Help with weight distributing hitch setup.

[Hoefler]

OK if I have 1200# tongue weight what size bars do I need?

That is determined by what amount of weight you need to transfer to the front axle to level your tow vehicle. When you chain up higher and get no effect, you need to try bigger bars until you the the rig level. It depends on wheel base of tow vehicle, length of trailer, distance from hitch to center of suspension on trailer, distance from hitch to rear axle of tow vehicle, tongue weight of trailer, length of hitch itself, load in back of tow vehicle, etc. .

 

[HookMeUp]

you can email Reese support directly. The address is -- email address removed --



They have always answered in less than a day.

 

[Weatherman1964]

I tow a Haulmark 24ft 10,000 lb. enclosed car hauler every day. I've even loaded it to the max many times. Never needed an equalizing hitch. The only time I used an equalizing hitch on my 2001 2500 quad cab was when I had a 28 ft. 12,000 lb. toy hauler. I can't believe that trailer is squatting your truck that much. Your tongue weight must be really up there. E-rated tires are a must if your going to tow 10,000 lb. in my opinion. I've had too much sway in my trailers due to sidewall flex in the past. I know that the E-rated tires with the aggressive tread pattern we all want may be hard to come by.

In regards to the bent hitch receiver, I wouldn't trust it. I've had 4 Dodge trucks and have broken 2 factory hitch receivers.
2000, 2500 gasser, employees came back to the shop and the hitch was 8 inches low while pulling a 20ft. enclosed lawn mowing rig weighted at about 6000 lb... . almost broke free from the truck!
2001, 2500 with a 350lb. rear plow, broke it clean and plow fell off the truck!

My 2007. 5 has a very strong totally redesigned hitch. Seems you'd have to bend the frame to mess up this hitch.

Good luck. I am a lucky person who is very good friends with my local hitch shop, they take very good care of me and I've learned a lot from them.

 

[Yo Hoot]

I took a really close look at the hitch. I just think it's turned a little at the frame bolts. No sign of anything bent and the welds look unaltered. I'll just loosen the bolts and put it back where it belongs.



This trailer is known to have a higher tong weight that comparable size trailers. The book says about 1000 lbs.



Again... I have towed this thin 400 miles with no issues... . 75 mph some places. No sway and no porposing on the highway.



I'll take care of the things I mentioned. It should be just fine. Yes I want to upgrade the tires. That will be next spring.



You guys are a great help. I listen to all of your suggestions and kind of blend it all together to decide what's most important.



Taking a trip this weekend with it. Leaving in a couple of hours. 220 miles round trip.

 

[tempforce]

check the paperwork on your tires, lots of trailer service tires have a limit of 65 mph max. i would hate to see you get the side of your trailer damaged due to a blow out... .

 

[Yo Hoot]

In the Poconos now. Wasn't to happy with the way it pulled.

Definitely got to get the right stuff.

 

[MMeier]

Take it slow !!

 

[GAmes]

Wasn't to happy with the way it pulled.

What problems are you experiencing? Or do you just need to tweek the hitch?

 

[HookMeUp]

I bet the bars are too weak to get the right weight transfer ...

 

[RVTRKN]

My recommendations are simple, replace, or whatever you need to do to straiten out the reciever, the next thing would be to shorten your hitch. Its to long and has leverage over your truck running at max weight.

 

[Yo Hoot]

She was a little rough riding. A little porposing and a little sway at around 70 mph.

Coming home I kept it under 70 and it was better but the long drawbar seems to allow too much leverage... hence the slight porposing on some bumps.

I returned the long drawbar today for a refund. They had no problem taking it back.

They had Blue Ox and Reese WD systems. I was considering switching to the Blue Ox. It looks a bit more modern in design with nice features.

So I'm selling the existing Reese system with 600lb bars and the drawbar it came with that doesn't give me what I need for height.

I'm purchasing an entirely new WD system with 1000lb + bars.

Here are my questions...

Blue Ox has 1000lb and the next step is 1500lb bars.

If I get the 1500lb bars is that overkill and could it cause driveability issues? I figure the heavier bars might come in handy for if I pull something heavier and for resale.

 

[Yo Hoot]

Ordered the new hitch and air bags yesterday...



Blue Ox Sway Pro Hitch W/ Shank 1000lb (S018-943746)

"Air Lift" Air Bag Load Helper Kit Model 57295



I have an onboard nitrogen cylinder that powers my train horn. I'll plumb a line to a valve and regulator to adjust the air bags.



Old hitch is on Craigslist. .

Reese 66020 Weight Distributing Hitch

 

[RVTRKN]

Good choice.

 

[HBarlow]

She was a little rough riding. A little porposing and a little sway at around 70 mph.

Coming home I kept it under 70 and it was better but the long drawbar seems to allow too much leverage... hence the slight porposing on some bumps.

I returned the long drawbar today for a refund. They had no problem taking it back.

They had Blue Ox and Reese WD systems. I was considering switching to the Blue Ox. It looks a bit more modern in design with nice features.

So I'm selling the existing Reese system with 600lb bars and the drawbar it came with that doesn't give me what I need for height.

I'm purchasing an entirely new WD system with 1000lb + bars.

Here are my questions...

Blue Ox has 1000lb and the next step is 1500lb bars.

If I get the 1500lb bars is that overkill and could it cause driveability issues? I figure the heavier bars might come in handy for if I pull something heavier and for resale.

The Reese dual cam sway control and weight distributing hitch is one of the oldest and most popular hitch products ever manufactured and Reese is one of if not THE oldest and most respected hitch manufacturer in the industry.

My strong recommendation would be to buy the Reese. You don't need 1500 lb. trunnion bars but if you think you'll ever trade for a larger, heavier trailer, it would be a good choice to buy the heavy bars now. The 1500 lb. bars won't be too strong if you don't tighten up the chains.

Many buyers don't realize, there IS a difference between the old Reese products and the products sold by the newer start up companies like Blue Ox and others. For one, the metallurgy is usually better in Reese products. They've been doing it 60 or more years. The ends of the spring bars will wear out sooner in cheap hitches.

Your money, your truck and trailer, your choice. I would never buy anything but a Reese. I have towed hundreds of thousands of miles with both conventional Reese dual cam wd hitches and Reese fifth wheel hitches. My Reese fifth wheel hitch that I will use today when I hook up for a trip has towed trailers approximately 1/2 million miles and shows no wear or malfunction.

 

[Yo Hoot]

Harvey,

Yes I agree, experience is a good starting point. I did some research and found overall no one hands down recommended one particular brand. I don't know if you ever used a Blue Ox Sway Pro so I don't know if you can compare. I have read many reviews and comments on RV sites about Blue Ox, the company, and they were 100% favorable.

There aren't any secrets to the metallurgy behind a spring bar so I don't think there will be any issues with the bars. But hey... you never know.

The main reason I selected the Sway Pro was it had a few very nice design features that you interact with every time you use it.

I like the grease-free bars that disconnect by turning them.
Grease fitting for greasing internally.
Sway control loops at the chains.
Sway control friction device... . Eliminates the separate friction device I use now.
I like the spring lock pins. I figure as long as I keep them lightly lubricated they'll hold up.
All it has to do is perform and hold up over time. Maybe way down the road I'll be making the same comments about the Sway Pro as you are about the Reese.

Between the features and the company reputation I figured it was worth the risk and the extra $100 or so.

I did read that too strong of a bar can make the ride rough and place excess stress on the equipment. Not sure how valid that is. They recommend staying within the parameters of the loads. I can always get the 1500 lb bars later. Nothing else requires changing if I do.

 

[Yo Hoot]

Got the airbags installed. Also hooked up a torque convertor lockup pedal/switch. I'll be installing the hitch this week. I also added an 8 gauge fused power harness from the truck batteries to the camper batteries. They won't charge without it.

 

[Yo Hoot]

Got the hitch on yesterday... . Blue Ox.

It was an easy install, No issues. Also I fixed the hitch angle shown in previous pictures. I loosened the bolts that attach it to the frame, hooked the trailer up and took it on a bumpy road. That dropped the receiver right back down to where it belongs. Moved enough to have to reset the hitch height.

I learned a thing or two installing this hitch.

The instructions say to:

1. Level the trailer.
2. Measure to the top of the trailer's coupling and measure the trucks wheelwell heights front and back... . record.
3. Set the truck ball that measurement (trailer tongue ball height) plus 1/8" for every 100lbs tongue weight. I needed and inch.
4. Hook up and lock the ball. Raise both the truck and trailer with the tongue jack 3-5"
5. Install the bars with the chains with no slack and lock the chains.
6. Lower the tongue jack and your wheelwell heights should be within 1/2" of the previously recorded measurements.
7. Adjust the bars to fine tune.

I also had to set the proper head angle that resulted in 5-7 deg pin angle (the pins that the bars pivot on) and about 11 deg for the bars.

When I was done the back was a little low so I added some air to the bags instead of loading the bars more.

Took it for a highway test drive. Runs down the road beautifully. No sway and much better manners than the previous hitch with the bars that were too light for this TT.

I'll see if I can get some pictures. I forgot to take them. It's unhitched now.

 

[HBarlow]

Got the hitch on yesterday... . Blue Ox.

It was an easy install, No issues. Also I fixed the hitch angle shown in previous pictures. I loosened the bolts that attach it to the frame, hooked the trailer up and took it on a bumpy road. That dropped the receiver right back down to where it belongs. Moved enough to have to reset the hitch height.

I learned a thing or two installing this hitch.

The instructions say to:

1. Level the trailer.
2. Measure to the top of the trailer's coupling and measure the trucks wheelwell heights front and back... . record.
3. Set the truck ball that measurement (trailer tongue ball height) plus 1/8" for every 100lbs tongue weight. I needed and inch.
4. Hook up and lock the ball. Raise both the truck and trailer with the tongue jack 3-5"
5. Install the bars with the chains with no slack and lock the chains.
6. Lower the tongue jack and your wheelwell heights should be within 1/2" of the previously recorded measurements.
7. Adjust the bars to fine tune.

I also had to set the proper head angle that resulted in 5-7 deg pin angle (the pins that the bars pivot on) and about 11 deg for the bars.

When I was done the back was a little low so I added some air to the bags instead of loading the bars more.

Took it for a highway test drive. Runs down the road beautifully. No sway and much better manners than the previous hitch with the bars that were too light for this TT.

I'll see if I can get some pictures. I forgot to take them. It's unhitched now.

Your statement above with my highlighting essentially eliminated the weight distribution bars. Raising the rear of the truck by adding air to your airbags after the hitch was set up relieved the tension on the spring bars rendering them useless.

A better method would be to raise the rear of the truck to approximately where you want it to ride then set up the hitch. With air bags you may not need the spring bars anyway.

WD hitch spring bars are primarily for the purpose of carrying the weight of a heavy trailer tongue on rear suspension not capable of carrying the weight alone.

 

[Yo Hoot]

The spring bars help distribute the load but I am using the system to also control sway. The Blue Ox system has friction devices in the bars to control sway. They also have chain restrictors. Without the bars I have no sway control. Basically I'm using both the bags and the bars. I'm not unloading the bars entirely, just a little. Seems to work quite well.

If I was using the air bags alone, all of the tongue weight would still be entirely on the rear axle. The bars help put some of that weight on the front axle.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Save a lot of stress and life safety and get a 5th wheel trailer!