WDH or no WDH

[Lou638]

Last fall I purchased a Wolf Pup TT and I will be picking it up in late April. At the time my tow vehicle was a minivan and the rv dealer sold me an Equalizer WDH for use with the minivan. Since then I got a Ram 1500 as my new tow vehicle. My question to you is do I still need the WDH with built in sway control or would I be ok without it. I estimate the tongue weight to be around 500 to 550 lbs.

[DougW]

You should be OK without the WDH at that tongue weight.

Weigh it again when it is fully loaded and see what you get, it will probably still be within the safe range for your truck.

I have found that even on trailers where the WDH was not needed it did improve the ride of the truck since most 1/2 ton trucks these days have suspensions designed for a car like ride. Try it with and try it without, then you will know which you prefer.

[chaps2018]

Originally Posted by DougW

I have found that even on trailers where the WDH was not needed it did improve the ride of the truck since most 1/2 ton trucks these days have suspensions designed for a car like ride. Try it with and try it without, then you will know which you prefer.

x2

Just measure the front fender height before/after putting the tongue weight on your truck. You will know then and there. For me, if it is more than an inch higher after hitching I don't like the way the front end wanders or floats.

[Jmkjr72]

What are the ratings in the hitch of the truck and the actual ratings of the truck from owners manual. Wha is the real tounge weight of the camper is that 500 the mythical dry weight or is it 15% of the gvwr of the camper

[KMP44]

Originally Posted by Jmkjr72

What are the ratings in the hitch of the truck and the actual ratings of the truck from owners manual. Wha is the real tounge weight of the camper is that 500 the mythical dry weight or is it 15% of the gvwr of the camper

^^This^^

Your owners manual will tell you at what tongue weight you will need the WDH. No harm in using it anyway, and you find the sway control is really what matters. And as mentioned above, the brochure weight is far under what the actual tongue weight is.

My F-250, according to Ford, can be maxed out on tow capacity at 15,000lbs and no WDH required. But I tried both ways, towing our relatively light weight 23' trailer and the difference with and without the sway control is very noticeable. Tows OK without it, but much improved with it.

[allenb12]

Weight distribution can not hurt anything. Only adds a couple of minutes to your hook up time.

[bikendan]

Most 1/2 ton truck manuals will recommend a WDH for hitch weights over 500lbs.

[Lou638]

Thanks for the replies, I will most likely keep the WDH as it is already part of the trailer package and I am sure it will improve handling and control sway. My TT brochure give an empty tongue weight of 450 lbs. so I am sure the loaded tongue weight will be at least 500 to 550 lbs. Also if I ever get a bigger TT I will already have A WDH.

[Jmkjr72]

You would be surprised how fast tounge weight can go up. Most storage is in front of the axle. It needs to be a minimum of 10% of the trailer weight and even at 10% you may have sway issues in reality many find about 15% to work good so on a 5000mlb trailer you are looking at 750 pounds. A battery alone is going to add about 60 lbs so before any gear you are at 510 lbs

[dbledan]

Originally Posted by Lou638

Thanks for the replies, I will most likely keep the WDH as it is already part of the trailer package and I am sure it will improve handling and control sway. My TT brochure give an empty tongue weight of 450 lbs. so I am sure the loaded tongue weight will be at least 500 to 550 lbs. Also if I ever get a bigger TT I will already have A WDH.

Just FYI because you made your call.

My truck (not a ram) requires a WDH over 500lb tongue weight as the other Dan said so check your hitch sticker or manual.

My TT advertises a 730ish lb tongue weight in the brochure but the scale has proven it to be about 1000lbs but as high as 1200lbs once. It adds up fast!