WD hitch needed?

[head gamez]

I pull 24-32' enclosed race car trailers without sway control. I also rarely use the WDH. If the heavy duty ball mount is in the truck, that what I use.

My WDH is a leftover item from when I pulled a 24' with my half ton. Didn't use sway control then either.


2016 Sandpiper 376BHOK
2500HD Chevrolet

Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[northstar1960]

Originally Posted by head gamez

I pull 24-32' enclosed race car trailers without sway control. I also rarely use the WDH. If the heavy duty ball mount is in the truck, that what I use.

My WDH is a leftover item from when I pulled a 24' with my half ton. Didn't use sway control then either.


2016 Sandpiper 376BHOK
2500HD Chevrolet

Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

There is a difference between race car trailers and TT . most race car trailers are low slung and the weight is set different . a tt as you know is a big box made light weight tend to be a bit top heavy built by manufactures that not only could careless how it tows they wouldn't have the first clue how to set up a tt correctly so it tows good without wdh . there is not one rv manufacture that i would consider good . maybe airstream

[itat]

Originally Posted by northstar1960

... built by manufactures that not only could careless how it tows they wouldn't have the first clue how to set up a tt correctly so it tows good without wdh...

Northstar, I have to disagree with this part of your post. Rockwood trailers pull very well with the AL-KO torsion suspension. Now, if you are talking about RV dealers rather than the manufacturers, I'd tend to agree with you. Some are good but there are a lot of bad ones out there.

[BandJCarm]

Why would you not have one? For what reason? Cost??

[northstar1960]

Originally Posted by itat

Northstar, I have to disagree with this part of your post. Rockwood trailers pull very well with the AL-KO torsion suspension. Now, if you are talking about RV dealers rather than the manufacturers, I'd tend to agree with you. Some are good but there are a lot of bad ones out there.

even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then. they get lucky same with the manufactures . my unit tows well as well as the majority of others once set up right . but sometimes from the factory not so well , poor tires, suspension to lite for the job , etc

[dan4jeepin]

I got the E2 installed last night but can't say I'm to happy with it. Followed the instructions to a T but when it came time to hook it up there was no way on earth the bars were going on. This was even with the trailer jack maxed out and the TV tires almost off the ground. I dropped the L brackets to the lowest they would go raised the ball by one hole and took a washer out. I was able to pry the bars on using the cheater tool they give you but it took way to much force. I measured and the front as actually pushed down from the level when it has no trailer. So I then took out two more washers. This made it closer to what I would expect as far as force to get the bars on and off. I can't really tell how much weight distribution I'm getting since the truck only moves about 1/8 inch at the wheel wells. Now I notice it says there is a minimum of 5 washers and I have only 3. Not sure if I've completely screwed this up or it's just not a good WD hitch for my setup?

[DreiHunde]

Originally Posted by SeaDog

You are correct and you told the OP what you do. It seems a good share of folks think as soon as you hook up to a travel trailer you have to have sway control and wdh or you are not safe, which is just not true.

Concur!

When I tow to a local campground less than 20 miles away on back country 2 lane roads that have a 45 mph speed limit. Truck and camper handle fine without the bars.
If, and I doubt I ever will, but IF I got into a swaying situation I could easily control it with the brake controller.

[northstar1960]

Originally Posted by dan4jeepin

I got the E2 installed last night but can't say I'm to happy with it. Followed the instructions to a T but when it came time to hook it up there was no way on earth the bars were going on. This was even with the trailer jack maxed out and the TV tires almost off the ground. I dropped the L brackets to the lowest they would go raised the ball by one hole and took a washer out. I was able to pry the bars on using the cheater tool they give you but it took way to much force. I measured and the front as actually pushed down from the level when it has no trailer. So I then took out two more washers. This made it closer to what I would expect as far as force to get the bars on and off. I can't really tell how much weight distribution I'm getting since the truck only moves about 1/8 inch at the wheel wells. Now I notice it says there is a minimum of 5 washers and I have only 3. Not sure if I've completely screwed this up or it's just not a good WD hitch for my setup?

