Yet another WDH question.

[knuteski]

On Sunday, I'll be finalizing my purchase of a new to me 2012 Roo 19. Per the brochure, it has a dry tongue weight of 370 and a GVWR of 4,770. By my calculations, after adding the propane, battery, cargo, etc, it'll be in the 550 range.

Everyone seems to really like the Equal-i-zer hitches so I've bee planning on getting one of those. Which leads to the question of the day. Is the 1,000lb hitch overkill and will actually make it worse to tow? I know they make a 600lb one but there's a decent chance we'll be upgrading the trailer in a few years and if the 600lb & 1,000lb ones will do the job equally well today, I'll go with the larger one to future proof myself (and eliminate any risk if I go over a 600 tongue weight).

[wicked1]

I was doing the same thing going from my Shasta 790 TW and my hitch is 1000# but after calling Camco and learning to also calculate the weight of items in my pickup bed behind the rear axle, I am most likely in the 800-900# range, so keeping the 1000# TW hitch. If you get a 600# you have no room for error, I would go to just an 800# or 1000# DO NOT rely on the dealer, they messed up my Shasta hitch by not setting it right and I had White Knuckle driving until I corrected it according to the MFG's settings based on all the load I am carrying.

[Herk7769]

I follow the "go big or go home" rule.

Getting too much sway control is way better than too little.

Also you won't need to buy a new hitch if you get a bigger camper/TV down the road (and you most likely will!)

[knuteski]

Thanks. I was leaning towards the 1,000lb one but got scared when I saw a site (Equalizer's???) stating that if you get too high a rated hitch that it'll make the ride stiff and actually cause more sway.

We've got a Land Rover Discovery as our TV so we're already dealing with the worst wheelbase around and I want to make sure the sway is eliminated as much as possible.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by knuteski

Thanks. I was leaning towards the 1,000lb one but got scared when I saw a site (Equalizer's???) stating that if you get too high a rated hitch that it'll make the ride stiff and actually cause more sway.

We've got a Land Rover Discovery as our TV so we're already dealing with the worst wheelbase around and I want to make sure the sway is eliminated as much as possible.

Now your setup is a Natural for a Hensley! Youroo!!

[hbillsmith]

The Andersen WDH is perfect for the TV and Trailer you describe. It's much lighter and easier to use. I towed a 7500# trailer with 600# tongue weight for 3 years on my previous SUV. It was one of my best purchases. It was quiet, no sway, no chuck and easy to take off and put on.

[Archicamper]

I have the exact same trailer and have the 1000# Equil-i-zer. I have been happy with it so far. No issues with sway at all. The one thing that I wondered about is porpoising. Is it more of an issue with a stiffer hitch?

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by knuteski

Thanks. I was leaning towards the 1,000lb one but got scared when I saw a site (Equalizer's???) stating that if you get too high a rated hitch that it'll make the ride stiff and actually cause more sway.

We've got a Land Rover Discovery as our TV so we're already dealing with the worst wheelbase around and I want to make sure the sway is eliminated as much as possible.

I towed an ultra-lite rental travel trailer at about 5500 pounds with an Equalizer 12,000 pound rated hitch for over 10,000 miles.

It was easily set up to ride level with the proper WD and the was NO sway even when passed by double tractor trailers at high speed. A bit noisy in turns at the campground, they solved that with plastic "jackets" that go on the camper side of the bars.

[Archicamper]

We also have a short wheelbase and have not had a problem.

[SeaHarley]

Originally Posted by knuteski

Everyone seems to really like the Equal-i-zer hitches so I've bee planning on getting one of those. Which leads to the question of the day. Is the 1,000lb hitch overkill and will actually make it worse to tow? I know they make a 600lb one but there's a decent chance we'll be upgrading the trailer in a few years and if the 600lb & 1,000lb ones will do the job equally well today, I'll go with the larger one to future proof myself (and eliminate any risk if I go over a 600 tongue weight).

What state do you live in? I have a 1,000 lb equalizer.

[rockfordroo]

My dealer gave me a 4000 lb Equal-i-zer with my Roo 19. When I put the Roo 19 info into Equai-i-zer's calculator (4770 GVWR, 500 lb tongue) it says it should be a 6000 lb. When I add 100 lbs for my bikes on the back, it says 6000 lb, but says, "However, you appear to be close to exceeding the maximum weight rating of the hitch. You may want to consider a heavier hitch, especially if the amount of cargo you are carrying increases."

All that being said, though, I haven't had any issues with my 4000 lb hitch. It seems just fine. And I can really tell the difference with the bars installed vs just the ball.

[knuteski]

Thanks for the tips everyone and I've decided to go with...
The Andersen WDH (thanks Hbillsmith for opening my eyes, I'd never even heard of it until now). My decision to basically do a 180 was based on:

Andersen Hitch (AWDH) is light...much lighter and easier to hook up than the Equalizer (EWDH). So, my wife could even do it. I didn't realize the EWDH is so heavy.

AWDH is quieter. I also didn't know how noisy the EWDH was until now.

AWDH is easy to setup and adjust for me. I can "borrow" a torque wrench from the auto store and set it up in less than 2 hours (most say an hour but I'm slow at these types of things)

AWDH is cheaper...not by much on the hitch itself but installing it myself will save me $200 total.

But most importantly, I did a ton of research last night and the only complaints I could find at all on the AWDH from actual owners were that it doesn't work with some couplers. There were some theoretical problems (stress on the coupler, not good for huge campers since it's chains, etc) but it's been out for a number of years now and not one of those has come to fruition.

So, given that I'll be using the trailer less than 10 trips a year and I don't ever have plans to upgrade to a 30+ footer, it sounds perfect for me.

(I'm in Michigan by the way. I'll update my sig one of these days.)

[rockfordroo]

So, given that I'll be using the trailer less than 10 trips a year and I don't ever have plans to upgrade to a 30+ footer, it sounds perfect for me.

Famous last words. I've had my Roo 19 for 3 years and I'm now waiting on my Mini-Lite 2503s to arrive.

In the boat world, it's called "two foot-itis."

(Let's see: 25 ft - 19 ft = 6 ft. 6 ft/3 yrs = 2 ft/yr. Yep, two foot-itis!!)

[Hicks43]

I have an e2 with the same trailer you can adjust. The head and take some of pressure out of it. As stated go big or go home

[hbillsmith]

With an Andersen it is easier to mount and dismount if you just carry a cheap torque wrench with you. Harbor Freight has a 1/2in torque socket wrench that regularly sells for $22 (its on sale know for $10). Andersen includes the socket with their hitch. The long handle of the HF wrench just makes tightening the compression chains easier. If you buy an Andersen, gononline and get the wrench too.

[knuteski]

Originally Posted by hbillsmith

With an Andersen it is easier to mount and dismount if you just carry a cheap torque wrench with you. Harbor Freight has a 1/2in torque socket wrench that regularly sells for $22 (its on sale know for $10). Andersen includes the socket with their hitch. The long handle of the HF wrench just makes tightening the compression chains easier. If you buy an Andersen, gononline and get the wrench too.

I thought with the Andersen that once you've dialed everything in you just disconnect it at the other end of the chains from the ball post. And I did see that Harbor Freight deal just this morning. There's a new one close to me so I'll for sure pick one up.

Anyways, I'm definitely going with the Andersen. We brought it home today (max speed around 50 and that was just for a second to test out the sway) without any WDH and there was barely any sway. The camper wasn't level either as the hitch had a "rise" on it from when I used it with my old TV. So, any WDH would be great I think but the Andersen plenty for us.