# Hitch Sugestions



## felony

I will be picking up my 250RS in June. I curently have a 2008 Dodge 2500 Megacab but might be switching to a 2010 Tundra in the near future. I have owned a couple fifth wheels but am new to the travel trailer and weight distribution systems. I am looking at either the Reese Dual Cam or the Equalizer systems. I have tried to school myself on the hitches but am lost. Dual Cam Vs. Equalizer? If Equalizer E2 Vs. E4? Any help or sugestions?


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## rdvholtwood

Hi Felony - GREAT choice on the 250RS - Your gonna love it!!

Just curious as to why the switch in TV's? Are you going to sell your 2500?

We have a 2500 gasser and use the Equal-i-zer system. It does the job well and have no complaints. We had to move our breakaway switch to accommodate the clamps for the sway bars, but, it wasn't a problem. Have you visited the Equal-i-zer site? They have some videos out there that do a pretty decent job at explaining how the hitch works.

As far as the Reese, I am sure there are others here that have that hitch and would be willing to share that info with you!

Good Luck on finding a hitch!!


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## felony

rdvholtwood said:


> Hi Felony - GREAT choice on the 250RS - Your gonna love it!!
> 
> Just curious as to why the switch in TV's? Are you going to sell your 2500?
> 
> We have a 2500 gasser and use the Equal-i-zer system. It does the job well and have no complaints. We had to move our breakaway switch to accommodate the clamps for the sway bars, but, it wasn't a problem. Have you visited the Equal-i-zer site? They have some videos out there that do a pretty decent job at explaining how the hitch works.
> 
> As far as the Reese, I am sure there are others here that have that hitch and would be willing to share that info with you!
> 
> Good Luck on finding a hitch!!


Thanks for the info. We are looking to drop a vehicle. I only use the Mega cab for towing and it is not a good daily driver for the wife. If I go with a Tundra everyone is happy.


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## 4fun_timers

felony said:


> I will be picking up my 250RS in June. I curently have a 2008 Dodge 2500 Megacab but might be switching to a 2010 Tundra in the near future. I have owned a couple fifth wheels but am new to the travel trailer and weight distribution systems. I am looking at either the Reese Dual Cam or the Equalizer systems. I have tried to school myself on the hitches but am lost. Dual Cam Vs. Equalizer? If Equalizer E2 Vs. E4? Any help or sugestions?


What area are you in? I will have a 1,000/10,000 Equal-i-zer for sale in a few days.


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## felony

4fun_timers said:


> I will be picking up my 250RS in June. I curently have a 2008 Dodge 2500 Megacab but might be switching to a 2010 Tundra in the near future. I have owned a couple fifth wheels but am new to the travel trailer and weight distribution systems. I am looking at either the Reese Dual Cam or the Equalizer systems. I have tried to school myself on the hitches but am lost. Dual Cam Vs. Equalizer? If Equalizer E2 Vs. E4? Any help or sugestions?


What area are you in? I will have a 1,000/10,000 Equal-i-zer for sale in a few days.
[/quote]

I'm in the Portland Oregon area. Why are you getting rid of it?


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## Ridgway-Rangers

I have the Dual Cam and love it. We have a 27 RSDS and tow with a 2500 GMC crew cab. We put on over 5000 miles last year and it towed straight as an arrow. This is over the rockies and through some high winds. One nice thing is you can leave it connected while backing into a stall. tight turns are no problem. My brother had a friction type sway control he saw how my TT trailed behind and how I did not have to take off the friction controller before backing and he moved up. 
I am not going to dog the Equilizer as I know it is a great hitch. 
Either way you cant go wrong.
Brian


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## 4fun_timers

felony said:


> I will be picking up my 250RS in June. I curently have a 2008 Dodge 2500 Megacab but might be switching to a 2010 Tundra in the near future. I have owned a couple fifth wheels but am new to the travel trailer and weight distribution systems. I am looking at either the Reese Dual Cam or the Equalizer systems. I have tried to school myself on the hitches but am lost. Dual Cam Vs. Equalizer? If Equalizer E2 Vs. E4? Any help or sugestions?


What area are you in? I will have a 1,000/10,000 Equal-i-zer for sale in a few days.
[/quote]

I'm in the Portland Oregon area. Why are you getting rid of it?
[/quote]

Upgrading to a ProPride. PM me if your interested. If I did it correctly, 5 day shipping would be around $50. I'm selling for $375. I don't plan to put it on ebay until I receive my replacement next week.

