New to the Site and travel trailers

Aww, come on. Don't give up so easy. Do you know what capacity torsion bars are on you hitch. They come in several different strengths. The highest capacity bars I have seen are 1400#. That truck and those bars should do an adequate job of supporting that trailer. You might also look at getting a set of stable loads for the overload springs; they help a lot. Good shocks also make a big difference. No matter what reasonable size truck you get, inadequate hitch equipment will give a less than optimal towing experience. Hang in there, it won't cost a fortune to make some basic upgrades, and could improve handling significantly.

Thanks everyone for the welcome. The roof has had leaks from the past but they were taken care of and it hasn't leaked at all for me. The only leaks I've had to deal with were ones around the windows. I'm thinking about just getting a new set up. Cause this thing really makes my 3/4 ton truck squat. Don't really plan on going real far from home. At least not at first. Thanks everyone for all the wonderful info. I'm sure I'll be back!

Bob/Olallawa wrote:
Sounds like those bars you describe would be part of the Hensley/pro pride type hitch, not the standard type weight distribution hitch.

Hensley doesn't use any chains at all, the only chairs you will find on a Hensley equipped rig will be the safety chains.

Sounds like those bars you describe would be part of the Hensley/pro pride type hitch, not the standard type weight distribution hitch.

Don't feel bad. We were all, at some point, total noobs. Congrats, the HR's were some really well built units and top of the line. Check some of the hitch manufactures web sites. Some of them have some really good video tutorials on them. Don't be afraid to tinker and adjust. It will probably take several tries before you get it dialed in correctly. If you go with the friction sway bars, with a trailer that size, use two of them. Like Johnny said, slightly nose down is best. Have fun and welcome!!

JohnnyG73 wrote:
Weight distribution hitches aren't too difficult to set-up but surprisingly you see many vehicles that are equipped with them towing trailers down the road and not properly set up.

1. park the trailer on a level surface and level the trailer using the tongue jack

2. measure from the ground to the bottom of the tongue

3. a good starting point is for the bottom of the hitches ball to be the same height so adjust it to that height and check to make sure the hitch is level or very slightly tilted back

4. hook up the trailer to your vehicle

5. use the tongue jack to pick up the vehicle about 2 inches or so above it's stock height

6. install the spring bars into the hitch. there are more than 1 type so you have to figure it out

7. from here it's a little trial and error to determine how many chain links you need hooked up to keep everything level. try it and raise the tongue jack off the ground and see if everything is level. if it's not try again. you may also need to slightly adjust the pitch of the ball.

I understand that others may have different techniques of doing this and also that not all of them are the same. Some have cables that are wound up instead of chains. In the end the principal is the same...the trailer and vehicle should travel level to maximize handling both of the trailer and TV.

Hope that helped

Good advice. I would only add that if you CAN'T get the TT and TV exactly level opt for the TT tongue slight down not up.

Weight distribution hitches aren't too difficult to set-up but surprisingly you see many vehicles that are equipped with them towing trailers down the road and not properly set up.

1. park the trailer on a level surface and level the trailer using the tongue jack

2. measure from the ground to the bottom of the tongue

3. a good starting point is for the bottom of the hitches ball to be the same height so adjust it to that height and check to make sure the hitch is level or very slightly tilted back

4. hook up the trailer to your vehicle

5. use the tongue jack to pick up the vehicle about 2 inches or so above it's stock height

6. install the spring bars into the hitch. there are more than 1 type so you have to figure it out

7. from here it's a little trial and error to determine how many chain links you need hooked up to keep everything level. try it and raise the tongue jack off the ground and see if everything is level. if it's not try again. you may also need to slightly adjust the pitch of the ball.

I understand that others may have different techniques of doing this and also that not all of them are the same. Some have cables that are wound up instead of chains. In the end the principal is the same...the trailer and vehicle should travel level to maximize handling both of the trailer and TV.

Hope that helped

Did you check the roof and interior walls for any evidence of water damage or rot?

Welcome to the forum. You might want to check craigs list for the hitch. Could wind up being cheaper to pick up a complete used one. I know some new ones like the EAZ-Lift hitch is only about $200 complete with a friction sway control bar.

It could be the sway control your looking at, thats if their rectangular.