WD Hitch Reccomendation

[squeaky]

Well I got her home with no incident. I'd like to thank everyone here for their input. I didn't go with a WD hitch because I was literally broke and couldn't afford anything more than what I got. My TV is very tall and I had to get a hitch that dropped 10". I'll tell anyone who is trying to make the decision, after towing it 900 miles out of the mountains to the flat lands of South Florida, spend the extra money. Not having it meant I had to keep my speed to 60-65 mph max to avoid sway and sometimes had to go slower. Some of the older highways got a bit hairy dealing with the bumps and stuff without weight distribution.

That said before she goes back out on the road I'll be getting a proper WD hitch, probably a Reese Dual Cam. For now the repairs and refurbishing will begin. I'll take a lot of pictures as I go along and start a thread in another board.

Thanks again everyone!

[jim44646]

Ohio's max towing speed is 65 mph unless combined weight is 8000lb or more then it's 55 mph.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[Jim-Bev-2363]

Good you made it home without problems.

[DaveSha]

Glad it turned out well….And glad you're getting a WD hitch before you strike out again…Dave

[Digmenow]

I have a chance to pick up the following wd hitch for under $200 bucks.

Equal-I-zer weight distribution System with 4-point Sway Control - 1,200 pound hitch weight and 12000 pound towing. This is used but in great condition. Sold Camper so no longer need. Please see website for more information https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Dist...EQ37120ET.html

Will that be too stiff for an '03 T-1950? I don't want to hop down the road like a pogo stick and twist the frame into a pretzel. The owner used it on a 33 ft. TT.

The TV (currently) is a V6 '94 Silverado extended cab with trans cooler. I will replace it next year with something more capable but will be out with it in mid October on the flat roads of Maryland's eastern shore and driving speeds will be double nickle or lower. The braking will be courtesy of a Tekonsha Prodigy RF.

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Digmenow

I have a chance to pick up the following wd hitch for under $200 bucks.

Will that be too stiff for an '03 T-1950? I don't want to hop down the road like a pogo stick and twist the frame into a pretzel. The owner used it on a 33 ft. TT.

Hi Dig,

Your 03, T-1950 has a "dry" (empty) tongue weight of 380 lb. When you fill the LP tanks, add the battery and then add camping gear etc. I would estimate your loaded tongue weight to be in the 650 to 750 lb range. The actual will depend on your gear and how much to add to the front and rear cargo holes.

The 1,200 lb Equal-I-zer you linked, is a very good WD hitch with integrated anti sway control when applied to the correct size trailer. The price is really good too.

But, that WD hitch is too big for your camper. It is so heavy duty in relation to your light tongue weight that is will become an issue over time. It is very stiff and the A frame and header of your camper will not like it when a hard bump or WD hitch back flexing situation occurs (like coming off a high up RR crossing and bumping hard). I would recommend to not use that one on your camper.

If you find a WD hitch in the 600 lb rating, you can work to try to manage down to that number as a loaded tongue weight. You will be on the edge of that rating but it can work. Ideally you can find a WD hitch with a 750 lb /800 lb rating. There are several good brands in that range. Craig's list is a good option for used and then there are many places for new ones.

We are here to help as a sounding board on the brands and how to install and adjust them. Ideal is, you get a WD hitch with an anti-sway control system.

Hope this helps.

John

[Digmenow]

Thanks, John. I figured it was too good to be true. The guy even called me back this morning so I feel certain that I could have gotten it for a buck fitty. Oh well, I found this one on Craigslist, I'll find another but my window is shrinking. Thanks for the analysis. Huge help. Otherwise, I might have given into temptation and made a big mistake.

[Digmenow]

Okay, this is starting to make my hair hurt!

This chart, from Reese, seems to suggest that, based on the above estimated tongue weight, the 1200 lb. Equal-I-zer should fall into the somewhat stiff but acceptable range, no?

[JohnB]

Hi Dig,

Welcome to the world of "fine print" and trying to sort out a WD hitch. It can be a maz of numbers... but we can help you sort through this and most of all, learn what all this means.

The Reese trunnion bar hitch has tapered rectangular WD bars. The Equal-I-zer hitch has solid square trunnion bars. The Reese flexes differently then the Equal-i-zer and that chart will not apply very well.

To make a good working hitch sizing match up, things that need to align to make all the fine print work out OK.

1. The truck receiver, what is the rating in weight disturbing mode? Can it handle a 1,200# rated WD hitch?

2. The WD hitch needs to be rated heavy enough for the trailer loaded tongue weight. If you have a lot of weight in the truck bed behind the rear axle that is loaded "after" you adjust the WD hitch this needs to be looked at too. In this case you have lots of WD bar capacity with the 1,200# WD bar.

3. The trailer A frame and the trailer frame header needs to be strong enough to not bend when subjected to the high loads of a WD hitch. In this case, Sunline did not build your A frame and frame header strong enough to handle the forces of a 1,200# WD bar. While you have a 2003 camper, Sunline did a redesign in 2005 on some of the trailers that made the A frame like your 2003. They found out the hard way if the trailer has a real heavy tongue weight, 1,000# and up, it could and did bend the header and twisted the A frame. We have a real long post on this. It rears its head badly on the 2005 - 2007 T-2499's. Using a 1,200# WD bar on that light of a frame header is not a good idea.

We do not know what your truck receiver rating is or even what your truck is, but I can only caution you that number 3 above is a reality. Item 1 can be a problem too if you are using a 1,200# WD bar on a truck receiver only rated to handle a 900# WD hitch or anything less then the 1,200# bar.

Aside from the sizing top 3 needs above, trying to adjust a 600# loaded TW camper to a 1,200# WD bar is not easy on a light duty truck. Meaning not a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. The WD bar adjustment is so far away from the good working zone that one small tweak in adjustment and you either have too much WD or none at all. The truck will ride badly going in and out of having WD adjusted corrected when you go over bumps as the bars are not flexing very well. If you have a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck you can sort of get away with more as the truck can almost handle 600# with no WD so going out of WD adjustment does not really affect you so much.

Point being, you will not be happy long term trying to apply a 1,200# WD hitch on a 600# loaded TW travel trailer sooner or later. That Reese chart does not take into account all the factors in your setup.

Here are a few options in the Reese brand.

800# Reese SC hitch. Has intergrated anti sway with the hitch. Need to add tow ball too this and check that the standard WD shank will work with your truck. If not, we need to deal with the shank
https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Dist...e/RP66153.html

If that cost is too much, consider this hitch and add a friction sway bar.
https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Dist...e/RP66021.html

Here is the sway bar
https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Dist...ies/83660.html

And a tow ball. https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Ball/...ite/19286.html

This thread may help too. The hitch shank length needs to be checked before buying anything above. If your truck requires a high drop shank to level the camper out, the above hitch sets may not work right and you have to buy another shank. http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f7...tml#post137593

There are other brands that will fit and work too. We can run through them if you find a brand you like.

Hope this helps and glad to explain more as needed.

John

[Digmenow]

That was the X-Factor that I was looking for. It's the camper that's the problem, not the hitch. I'll just keep looking.