As others have said both the Equal-i-zer and Reese Straight Line are great. I have used both and found (my opinion only) the Reese is quieter during maneuvering and the Equal-i-zer is easier to connect (no chains or cams). Not that the Reese was difficult. I switched to the Equal-i-zer as it has much better ground clearance, better than the cams in my case. I think some of this may have been due to the Reese install done by the dealer on my old trailer. Good luck with your purchase.


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## felony

4fun_timers said:


> I will be picking up my 250RS in June. I curently have a 2008 Dodge 2500 Megacab but might be switching to a 2010 Tundra in the near future. I have owned a couple fifth wheels but am new to the travel trailer and weight distribution systems. I am looking at either the Reese Dual Cam or the Equalizer systems. I have tried to school myself on the hitches but am lost. Dual Cam Vs. Equalizer? If Equalizer E2 Vs. E4? Any help or sugestions?


What area are you in? I will have a 1,000/10,000 Equal-i-zer for sale in a few days.
[/quote]

I'm in the Portland Oregon area. Why are you getting rid of it?
[/quote]

Upgrading to a ProPride. PM me if your interested. If I did it correctly, 5 day shipping would be around $50. I'm selling for $375. I don't plan to put it on ebay until I receive my replacement next week.

As others have said both the Equal-i-zer and Reese Straight Line are great. I have used both and found (my opinion only) the Reese is quieter during maneuvering and the Equal-i-zer is easier to connect (no chains or cams). Not that the Reese was difficult. I switched to the Equal-i-zer as it has much better ground clearance, better than the cams in my case. I think some of this may have been due to the Reese install done by the dealer on my old trailer. Good luck with your purchase.
[/quote]

Thank you for the offer but I think that I have decided to go with the Dual Cam.


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## 4fun_timers

felony said:


> I will be picking up my 250RS in June. I curently have a 2008 Dodge 2500 Megacab but might be switching to a 2010 Tundra in the near future. I have owned a couple fifth wheels but am new to the travel trailer and weight distribution systems. I am looking at either the Reese Dual Cam or the Equalizer systems. I have tried to school myself on the hitches but am lost. Dual Cam Vs. Equalizer? If Equalizer E2 Vs. E4? Any help or sugestions?


What area are you in? I will have a 1,000/10,000 Equal-i-zer for sale in a few days.
[/quote]

I'm in the Portland Oregon area. Why are you getting rid of it?
[/quote]

Upgrading to a ProPride. PM me if your interested. If I did it correctly, 5 day shipping would be around $50. I'm selling for $375. I don't plan to put it on ebay until I receive my replacement next week.

As others have said both the Equal-i-zer and Reese Straight Line are great. I have used both and found (my opinion only) the Reese is quieter during maneuvering and the Equal-i-zer is easier to connect (no chains or cams). Not that the Reese was difficult. I switched to the Equal-i-zer as it has much better ground clearance, better than the cams in my case. I think some of this may have been due to the Reese install done by the dealer on my old trailer. Good luck with your purchase.
[/quote]

Thank you for the offer but I think that I have decided to go with the Dual Cam.
[/quote]

That's a great hitch! You wont be disappointed....


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## felony

Now that I have decided to go with the Dual Cam which one would you guys suggest. I will be towing a 2011 250RS that has a max weight of 7550lbs, and a dry toung weight of 540lbs. Would I be pushing it with the 800/8000lbs hitch or should I just get the 1200/12000 hitch? Can you over do it? Thanks in advance for your help.


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## Nathan

With a 1/2 ton truck, I'd go for the 1200 lb bars, but with your's I'd reccomend 800 lb. You can overdo it and if you do the ride will end up harsher than you might like.


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## CamperAndy

I would get 1000 pound bars for that trailer.


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## john7349

X2 for the 1000lb bars. The 800 lb bars will be too lite for that TT.


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## Nathan

You guys really think so? With my 28RSDS and my F150 I needed 1200lb bars. However they made the F350 ride terrible. 800lb'ers didn't transfer as much weight, but the heavy duty suspension did great with it.

Hey Felony, maybe get some 1000 or 1200 lb bars (I'm not sure if Reese DC has 1000) and then if they are too rough, tow on over to MI. I still have the 800 lb bars in my garage.


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## CamperAndy

Nathan said:


> You guys really think so? With my 28RSDS and my F150 I needed 1200lb bars. However they made the F350 ride terrible. 800lb'ers didn't transfer as much weight, but the heavy duty suspension did great with it.
> 
> Hey Felony, maybe get some 1000 or 1200 lb bars (I'm not sure if Reese DC has 1000) and then if they are too rough, tow on over to MI. I still have the 800 lb bars in my garage.


