Is a WDH needed?

[kthaxton]

I would not waste the time or money with that setup.

Curious what you are basing this on? and are you referring to that particular brand of hitch or weight distributing hitches in general?

 

[Cjr02]

OP, I encourage you to investigate all your options in selecting a hitch, and do your research.

Here is some info from California DMV, but what do they know. I'm sure they have just been duped by the hitch manufacturing conspiracy.

"The trailer should handle well if the weight and hitch adjustments are correct. However, the coupling between a tow vehicle and trailer should also prevent side-to-side motion for the best possible towing comfort and safety.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/?1dmy&urile=wcm:path:/dmv_content_en/dmv/pubs/dl648/dl648pt12



As it says, a properly set up hitch should handle well. I'm not disputing that you can go without. But just as Games points out, there are a lot of novices on the road who may not be the expert he is. I've seen enough rear ends dragging to attest to that. Would setting up WD correctly help prevent sway? You bet. If that driver is on the road with me, I hope they have sway control.

Trailer sway does happen. Maybe not to Games, but to others. I choose to travel with something that helps resist that side to side movement.

I'm not going to continue anything else here, this is going nowhere that adds value to the thread. I see now this is not the first trailering thread that games has turned into an emotional rant.

There is a lot of information available from more than manufacturers and brochures. Decide for yourself.

Now games can have the last word and explain again why I'm a gullible idiot.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Curious what you are basing this on? and are you referring to that particular brand of hitch or weight distributing hitches in general?

What is the rating on the newer RAM receiver hitches without WD? I have read 1,200 tongue and 12,000 pull.

 

[Dasmoeturhead]

Thanks for the info everyone. I'm pretty sure the Rams 2 1/2" receiver hitch will suffice pulling a 8k TT.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Thanks for the info everyone. I'm pretty sure the Rams 2 1/2" receiver hitch will suffice pulling a 8k TT.

I believe the same is true but waiting on an answer as to the actual ratings.

 

[NIsaacs]

I'm pretty sure the Rams 2 1/2" receiver hitch will suffice pulling a 8k TT.

I agree. I would also toss the 2" adapter and get a matching 2.5" ball mount with the least amount of drop necessary to level the trailer. I would also stay away from the adjustable types, such as the B/W, they add length. Just an FYI, most 2" ball mounts use a 1" shank ball, the 2.5" use a 1.250" shank. Since my truck still has the 2" receiver I use the forged steel Curt, it has 1.250" also.

Nick

 

[GAmes]

Here is some info from California DMV, but what do they know. I'm sure they have just been duped by the hitch manufacturing conspiracy.

"The trailer should handle well if the weight and hitch adjustments are correct. However, the coupling between a tow vehicle and trailer should also prevent side-to-side motion for the best possible towing comfort and safety.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/?1dmy&urile=wcm:path:/dmv_content_en/dmv/pubs/dl648/dl648pt12

Yes, I do believe the writer is someone who has been " duped by the hitch manufacturing conspiracy", and here is why. In a previous post you compared the need for "sway control" to ABS. ABS is a proven safety feature that has been standard equipment in cars and trucks for over two decades. Commercial vehicles will not pass a DOT inspection if the ABS light is illuminated. Texas is a state that still has vehicle inspections and guess what, the vehicle will not pass if the ABS is inop. The ABS feature is a result of NTSB studies as are seat belts, trailer safety chains, and the battery powered break away system that activates the trailer brakes if it becomes separated from the tow vehicle. The "sway control" scam has been going on for well over two decades, yet it isn't standard equipment or required by any state or the feds. Why? Obviously it has never been proven to be effective or a safety device.


QUOTE=Cjr02;2507680]As it says, a properly set up hitch should handle well. I'm not disputing that you can go without. But just as Games points out, there are a lot of novices on the road who may not be the expert he is. I've seen enough rear ends dragging to attest to that. Would setting up WD correctly help prevent sway? You bet. If that driver is on the road with me, I hope they have sway control.

Trailer sway does happen. Maybe not to Games, but to others. I choose to travel with something that helps resist that side to side movement.

I'm not going to continue anything else here, this is going nowhere that adds value to the thread. I see now this is not the first trailering thread that games has turned into an emotional rant.

There is a lot of information available from more than manufacturers and brochures. Decide for yourself.

Now games can have the last word and explain again why I'm a gullible idiot.[/QUOTE]

At least have the courtesy of getting my name right. It is GAmes, capital G, capital A, first initial, last name.

I'll try to keep short the history of me being duped and then realizing that "sway control" devices are a scam.

