Weight dist/sway system you don’t need to install every time

My 2500HD has a payload of 3,400 pounds and hardly notices 1,000 pounds of tongue weight. Tows great with or without a WD hitch. If it sways, even twenty years towing experience won't help much. To me, it was worth the expense to purchase a tow vehicle with reserve capacity.

John -

Thank you so much for the thorough and thoughtful response above. I appreciate the explanation of various scenarios. I also appreciate the additional perspective regarding WD and sway control even on a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck.

fugawi wrote:
I am planning to purchase a toy hauler. It would be about 7,000 lbs/30’ as travel trailer or 8,000 lb/31’ as 5th wheel.

I’ve read many, many posts regarding travel trailer vs. 5th wheel to get a sense of pros/cons.

I’m going to get a new tow vehicle, so I could get a truck for 5th wheel.

I would prefer the travel trailer for single level and for lower top height. I would also prefer a large SUV like Expedition.

Regarding the travel trailer option, can someone tell me if there is a simple, quick approach to weight distribution and sway control that does not involve putting on/talking off the separate gear each time you hitch/unhitch trailer? Is there any sort of effective "built-in" weight distribution/sway system?

From an efficiency standpoint I really prefer to not have that extra step every time I connect/detach trailer.

If there is not a quick, simple approach for travel trailer weight distribution and sway control, am I better to go with the truck and 5th wheel. Is that hitch/unhitch process more efficient/quicker?

Hi fugawi,

It appears you are researching hitching up and a TV for a toy hauler. Good for you!!! We applaud you for doing this "before" you purchase. I have read the responses and rather than repeat them I will offer some other things not yet mentioned and reinforce one that has been.

The larger 1/2 ton SUV's, the Suburban 1500 or the Expedition XL is not a good choice for your application. You did not list what brand, year and model toy haulers generally however TH'ers have one common thing about them, varying tongue weights pending toys on board. The TW's of a toy hauler and then adding a premium hitch as the Hensley or Propide will over load the 1500 SUV rear axle and the truck receiver in short order. If you try and make this work, if it is even possible, you will be on the ragged edge of overload constantly finding yourself in a short time you bought the wrong truck.

Next is the pickup. Before you decide high-end capacity 1/2 ton PU or 3/4 ton PU, you need to get a good handle on the fully loaded tongue weight of the camper with and without toys on the toy hauler you are going to get. Pending what brand/model TH, the TH loaded with camping gear but no toys on board can have a very high TW. In addition, pending what setup, can even overload a 1/2 ton PU. Do not get tricked by catalog listed tongue weights as most are an empty trailer the day it left the factory and may not even have all the options you are getting. And this is not including all your camping gear. You stated a 7,000# TT toy hauler, while there are some that have a 7,000# GVWR, there are a lot more that may have a dry weight of 7,000# and go up 1500 to 2000# once you add all the toys and gear. Point: Research what a fully loaded TH with and without toys weighs and the tongue weights.

When shopping for PU, the price difference between 1/2 ton, 3/4ton and 1 ton truck with SRW’s is not that big of a difference. Until one researches this, the high cost is in the luxury of the truck and the popularity of what sells. Also, be careful on the left over available payload of the PU. Pending the year, cab configuration and engine it is not hard to overload a 3/4 ton PU. A mega cab, long bed, diesel setup can leave you with not a lot of payload left. Again this come back to needing to know the fully loaded tongue weight and cargo weight the truck is going to haul.

Now to the hitch, from your post it sounds like you may be new to this and trying to sort this out in your head. If you are going with a TT, do not get a large preconceived notion about a WD hitch. There are many on the market that can do a good job for you and some are better than others on features and how they hook up. The Hensely and Pro-Pride are hands down a premium WD hitch with anti sway built in and offer a feature to leave the hitch on the camper and not do much of any lifting. If the physical part of lifting is a restriction due to health, these offer a good option.

Then there is discussion about just use a ¾ ton PU and don’t worry about needing a WD hitch. Since it appears you are new to hauling a camper, I express caution on this. While a proper rated ¾ ton PU can haul a trailer of certain loaded TW with no WD hitch there are some drawbacks. No sway control for one. And before anyone jumps all over this, a friction sway bar is the wrong application here. There are many WD hitches that offer sway control as part of the WD hitch. Since you may be new to trailering a high profile, varying loaded TW camper and a long trailer, the heads up is, do not be temping fate and trying to do learn the ropes with no sway control and or WD.

The debate about if a ¾ ton or 1 ton truck ever needs WD occurs often. And those debating there is no need may have applications that do not need it. However you are new to this and you would be trying to figure out what is needed or not. Pending the truck bed weight and what type of rear suspension, riding around with a 1,000# TW camper and no WD can be a handful and not be a pleasant camping experience. I’ll give an example.

See my truck and camper in my sig. The truck has 2 stage 1 ton rear suspension and the camper has up to a 1,600lb loaded TW. In my case I have the truck, receiver and the hitching equipment to not use WD. However when towing the camper, I use the WD for 2 reasons. 1st is sway control and the 2nd is stability in the truck.

Now let’s take the same truck, add an equipment flat bed and a tractor on board. Trailer weight, ~ 6500# with a 1,000# TW. This setup can work with no WD and no sway control. However it works a lot better with WD. Since the trailer is shorter, open and TW balanced correct along with my towing distances are shorter then the TT, sway control is not a high need. With no WD the truck is bobbing around on every turn just about. The higher center or gravity of the tractor on the trailer is pushing and pulling the truck with no WD. I now hook up my older 1,200# WD hitch and the whole thing tames out.