Well you may have a point on the 1000 pound bars. I am positive they use to be available but a quick check shows they don't have them anymore. That being the case, I would change my vote and suggest you get 1200 pounders.


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## felony

Thank you all for your suggestions. It sounds like I should go with the 1200. Dealer told me to use the 8000 for this trailer and that the 1200 would be over kill. This is one of those stupid darned if you do darned if you dont purchases. Sounds like either will work but I will always wonder if the other would have been better.


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## rdvholtwood

felony said:


> Thank you all for your suggestions. It sounds like I should go with the 1200. Dealer told me to use the 8000 for this trailer and that the 1200 would be over kill. This is one of those stupid darned if you do darned if you dont purchases. Sounds like either will work but I will always wonder if the other would have been better.


Just for clarification - you are getting the 1200lb bars because of the tundra being a 1/2 ton? and that it would help better with WD? We have a 250RS with a 2500RAM with 1000lb bars and they do great. I'm confused....


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## Nathan

rdvholtwood said:


> Thank you all for your suggestions. It sounds like I should go with the 1200. Dealer told me to use the 8000 for this trailer and that the 1200 would be over kill. This is one of those stupid darned if you do darned if you dont purchases. Sounds like either will work but I will always wonder if the other would have been better.


Just for clarification - you are getting the 1200lb bars because of the tundra being a 1/2 ton? and that it would help better with WD? We have a 250RS with a 2500RAM with 1000lb bars and they do great. I'm confused....








[/quote]









I missed the Tundra part.










1200 lb definetly (1000 would work if they made them). You'll want that added margin for the light duty 1/2 ton suspension...


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## Oregon_Camper

Ridgway-Rangers said:


> I have the Dual Cam and love it. We have a 27 RSDS and tow with a 2500 GMC crew cab. We put on over 5000 miles last year and it towed straight as an arrow. This is over the rockies and through some high winds. One nice thing is you can leave it connected while backing into a stall. tight turns are no problem. My brother had a friction type sway control he saw how my TT trailed behind and how I did not have to take off the friction controller before backing and he moved up.
> I am not going to dog the Equilizer as I know it is a great hitch.
> Either way you cant go wrong.
> Brian


For what it's worth, I've backed in some very very very tight locations and have never had to remove my DB's on y Equalizer. Not sure why you would ever have to do this. My previous rigs was a Suburban with Quadrasteer (back tires moved as well) and I could get that thing almost 90 degrees and never removed WDB's.


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## Nathan

Oregon_Camper said:


> I have the Dual Cam and love it. We have a 27 RSDS and tow with a 2500 GMC crew cab. We put on over 5000 miles last year and it towed straight as an arrow. This is over the rockies and through some high winds. One nice thing is you can leave it connected while backing into a stall. tight turns are no problem. My brother had a friction type sway control he saw how my TT trailed behind and how I did not have to take off the friction controller before backing and he moved up.
> I am not going to dog the Equilizer as I know it is a great hitch.
> Either way you cant go wrong.
> Brian


For what it's worth, I've backed in some very very very tight locations and have never had to remove my DB's on y Equalizer. Not sure why you would ever have to do this. My previous rigs was a Suburban with Quadrasteer (back tires moved as well) and I could get that thing almost 90 degrees and never removed WDB's.
[/quote]
No, but if you have one of the cheap friction sway bars they recommend removal prior to backing.


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## booze123

4fun_timers said:


> I will be picking up my 250RS in June. I curently have a 2008 Dodge 2500 Megacab but might be switching to a 2010 Tundra in the near future. I have owned a couple fifth wheels but am new to the travel trailer and weight distribution systems. I am looking at either the Reese Dual Cam or the Equalizer systems. I have tried to school myself on the hitches but am lost. Dual Cam Vs. Equalizer? If Equalizer E2 Vs. E4? Any help or sugestions?


What area are you in? I will have a 1,000/10,000 Equal-i-zer for sale in a few days.
[/quote]

I'm in the Portland Oregon area. Why are you getting rid of it?
[/quote]

Upgrading to a ProPride. PM me if your interested. If I did it correctly, 5 day shipping would be around $50. I'm selling for $375. I don't plan to put it on ebay until I receive my replacement next week.

