installing a brake controller and hitch
I'm negotiating to buy a new travel trailer and I believe that the dealer is asking too much to sell and install a brake controller and weight distribution hitch ($1,009.) I thinking about getting th...
Forum Discussion
Not really a good idea to let a dealer install a hitch, period. Sometimes they don't even know how to torque things up. If they are selling you a brake controller and WDH, chances are they are the cheapest and most basic of ones available. $1000 total is too much.
When we bought our first TT, we knew nothing about WDHs and BCs. The dealer sent us to a local hitch shop who installed a very basic WDH and BC. In the fist camping season, we ended up replacing the BC with a Prodigy P3. We also now have a Reese DC WDH. We sure know a lot more about WDHs...
I would install the WDH and BC yourself. The BC may require an adapter harness for your TV. The dealer will not spend the time to adjust your BC either... Installing the WDH is easy, except for maybe the sway control brackets on the A-frame but you just need to drill some holes in the right spot. You need to learn how to adjust the WDH and it is somewhat different for each TV and brand of WDH. The straightforward method of adjusting a WDH involves measuring the before and after heights of the front fenders. The angle of the hitch head also needs to be set right. The dealer is just not going to want to spend the time to do this, even if in the off-chance they know how.
One very important thing to do on WDHs is to install the correct rating of spring bar. The rating is based on the actual tongue weight of a TT, not the dry weight and the weight should be measured after the TT is all loaded up for camping. Sometimes you can estimate it based on the GVWR and the bar size may end up being in the middle of the range. For example, Reese trunnion bars are either 800 or 1200 lbs so there is 400 lbs of leeway. You don't want bars that are under-sized otherwise you will not transfer enough weight back on the front axle of the TV. Dealers are not going to weigh your tongue wt and then size the bars. They would probably just slap in what they *think* is okay.
The Reese dual cam WDH is pretty nice but you need to study up on installing it and setting it up. Chances are close to 100% that the dealer would screw one of these up. We bought ours last year for $450 and shopping and searching around the internet.
I like the trunnion style spring bars as they are more compact and a little bit easier to handle and store. The round bars have a little captive spring clip and pin that holds the bar in place. We had a clip fall out on ours but fortunately it happened somewhere on our property but could not find it. Bought a pack with 2 clips in it and had one for a spare. There is no retainer clip or anything like on a trunnion bar to fall out and lose.
When we bought our first TT, we knew nothing about WDHs and BCs. The dealer sent us to a local hitch shop who installed a very basic WDH and BC. In the fist camping season, we ended up replacing the BC with a Prodigy P3. We also now have a Reese DC WDH. We sure know a lot more about WDHs...
I would install the WDH and BC yourself. The BC may require an adapter harness for your TV. The dealer will not spend the time to adjust your BC either... Installing the WDH is easy, except for maybe the sway control brackets on the A-frame but you just need to drill some holes in the right spot. You need to learn how to adjust the WDH and it is somewhat different for each TV and brand of WDH. The straightforward method of adjusting a WDH involves measuring the before and after heights of the front fenders. The angle of the hitch head also needs to be set right. The dealer is just not going to want to spend the time to do this, even if in the off-chance they know how.
One very important thing to do on WDHs is to install the correct rating of spring bar. The rating is based on the actual tongue weight of a TT, not the dry weight and the weight should be measured after the TT is all loaded up for camping. Sometimes you can estimate it based on the GVWR and the bar size may end up being in the middle of the range. For example, Reese trunnion bars are either 800 or 1200 lbs so there is 400 lbs of leeway. You don't want bars that are under-sized otherwise you will not transfer enough weight back on the front axle of the TV. Dealers are not going to weigh your tongue wt and then size the bars. They would probably just slap in what they *think* is okay.
The Reese dual cam WDH is pretty nice but you need to study up on installing it and setting it up. Chances are close to 100% that the dealer would screw one of these up. We bought ours last year for $450 and shopping and searching around the internet.
I like the trunnion style spring bars as they are more compact and a little bit easier to handle and store. The round bars have a little captive spring clip and pin that holds the bar in place. We had a clip fall out on ours but fortunately it happened somewhere on our property but could not find it. Bought a pack with 2 clips in it and had one for a spare. There is no retainer clip or anything like on a trunnion bar to fall out and lose.