My TT rig is dear wife approved… when towing the camper. I never hear a peep out of her. One day she rode with me when towing the flat bed and tractor and no WD. After the 1st turn she goes, OMG, this is not the camper… this thing is all over the place. OK it was not all over the place as wandering all over the road, but you can feel it in the trucking rocked by the 1,000# hanging off the back of the truck some 65” behind the rear axle. In my case, there would be no way I want to rack up the larger towing miles I do on the camper with no WD and sway control.

To your original question on what is the easiest in hitching up and dealing with WD, the 5th wheel hitch or gooseneck hitch in the PU truck bed along with air bags on the truck is a very serious contender. And then you come to the trade off of a 5th wheel verses the TT. Only you can make the choice if loosing the truck bed space for gear and going up and down steps in a 5th wheel wins out over the little bit of added effort it takes hooking up a WD hitch and dealing with varying tongue loads of a TH.

Hope this help you think some more on this as you sort this out.

John

TomG2 wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
What's so off-putting about a conventional WD hitch?

1. Back in.
2. Lower the tongue on the ball and latch up the coupler.
3. not necessary
4. not necessary.
5. not necessary
6. Retract jack and drive away.

There is nothing off-putting about WD hitches, I have used half a dozen different ones in my time. The OP asked what is the simplest system. The revised list is a comparison for him, using a 2500HD pickup as an example. (Yes, I know we both have to plug in the electric and hook up safety chains, but neither of us has them listed) Another small advantage is that a simple shank and ball are pretty light. I also recognize that it is not a race, but if someone moves quite often, the savings in time and effort add up.

Thank you. You're correct that I was asking about simplest. I understand WD and sway hookup may be no big deal to some, but I really prefer fewer steps and less time on setup/takedown.

As I said in post above, this discussion has helped me realize 3/4 ton truck is best solution for me, even if not ideal for daily driver.

orlandimal wrote:
I towed a 22' travel trailer with an expedition and even with a sway bar I got alot of sway when trucks went by. I switched to a Chevy 2500HD, no WDH or sway bars and had no problems at all and the tongue weight was barely noticable compared with the expedition. Since then I moved to a 5th wheel and there is no comparison as to which one is easier to hook up. The 5er is way easier to hook up and almost hooks itself up when backing. Also, no WDH or sway bars to fiddle with.

Thank you for that perspective. I'm leaning toward a 3/4 ton truck with travel trailer for now, and flexibility to go to 5th wheel later. Should be able to go with no WDH or sway that way.

Still preferring the travel trailer for single level convenience and for lower height.

mkirsch wrote:
What's so off-putting about a conventional WD hitch?

1. Back in.
2. Lower the tongue on the ball and latch up the coupler.
3. not necessary
4. not necessary.
5. not necessary
6. Retract jack and drive away.

There is nothing off-putting about WD hitches, I have used half a dozen different ones in my time. The OP asked what is the simplest system. The revised list is a comparison for him, using a 2500HD pickup as an example. (Yes, I know we both have to plug in the electric and hook up safety chains, but neither of us has them listed) Another small advantage is that a simple shank and ball are pretty light. I also recognize that it is not a race, but if someone moves quite often, the savings in time and effort add up.

What's so off-putting about a conventional WD hitch?

Once you get it adjusted, hitching and unhitching are quick and painless! I watched a friend hitch one up last Sunday and he was connected and gone in <5 minutes.

Unhitching:
1. Use the tongue jack to raise the trailer tongue and rear of truck to relieve some/all the pressure on the WD bars.
2. Use the pipe to release the snap-up brackets. Chain falls off automatically.
3. Remove each WD bar.
4. Lower jack until the coupler latch will release the truck from the trailer.
5. Drive away.

The reverse:
1. Back in.
2. Lower the tongue on the ball and latch up the coupler.
3. Raise the tongue and rear of truck until you can install the chains without a huge effort. You'll learn where this is after 1-2 hookups.
4. Hook in the WD bars.
5. Hook the chains on the snap-up brackets, and use the pipe to snap them up.
6. Retract jack and drive away.

Really, it's not all that involved/complicated/time-consuming. Many of these steps are EXACTLY THE SAME as they would be on the Hensley or Propride.

Although, if you're considering towing a 7000lb trailer with an Expedition, you probably should get a Hensley or Propride. You will need all the help you can get.

I towed a 22' travel trailer with an expedition and even with a sway bar I got alot of sway when trucks went by. I switched to a Chevy 2500HD, no WDH or sway bars and had no problems at all and the tongue weight was barely noticable compared with the expedition. Since then I moved to a 5th wheel and there is no comparison as to which one is easier to hook up. The 5er is way easier to hook up and almost hooks itself up when backing. Also, no WDH or sway bars to fiddle with.

If you've got the pocketbook, Hensley is the best hands down. I have an Equilzer. Takes about 60 seconds to hook up after I've dropped the TT on the ball. Don't let the "time" factor scare you away from any hitch. All are simple. Lots of good ones out there.

FWIW - I just loosen the chain bars, and pull the receiver pin and drive ahead. Everything stays put. Camping or at home, that's how I roll...

**EDIT** - I pushed the shank all the way into the Ford Factory receiver hitch, marked it, and had a machine shop drill a second hole. So I can just back up until it gently bottoms, throw the truck in park, inset the 1 pin, tension the bars, plug in electrical, hook up chains, and off I go. Same as the $3000 Hensley, form a convenience perspective. Performance of the Hensley will overall be superior. but buying it to save hookup time is a nebulous endeavor IMO.