WDH Suggestions

MagnoliaTom · 02-17-2014, 09:55 AM

Returned from a nice camping trip this weekend. The trip home was very windy. It was the first time I really felt "uncomfortable" towing our big camper. It wasn't a white knuckle experience but I did keep the speed down to 60 and kept both hands on the wheel. My current WDH is a Husky round bar hitch with 2 friction sway controllers. Bars are 801-1200 lbs. My trailer dry weighs 7875...loaded is around 8500. I've come to the conclusion that Equalizer or Reese dual cam is the way to go unless you have deep pockets and can get a Hensley. I also saw a used hitch on CL that was a husky straight line for a good price. Any thoughts are appreciated.

avolnek · 02-17-2014, 10:20 AM

Pulling a similar trailer (SV305 36'7") Wind is going to affect them whether you have a high dollar hitch or not. Keeping the nose of the trailer lower than the rear by roughly an inch and making sure you are more like 15% tongue weight will be your biggest help!

I am using a Fastway E2 round bar on mine and I do get a little bit of a shimmy out of the trailer, nothing bad but have played around with it and found that if I added dead weight (IE water jugs) to the tongue of my trailer she behaved a lot better!

I will be looking at an equalizer hitch though for added security.

Todouble · 02-17-2014, 10:53 AM

My last travel trailer was about 9000 loaded and 32 feet long. I used the Reese dual cam setup. #1200 bars and when it's setup correctly ( I say that because it wasn't from my dealer) they perform great. Winds didn't bother it to much. I actually just sold it on CL a few days ago. Still in new condition but didn't need it anymore since upgrading to fiver!

MagnoliaTom · 02-17-2014, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avolnek

Pulling a similar trailer (SV305 36'7") Wind is going to affect them whether you have a high dollar hitch or not. Keeping the nose of the trailer lower than the rear by roughly an inch and making sure you are more like 15% tongue weight will be your biggest help!

I am using a Fastway E2 round bar on mine and I do get a little bit of a shimmy out of the trailer, nothing bad but have played around with it and found that if I added dead weight (IE water jugs) to the tongue of my trailer she behaved a lot better!

I will be looking at an equalizer hitch though for added security.

If I put more weight on the tongue, should I get 1400 lb bars?

avolnek · 02-17-2014, 11:31 AM

What is your current tongue weight? I would play with it first, trying not to buy anything. I found out mine pulls a lot better by filling my fresh water jugs and strapping them to the tongue of the trailer. Since I work at a sheet metal company I will have my guys torch me a plate to match the tongue of my trailer to add roughly 100 lbs of dead weight and give me many options of mounting accessories! I've got plenty of truck handle the extra weight so figure why not...

But I would try adding weight first and see if it makes any difference. It probably wont make much difference on side winds, but should help some.

I don't seem too have too much of a side wind factor playing with the trailer, just the little bit of a shimmy around 65 mph which I blame on being right at the 10% tongue weight.

MagnoliaTom · 02-17-2014, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avolnek

What is your current tongue weight? I would play with it first, trying not to buy anything. I found out mine pulls a lot better by filling my fresh water jugs and strapping them to the tongue of the trailer. Since I work at a sheet metal company I will have my guys torch me a plate to match the tongue of my trailer to add roughly 100 lbs of dead weight and give me many options of mounting accessories! I've got plenty of truck handle the extra weight so figure why not...

But I would try adding weight first and see if it makes any difference. It probably wont make much difference on side winds, but should help some.

I don't seem too have too much of a side wind factor playing with the trailer, just the little bit of a shimmy around 65 mph which I blame on being right at the 10% tongue weight.

I don't know for sure as I have not weighed it....The brochure from the factory uses 12%. If I use 8500 for my TT at 12%, that would give me just over 1000 lbs. If I were to use 15%, my TW would be 1275 (8500*.15)

My bars are 1200# thus the question of needing the heavier bars.

avolnek · 02-17-2014, 01:22 PM

I would stick with what you have and try some free trial and error stuff first! Adding dead weight is simple and free typically...

Before I'd step up the bars I'd rather have air bags on the truck first to be honest. I only use 1000 pound bars with roughly the same 1100-1200 pounds of tongue weight and don't feel that they are undersized since I have the air bags. I like the idea that my bars are at the top of what they are rated for because the seem to flex a little more this way helping to cushion the ride rather than stiffen it in my opinion. I may be wrong with that thinking, but it seems to ride a lot nicer with the extra dead weight than not.

One question about your stressful day towing in the wind... Were you feeling the whole rig moving or was just the trailer seeming to sort of whip in the wind?

If the whole rig was, you may want to look into additional stability for the truck, ie sway bars, air bags, tires

If it seemed to be just the trailer whipping then it does suggest that you should look at a little better hitch...

