# Hitch Expert Needed



## Airboss (Jul 14, 2007)

Hi All!

DW and I just got back from Calico (we had a great time BTW!) and were discussing hitches on the way home after seeing Skippershe's setup. We've heard such good things about the Equal-i-zer and the Reese Strait-Line but we're concerned about WD. First, some details. We stopped at the scales while everything was still packed and here are the numbers with everything hitched and NO WDH:

FAW - 4460
RAW - 4080
TT axle - 5440
TV/TT combined - 13980

From the factory sticker, here are the ratings:
GVWR - 9000
FAWR - 5200
RAWR - 6010

So, here's my concern - Without any weight shifted to the front axle (no WDH) we're at 86% capacity of the front axle and 68% capacity of the rear axle. Considering this, there is no need to use the WD bars. Now, as I understand it, when using the Equal-i-zer or Reese Strait-line you need to put weight on the spring bars to get any sway control effect. Is this correct? If so, this probably isn't the type of hitch I need. Is this right or have I missed something?

If I am correct, what type of hitch can I use to get some sway control without shifting weight to the front axle? The friction arm the dealer gave us is pure junk IMO. Money is a concern as well because I'm trying to save up for radial tires. Thanks in advance for your help!


----------



## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

I'm not any kind of an expert, but we have the equalizer. The wd hitch also helps keep the tt level while towing. Part of the setup was to make sure the front and back of the trailer ane the same distance from the ground.

And actually at 86% and 68 % your weight is not distributed evenly. Dont quite comprehend FAWR and RAWR, guess it might Front something and Rear something.


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Weight distribution is not just for axle capacity. You may be over loaded on the Hitch itself. There is a rating on the hitch that will indicate something like 800 no weight distribution 8,000 with weight distribution (your numbers may be different) but you need to know the tongue weight of the trailer.

Also ALL of the quality sway control systems have weight distribution built in. Reese Straight Line, Equalizer or Hensley


----------



## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

We use the equal-i-zer setup. I haven't weighed this truck with the trailer but what I did do when we got our truck was to set up the wd to drop the front and the back of the truck equally. The ride was so harsh that we all got upset stomachs from the ride. I backed off the bars a notch so they still had pretty good tension on them so they worked as sway control but the ride was more tolerable. Now the weight is not distributed evenly but the bars have enough tension on them so the sway control aspect of the equal-i-zer hitch still works.

My personal conclusion after all of this is that a properly set up wd hitch seems to be much more critical for a comfortable tow with a 1/2 ton truck than a 3/4 or 1 ton truck.

Mike


----------



## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

I cant believe there is finally somebody else who experienced the same thing that I have when switching over to a HD (1-ton in my case) TV from a 1/2 ton. i dont really need the WD, but with little WD, One would assume that with an EQ hitch (or similar) you would lose some sway control with little pressure on the bars. I actually got in to a little bit of a heated discussion with one of the engineers at EQ about this. in the end, he suggested possibily using LOWER weight bars. i currently have 1200. he said "i guess you could use a 800lb setup to get more pressure on the bars for better sway control with less WD". Does this make sense? Wont the pressure be the same (low)? I notice more TT motion with the 1-ton / EQ setup than i did with my 1/2 ton / EQ setup and less (almost no) noise. my 1/2 ton squeaked and clunked, nothing with the 1-ton. Im a little perplexed. Im glad we can now discuss this together.


----------



## Airboss (Jul 14, 2007)

Lady Di said:


> And actually at 86% and 68 % your weight is not distributed evenly. Dont quite comprehend FAWR and RAWR, guess it might Front something and Rear something.


Yes, I am aware of this. Other than finding 1000# of 'stuff' (which would, of course, put me over the GVWR) to put in the bed of the truck it's always going to be unequal. This is exactly the point I'm trying to make - putting a WDH hitch on, and shifting weight forward, will only exacerbate the problem. I'm trying to find a solution that will incorporate sway control WITHOUT moving more weight to the front axle.


----------



## Airboss (Jul 14, 2007)

Sayonara said:


> Im a little perplexed. Im glad we can now discuss this together.


I'm sure we'll find the answer, but we may not like the price. I keep looking at the Hitch Hog that Carey developed but I can't afford it.

