WD Hitch or not?
Greetings, I am towing a 26' 7000 pound gross travel trailer with my 2018 Ram 3500 CC SB truck. Do I need a weight distributing hitch with this combo? The Ram manual states the max tongue weigh...
Forum Discussion
mr_andyj wrote:
You did not say if your truck has airbags that automatically keep the truck level (airing up when trailer is dropped on hitch).
If it levels itself then you do not need a WD hitch to help level.
If you are within the weight limit then you do not need a WD hitch.
The Ram manual is not talking about weights with using WD hitch unless it specifically states weights using a WD hitch.
A WD hitch will typically give a smoother ride and prevent the dolphin effect. A more comfy ride.
If your 7,000 gross weight trailer is loaded out to 7,000 lbs then your tongue weight should be 10-15% of that, 700-1,200 lbs or so. This is well under the rated 1,800 lbs your truck is designed for, so again, no you do not need a WD hitch necessarily. WD hitch would be for other benefits, not for tongue weight.
Put that hitched “level” TV on the scale. Thrn drop trailer and re-weigh. The weight on the Steer Axle WILL NOT be the same. Airbags (aftermarket, not air suspension) actually make handling worse.
Air suspension adds some complication to hitching. The system needs to be de-activated until scale numbers are set. And then checked again once activated (mainly via driving tests).
It’s NOT weight. It’s amelioration of FORCE.
Owners manuals go with the J2807 set of lies to sell pickups and exclude BETTER passenger vehicles from towing (most aren’t tested and given a random low number). It’s only advice. Just not very good advice any more.
Done right, steering control is (as we used to say back in the dim dark 1960s) “fingertip”.
