Anyone tow a 1250lb tongue weight rv without WD?

For ease, if the shank is hollow then its not rated for a heavy load. If the shank is solid, its probably good to go.

Reddog1 wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
What are you using for a shank and ball?

Do NOT use a cheap Walmart shank and ball rated for 5000lbs. 25% over the receiver rating is one thing, but you'll be 150% over the shank and ball ratings!

If you go buy a heavy duty shank and ball, you'll be into it for >$100 for a one time tow! $100 would make a heck of a dent in the cost of a WD hitch.

Our local Walmart store sells Reese shanks and balls. Your post says they are cheap. If I were to buy a Reese shank and ball from a different source, would it not be a better quality? Where would you buy what you perceive to be a quality shank and ball?

It appears to me, that we have to take the manufactures word for the capacities they state their shanks and balls will carry.

Wayne

Higher capacity balls and shanks are expensive. In other words, not cheap.

Walmart does not sell a shank or ball capable of towing a 10,000lb+ trailer with a 1250lb tongue weight.

I did this with our 2013 F250 when we picked up our Open Range Roamer TT from the dealer. The tongue weight on my TT is 1200 lbs empty, just like the OP. I wanted to install the WDH myself because I didn't trust the dealer, so I brought my TT home using the Class V hitch on my truck without a WDH. It was around 25 miles. I drove around 55-60 mph on the freeway. No big deal.

In today's computer controlled everything...gotta check the part number/SKU/etc

Base model and the key are the prefix/suffix letters/numbers

No different than buying a 'half ton' or any vehicle...base models are the exact
same nomenclature...but the devil is in the details of the suffix's....


I'll use WD setups if I can get it, but nothing and mean NOTHING bets
proper setup of the whole thing...from TV to trailer

mkirsch wrote:
What are you using for a shank and ball?

Do NOT use a cheap Walmart shank and ball rated for 5000lbs. 25% over the receiver rating is one thing, but you'll be 150% over the shank and ball ratings!

If you go buy a heavy duty shank and ball, you'll be into it for >$100 for a one time tow! $100 would make a heck of a dent in the cost of a WD hitch.

Our local Walmart store sells Reese shanks and balls. Your post says they are cheap. If I were to buy a Reese shank and ball from a different source, would it not be a better quality? Where would you buy what you perceive to be a quality shank and ball?

It appears to me, that we have to take the manufactures word for the capacities they state their shanks and balls will carry.

Wayne

WD is NOT what this conversation is about. In this case WD is not required. It is a heavy duty truck, and a short 35 mile tow that could be done at 35MPH or less if necessary.

Just exactly what a typical contractor does every day.

However to say that because contractors, RV haulers, and Europeans haul without WD all the time, therefore nobody ever needs WD is false logic. All three of those scenarios are significantly different from Average Joe America with his family SUV or pick-em-up truck traveling hundreds or thousands of miles at highway speeds with a loaded camper.

All those caravan people over in Yerp seem to be towing all the time without WD hitches...

joshuajim wrote:
Next time you go down the highway, notice that 90% of contractors towing trailers loaded with HEAVY loads are not using WD. They do it 5 days a week for years with no significant problems.

Of course, you pays your money and takes your chance.

Along with a very high % of trucks that tow RV trailers to dealers do not use a WD/AS bars of any sort either.

I go on the, if I can not tow the trailer in a straight line with out sway etc with out the bars, I will not put the bars on to fix the issue. I figure out the issue(s) for the sway, fix them, THEN install the WD/AS bars! I've had bars fall off once, never knew they were off until I stopped some 100 miles later, including driving over Stevens Pass in the snow!

marty

Next time you go down the highway, notice that 90% of contractors towing trailers loaded with HEAVY loads are not using WD. They do it 5 days a week for years with no significant problems.

Of course, you pays your money and takes your chance.

In 35 yrs of daily towing, I have NEVER had a DOT inspection. I have been thru the scales, NEVER been over weight, even when at 150% of the gvwr/gcwr of a given rig. I have always been under the road bed limit of 500 lbs in inch of tire width, and the 20K per axel, unless limited by tire width. Only issue I had was a emergency brake wire was not hooked up one time correctly per an leo, fixed it, went on my way.

I have not had any issues that folks talk about on here. Including pulling trailers at the time upwards of 8-9K with a hitch rated to DW 5000/10K with WD back in late 80's to early 90s when it was rare to find hitches rated over 10K.

Then again, the first new truck I bought, did not have a gcwr per say, when I found one for later year trucks, the gcwr was 100 lbs LESS than its gvwr, unless you looked in the fine print!

Generally speaking, if things are with in reasonable limits, the truck should do it. BUT as noted, one needs to know how much weight is of the FA, as that has been my biggest issue with heavier trailer and pickup truck handling. MY MDT has never had this issue. As very little weight is taken off the FA with this trailer attached.

marty