As others have said both the Equal-i-zer and Reese Straight Line are great. I have used both and found (my opinion only) the Reese is quieter during maneuvering and the Equal-i-zer is easier to connect (no chains or cams). Not that the Reese was difficult. I switched to the Equal-i-zer as it has much better ground clearance, better than the cams in my case. I think some of this may have been due to the Reese install done by the dealer on my old trailer. Good luck with your purchase.
[/quote]

I see you pull with the F150. How's that working for ya? I've had people tell me 'no-way' with the 250RS, and others say no prob!! We do like to camp at elevation in the Rockies, but we're never in a hurry, just want to get there safe.


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## bama29fan

Oregon_Camper said:


> I have the Dual Cam and love it. We have a 27 RSDS and tow with a 2500 GMC crew cab. We put on over 5000 miles last year and it towed straight as an arrow. This is over the rockies and through some high winds. One nice thing is you can leave it connected while backing into a stall. tight turns are no problem. My brother had a friction type sway control he saw how my TT trailed behind and how I did not have to take off the friction controller before backing and he moved up.
> I am not going to dog the Equilizer as I know it is a great hitch.
> Either way you cant go wrong.
> Brian


For what it's worth, I've backed in some very very very tight locations and have never had to remove my DB's on y Equalizer. Not sure why you would ever have to do this. My previous rigs was a Suburban with Quadrasteer (back tires moved as well) and I could get that thing almost 90 degrees and never removed WDB's.
[/quote]

same here...getting in my drive way (and in to the camp spot at panama city last week) were near 90* and i leave the EQ bars on.


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## garywies

When my Equilizer hitch was first set up at Holman's they set the "L" brackets that support the friction bars at the rear most position, on backing in tight turns the friction bar on the long side would fall out of position and then when I straightened the truck it bent the "L" brackets. I have replaced the brackets (of course) and move the "L" brackets forward, still within Equilizer's mounting range.
Things work fine and I don't need to remove the bars.

I have a 2008 Tundra and a 18RS (6500LBs+/-)


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## 4fun_timers

I see you pull with the F150. How's that working for ya? I've had people tell me 'no-way' with the 250RS, and others say no prob!! We do like to camp at elevation in the Rockies, but we're never in a hurry, just want to get there safe.
[/quote]

I love it. My OB scales at 6700lb with 820lb on the tongue. My 07 had a 150" WB and I had upgraded the tires to Nitto's (extra weight rating), which had a thicker ply and allowed more psi (50psi). I pulled with the equalizer and it was great. My 2009 has a 145" WB with P rated tires (44psi) and initially I could feel a little more side pull/push so I upgraded to the ProPride. *This hitch is amazing!!* The equalizer still did a great job and has its place, but the PP is in a class of its own. My 07 had the 4 speed tranny with a 3.53 axle and I never felt a lack of power. No problems achieving and maintaining 70mph. Most of my trips are in the flats but we make 2-3 trips each year to the mountains of NC. I pull a 3mile, 6% grade at 62-64mph without pushing it to the floor. My 2009 has the same gear and engine, but the 6 speed transmission makes a huge difference in power. I haven't towed in the mountains yet with the 09, but I expect no problems. My only concern with either was the transmission temp so I used the Edge Insight on the 07 and the Scan Gauge on the 09 to monitor. The highest I had ever seen it on the 07 was just under 200. That was on long, steep grades or when backing into tight spots. The 09 runs higher towing or not, but doesn't change much and hasn't topped 200. I used to pull with a 2005, F250, Powerstroke and the 150's don't have that kind of torque and the suspension was more rigid but I have never felt unsafe or even questionable with either of the 150's. With the 07 I had to watch my GVWR as I was at the limit. I have owned and pulled travel trailers for the last 10 years and this is just my experience.


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## navycranes

rdvholtwood said:


> Thank you all for your suggestions. It sounds like I should go with the 1200. Dealer told me to use the 8000 for this trailer and that the 1200 would be over kill. This is one of those stupid darned if you do darned if you dont purchases. Sounds like either will work but I will always wonder if the other would have been better.


Just for clarification - you are getting the 1200lb bars because of the tundra being a 1/2 ton? and that it would help better with WD? We have a 250RS with a 2500RAM with 1000lb bars and they do great. I'm confused....








[/quote]

Just wondering. What difference does it make what the tow vehicle is???

Weight distribution is weight distribution. Doesn't matter how big your TV is.

If your trailer has 1,000 pounds of tong weight, your goal is to transfer half of that to the front axle and allow half to stay on the rear so the TV will handle normally.

Putting larger bars on a lighter duty truck will give it a level look and the false sense that you are evenly distributed when in fact you have TOO MUCH weight on the front axle.