My first Dodge/Cummins was a '92 that was bought to tow our new to us first towable RV. Using our class C motorhome for camping at the lake and launching/recovering the boat was a PITA. Since we can double tow in TX a 5er with a receiver on the back to hook up the boat is a much better alternative. Drop the boat, park the 5er, hook the boat trailer to the pickup, problem solved. A friend of mine, who had been duped, double towed and said I needed a sway control for the boat trailer. So I bought a friction bar kit, drilled holes in the boat trailer frame, mounted the ball and had an piece welded to the hitch for the front ball, then dutifully mounted the "sway control" every time I went to the lake. Of course the boat didn't sway, so mission accomplished. Then one weekend I towed a friend's new boat which was longer and heavier to a bass tournament a couple hundred miles away. Of course he wasn't about to let me drill his new trailer full of holes so we went down the road without the "sway control". No surprise to you, but to me, the trailer didn't sway. After that I never mounted the sway bar again. It is in the scrap metal pile in my shop waiting for the day I need some heavy flat steel for a project. Selling or giving it away would make me a hypocrite.

Fast forward to the day I started transporting trailers and I hooked up the first TT I had ever towed. I was one of those novices you referred to. I had a second hand WD hitch and ten minutes of verbal instruction on how to hook it up. By myself in the shipping yard it took over an hour to make that first installation. With a 15-20 mph cross wind whipping across the valley where La Grande, OR nestles I departed on my first TT towing job and never had a hint of the sway all of you believers think is inevitable. Hundred of trailers and hundreds of thousands of miles later I have still never encountered a trailer that swayed.

My experience isn't a fluke as you seem to think, it is proof that a "sway control" hitch is a waste of money. My "emotional rant"s are my way to prevent others from wasting their money due to the hype and BS that is part and parcel of selling expensive hitches that won't add a bit of safety while towing.

 

[AH64ID]

Here we go again....

I run a 2.5" Class V Titan (2,000/18,000 WC; 2,500/18,000 WD)) hitch on my truck and use a WDH to tow a 8-9K camper. It's night and day handling difference with the WDH. The camper, and it's contents, receive a MUCH better ride when the WDH is utilized.

I don't often tow more than 15-20 miles without WDH but I have and the ride is much worse at all speeds on all road conditions.

So, while it may not NEED a WDH it will greatly benefit from one.




Sway control on a hitch, well that's another story.... and a gimmick sold to people who cannot balance their TW or have too small of a vehicle for their trailer.

 

[kthaxton]

What is the rating on the newer RAM receiver hitches without WD? I have read 1,200 tongue and 12,000 pull.

So far I can't find specifics in my manuals. Still looking however. This is the only thing I've found so far https://www.ramtrucks.com/hostc/towing/basics/trailerWeight.do but it only says the max for a class IV is 12,000 and requires a weight distributing hitch....it just doesn't state at what weight it becomes required. On my 2000 it listed the specific hitch capacities for standard hitch and weight distributing both in the manual and on the hitch itself. I want to say it said (the 2000) that it was 5000 lbs without WD and 10,000 with.

I do think 1200 pounds hanging off the receiver without weight distribution is too much.

 

[AH64ID]

The rambodybuilder website has the Class V receiver hitch rated at 1,800/18,000.

 

[kthaxton]

The rambodybuilder website has the Class V receiver hitch rated at 1,800/18,000.

Did you notice if it states its rating based on WD use or not? It seems in the past they always gave a rating for each (i.e. the max is 18,000 when used with a WD hitch, XXXX without). For some reason I haven't been able to find a spec for each type of hitch.
1200-1800 lbs tongue weight just seems like too much to be hanging off the back of the frame without weight distribution, regardless of the strength of the receiver.

 

[AH64ID]

The info I saw did not specify. I'd look on the hitch possibly?

The "general" towing guide that Dodge puts out is very outdated and doesn't appear to have been updated since 2005ish.

 

[kthaxton]

The info I saw did not specify. I'd look on the hitch possibly?

.

I glanced at my hitch yesterday but didn't see anything....but I didn't climb under to get a good look. I am at work now and was yesterday when I looked...but unfortunately I didn't remember to look into this at home.
I guess this shows my commitment to my work.