Currently I'm not running any WD or SC, just dropping the tongue on the ball. It rides fairly well, but I do notice some sway. Hopefully we'll find a solution soon.


----------



## webeopelas (Mar 11, 2006)

You can also see what else inside the trailer can be moved up front. Is your water tank in the rear? Be sure it is empty if not needed. If it is front, play with putting water in to bring the hitch weight up some. Alot of sway in a trailer can be traced to weight dist within the trailer itself.

I have never seen any sway control device that does not require a WDH.

If your truck does not need a WDH right now, then there is absolutely no reason to buy the hitch hog or any of that type of hitch helper. Have you weighed your truck empty? That is the only way to know how much weight is transfering to the rear and front axle. The couple of times I ran my 28BHS with my 3500, I wasn't concerned with balancing the weight, as ensuring I was not taking any weight off the front axle.

Without the WDH when you hook up the trailer, you are most likely lightening the front end some. So I adjusted my hitch to keep the weight up front the same to a couple hundred pounds above. I think if you did that, the equalizer would work fine.

I ran without any sway control with my suburban when I had a Sportsmen 21 footer. But I have never run without a WDH. I just think the whole combo will act more as one unit with one.


----------



## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Just remember that you're not necessarily trying to shift weight...you are trying to keep the compression the same once hitched up.
For instance, if you use your front and rear bumpers as a measurement before hitching up the tt...

Example: bottom of Front bumper measures 36" and rear bumper measures 40"

After hitching up the Equalizer, you should compress equally from front to back within 2"
Example: bottom of front bumper should measure approx 35" and rear 39"

Does that make sense??

It's not really that simple to get it dialed in on the 1 ton and takes some time to get the ride just right.
We still have a bit of porpoising on the front end of the tt according to dh and need to make a couple of adjustments, but we have no sway whatsoever...


----------



## Outback DeLand (May 6, 2007)

You need to call Hensley Arrow Co. or go on line and contact them. You can do a payment plan if needed to be able to afford it (we did and it was paid off in no time). It ELIMINATES the sway and will help solve your problem. Don't just take my word for it. Call. Tell them we recommended it to you.

Mike and Anita


----------



## webeopelas (Mar 11, 2006)

Hensley will eliminate the problem, but with a 3/4 ton MegaCab pulling a 25RSS I think the Hensley would be overkill.

A WDH like the equalizer should take care of the problem and cost a whole lot less.


----------



## bentpixel (Sep 2, 2006)

Airboss said:


> ...
> 
> TT axle - 5440...
> 
> ... Considering this, there is no need to use the WD bars. ...


Hi Airboss,

Please forgive the correction, but Dodge *requires* WD on loads over 5000lbs.







Dodge Towing Guide clicky.

I've been on I5 on a hot summer day and the road lops so much it is like riding a horse.








Imagine a 700 to 900lb load on the rear while bounding down the freeway. The front end might get pretty light.







Porpoising can put some extreme loads on both TV and TT.

I'm not saying buy a Hensley, but get something to hold down the front end.

Scott


----------



## Airboss (Jul 14, 2007)

webeopelas said:


> You need to call Hensley Arrow Co. or go on line and contact them. You can do a payment plan if needed to be able to afford it (we did and it was paid off in no time). It ELIMINATES the sway and will help solve your problem. Don't just take my word for it. Call. Tell them we recommended it to you.
> 
> Mike and Anita


Sorry, but the Hensley is overkill IMO. Not overkill in ability, but definately overkill in price.


----------



## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

Here's another thought........the diesel engine in there accounts for the extra weight on the front axle....you still want to spread out the tongue weight of the trailer.

The best thing to do is measure the space between your tires and the wheel well empty. Then hook up and remeasure. You want the front and rear to drop equally. If you measure with out a WDH, you will be surprised to see the differences.