OldCoot · 02-17-2014, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MagnoliaTom

Returned from a nice camping trip this weekend. The trip home was very windy. It was the first time I really felt "uncomfortable" towing our big camper. It wasn't a white knuckle experience but I did keep the speed down to 60 and kept both hands on the wheel. My current WDH is a Husky round bar hitch with 2 friction sway controllers. Bars are 801-1200 lbs. My trailer dry weighs 7875...loaded is around 8500. I've come to the conclusion that Equalizer or Reese dual cam is the way to go unless you have deep pockets and can get a Hensley. I also saw a used hitch on CL that was a husky straight line for a good price. Any thoughts are appreciated.

Had a similar problem and solved it by having to grind some off the 3/8" nut welded on the bottom of the bar that the plate with the v in it so I could tighten the 3/8" bolt more and then tighten the bolt with the handle welded on it as tight as possible. The sway bars should make a lot of noise when you turn in either direction. When turning slow, they will really make noise if you get them tight enough. It sure solved my problem.

CincyED · 02-17-2014, 01:45 PM

I pulled a 9000lb TT with f150 for 2 years with the dual cam sway control and was very happy. Must say though when I moved to 5th wheel there was no comparison can not feel the camper at all.

MagnoliaTom · 02-17-2014, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avolnek

I would stick with what you have and try some free trial and error stuff first! Adding dead weight is simple and free typically...

Before I'd step up the bars I'd rather have air bags on the truck first to be honest. I only use 1000 pound bars with roughly the same 1100-1200 pounds of tongue weight and don't feel that they are undersized since I have the air bags. I like the idea that my bars are at the top of what they are rated for because the seem to flex a little more this way helping to cushion the ride rather than stiffen it in my opinion. I may be wrong with that thinking, but it seems to ride a lot nicer with the extra dead weight than not.

One question about your stressful day towing in the wind... Were you feeling the whole rig moving or was just the trailer seeming to sort of whip in the wind?

If the whole rig was, you may want to look into additional stability for the truck, ie sway bars, air bags, tires

If it seemed to be just the trailer whipping then it does suggest that you should look at a little better hitch...

I usually tow with the wife's Excursion for comfort and roominess for the kids, but this time I used my truck because the campground was pretty close to home and I can handle the short drive with the kids in the truck.

It was more a case of the trailer moving around than the whole rig. I do have RAS on the Excursion so it may be the truck that was the problem. Probably going to stick with Excursion to tow from now on and see if I need to upgrade later.

campingwilliamsons · 02-21-2014, 07:15 PM

I am going to guess to Excursion sits at a different hieght, and thus your hitch was a little off camber with the F250. The Equalizer is a good hitch, but it is definitely picky about setup. I was amazed at the difference 1 washer made when I had mine. The attitude of the truck was hardly different when sitting empty (less than 1/4" change), but towing was different experience (much better in that case). I also noticed if I made big changes to the load in the bed of the pickup, I would notice a change in how the trailer towed.

FWIW, there is a Propride 3P for sale on this site. I saw it when I was looking for the sign guy. Pricing looked decent, shipping might kill the deal though.

MagnoliaTom · 02-21-2014, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by campingwilliamsons

I am going to guess to Excursion sits at a different hieght, and thus your hitch was a little off camber with the F250. The Equalizer is a good hitch, but it is definitely picky about setup. I was amazed at the difference 1 washer made when I had mine. The attitude of the truck was hardly different when sitting empty (less than 1/4" change), but towing was different experience (much better in that case). I also noticed if I made big changes to the load in the bed of the pickup, I would notice a change in how the trailer towed.

FWIW, there is a Propride 3P for sale on this site. I saw it when I was looking for the sign guy. Pricing looked decent, shipping might kill the deal though.

I thought that might be the case since we mostly use the excursion but the rear of the ex is only 1.5" higher than the truck. Given the softer springs in the ex, I figured it would end up about the same. I think I'm going to go with the centerline hitch I found on CL for a great price

MagnoliaTom · 03-11-2014, 07:29 PM

Update: I towed with the centerline hitch and it was great. Took a little while to get it set up but now there's no need to guess if I need to leave 3 links or 4 links hanging.

Made a lot more noise while turning. A little disconcerting at first. It is quite difficult to hitch and unhitch if you are not lined up straight.

All in all, I am quite impressed and recommend the centerline hitch.

IColeman · 03-11-2014, 10:12 PM

what about the weight of the tow vehicle? Im sure the excursion is a bit more weight than the truck. When I brought home my 320bhds about a hour of driving in windy conditions with a 1200lb reese the trailer didnt hardly sway. But the bed of my truck is full of tools, fuel tank, air compressor etc... and it has air bags to keep it from sagging even though its a 1 ton srw

MagnoliaTom · 03-11-2014, 10:32 PM

I used the Excursion on this outing. No sway at all. I'm not sure of the weight of the Ex, I think it's around 7900lbs. My truck has a toolbox but no bags or anything else. The only extra weight I may carry in the bed would be bikes for the kids and an ice chest. Would really like to know how the truck handles with the new wdh

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