Cyclone 4100 King and B&W companion

I have the 18K companion and am pulling a Raptor 4014 which grosses 18.5k. Have over 6000 miles in all types of terrain, no issues. Never noticed any flexing.

ricatic wrote:
I had a long discussion with the staff from B&W at the Hershey RV Show. I actually opened the discussion with a comment about how much I like my Companion but I am looking at toy haulers with GVW's higher than 18,000. They just smiled and led me to the new Companion...it is very nice

The latest version of the Companion has some very nice changes including an upgraded capacity rating of 20,000 pounds. They have made some nice changes to the way it mounts in the Turnover Ball assembly and no longer use the U Bolts.

Regards

I would probably buy the new one if I was in the market as B&W's product quality is very high IMO. However- I would still be under rated from a hitch standpoint at 20k.

ricatic wrote:
I had a long discussion with the staff from B&W at the Hershey RV Show. I actually opened the discussion with a comment about how much I like my Companion but I am looking at toy haulers with GVW's higher than 18,000. They just smiled and led me to the new Companion...it is very nice

The latest version of the Companion has some very nice changes including an upgraded capacity rating of 20,000 pounds. They have made some nice changes to the way it mounts in the Turnover Ball assembly and no longer use the U Bolts.

Regards

I'll be all over that like a fat kid on cake if it reduces the flex I have seen when towing!

I had a long discussion with the staff from B&W at the Hershey RV Show. I actually opened the discussion with a comment about how much I like my Companion but I am looking at toy haulers with GVW's higher than 18,000. They just smiled and led me to the new Companion...it is very nice

The latest version of the Companion has some very nice changes including an upgraded capacity rating of 20,000 pounds. They have made some nice changes to the way it mounts in the Turnover Ball assembly and no longer use the U Bolts.

Regards

I've used my Companion hitch for several years on my Raptor (15,500#) and now on our Momentum (18,000#). Top quality product. I too use a 5th Airborne to smooth the ride.

pbo_Mo wrote:
In the process of ordering a 4100 King. Also, want to switch to the B&W Companion. The GVWR on the 4100 king is 18,000 and the rating on the hitch is 18,000. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer but it appears this combo will work. Concern the ratings are equal and not higher on the hitch? Anyone use this combo?

Thanks for your time.

My Cyclone 3800 also grosses out at 18K. I have had no trouble with the BW Companion hitch and really like the fact that when removed, I get the full use of the truck bed. Chucking issues resulted in an air ride kingpin on the coach and air bags on the truck...

Have had my B&W for 6-7 years and both trailers I have hauled with it were/are over 18k.

Its more than enough hitch.

Pulling my 415 RW with a B&W. I highly recommend it, as almost anyone who owns one does. Get it, and worry about other things.

Extra capacity is great for peace of mind, but it isn't necessary. Manufacturers do not rate their products for the maximum load that they are safely capable of. A hitch rated for 18,000 lbs is designed to handle 18,000 lbs for a reasonable service life. This means that it must be able to stand up to a much higher load than that in order to reliably perform at its rated limit.

Personally I think people get too carried away with second guessing the engineers who have designed these things and have to stick their neck out to certify that they will perform as expected. Perhaps semis should only gross 70,000 lbs since the Feds say they are only legal to gross 80,000. The exact opposite is true. Semis are expected to operate in the 80,00 lb range yet under special permits many are on the roads daily grossing 120,000 lbs or more. If your hitch is rated for 18,000 lbs, it is capable of safely towing an 18,000 lb trailer for probably many more miles than you are likely to use it!

I get your concern. I would want a little more built in security. I have a 20K Curt and my trailer is about 16K loaded. It may not matter, but it gives me some piece of mind knowing I got a little more hitch than what I need.