 

[tommyturbo]

Dasmoeturhead. No doubt you have enough truck for a 8,000 lb trailer wet. What concerns me is the stock
class IV receiver hitch rating. From what I have gathered from TDR and other forums is that the stock receiver
hitch is good for 500 lbs tongue and 10,000 lbs trailer directly on the ball with no help. Being that hindsight is 20-20,
it would be a good idea to weigh the tongue weight loaded before evaluating the hitch set up. I would say that
if the loaded tongue weight is greater than 500 lbs, then a WDH would increase the capacity about a hundred
pounds. The WDH hitch addition is a nice accessory no matter what. If your tongue weight is quite exsessive
I would suggest for peace of mind reasons, to consider a Class V receiver hitch with a 2" square tube.
Suspension Connection sells a Curt #15409 that mounts directly under the OEM, so you can have two
receivers or you can remove the OEM all together. Rated 17,000 lbs trailer and 2550 lbs tongue.
The reason I am replying is because I actually have enough truck too, even as a 2500 SW, and the trailer
is 7970 lbs wet. However the tongue weight is a whopping 1400 lbs! I don't know how to change the way we
load up in order to redistribute for better balance. We would have to empty all the front bedroom closets
and empty out the pots and pans and drawers in the kitchen and stuff everything in the back every time
we go out. That's not going to happen. I consider our loading as a typical. Wouldn't a trailer mfg consider
typical loading? Maybe the undercarriage has something to do with it. From the front hitch to the center of
the wheels is 67.3% of trailer length. One slide out is over the wheels but the other opposing slide is about
50% forward of the wheels. The first three seasons towing had completely ruined the WD feature of the model
1000 Equal-i-zer and then installed Timbrens to fix the rear end sag. The sway feature was unaffected.
After reading these threads, I have visually inspected my OEM and looks o.k. but went ahead and ordered the Curt.
Tom

 

[AH64ID]

Dasmoeturhead. No doubt you have enough truck for a 8,000 lb trailer wet. What concerns me is the stock
class IV receiver hitch rating. From what I have gathered from TDR and other forums is that the stock receiver
hitch is good for 500 lbs tongue and 10,000 lbs trailer directly on the ball with no help.

The OP has a 2015 with an OEM Class V rated for 1,800/18,000. It appears that is WD or WC as there is no mention of a difference in any of the Ram documentation.


As for your desire to upgrade I would consider a hitch that replaces the OEM in the OEM location instead of going under it. The ones that go under like to drag on things and just look like a cheap fix. Removing the OEM isn't difficult. I went with the Titan #45299 hitch and had the 2" sleeve welded in. It was the only hitch I could find, at the time, that used the OEM holes and additional frame mounts, as well as replaced the OEM. The curt's look cheap and anemic compared to the Titan or OEM.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Draw-Tite/DT45509.html

 

[tommyturbo]

AH64ID. Thanks for the info. Looks like the OP is good to go and thanks for the upgrade info
for mine. Ground clearance would be ok for me with the Curt and capacity seems ok for me but I
sure don't like having to relocate the bracket on the hitch to compensate for the drop. I agree that
OEM position should be kept. I am reconsidering my order for the Curt.
Tom

 

[Dasmoeturhead]

OP, I encourage you to investigate all your options in selecting a hitch, and do your research.

Here is some info from California DMV, but what do they know. I'm sure they have just been duped by the hitch manufacturing conspiracy.

"The trailer should handle well if the weight and hitch adjustments are correct. However, the coupling between a tow vehicle and trailer should also prevent side-to-side motion for the best possible towing comfort and safety.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/?1dmy&urile=wcm:path:/dmv_content_en/dmv/pubs/dl648/dl648pt12



As it says, a properly set up hitch should handle well. I'm not disputing that you can go without. But just as Games points out, there are a lot of novices on the road who may not be the expert he is. I've seen enough rear ends dragging to attest to that. Would setting up WD correctly help prevent sway? You bet. If that driver is on the road with me, I hope they have sway control.

Trailer sway does happen. Maybe not to Games, but to others. I choose to travel with something that helps resist that side to side movement.

I'm not going to continue anything else here, this is going nowhere that adds value to the thread. I see now this is not the first trailering thread that games has turned into an emotional rant.

There is a lot of information available from more than manufacturers and brochures. Decide for yourself.

Now games can have the last word and explain again why I'm a gullible idiot.

I believe the same is true but waiting on an answer as to the actual ratings.

I agree. I would also toss the 2" adapter and get a matching 2.5" ball mount with the least amount of drop necessary to level the trailer. I would also stay away from the adjustable types, such as the B/W, they add length. Just an FYI, most 2" ball mounts use a 1" shank ball, the 2.5" use a 1.250" shank. Since my truck still has the 2" receiver I use the forged steel Curt, it has 1.250" also.

