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Old 04-20-2018, 10:24 AM   #1
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Weight Distribution Hitch Sizing

Just upgraded to larger travel trailer. 3900# dry weight, GVWR - 6000#. Dealer installed Equilizer 90-00-0600 rated at 600# max tongue weight and 6000# max trailer weight. Mfg website calculator says for the above numbers and a few hundred pounds of cargo in the tax vehicle use the next size up. RV dealer says no - could twist trailer frame. Equilizer folks say they've never heard of that. So, what do you think? Is dealer blowing smoke to avoid correcting a mistake?
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Old 04-20-2018, 10:27 AM   #2
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Those hitches are adjustable how much torque you out down on the trailer. Sounds to me like he's trying to not have a return and sell used equipment.

That being said I'm going to bet you're fine with a little over too.. just my two cents though.
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Old 04-20-2018, 10:42 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eph 2.10 View Post
Just upgraded to larger travel trailer. 3900# dry weight, GVWR - 6000#. Dealer installed Equilizer 90-00-0600 rated at 600# max tongue weight and 6000# max trailer weight. Mfg website calculator says for the above numbers and a few hundred pounds of cargo in the tax vehicle use the next size up. RV dealer says no - could twist trailer frame. Equilizer folks say they've never heard of that. So, what do you think? Is dealer blowing smoke to avoid correcting a mistake?
The dealer will tell lie,cheat and steal to sell something and most of sales people just migrated from a furniture store and know absolutely nothing about RV's.

Getting the biggest Equalizer you can afford is my advice, and down the road when you get a bigger RV no need to buy another. I've got the 99-00-1200. My max tongue weight is 1000 on my vehicle. The bars thickness is the only difference between kits I believe.
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Old 04-20-2018, 10:48 AM   #4
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I think that is a very light duty hitch the dealer wanted to get rid of...
get your money back if you can and get whatever you want... or live with it... I'm sure it will be fine for what you have.
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Old 04-20-2018, 11:48 AM   #5
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The dealer's blowing smoke.

The general consensus is to buy the hitch where your tongue weight is rated in the middle of the range.

My experience was similar to yours and cost me $80 extra. Bought a hitch rated for 600-800 tongue and 6000-8000 gross. After loading the trailer to 7500, putting items in the bed of my truck and driving a couple thousand miles, the trailer porpoised like crazy.

I ended up buying the stiffer 800-1200 bars, reset the hitch and the combination rides awesome.

My point is, I should have trusted my gut and bought the hitch for the intended tongue weight, not trailer weight.
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Old 04-20-2018, 12:15 PM   #6
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Hahaha. Gotta love RV salesman telling junk to sell things or not take a return. I use a 1000# WDH for my pop up. E-mailed the Equalizer techs explaining the pop up and the front bin storage on the A frame area, got a nice letter from one of the engineers who said the 600# would be a bit too light. Recommended the next size up. Might seem like over kill but if you load stuff all around the ball (ie, a large front trailer bin, cordwood on the tailgate), you need the extra oooph.

Keep in mind this is a hitch question. You will get all kind of answers. Just like tires.

Do what you feel is safe for you and your family.

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Old 04-20-2018, 12:27 PM   #7
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Tell the dealer no and buy it else where. Yes it’s possible to damage the frame by over springing the wdh. The airstream guys used to have issues with this but the guys that inhale seen it happen to were way over sprung meaning more then double the tounge weight. Figure if you lad to the max 15% of 6000 is 900 lbs so 1000 lb bars would be in the range you would want. Those bars are for a trailer around 4000 lbs loaded so they are good for your empty trailer and that’s it
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Old 04-20-2018, 02:49 PM   #8
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Since you've questioned the size and looked at the numbers, getting the bigger size will put you at ease. I was first told by our salesman that an 8000 Equalizer would work but I got the 10,000 and glad I made that choice. I like a little overkill rather than underkill. Just my $.02.
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Old 04-20-2018, 04:04 PM   #9
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Maybe the dealer already had a unpleasant discussion with a customer about a bent trailer tongue in the past. I actually applaud the dealer for not just using the 'one-size-fits-all' 10k/1000lbs WDH most dealers use. The guy I bought my little 3500lbs Wolfpup from was given one of those with the trailer. Needless to say it drove a bit funny with his midsize SUV....
Most people know everything about (static) set up of a WDH, very few understand the dynamic properties of it. On anything but flat roads the weight distribution changes depending on how the rear axle moves up or down relative to the front axle and the trailer axle(s). E.g if the WDH reduced sag at the rear axle by 2", as soon as a hump in the road moves the rear axle up 3" relative to the front and trailer axles the spring bars are pretty much unloaded and the axle weights are similar to not using a WDH. Vice versa, if the rear axle goes through a dip, the spring bars distribute more weight to the front axle and trailer axles, unloading the rear axle in the process (and increasing load on the tongue which sometimes bends it). The stiffer the spring bars, the more weight is shifted back and forth for the same weight trailer. That's why manufacturers actually make different spring bars, and contrary to widespread advice on the Internet you actually want the 'softest' spring bars that work for the tow vehicle/trailer combo.
Circling back to the OP's question, if the setup works in terms of sag and weight distribution I would not change anything. Otherwise exchanging the spring bars for stiffer ones might do the trick.
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Old 04-20-2018, 04:07 PM   #10
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There are some Bullcrap RV salespeople and then there are those who honestly don't know or know bad information. They should be certified in anything they are selling that deals with safety, highway use, electrical, gas, etc. Every other trade gets certified.
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Old 04-20-2018, 04:21 PM   #11
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Weight Distribution Bars
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Old 04-20-2018, 06:25 PM   #12
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Thanks for all the input folks. Spoke to higher up at the dealer. They’re changing out the hitch to 10000# unit.

I’m fairly new to the RV world. Frustrating to be regularly dealing with poor quality products and dealers that don’t care about customers.
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