Hitches question

[stephs2125]

First, you called it Triguy
Hitch question...

OK so I know from all the posts I've read and reading my owners manual that I should need a WDH and sway control. (I'm promise not to re-open another which brand is best battle)

My owners manual says that "trailer sway control and equalizing hitch are required for class IV trailer hitches and tongue weights above 350 lbs." I have/will have both.

So more math (man, I haven't done this many calculations in years )
If the tongue weight is supposed to be 10-15% of my GTW and my max GTW should never exceed the GVWR which is (according to brochure) 5764 then my max tongue weight should at most be 576 - 864 lbs. Yes?

So I would need a 1,000/10,000 WDH to safely control the beast?

Which leads me to (drumroll please)....is this something I should buy in advance, install myself (OK, have DH do it) prior to picking up the rig or is it best left to the dealer?

DH is a pretty darn handy guy so I've no doubt to his ability to do so assuming this doesn't take a machanics shop to get done? Also, I expect there will be adjustments needing to be made at the dealer once the trailer is hooked up...are they ok with us doing this or do they get grouchy if you don't use their service?

Thoughts on this?

[windrider]

You can buy the hitch if you get a better price somewhere other than the dealer. You can put most of it together, but it WILL HAVE TO BE MATCHED to the trailer and tow vehicle. Might be better to let the dealer handle it.

[mtnguy]

The dealer will probably just install the WDH without doing the careful measurements needed for optimal weight distributing and sway control. I bought my Reese from the dealer, and had them install it. They stood back and looked at it, felt the resistance on the spring bars, and said it looked and felt right. With their setup, there was only 60 lb. out of 300 lbs. lost put back on the front axle of my truck.....and I actually thought it drove pretty good coming home.

Since the initial setup by the dealer, I have adjusted the ball height and tilted the ball mount back a bunch of notches until I now have 40 lbs. more on my front axle when towing than without the trailer. It handles much better than the initial dealer setup.

Knowing what I do now, I think maybe I would have bought the hitch and installed it myself and saved a couple of hundred dollars, as well as getting it right to start with. But beware that the Reese Straight Line Dual Cam will be a little more difficult to install than a hitch like the Equalizer (brand). The Reese requires 4 holes drilled in the trailer frame.

And even if you install the hitch yourself before you pick up the trailer, you will need to take your time at the dealership to install the trailer portion of the WDH, as well as properly setting up the hitch.....ball height and ball mount tilt. That is usually why most people get the dealer to just go on and do it.

Looks like 1000 lb. bars will be the setup that you need. If you decide to go with the Reese, I would recommend the round bars instead of the square trunnion bars if the trailer has the coupler on top of the tongue frame.......there can be rub problems between the square trunnion bars and the cam yoke under "perfect storm" conditions.....and of course I would have those conditions.

[Triguy]

Another good question!

You will want the 1000/10,000lb bars. IIRC my 233S has a TW of 650-700lbs depending how I load. This is weighed with a Sherline so fairly accurate.

You could order it and install yourself or negotiate a price on your weight distribution hitch with the dealer. Don't overpay the dealer, though.

I believe you should install it yourself (even if the dealer gives you a good deal).

The best way to learn your hitch is to do the install.

Why is this important? One reason is you will need to adjust in the future and its better that you already know how the thing works through hands-on experience. Also, if you are out and have a hitch problem, you will know how to diagnose and already be comfortable.

What kind of problem can you have? (I'll pick on Equal-i-zer here) As an example, I once had a sway bracket loosen up and I discovered it after we got to the campground. It needs to be tightened only so far and over-tightening (easy to do) causes it to bow.

Also, I find that dealers only pay a little attention to the instructions and have heard often that they install incorrectly. Bottom line: its up to you to know it anyway so might as well install. At least that is how I think of it.

edit - I agree with Mtnguy that you do need to do this at the dealer (if you do it yourself), which is something you may or may not wish to do.

Edit number 2 - you will also need a big wrench and a special thin-walled socket with the Equal-i-zer so even if it doesn't require drilling like the Reese, it still can be a problem for some. The torque used on the ball is something like 350lbs. I went to my neighborhood garage and they did it as a favor to me. On second thought, maybe have the dealer install and then re-do everything in order to learn.

[stephs2125]

In your opinions, will the dealer typically install a brand that I buy - or is it necessary to buy what they stock?

[mtnguy]

They probably won't install what you buy.....they want that extra profit.

I asked my dealer for the Reese Dual Cam, not knowing that they usually used the Equalizer brand. The techs had never installed that particular Reese, so it took a lot of installation manual reading and head scratching to get it installed.....and they still didn't get it exactly right. Besides not distributing the proper weight, the trunnion bars were not properly "nested" in the cams, and the yoke plates could have been positioned better in my opinion.

[smithmdsmith]

My dealer sold and installed my hitch. The RV tech said he had been doing this for 30 years. He certainly knew where all of the parts went, but his setup didn't transfer nearly enough weight. I read the directions, asked some questions on here, and still used trial and error to get it right.

In defense of the tech, he has provided great service on everything else.

[tentcamper1]

my dealer installed mine (Reese from previous trailer I traded in) I had to redo it.
I would see if the dealer would install it as part of the deal (mine did) knowing you will have to adjust it.

[Terier]

Originally Posted by stephs2125

First, you called it Triguy
Hitch question...

OK so I know from all the posts I've read and reading my owners manual that I should need a WDH and sway control. (I'm promise not to re-open another which brand is best battle)

My owners manual says that "trailer sway control and equalizing hitch are required for class IV trailer hitches and tongue weights above 350 lbs." I have/will have both.

So more math (man, I haven't done this many calculations in years )
If the tongue weight is supposed to be 10-15% of my GTW and my max GTW should never exceed the GVWR which is (according to brochure) 5764 then my max tongue weight should at most be 576 - 864 lbs. Yes?

So I would need a 1,000/10,000 WDH to safely control the beast?

Which leads me to (drumroll please)....is this something I should buy in advance, install myself (OK, have DH do it) prior to picking up the rig or is it best left to the dealer?

DH is a pretty darn handy guy so I've no doubt to his ability to do so assuming this doesn't take a machanics shop to get done? Also, I expect there will be adjustments needing to be made at the dealer once the trailer is hooked up...are they ok with us doing this or do they get grouchy if you don't use their service?

Thoughts on this?

I think I was a part of a recent discussion on that matter. I don't have a problem with the favorite two choices often mentioned here but there are other brands that provides safety too.

On another note:
I have learned to ask for the paperwork/directions when my dealer installs something. The guy usually discards it but I want it to refer to or in the event I need to ask someone for help.

After hitching up stand back and take a look at how everything looks. At the CG the otherday someone drove in with their unit tilting really high in the front - it just looked odd.

[trudinator]

Originally Posted by Terier

After hitching up stand back and take a look at how everything looks. At the CG the otherday someone drove in with their unit tilting really high in the front - it just looked odd.

I do this all the time....even before we had the TT. My first husband worked at an RV dealership and he did the hitch set up, walk-throughs, service, etc. So I tend to know when a TT or boat is set up incorrectly just by looking at it. I often wonder how/why people drive around like that.