GMC 2500 13,000 lbs No WDH

TomG2 wrote:

Groover wrote:


There is a difference between doing something and doing it safely all day in whatever weather you encounter and with your family aboard. While not all trailer/truck combinations "require" a WDH you may find that you get to your destination in a better frame of mind if you use one.

If you "Think" you need one, you need one. Got it.

Wow, I’m almost getting convinced I need a wdh and anti sway for my 32’ enclosed trailer..... (Pretty much a TT full of snomachines)
No , actually I’m not. However I am understanding the lengths some will go to achieve the perfect towing experience and there’s some validity to that. Everyone’s idea of “comfortable” is differnet and I guess I just don’t give it much thought when towing trailers. As long as the trailer isn’t flinging around uncontrollably, I mash the go pedal. Full speed ahead!

IdaD wrote:
I've towed plenty of heavy trailers on a ball with no issues. Just gotta have enough truck, and a diesel engine sitting on top of the front axle certainly helps.

x2

TomG2 wrote:
We ran a construction company and we towed everything from equipment trailers to work trailers with adequate tow vehicles and no weight distribution hitches. When the same weight trailer is sold by a RV dealer, "You have to have a WD hitch" becomes the warning. Go with the tow vehicle manufacturer. They know more about their vehicles than the RV sales people.

Well Tom, trying to interject a little common sense or real world experience on these RV boards is an exercise in frustration of epic proportions. Has always been and always will be.

Groover wrote:


There is a difference between doing something and doing it safely all day in whatever weather you encounter and with your family aboard. While not all trailer/truck combinations "require" a WDH you may find that you get to your destination in a better frame of mind if you use one.

If you "Think" you need one, you need one. Got it.

TomG2 wrote:
We ran a construction company and we towed everything from equipment trailers to work trailers with adequate tow vehicles and no weight distribution hitches. When the same weight trailer is sold by a RV dealer, "You have to have a WD hitch" becomes the warning. Go with the tow vehicle manufacturer. They know more about their vehicles than the RV sales people.

There is a difference between doing something and doing it safely all day in whatever weather you encounter and with your family aboard. While not all trailer/truck combinations "require" a WDH you may find that you get to your destination in a better frame of mind if you use one.

We ran a construction company and we towed everything from equipment trailers to work trailers with adequate tow vehicles and no weight distribution hitches. When the same weight trailer is sold by a RV dealer, "You have to have a WD hitch" becomes the warning. Go with the tow vehicle manufacturer. They know more about their vehicles than the RV sales people.

My personal experience is a WDH hitch improves handling and ride comfort even though I tow with a 1 ton.

hawkeye-08 wrote:
We towed our current trailer home without WDH with no issues towing, but had a few oncoming cars flash headlights so we must have had a different angle than without trailer. I thought about just adjusting headlights, but by the time loaded up trailer and filled bed of truck and put kayaks on rack, why not use a WDH, not that much additional work.

It is not just your headlights that can change angle. Your front caster angle changes the same as your headlights and this will happen even if the front does not rise while the back goes down. And depending on front suspension setup camber will change with front end height. I recognize that modern trucks seem to be much better at dealing with tongue weight than older ones and I go along with factory ratings but there are a lot of rigs out there that still need a WDH. Most people that I have met that have had bad experiences towing simply don't have the hitch that they need or have committed some other setup error. I would feel a lot better about traveling long distances with heavy loads in the back if all trucks had load leveling suspension. My family has had factory installed load leveling in rigs ranging from a 1988 Crown Victoria to an Expedition to a Freightliner MH and all have worked very well. I can't understand why it is not more common.

What about this truck manages even transfer of weight to both axles without a WDH?

Short answer: NOTHING.

Long answer: The truck can tolerate having more weight removed from the front wheels partially because it's heavier to begin with, and partially because it has plenty of capacity on the rear axle to handle the trailer's tongue weight, and does not need to distribute the weight to prevent overloading.

The main reason for using a modern WDH with integrated sway control on a heavy duty pickup truck is the sway control. It helps with the push-pull on the highway. It is there as "belt and suspenders" just in case something unknown and unforeseen sets the trailer into a sway event.

Old wive's tale from the days when we towed with sedans and station wagons. As far as front axle weight restoration, consider that GM does not add ballast to the front ends of their gasoline fueled pickups which are much lighter than ones who use diesel. A few hundred pounds off the front axle will not be noticed.

I am not suggesting that overloaded tow vehicles are a good idea.