I've towed trailers for many years but have never used a weight distribute hitch and understand very little about them so please teach me. What's the differences? Which one is better? What do they cost? How do they work? Will it increase or decrease my tongue weight? What changed need to be made to the tow vehicle? Where do I start???
This is very informative also.
Weight Distribution Trailer Hitches Info - etrailer.com
[quote author=camp dad link=topic=2166.msg19542#msg19542 date=1357423711]
Thanks 01 for the reading material. I am no expert, but what I gathered from these articals is that as long as you dont exceed or get close to your GVW you shouldn't need a WDH. It all depends on the TV and the weight of the trailer.
wrong!
a WDH with sway control will often be recommended by the vehicle's owners manual. it will state that you need one past a certain trailer weight or tongue weight.
it has nothing to do with the trailer's UVW or GVWR.
simply, a WDH transfers some of the trailer's weight from the tow vehicle's rear axle to its front axle. that way the vehicle will sit level instead of squatting in the rear and lifting the front wheels up.
the sway control can be an added thing or be integrated into the WDH, which is the better setup.
the most popular WDH's are the Equalizer and the Reese Dual-Cam. prices start around $400. Hensley and Propride are top of the line WDH's but are really expensive.
you need to start with your vehicle's owners manual, in the towing section.
if you post the vehicle's info and the trailer's info, we can help.
I have an equalizer 6000/600 hitch for towing my highwall popup and love it. The few extra steps needed to mount the distribution bars are so worth it. The pickup truck doesn't squat with the extra weight, the trailer follows along seamlessly and there never is a worry about sway.
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[quote author=CampingPhil link=topic=2166.msg19548#msg19548 date=1357426997]
I have an equalizer 6000/600 hitch for towing my highwall popup and love it. The few extra steps needed to mount the distribution bars are so worth it. The pickup truck doesn't squat with the extra weight, the trailer follows along seamlessly and there never is a worry about sway.
+1
I have the Equalizer 10000/1000 and love it for pulling our HTT. When I first set it up the camper & truck were empty, IE no water, no gear, no bikes, no coolers, no passengers etc, etc. Camper towed great without sway and truck was more controllable with no squatting in the rear which means front wheels were firmly on the ground. After loading all gear, water and people I found I needed to adjust the hitch. It was simple. Take a washer out of the ball assembly and move the brackets on the trailer frame up one bolt hole. Everything rides nice and level now with a full load. Cross winds can still be a little tricky but It's certainly peace of mind knowing that I have a good hitch and the trailer is happy going where it's towed to go. 🙂
quite simply the WDH bars are LEVERAGE!!!! They work like wheel barrow handles. fill the wheel barrow then lift it at the edge of the bucket--NO WAY, then pick it up at the handles--EASY. Those articles are very helpful. If you want real time info from real time WDH users go to http://www.rv.net
search the travel trailers forum.
In real life, something like a PUP, utility trailer, even a car hauler dont really benefit from WDH bars because of weight. (car haulers dont because you can move your car forward/backward to even the weight). But anything that you can not "completely" control heavy tongue weight, should have WDH bars.
Using WDH bars do even the weight from the rear axle to the front axle of the tow vehicle, they also smooth out the ride alot. Very little to NO "push/pull" effect that bumper pulls can almost always give.
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