Weight Distribution hitch or not?

[Donstar]

I towed my 3900 lb (dry weight) travel trailer on a couple of short trips for servicing without hooking up my torsion bars.  I really can't see or feel much difference. Maybe when fully loaded and on longer trips a full hookup would ensure the best ride and possibly reduce sway.   However, I am wondering if a WD hitch may not always be necessary on a smaller trailer being towed by my full sized truck.   I used to tow fully laden box utility trailers and didn't ever consider a WD hitch.   I was told it was necessary for a travel trailer but am starting to wonder if this is a little overkill for my needs?.

[DONWT15]

What's the tongue weight on the trailer? There is a chart in the owners manual stating weight limits with and without weight distribution. Page 9-88 and 9-89 in mine.

[Big Whiskey]

I was going to ask about tongue weight as well. And, like you mentioned, small trips on two lane roads are much different than long trips on the interstate with over a week's worth of camping gear in the bed. You might not need the WD for short trips.   

[BigBadSierra]

Travel Trailers are big Wind Sales do yourself a favor and use the WDH hitch with sway control as well.

 

I have personally seen people not running one loose control and flip the truck and trailer. It's horrifying when it's your friends in the vehicle.

 

Truck out front had one I had one out back.  All three were all hit by the same side wind.

 

Ruined the camping trip for everyone.

 

You may only need it that one time but is your truck Family Friends worth it.

 

I say yes.

[Perseus]

My trailer is about 3500lbs on the scales and about 500lbs on the tongue. I'm running a WD hitch this season. I sag pretty good as it is and we got blown around a bit last fall

Ccsb 4.3 and a 21' hybrid

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Donstar]

Thanks for the responses.  I believe I'm fine making local runs between storage, service and home using just a ball hitch.   When I hit the highways, I'll be sure to use my equalizer/anti sway hitch system.  

[Chevor]

I am not really a fan of wdh hitches.  I mean they are used because the trailer is heavier then what the truck is setup to handle.  Mainly because the trucks rear leaf springs are not enough or the trucks tires causing sway do to sidewall flex or and deep tread.  

Driving with snow and ice on roads with a wdh is much more dangerous then with out one.  Taking the weight off the drive tires causes the truck to spin sooner,  and could even cause the truck and trailer to jackknife.

[jumpinjoe]

Something of importance to consider is that most, if not all states have a 'minimum weight without brakes' limit on trailer towing. Most that I'm aware of is 3,000lbs.

 

This is important because no matter what your tow vehicle is capable of without a WDH or brakes, if the law says you need one and you're involved in any accident without one, whether the trailer load had anything to do with it or not, you'll be in deep doodoo.

 

This situation also comes into play if you're towing with an overload on the particular hitch you have on your tow vehicle. Most light duty vehicles such as the 1500 come equipped with a max 5,000lb hitch providing for a max 500lb tongue weight. Any accident while towing a load of maybe 800lbs tongue weight would technically be in violation of law, and probably put you in that same pile of doodoo.

 

Now we've all probably exceeded our max limits in one way or another on occasion and been totally fine from start to finish. The question is will we always be that lucky. And an even more important question is will we take out someone totally uninvolved if we do have that accident?

 

And lastly, I'll throw this out just as food for thought and not in any way to argue or to say anyone else is wrong ..... but ..... if you load your vehicle properly and adjust your WDH properly, you will never take so much weight off your rear tires as to make your vehicle dangerous in snow, sleet, black ice, rain, nor any other road surface. When adjusted properly, you will still have a rear wheel weight well within the design limits of that rear end.

 

The only time you'll not have appropriate weight on the rear end wheels is when you see someone jack the hell out of the spring bars without first making sure all other requirements of a WDH are met. Primary example is to ensure both the trailer coupler (when sitting dead level) and the top of the hitch ball (truck sitting unloaded) are equal. Guys, I simply cannot stress just how important this simple measurement is and just how often it's overlooked.

 

Regards,

Joe

Edited October 23, 2019 by jumpinjoe
typo

[Badbird2000]

I tow a 19'hybrid, 4100 lbs with my 2012 Crew Cab. I have a sway control, but no wd. The furthest I have hauled is from Knoxville to Charleston. I have had no issues, nor felt unsafe at all. It might ride a bit more level with one. I plan on upgrading in the next tear or so, slightly larger. When I do, I'll definitely go with wd

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk