What size bars

tibbitts wrote:

2014screw wrote:

tibbitts wrote:
I had a 23.5ft "lite" TT, 5000lbs wet on a cat scale, and if I had to do it over I'd have gotten 600lb EQ bars. Honestly if there were 750s or 800s I might have gone that route - and of course there are those sizes in other brands. But not 1000lb bars. The weak point in my setup was the aftermarket receiver and its attachment points on the frame (this was a 1999-generation half-ton GM truck.) Both the truck frame and the receiver were bent after several thousand miles of towing. I then upgraded to a higher rated receiver, and the difference was very significant, even though the receiver I had originally was rated for more than my wet tongue weight or TT weight. It appeared that no further damage was occuring, but I didn't have the rig long enough to know for sure. Maybe I wouldn't have had any issues if I'd had a significantly over-capacity receiver from the start. But I'd still be wary of 1000lb bars for a TT similar to mine. You want the bars to flex, not be so rigid they stress what they're attached to. I do think EQ needs to revisit the jump from 600 to 1000.

Did you ever find out what your TW actually was?

I agree about EQ needing to at least make 800 lbs bars. Those would fit my needs perfectly I think, but since I am already a fair bit over (or at least on paper I am as I do not have the trailer yet) I will have to go with the 1000 lb bars. My hitch is rated at 1050 lbs TW so I figure the 1000 lbs bars will be fine with this hitch with a TW a fair bit less the 1000 lbs

Not directly. I measured the front and rear axles on the TV, the TT alone, then repeated with the bars engaged. I don't understand the physics entirely, but I think some of your assumptions may be off. Read this and decide for yourself:

Weight Distribution (WD) Hitch --- How it Works

What assumptions are you refering too?

2014screw wrote:

tibbitts wrote:
I had a 23.5ft "lite" TT, 5000lbs wet on a cat scale, and if I had to do it over I'd have gotten 600lb EQ bars. Honestly if there were 750s or 800s I might have gone that route - and of course there are those sizes in other brands. But not 1000lb bars. The weak point in my setup was the aftermarket receiver and its attachment points on the frame (this was a 1999-generation half-ton GM truck.) Both the truck frame and the receiver were bent after several thousand miles of towing. I then upgraded to a higher rated receiver, and the difference was very significant, even though the receiver I had originally was rated for more than my wet tongue weight or TT weight. It appeared that no further damage was occuring, but I didn't have the rig long enough to know for sure. Maybe I wouldn't have had any issues if I'd had a significantly over-capacity receiver from the start. But I'd still be wary of 1000lb bars for a TT similar to mine. You want the bars to flex, not be so rigid they stress what they're attached to. I do think EQ needs to revisit the jump from 600 to 1000.

Did you ever find out what your TW actually was?

I agree about EQ needing to at least make 800 lbs bars. Those would fit my needs perfectly I think, but since I am already a fair bit over (or at least on paper I am as I do not have the trailer yet) I will have to go with the 1000 lb bars. My hitch is rated at 1050 lbs TW so I figure the 1000 lbs bars will be fine with this hitch with a TW a fair bit less the 1000 lbs

Not directly. I measured the front and rear axles on the TV, the TT alone, then repeated with the bars engaged. I don't understand the physics entirely, but I think some of your assumptions may be off. Read this and decide for yourself:

Weight Distribution (WD) Hitch --- How it Works

tibbitts wrote:
I had a 23.5ft "lite" TT, 5000lbs wet on a cat scale, and if I had to do it over I'd have gotten 600lb EQ bars. Honestly if there were 750s or 800s I might have gone that route - and of course there are those sizes in other brands. But not 1000lb bars. The weak point in my setup was the aftermarket receiver and its attachment points on the frame (this was a 1999-generation half-ton GM truck.) Both the truck frame and the receiver were bent after several thousand miles of towing. I then upgraded to a higher rated receiver, and the difference was very significant, even though the receiver I had originally was rated for more than my wet tongue weight or TT weight. It appeared that no further damage was occuring, but I didn't have the rig long enough to know for sure. Maybe I wouldn't have had any issues if I'd had a significantly over-capacity receiver from the start. But I'd still be wary of 1000lb bars for a TT similar to mine. You want the bars to flex, not be so rigid they stress what they're attached to. I do think EQ needs to revisit the jump from 600 to 1000.

Did you ever find out what your TW actually was?

