Do I even need a WD setup?

If the setup is balanced correctly etc, you have not taken as noted, too much weight off the FA, you should NOT NEED a WD or sway control. If you do not.....as noted, all bets are off. I've had an unbalanced equipment trailer that weighed 8500 lbs, with ALL of the wt on the axels, no hitch wt, dang near take a 12K empty dumptruck off the road with a 26K gvwr and 35K gcwr. I've seen a tandem dually Kenworth, with a swaying flatbed incorrectly loaded fore and aft wise. I've seen a 5W behind one of the supposedly can do no wrong Dogde fummins things swaying away!

BUT, as noted by many, you SHOULD be able with a ball or pintle mounted trailer pull upwards of 60-65 in any condition with out sway etc IF it is setup correctly. I have gone thru 50 mph side winds with my old TT in the Columbia river gorge without issues. Yeah the whole rig went sideways, rocked side to side with the higher gusts, But even with a dual cam in similar situations, I felt the wind. Altho a WD only, feels the wind less than nothing, and a dual cam is better than a WD only.

Marty

You need it but you can do anything you think is prudent as long as you are willing to accept the consequences.

It bounced thru a dip in the road,crossed up went sideways a few times then up the bank,hit the off ramp sign.

He said that he thought he had it saved then that sign got in the way.

It never came loose but when it stopped the truck was sideways in the road he unhooked and parked,

It never turned over,this could have been a lot worse. He is a retired OTR driver with a few million miles under his butt.

Did it roll or just come apart?

Bill

You can always take it for a test run as my friend did..............he made it 40 miles

The easiest way to find out if you NEED it is to not have one and see what happens. I'm sure the cost of your WDH is significantly less than the cost of your truck or trailer, or the value of you and your loved ones.

For a minimal cost you have WDH and hopefully sway control that you will never need.

Here's a long post from 2004 on how a WD hitch works.

Bill

Nope, most times folks do not need a WD Hitch system...it is that chance encounter
with Mr Murphy. Same as the seat belt...most times it is NOT needed

Either you have the correct stuff or not spot on. No time to go back to the store.

Ditto the setup. Either it is there spot on or not

Decide if you believe in the OEM ratings or not. If not, then do whatever. If so,
then read up and learn how it works and the ratings numbers vs your actual

Check your TV Receiver rating label. There will be two numbers. One with a WD Hitch
and other without (weight carry) vs your actual tongue weight

That video highlights bow wake effect. The trailer was not swaying until it
got out of the bow wake, or when that person met Mr Murphy...

Too late to slow down and the only hope for that driver was as mentioned...touch
the trailer brake controller to turn on the trailer brakes and *NOT* braking
the TV

There is a lot of misconception about what a WD hitch will do for you on this forum.

The best set-up for braking and handling for a car or truck, whether it be a race car or a truck towing a trailer is a 50/50 front to rear weight bias.

The reason people put sand bags or big medal plates in the back of their pickup in cold weather is to get the weight bias corrected in a light in the rear truck. Trucks are light in the rear because there is nothing back there except a big empty box.

When you put a light trailer with a light tongue weight on the back of your truck you are correcting the poor weight bias of your truck. If you put a WD on a setup like this you are jacking weight off of an already light in the rear end truck and putting it on the heavy front end. This is not what you need to do.

I have a real heavy diesel truck and a pretty light trailer. Here is what I do. I have a WD hitch on my trailer and I use it. I do not transfer any weight to the front of my truck because that would be silly. I hand tighten the chains only. The chains are just snug and that's all. With this setup, I will not transfer any weight (remember I don't want to) but it will take most of the porpoising out of the setup.

This is the best setup for getting the weight bias and porpoising correct.

When traveling down the Interstate at 65 for 100 miles you will probably see the need for WD hitch. I really believe in them for safety purpose.