Nick

Yes, I do believe the writer is someone who has been " duped by the hitch manufacturing conspiracy", and here is why. In a previous post you compared the need for "sway control" to ABS. ABS is a proven safety feature that has been standard equipment in cars and trucks for over two decades. Commercial vehicles will not pass a DOT inspection if the ABS light is illuminated. Texas is a state that still has vehicle inspections and guess what, the vehicle will not pass if the ABS is inop. The ABS feature is a result of NTSB studies as are seat belts, trailer safety chains, and the battery powered break away system that activates the trailer brakes if it becomes separated from the tow vehicle. The "sway control" scam has been going on for well over two decades, yet it isn't standard equipment or required by any state or the feds. Why? Obviously it has never been proven to be effective or a safety device.


QUOTE=Cjr02;2507680]As it says, a properly set up hitch should handle well. I'm not disputing that you can go without. But just as Games points out, there are a lot of novices on the road who may not be the expert he is. I've seen enough rear ends dragging to attest to that. Would setting up WD correctly help prevent sway? You bet. If that driver is on the road with me, I hope they have sway control.

Trailer sway does happen. Maybe not to Games, but to others. I choose to travel with something that helps resist that side to side movement.

I'm not going to continue anything else here, this is going nowhere that adds value to the thread. I see now this is not the first trailering thread that games has turned into an emotional rant.

There is a lot of information available from more than manufacturers and brochures. Decide for yourself.

Now games can have the last word and explain again why I'm a gullible idiot.

At least have the courtesy of getting my name right. It is GAmes, capital G, capital A, first initial, last name.

I'll try to keep short the history of me being duped and then realizing that "sway control" devices are a scam.

My first Dodge/Cummins was a '92 that was bought to tow our new to us first towable RV. Using our class C motorhome for camping at the lake and launching/recovering the boat was a PITA. Since we can double tow in TX a 5er with a receiver on the back to hook up the boat is a much better alternative. Drop the boat, park the 5er, hook the boat trailer to the pickup, problem solved. A friend of mine, who had been duped, double towed and said I needed a sway control for the boat trailer. So I bought a friction bar kit, drilled holes in the boat trailer frame, mounted the ball and had an piece welded to the hitch for the front ball, then dutifully mounted the "sway control" every time I went to the lake. Of course the boat didn't sway, so mission accomplished. Then one weekend I towed a friend's new boat which was longer and heavier to a bass tournament a couple hundred miles away. Of course he wasn't about to let me drill his new trailer full of holes so we went down the road without the "sway control". No surprise to you, but to me, the trailer didn't sway. After that I never mounted the sway bar again. It is in the scrap metal pile in my shop waiting for the day I need some heavy flat steel for a project. Selling or giving it away would make me a hypocrite.

Fast forward to the day I started transporting trailers and I hooked up the first TT I had ever towed. I was one of those novices you referred to. I had a second hand WD hitch and ten minutes of verbal instruction on how to hook it up. By myself in the shipping yard it took over an hour to make that first installation. With a 15-20 mph cross wind whipping across the valley where La Grande, OR nestles I departed on my first TT towing job and never had a hint of the sway all of you believers think is inevitable. Hundred of trailers and hundreds of thousands of miles later I have still never encountered a trailer that swayed.

My experience isn't a fluke as you seem to think, it is proof that a "sway control" hitch is a waste of money. My "emotional rant"s are my way to prevent others from wasting their money due to the hype and BS that is part and parcel of selling expensive hitches that won't add a bit of safety while towing.[/QUOTE]

The rambodybuilder website has the Class V receiver hitch rated at 1,800/18,000.

Dasmoeturhead. No doubt you have enough truck for a 8,000 lb trailer wet. What concerns me is the stock
class IV receiver hitch rating. From what I have gathered from TDR and other forums is that the stock receiver
hitch is good for 500 lbs tongue and 10,000 lbs trailer directly on the ball with no help. Being that hindsight is 20-20,
it would be a good idea to weigh the tongue weight loaded before evaluating the hitch set up. I would say that
if the loaded tongue weight is greater than 500 lbs, then a WDH would increase the capacity about a hundred
pounds. The WDH hitch addition is a nice accessory no matter what. If your tongue weight is quite exsessive
I would suggest for peace of mind reasons, to consider a Class V receiver hitch with a 2" square tube.
Suspension Connection sells a Curt #15409 that mounts directly under the OEM, so you can have two
receivers or you can remove the OEM all together. Rated 17,000 lbs trailer and 2550 lbs tongue.
The reason I am replying is because I actually have enough truck too, even as a 2500 SW, and the trailer
is 7970 lbs wet. However the tongue weight is a whopping 1400 lbs! I don't know how to change the way we
load up in order to redistribute for better balance. We would have to empty all the front bedroom closets
and empty out the pots and pans and drawers in the kitchen and stuff everything in the back every time
we go out. That's not going to happen. I consider our loading as a typical. Wouldn't a trailer mfg consider
typical loading? Maybe the undercarriage has something to do with it. From the front hitch to the center of
the wheels is 67.3% of trailer length. One slide out is over the wheels but the other opposing slide is about
50% forward of the wheels. The first three seasons towing had completely ruined the WD feature of the model
1000 Equal-i-zer and then installed Timbrens to fix the rear end sag. The sway feature was unaffected.
After reading these threads, I have visually inspected my OEM and looks o.k. but went ahead and ordered the Curt.
Tom

