Weight Distribution Hitch Question

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ccdhowell

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Shreveport, Louisiana
The RV dealer that sold me my 29 foot Adrenaline bumper pull toy hauler also sold me a 10,000 lb/1,000 tongue weight weight distribution hitch with it, Husky brand. Well, I have bent 2 of them; the plate where the ball mounts bends down, apperently from the tongue weight.

So I've been looking to replace my hitch with a heavier duty one, looking at these two:

Equilizer Hitch

Blue Ox Hitch

Anybody have any experience with one of these, or another one and can give me some input? I run a anti-sway bar now and it looks like either one of these would let me chunk that POS.

I don't know the tongue weight on my hauler, it changes nearly everytime I load because of the different amounts of quads I haul or if we are just going camping. Just doesn't seem like my current hitch is heavy duty enough.
 
Just depends on which brand you want. I have heard good things about both on the RV boards.

What are you towing with?
 
I have the equalizer hitch, its great very very stable. The only drawback i see is that its heavy to put in and out of the receiver. I use it on the avalanche to tow my jayfeather 28b. I also use the prodigy electric brake system.
 
Originally Posted By: ls1mike
What are you towing with?


Thanks for the input guys. The Equilizer does look awkward to put the bars into their receivers, I imagine you get used to it though. I'm used to lowering the trailer to lock the ball and then raising it to engage the bars, I'd think this would make the equilizer easier.

Mike, I pull with a '07 F250 with a modded 6.0L diesel. The engine struggled before I had it worked on. It's now studded, no EGR, Injen intake, 4" turbo back exhaust, no cat with a healthy tune. Pulls like I always thought it should now.
 
We,ve had the equalizer for 8yrs with great sucess. We pull a steel 3 horse trailer with tack room with a 99 F150 (each horse weighs approx 1200lbs). People who drive the truck with the trailer always ask about which engine mods we've done (200,000 miles on engine-zero mods) because it tows so level and smooth it seems nearly effortless. When we upgrade to a F 250 in a couple of years we'll def. continue to use the equalizer just for the great sway control. Install did require a small amount of mod to the dovetail for the brackets-no big deal.
Eric
 
Thanks booger, seems like I can't go wrong with the Equilizer.

Originally Posted By: morris
how are you loading the trailer?


I load 5 quads in the trailer, all on their tires (none standing on their tails). the little Raptor 90 goes in first and sits cross-wise in a space in front of the range and refrigerator. Next is a Raptor 125, cross-wise behind, it opens up a little. Next is a Kawasaki KFX450R, cross-wise. and the end is wide enough to get two side by side longitudinally, a Suzuki Ozark 250 and a Polaris Outlaw 450MXR. The KFX sits right over the axles with the heaviest quads behind the axles. The water tank for the hauler (100 gallons) sits literally on top of the axles under the floor of the trailer. Other things such as 2 6' folding tables get slid in between the two rear quads, air compressor goes in the door and clothes and gear bags get thrown down in the gaps between the quads.

Best i can figure it is about 1,900 lbs of quads plus gear in the trailer. I load the spare tires and gas for the quads in the bed of the truck.

Lots of junk, I know, my three daughters and I all compete in a local cross country racing series. My wife rides her quad to take pictures and just have fun for the weekend.
 
One more question. Would there be any danger in buying a WD hitch rated too large for the trailer?

I don't think I need a 14,000/1,400 hitch, but I don't know what my tongue weight is, so, can I err on the side of caution and buy the higher capacity hitch? Any downside?
 
Originally Posted By: ccdhowell
One more question. Would there be any danger in buying a WD hitch rated too large for the trailer?

I don't think I need a 14,000/1,400 hitch, but I don't know what my tongue weight is, so, can I err on the side of caution and buy the higher capacity hitch? Any downside?



not as long as the hitch is properly ajusted I.E. the vehicle and trailer are level. And as long as the tongue on the trailer is strong enough for a weight distributing hitch. i have the 10,000lb head and bars
 
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I don't have specs but i'm guessing the trailer is 7000lbs, 100 gallons of water is another 800 lbs, plus trailer loading propane etc, i'm betting you are at 8500lbs plus the weight of the quads, i'd go with the 14k hitch.
 
Originally Posted By: spasm3
I don't have specs but i'm guessing the trailer is 7000lbs, 100 gallons of water is another 800 lbs, plus trailer loading propane etc, i'm betting you are at 8500lbs plus the weight of the quads, i'd go with the 14k hitch.


Trailer is 7,150 dry and empty. That's as close a guess as I can figure and exactly why I was leaning toward the 14K hitch. I figure there will be a margin of error there, unlike my present hitch, which is overcapacity.

I'm thinking that it won't be too difficult to get a 14K/1.4K hitch to level the trailer if it isn't truely that weight. Shouldn't be too much tension on the bars.

Or, I have thought about having some overload air bags installed to help the hitch hold the weight. Seems to me that that would put less stress on the tongue of the trailer.
 
Originally Posted By: ccdhowell
[
I'm thinking that it won't be too difficult to get a 14K/1.4K hitch to level the trailer if it isn't truely that weight. Shouldn't be too much tension on the bars.



The equalizer hitch is ajustable, you ajust it to level out the truck and trailer , if you know how. The dealer selling you the hitch should do this for you. Are you running an electric brake controller?
 
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I run the controller that is built into Ford Super Duty trucks and really like it better than the aftermarket controllers I've used in the past.

The dealer showed me how to adjust the hitch, but didn't take into account the weight I would be adding to the trailer. Do you run the Equilizer hitch? It's not obvious how to adjust that hitch.
 
When properly set up, you will not be sorry! Don't grease the sway bar ends, the friction is what gives your the sway control. It will groan a bit on tight turns, but don't let that sound worry you.
 
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I thought I'd post a follow-up on my thread.

I bought the 14K Equalizer hitch and have pulled with it twice. There is no real comparison between the stability with this hitch and the junk I replaced. The trailer is much more stable at interstate speed, even in the wind I've encountered so far. Big rigs don't suck the trailer towards them any more. I'm glad I chose the 14K hitch for the weight of the trailer, I can get the trailer level now and the truck is much more level, I believe this is an appropriate amount of weight distribution, unlike what I had before.

It only took me and my daughter about an hour and a half to change out the connections on the tongue of the trailer, assemble the hitch and make the proper adjustments so it would pull correctly. On our first pull I decided the ball height was too tall so I lowered it one notch and that brought the front of the truck down a bit and leveled the tongue on the trailer. All-in-all it was a snap to assemble and adjust and now I feel confident to pull my toy hauler any distance that I may want to pull it, maybe including the Rocky Mountains this summer for vacation!

Chris
 
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