height unloaded, then you measure the drop loaded (trailer hooked up) to figure out where your hitch should be so the bars are working right. It's pretty easy to get it set up.

Hang in there, I know how you feel about costs of this hobby. IMO, what makes RVing worth it is when you can go set up the right way so you can RELAX to the max extent possible rather than dealing with hazards and breakages. NOTHING is more frustrating then going RVing and having stuff go wrong.

[OT]

Seems I recall WD recommended for over 5K #. As mentioned, load up, go weigh it, no guess work. When hitching up, how far does rear end drop/front end raise?

Suggestion..take some short (no w/d)loaded runs. How does truck handle etc. Let a big rig pass you, also try windy day and see how sway feels? I use WD, but so far havent needed sway control. Good luck!

[OMCUSNR]

There is no question in my mind that a good weight distributing hitch is necessary. Not so sold on the sway control at this point after towing a few thousand around here. I haven't been passed by many semis towing, but the few that have, haven't caused me any pucker. Check around though. You might be able to find a good used hitch w/out much problem and it'll be less expensive. Check the RV dealers (especially guys that handle consignments), and you can find guys trading a TT for a 5er looking to unload the old hitch.

There is something else that will effect ride, comfort & stability that hasn't been mentioned, and is worth every dime - SHOCKS. Get 'em put on and you'll never be sorry you did. Without them, figure on re-arranging your kitchen utensels every time you stop for the night, especially if you have a rear kitchen. Also, a much bumpier, jerky ride.

[toalpi]

It's all about weights and measures. Measue how much the bumpers actually move up/down. And actually weigh the truck with and without the trailer to get all of the weights that you need to make informed decisions.

[Tina]

Is your wife gonna be driving the truck and pulling the trailer??? Or someone other than you that may not have as much experience pulling trailers??? If yes, then you really need the WD hitch to help them be safe.
I tow my 30'TT, never had any problems with turning corners or with the WD hitch at all. Just have to grease it up sometimes or it can make some really loud noises. The times I really am glad I have it is when semi's pass me (or I pass them)!! The wind whipping between us can be scary. I would not pull this trailer without that hitch. Maybe you would, but I wont. Oh, the WD hitch I use is called Equalizer, it cost more than some and cheaper than others. Been using it for 6 years now.

[scottbob99]

I just completed my first trip with my 30' TT, I used a pintle/ball hitch to get the hitch low enough for the trailer to ride level, and to be sure I had enough toungue weight to avoid sway problems. I had a couple of semis pass and not a hint of sway. Just my $.02. Best of luck. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]