If your Tundra (or any half ton) is still sagging in the rear after the bars are installed then increasing the size of the bars is NOT the answer. Instead, consider air bags, air shocks, or helper springs.

You can drop 1,000 pounds on the hitch some 1-ton trucks and it won't even squat. That DOESN'T mean that you are properly distributed, You have 1,000 extra pounds on rear axle and none on the front.

Half ton trucks just show it better when loaded because they sag.

Bottom line&#8230;.. Go with the bar size that properly distributes your trailer's tong weight to both axles. There are some measurements you can take to figure this out, but the best way is a good scale that can weight individual axle weights. Then you'll know for sure.


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## chuck&gail

One point to remember, you want about 13% of FULLY LOADED weight on the tongue. If TT is 7550#, your target tongue weight is 981.5#. The 1000# bars would be almost perfect. The 1200# bars will be a bit heavy, but note a 15% tongue weight would be 1132.5#, so the 1200# bars would be near perfect for that.

So IMHO the 1000# or the 1200# bars should work fine. The 800# bars are WAY TOO SMALL.


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## Nathan

navycranes said:


> Just wondering. What difference does it make what the tow vehicle is???
> 
> Weight distribution is weight distribution. Doesn't matter how big your TV is.
> 
> If your trailer has 1,000 pounds of tong weight, your goal is to transfer half of that to the front axle and allow half to stay on the rear so the TV will handle normally.
> 
> Putting larger bars on a lighter duty truck will give it a level look and the false sense that you are evenly distributed when in fact you have TOO MUCH weight on the front axle.
> 
> If your Tundra (or any half ton) is still sagging in the rear after the bars are installed then increasing the size of the bars is NOT the answer. Instead, consider air bags, air shocks, or helper springs.
> 
> You can drop 1,000 pounds on the hitch some 1-ton trucks and it won't even squat. That DOESN'T mean that you are properly distributed, You have 1,000 extra pounds on rear axle and none on the front.
> 
> Half ton trucks just show it better when loaded because they sag.
> 
> Bottom line&#8230;.. Go with the bar size that properly distributes your trailer's tong weight to both axles. There are some measurements you can take to figure this out, but the best way is a good scale that can weight individual axle weights. Then you'll know for sure.


Hmmm,

I'm going to have to disagree here. When I had my F350 and OB, you didn't want equal weight transfer between the front and back. The truck was built to drive with up to 3000 lbs in the bed. Therefore empty, the rear axle was loaded only ~30% and the front was loaded over 70% of max (diesel engines are heavy). If you split the tounge weight evenly, then the ride was horrible. In my case, I needed 1200 lb bars on my F150 because I had to distribute the weight evenly. On my F350, the 800 lb bars were much better because they only transferred some of the weight. Now mind you, I never unloaded the front axle on the F350, but I didn't load it up much either. This is my experience and individual results may vary.


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## willingtonpaul

yeah, i'm with nathan on this one....

i was converted to the lighter bar for heavier truck religion a bit ago by a longtime airstream dealer. with my F350 i use 600lb. bars on my dual cam. the object is not to transfer weight to the front axle with my setup. it is to transfer weight back to the trailer axles and solidify the hitch connection. from my other tow vehicles, i own 1200lb and 800lb bars for my dual cam. both make the ride horrible with my F350. but with my ford explorer and 1500 ram, with other trailers, i needed the heavier bars. also, with the dual cam setup, you need a good amount of deflection in the bars to have the cup in the bar stay seated on the cam. 2 to 3 inches of deflection is what is needed. most dual cam owners do not have enough deflection in their bars to fully utilize the anti sway features inherent in the hitch design.

if i tried to get load to the front, i would have to use such a stiff bar that the hitch connection would be so stiff that the trailer would be shaken apart.


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## duggy

chuck&gail said:


> One point to remember, you want about 13% of FULLY LOADED weight on the tongue. If TT is 7550#, your target tongue weight is 981.5#. The 1000# bars would be almost perfect. The 1200# bars will be a bit heavy, but note a 15% tongue weight would be 1132.5#, so the 1200# bars would be near perfect for that.
> 
> So IMHO the 1000# or the 1200# bars should work fine. The 800# bars are WAY TOO SMALL.


Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, the weight distributions bars have no effect on tongue weight. Tongue weight is simply a result of load placement in relation to the axles. If more weight is placed forward of the axles, tongue weight will increase. If weight is shifted towards the rear of the trailer, tongue weight will decrease.

The weight distribution bars affect how much of that tongue weight is loaded on each axle of the tow vehicle.

Doug


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