Sway/WDH with light trailer and 2.5" reciever
I've done a lot of research, but nobody has seemed to have asked my question (maybe it IS a dumb one..)
We recently purchased a small 19FLDWE Hideout, which is essentially a tandem axle ultra-light, 4k empty, 7000lbs GVWR (not sure I'd ever trust putting in the 1 ton of cargo plus full water, so lots of safety built in there).
Our tow vehicle is a 2011 2500HD, which has the old body style, but the new 2015 frame (which they did on the HD pickups from 2011-2014), so I have the 9600lb GVWR and 2.5" receiver and integrated tow with yaw-sensor control.
I drove it home through the mountains of Utah and she towed like a champ, nothing but a ball as I wanted to research what type of hitch and sway to get. No sway, no sucking in by semis (no real wind though either), but lots of mountain passes. I didn't even notice the bed sag when she was hitched, and the truck actually drove BETTER since she was happier to have some weight on the back springs.
Now I'm looking at hitches and am starting to thing that a WD hitch is worthless for my tow vehicle and relatively light trailer. My hitch is marked at 1500lbs tongue for both WD and weight carry, the manual gives me a safety factor of 1000lbs weight carry, and 1500lbs WD. This is where my question differs from the dozens of others who have the lighter duty hitches/trucks and a 500lb tongue weight limit.
If my tongue weight never exceeds 700lbs, is a WD even necessary?
My next question is on sway control. Can you buy sway control without the WD hitch? Is it worth it? As a mechanical engineer, I'm inclined to trust it a bit more than the electro-wizardry of the integrated brake controller.
Again, my trailer is only going to be 5k out of the 15k that the truck hitch and frame are rated for.
Thoughts?
We recently purchased a small 19FLDWE Hideout, which is essentially a tandem axle ultra-light, 4k empty, 7000lbs GVWR (not sure I'd ever trust putting in the 1 ton of cargo plus full water, so lots of safety built in there).
Our tow vehicle is a 2011 2500HD, which has the old body style, but the new 2015 frame (which they did on the HD pickups from 2011-2014), so I have the 9600lb GVWR and 2.5" receiver and integrated tow with yaw-sensor control.
I drove it home through the mountains of Utah and she towed like a champ, nothing but a ball as I wanted to research what type of hitch and sway to get. No sway, no sucking in by semis (no real wind though either), but lots of mountain passes. I didn't even notice the bed sag when she was hitched, and the truck actually drove BETTER since she was happier to have some weight on the back springs.
Now I'm looking at hitches and am starting to thing that a WD hitch is worthless for my tow vehicle and relatively light trailer. My hitch is marked at 1500lbs tongue for both WD and weight carry, the manual gives me a safety factor of 1000lbs weight carry, and 1500lbs WD. This is where my question differs from the dozens of others who have the lighter duty hitches/trucks and a 500lb tongue weight limit.
If my tongue weight never exceeds 700lbs, is a WD even necessary?
My next question is on sway control. Can you buy sway control without the WD hitch? Is it worth it? As a mechanical engineer, I'm inclined to trust it a bit more than the electro-wizardry of the integrated brake controller.
Again, my trailer is only going to be 5k out of the 15k that the truck hitch and frame are rated for.
Thoughts?