The Andersen would have been perfect for you set up to bad you went the hard way

[thebrakeman]

Originally Posted by dan4jeepin

TT info
GVWR 6,900 lbs
Dry Weight 4,334 lbs
Hitch Weight 530 lbs
Length 25' 7"Dodge RAM 2500 Quad Cab Tow Ratings has tow package with class IV hitch
5.7L HEMI
4x4 Short Bed Curb Wt 6,072 Tow Wt 8,850 GCWR 15,000
Payload 2730

You won't get close to 6900, unless it was a toy-hauler.
1,000 is a typical estimate for the loaded camper over dry weight.
So let's call it 5400 lbs.
You need 10-15% as TW. 5400 * 12.5% = 675 lbs.
I don't know about Ram, but the Ford towing guide calls for a WDH for any trailer exceeding 500 lbs TW.

Could you get away with it? Sure. But roughly 700 lbs TW will remove a significant amount of weight from the front wheels, even if the rear suspension is strong enough that you don't see much squat. I would definitely get a WDH. Getting one with integrated sway control will make it that much better ride.

As far as which rating, I always like to estimate TW at the high end, add 100 lbs (to avoid porpoising), then round up to the next rating.
If you ended up with 15% TW, that's 810 lbs. +100 lbs = 910.
So I'd round up to a 1,000 lbs rated WDH system.
I highly recommend the Equal-I-zer.
Best bang for the buck (along with the Reese Dual-Cam).

[northstar1960]

Originally Posted by thebrakeman

You won't get close to 6900, unless it was a toy-hauler.
1,000 is a typical estimate for the loaded camper over dry weight.
So let's call it 5400 lbs.
You need 10-15% as TW. 5400 * 12.5% = 675 lbs.
I don't know about Ram, but the Ford towing guide calls for a WDH for any trailer exceeding 500 lbs TW.

Could you get away with it? Sure. But roughly 700 lbs TW will remove a significant amount of weight from the front wheels, even if the rear suspension is strong enough that you don't see much squat. I would definitely get a WDH. Getting one with integrated sway control will make it that much better ride.

As far as which rating, I always like to estimate TW at the high end, add 100 lbs (to avoid porpoising), then round up to the next rating.
If you ended up with 15% TW, that's 810 lbs. +100 lbs = 910.
So I'd round up to a 1,000 lbs rated WDH system.
I highly recommend the Equal-I-zer.
Best bang for the buck (along with the Reese Dual-Cam).

With his truck and the weights he will be towing he has no need for dealing with greasy bars and the added weight of the old style WDH . the 1000 lbs bars on his set up would most likely produce porpoising , The andersen is built in anti sway more correctly stated no sway and no bounce . no grease and only 60 lbs easy set up and works flawlessly . i haul my TH at about 9000 + with a 2500 hd and i wouldn't use any other WDH system then the andersen . after 8000+++ miles towing in the last yr i can say the Andersen does the job extremely well and very easy set up and storage when not in use

[dan4jeepin]

I'm sure the Anderson is nice but at double the cost I just couldn't afford it right now.

I emailed Fastway and they had me send them all my measurements and pictures and are suppose to be getting back to me with recommendations. Based on the numbers it seems like it is setup fairly well but I'm running only 3 washers for the angle and the instructions say min is 5.

[northstar1960]

Originally Posted by dan4jeepin

I'm sure the Anderson is nice but at double the cost I just couldn't afford it right now.

I emailed Fastway and they had me send them all my measurements and pictures and are suppose to be getting back to me with recommendations. Based on the numbers it seems like it is setup fairly well but I'm running only 3 washers for the angle and the instructions say min is 5.

you know what they say you get what you pay for unless it's a generator then the champion is a bargain .