What should I be looking for in a WDH? I've got a 2000 Chevy Silvarado. We are picking up in April our HTT. It's weights from the spec page are as follows:
Unloaded vehicle weight (lbs.) 3615
Hitch weight (lbs.) 440
Gross vehicle weight (lbs.) 4950
Cargo carrying capacity (lbs.) 1335
I was thinking of something like this
http://www.etrailer.com/Weight.....66151.html
any thoughts are appreciated
[quote author=Glen Burnie link=topic=600.msg3978#msg3978 date=1298361183]
Can someone explain how a weight distribution hitch works?
This would be the basic difference
"Weight Carrying
When towing a trailer with a standard ball mount, all the trailer's tongue weight is transferred to the tow vehicle. Since the trailer hitch is attached to the vehicle frame, the additional weight in the rear will lower the back end of the vehicle while raising the front end. This means that the rear axle will be handling not only the trailer tongue weight but the additional load of the weight being transferred from the front axle. Less weight on the front axle can cause diminished performance, decreases in steering, traction and stopping and simultaneously increase trailer sway.
Weight Distributing
Weight distribution hitches add spring bars to the hitch system that apply leverage between the tow vehicle and the trailer. This leverage transfers the load sitting on the rear of the vehicle to all the axles of the vehicle and trailer. With the trailer tongue and rear cargo load distributed between the axles, the vehicle is leveled off and performance is greatly improved. Weight distributing systems should be used any time the trailer weighs more than 50 percent of the vehicle's weight."
Is it the general consensus that a WDH can be too big or is it okay to go bigger. I don't think I'll be towing 10,000 lbs with a TW of 1,000 lbs., but with my trailer ratings of gvwr of 4950 lbs and tw of 440 lbs. would it seem a 600lbs tw/6000lbs gvwr would be the right choice. Am I hurting anything or adversely affecting anything if I were to go with a 1000lbs tw/10000lbs gvwr WDH?
Nope. When I get around to upgrading mine I'm planing on something larger than a 600lb tw. The only time you will see the 440lb tw on your Jayco is when your towing it home from the dealer. Once its loaded its likely to be close if not over 600lbs. Jayco/Starcrafts tend to have a heavy tw compaired to everyone else.
To give you an idea, here are my weights form CAT truck stop scale:
I was loaded for a weekend trip with about 5g of water in the tank, 2 20# LP tanks and a grp 24 battery.
tw: 583 axle weight: 3669 total trailer weight: 4252 jeep + trailer: 9078
My Jeep is rated to tow 5k, so I'm also very conservative with what I carry in the trailer.
You might want to make sure you've factored the weight of the WD hitch into your plans. The 1000/10000 EQ weighs 100 pounds, which gets added to the tongue weight of your trailer when you calculate your TW. I'm considering a new TV with a 380 pound TW maximum (3800 lb towing capacity), and with my Niagara, that becomes a concern. I'll probably stick to the 400/4000 WD hitch, which weighs 63 pounds if I go with a WDH. Otherwise I would get the bigger one keeping a future TT or Hybrid with a bigger TV in mind.
The other thing, mentioned elsewhere, is that it redistributes some weight onto the trailer axle(s) as well. Keep your tire axle capacity in mind. Elsewhere, someone measured on a scale and found that putting a WD hitch in added around 150 pounds to the axle weight of the trailer.
[quote author=twstdpear link=topic=600.msg4300#msg4300 date=1299089664]
I have a related question:
I very vaguely remember someone mentioning somewhere that you shouldn't back up with a WDH (or was that anti-sway bar?) attached. Am I remembering correctly?
with the cheaper WDH's that have a friction anti-sway bar, this is what you're thinking of.
with quality WDH's that have built-in sway control, such as the Equal-i-zer or Reese Dual-Cam, this isn't necessary. we just back in with our Equalizer, without changing or removing anything.
Backing up raises a good question and makes me wonder???? I have to back up an incline up to the house that has a banked 90 turn at the top and runs along side the house. I've been running it through my head with the new camper and since it's not much longer than the PUP with DW spotting the first couple of times the maneuver should go fine. Should I remove the bars prior to this? Will I get less resistance on the TV to do this or is that resistance from the WDH insignificant at this point?p
WDH shouldn't not be a problem. Separate anti-sway bars should be removed prior to your backing up. However, if the anit-sway is built into the wdh,
you should be ok.
It would help us also if you tell us what brand and model of wdh you have.
If you back up an incline with the wdh removed, you may find the hitch will be quite loaded pushing your rear end very low or into the driveway.
[quote author=Storm Trooper link=topic=600.msg3984#msg3984 date=1298378806]
Fly,
Nice explanation.
Are you the same Storm Trooper that at another forum suggested you'd never seen anything about weight transfer to the trailer axle?
"I don't know how that lever would act in the opposite direction other than to lighten the farthest point."
SO after making my decision to go with the Equalizer DW asked if she could look for one and came up with this:
[img width=640 height=460]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_d-jRnh_rVVQ/TYoHacpk9bI/AAAAAAAAAL0/Cww1o1xPGH4/s800/Eaz-Lift-Preassembled-Weight-Distribution-Hitch.jpg.thumb_popupprod_info_652x469_d84157d35b429dc1c00cfcafac997a44.jpg[/img]
I, after reading up and asking the questions here, settled on the Equalizer:
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So the question now is is one inferior to the other and if so why? The EAZ-Lift is $192 at AdventureRV.net plus shipping and the Equalizer is $400 there plus shipping. Folks here had directed me to RVWolesalers.com where the EQ is $440 with "free" shipping. So if I pay shipping at AdventureRV.net ($50) they are still a bit cheaper than RVWholesalers, not really the point. Adventure claims the EAZ-Lift is their best seller and I wonder if that's price driven. I'd like to save a buck, but if the EQ is a safer hitch then it's a no brainer for me. I just need some opinions to sell it to DW.
Thanks in advance for the input.
Mike
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