The OP has a 2015 with an OEM Class V rated for 1,800/18,000. It appears that is WD or WC as there is no mention of a difference in any of the Ram documentation.

I couldn't find this info anywhere. Good news for sure.

As for your desire to upgrade I would consider a hitch that replaces the OEM in the OEM location instead of going under it. The ones that go under like to drag on things and just look like a cheap fix. Removing the OEM isn't difficult. I went with the Titan #45299 hitch and had the 2" sleeve welded in. It was the only hitch I could find, at the time, that used the OEM holes and additional frame mounts, as well as replaced the OEM. The curt's look cheap and anemic compared to the Titan or OEM.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Draw-Tite/DT45509.html

 

[Dasmoeturhead]

^^^^^ Opps.

 

[KenHwy61]

Dasmoeturhead. No doubt you have enough truck for a 8,000 lb trailer wet. What concerns me is the stock
class IV receiver hitch rating. From what I have gathered from TDR and other forums is that the stock receiver
hitch is good for 500 lbs tongue and 10,000 lbs trailer directly on the ball with no help. Being that hindsight is 20-20,
it would be a good idea to weigh the tongue weight loaded before evaluating the hitch set up. I would say that
if the loaded tongue weight is greater than 500 lbs, then a WDH would increase the capacity about a hundred
pounds. The WDH hitch addition is a nice accessory no matter what. If your tongue weight is quite exsessive
I would suggest for peace of mind reasons, to consider a Class V receiver hitch with a 2" square tube.
Suspension Connection sells a Curt #15409 that mounts directly under the OEM, so you can have two
receivers or you can remove the OEM all together. Rated 17,000 lbs trailer and 2550 lbs tongue.
The reason I am replying is because I actually have enough truck too, even as a 2500 SW, and the trailer
is 7970 lbs wet. However the tongue weight is a whopping 1400 lbs! I don't know how to change the way we
load up in order to redistribute for better balance. We would have to empty all the front bedroom closets
and empty out the pots and pans and drawers in the kitchen and stuff everything in the back every time
we go out. That's not going to happen. I consider our loading as a typical. Wouldn't a trailer mfg consider
typical loading? Maybe the undercarriage has something to do with it. From the front hitch to the center of
the wheels is 67.3% of trailer length. One slide out is over the wheels but the other opposing slide is about
50% forward of the wheels. The first three seasons towing had completely ruined the WD feature of the model
1000 Equal-i-zer and then installed Timbrens to fix the rear end sag. The sway feature was unaffected.
After reading these threads, I have visually inspected my OEM and looks o.k. but went ahead and ordered the Curt.
Tom

I also have a travel trailer with a heavy tongue weight of 1540#. I installed a Curt commercial duty receiver directly under the oem. I found this arrangement works very well because the oem receiver makes the perfect place to mount my Rock Tamers and the lower Curt makes the trailer nice and level.

 

[NIsaacs]

There is some good feed back here from you pro WDH guys so this old dog has been listening and researching. I have always kind of wanted one for my dump but nothing seemed to fit due to the front mounted battery, tool and pump box.

After looking and measuring for 2 days, I found a Curt "short" bar model that should fit so I ordered it, should be here today. With my Bobcat loader on, I get more hitch weight than even I want. It is 10k lbs and is 13.6 long so I can't adjust the weight placement, also the cinder pit loader guy just dumps on me any ole way. I try to use the gooseneck when I can.

I do have some concerns with it loaded/empty several time a day, maybe I can come up with a happy medium that will work both ways. Since I can't remember to set my brake controller when I am loaded or empty I am sure I will forget the hitch

I will post some picks of it installed, note the box.

Nick