Steve


----------



## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

huntr70 said:


> Here's another thought........the diesel engine in there accounts for the extra weight on the front axle....you still want to spread out the tongue weight of the trailer.
> 
> The best thing to do is measure the space between your tires and the wheel well empty. Then hook up and remeasure. You want the front and rear to drop equally. If you measure with out a WDH, you will be surprised to see the differences.
> 
> Steve


Steve has the right idea. By design, the 1-ton will be front axle-heavy, because of the cab and the diesel engine. But I might suggest that you measure the height of the trailer frame in front, and then the rear. I'm no expert, by any means, but I have an Equal-i-zer hitch that I set up myself, and I do have knowledge of all the physics theories involved in how the WD hitches work. I'd guess that your tongue is a little higher than the rear of the trailer, which throws tongue weight back onto the trailer axles. But I could be wrong, not having any experience with 1-ton TVs.

You want the trailer to sit as level as you can get it, so you don't overload the front trailer tires. (Too much tongue-low adjustment of the hitch head throws weight forward on the trailer tires, too!)

If the tongue is high, lower the hitch head. And if you get to a point (like I did) where one hole makes the tongue lower than the rear of the trailer and the next hole makes the tongue higher - default to being tongue-low and tongue-heavy - especially with your TV. Then the WD bars will provide enough friction to provide good sway control. (You are right on about needing friction between bars and L-brackets to control sway - that's how it works.)

And you are also spot-on about the friction sway control device. The manufacturers advise that they are not recommended for trailers over 24 feet (especially with your rear slide - making the trailer heavy in the rear to begin with). What puzzles me is why a dealer would sell you a friction sway control device when you are using a WD hitch that has the best sway control available, without going to the expense of a Hensley.

Hope this helps.

Mike


----------



## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Scoutr2 said:


> What puzzles me is why a dealer would sell you a friction sway control device
> Mike


Simple...The dealer tells you that they're going to "throw in" the hitch setup and this is what they "stick" you with, no matter what size trailer they sell you... Because it's cheap and most new buyers don't know any better









They did the same thing to us..."threw in" a friction sway control device along with our 28krs. We replaced it with an Equalizer a month afterwards.


----------



## thevanobackers (Nov 11, 2007)

last year are dealer threw in a fricition sway bar and towards the end of the season the threads on the fricition sway striped out. so this year i'm put on a dual sway control from reese.


----------



## Sean Woodruff (Dec 20, 2007)

Airboss, it sounds like your main concern is reaching the front axle rating with the weight distribution component of either the Reese DC or the Equal-i-zer. I think you are far enough away from that rating that you will never get to it with either of those hitches and they both do a decent job of damping sway.

A pivot point projection hitch like I manufacture can be used without weight distribution and you'll still have sway control. The pivot point being projected forward is independent of weight distribution. I do realize the price is more but that is another debate.

To stay on topic, I wouldn't be concerned with exceeding your front axle rating with either of the conventional hitches. And, should you decide on a 3P, you can run it with no, or very little, weight distribution.


----------



## Outback DeLand (May 6, 2007)

It's hard to put "PRICE" on family safety.
Mike


----------



## hazmat456 (Jul 26, 2007)

weigh your truck empty and find your front to rear % and make the truck follow that % when loaded all that measuring stuff doesn't really work when you have different rate springs front to rear


----------



## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Like Camper Andy said, your hitch is only rated for 5000 lbs w/o w/d bars. It is rated for 10000 with w/d bars. My Daully I just bought has the same hitch.. For using this truck as an everyday tower and knowing i will use it to pull 12000 lb 40 foot park models I felt I needed more hitch.

I bought a putnam class 5 hitch. It requires cutting off the old receiver. It then uses the new putnam hitch and the old round tube portion of the factory hitch. Its ratings are 15000 w/o and 16000 with w/d. It is a class 5 hitch with a 2 inch receiver. Using both hitches together creates an incredibly strong hitch.. it was a heck of a lot of work to install it, but its done..

You will need a class 5 hitch if you want to pull your trailer w/o bars. Its as simple as that Airboss.

I dont think anyone is using the Reese Pro Series w/d hitch. etrailer.com sells them for a lil over 300 w shipping.

Using my Hitch Hog puts me in the same situation as you Airboss. 
I needed some sway control but not much w/distribution. I tried the Equalizer and The Reese Dual Cam.. Both of those hitches need a lot of bar pressure to get the sway feature to work.. They are both not as good for what you and I need..