I agree about EQ needing to at least make 800 lbs bars. Those would fit my needs perfectly I think, but since I am already a fair bit over (or at least on paper I am as I do not have the trailer yet) I will have to go with the 1000 lb bars. My hitch is rated at 1050 lbs TW so I figure the 1000 lbs bars will be fine with this hitch with a TW a fair bit less the 1000 lbs


Another question to you all out there. Would I be better off getting this WDH

Reese 66083 Strait-Line 800 lbs Trunnion Bar with Shank

I had a 23.5ft "lite" TT, 5000lbs wet on a cat scale, and if I had to do it over I'd have gotten 600lb EQ bars. Honestly if there were 750s or 800s I might have gone that route - and of course there are those sizes in other brands. But not 1000lb bars. The weak point in my setup was the aftermarket receiver and its attachment points on the frame (this was a 1999-generation half-ton GM truck.) Both the truck frame and the receiver were bent after several thousand miles of towing. I then upgraded to a higher rated receiver, and the difference was very significant, even though the receiver I had originally was rated for more than my wet tongue weight or TT weight. It appeared that no further damage was occuring, but I didn't have the rig long enough to know for sure. Maybe I wouldn't have had any issues if I'd had a significantly over-capacity receiver from the start. But I'd still be wary of 1000lb bars for a TT similar to mine. You want the bars to flex, not be so rigid they stress what they're attached to. I do think EQ needs to revisit the jump from 600 to 1000.

handye9 wrote:
Couple things to help with your calculations.

1. Average camping load (dishes, pots and pans, bedding, BBQ, camp chairs, water etc) is about 700 - 1000 lbs. About 10% of that will be tongue weight.

2. Weight of a full 30 lb propane bottle is about 53 lbs. Two bottles would be over 100.

3. Brochure tongue weights are notorious for being lower than actual weights.

Thanks for the info, however, I did email rockwood and they told me the dry TW included the empty propane bottles, so I just added the weight of the propane - 60 lbs for the 2 bottles.

So add in the 100 lbs TW from loading it up, are you saying that the new TW is roughly 810 lbs?

Couple things to help with your calculations.

1. Average camping load (dishes, pots and pans, bedding, BBQ, camp chairs, water etc) is about 700 - 1000 lbs. About 10% of that will be tongue weight.

2. Weight of a full 30 lb propane bottle is about 53 lbs. Two bottles would be over 100.

3. Brochure tongue weights are notorious for being lower than actual weights.

Ductape wrote:
You need the right size, not the size for some future rig. I towed a similar rig with 600 lb bars for 5 years and a lot of miles.

Used Cat scales on very TV combo and I have a Sherline. Never a problem getting weight transfer dead on.

Bars need to flex with road irregularities.

So I do not have the trailer yet to weigh but best guess for TW is the following

Dry TW - 430 lbs
WDH Weight - 100 lbs (Equal-i-zer)
Two 6 volts - 120 lbs
Two 30 lb Propane - 60 lbs total

TW = 710 lbs minimum
GTW max is 4830 lbs

This does not include anything loaded in the trail nor does it include anything to offset the TW in the back of the trailer.

So based on this info, would the 1000 lb bars be to much or would they work just fine? The 600 lbs will be to little I think.

You need the right size, not the size for some future rig. I towed a similar rig with 600 lb bars for 5 years and a lot of miles.

Used Cat scales on very TV combo and I have a Sherline. Never a problem getting weight transfer dead on.

Bars need to flex with road irregularities.

tibbitts wrote:
Don't go larger unless your receiver and your trailer frame is rated for at least as much capacity as your bars. The receiver rating is easy to determine; the trailer frame, not so much. But my experience has been that too-stiff bars may contribute to damage to the receiver, TV frame, or trailer frame, if the all the other components involved aren't a good match for the bars. I don't think I'd worry about ride quality, but I'd worry about the durability of what the bars are attached to.

The trailer is a 2015 Rockwood minilite 2306 model. I would think the frame will be fine, but how does one determine if it will be a good match with the bars?

The truck is a 2014 F150

Don't go larger unless your receiver and your trailer frame is rated for at least as much capacity as your bars. The receiver rating is easy to determine; the trailer frame, not so much. But my experience has been that too-stiff bars may contribute to damage to the receiver, TV frame, or trailer frame, if the all the other components involved aren't a good match for the bars. I don't think I'd worry about ride quality, but I'd worry about the durability of what the bars are attached to.