I tried the cheap new Reese Pro Series and it works like a champ comparred to the other two. it uses brake pad material at the rear of the bars. The brake pad material sets at the bottom of the bars.

This gives a great sway control with less pressure that the other two have to have. I set the ball angle around the middle of the range which is about 8 degrees. This gives enough bar pressure to make the sway feature work.

I am using there 1100 lb 11000 w/d set up because my trailer has a 1200 tongue weight.. You need a smaller one for an 800 lb tongue weight... This One Click The 750lb model would be perfect for you Airboss.

I think the New Reese Pro Series is the best hitch for people who need little w/d but still want a pretty dang decent sway control. Because it uses the brake pad material that the bars sit in it creates a lot of sway with little bar pressure.. You need to stay very close to w/d hitch versus tongue ratings so as not to pull too much weight off the rear.. Using a w/d hitch that is too big on 3/4 and 1 tons always ends up in a rotten ride.

One thing very cool is its the cheapest of all the w/d systems but for 3/4 and 1 ton guys its is the best!

The only other hitch that will work for you Airboss is Seans 3P.. You really dont need the Hog.. if you had a 12-1500 lb tongue weight the Hog would be perfect.

Carey


----------



## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Very interesting !!!


----------



## Airboss (Jul 14, 2007)

Sayonara said:


> Very interesting !!!


Indeed. Thanks to everyone.


----------



## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

camping479 said:


> We use the equal-i-zer setup. I haven't weighed this truck with the trailer but what I did do when we got our truck was to set up the wd to drop the front and the back of the truck equally. The ride was so harsh that we all got upset stomachs from the ride. I backed off the bars a notch so they still had pretty good tension on them so they worked as sway control but the ride was more tolerable. Now the weight is not distributed evenly but the bars have enough tension on them so the sway control aspect of the equal-i-zer hitch still works.
> 
> My personal conclusion after all of this is that a properly set up wd hitch seems to be much more critical for a comfortable tow with a 1/2 ton truck than a 3/4 or 1 ton truck.
> 
> Mike


Need to get a smaller w/d hitch, your ride will be very comfy.

Carey


----------



## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Airboss said:


> And actually at 86% and 68 % your weight is not distributed evenly. Dont quite comprehend FAWR and RAWR, guess it might Front something and Rear something.


Yes, I am aware of this. Other than finding 1000# of 'stuff' (which would, of course, put me over the GVWR) to put in the bed of the truck it's always going to be unequal. This is exactly the point I'm trying to make - putting a WDH hitch on, and shifting weight forward, will only exacerbate the problem. I'm trying to find a solution that will incorporate sway control WITHOUT moving more weight to the front axle.
[/quote]

Its always safer to have more weight on the front axle than the rear axle when towing. Most have less. I wouldnt worry about adding a lil more with a w/d hitch. The more the better.. If you have a Reese Pro Series set right I bet less than 100lbs goes to the front.

Dont worry about being balanced Airboss.. Most fight to get the weight equal or to get more weight on the front axle. You have no worries there.

The safest way to tow is having more weight on the front than the rear axle. You are perfect!

The 1/2 tons crowd have to use big w/d bars to get weight to there lighter than rear front axle. lol Hope that reads right..

Carey


----------



## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

skippershe said:


> Just remember that you're not necessarily trying to shift weight...you are trying to keep the compression the same once hitched up.
> For instance, if you use your front and rear bumpers as a measurement before hitching up the tt...
> 
> Example: bottom of Front bumper measures 36" and rear bumper measures 40"
> ...


If you are getting porpusing. Your bars are prolly too big too. If you are towing an unloaded roo, your tongue weight is prolly 800lbs with a few odds and ends in the garage. Using a 1200 lb equalizer is too much..

The spring bars are causing the porpusing because they are over the actual tongue weight.. They are giving a spring affect causing the porpusing.

If your bars closely match your tongue weight you wont get porpusing. This rule applies to 3/4 ton and up..

The 1/2 ton would need 1200 lb bars towing an empty roo to keep its butt off the ground and to add much needed weight to the front. Yes a 1/2 ton towing a 800 lb tongue weight with 1200 lb bars will have some porusing.. This is the trade off for going overboard on the bars..

Carey


----------

