Best Weight Distribution Hitch

[nalts]

Hey there! I hope I'm in the right place.

After twelve long years I finally purchased another travel trailer. I bought a 2019 Forest River Grey Wolf 23MK, and will be towing it with a 2003 Ford F150 Supercab 4X4 with 5.4L and 3.55 ratio.

On my last unit I used an older Equal-i-zer brand Hitch and was very happy.

What's changed in the last 12 years, and how do I determine which hitch is best for my needs this time around?

[Jayco25E]

I just upgraded my TT and went with a new equalizer. First trip from the dealer and it was not setup correctly. Drove home two hours and was ready to throw the hitch in the garbage. Printed out the installation manual and reinstalled it and it works much better. Still not sure I like it better than my old Reese that was a bar and chain type. And besides having to remove it before backing up I still prefer the separate anti-sway. The chains are just quicker and easier to adjust.

[mosseater]

I have been extremely happy with the performance of my Dual Cam for 12 years. The key is having it set up correctly. That goes for the rest as well, but is imperative with the Dual Cam. It gets a bad rep because so many are not correctly installed.

[samsontdog]

Dick_B wrote:
But the really best is the Hensley for weight distribution AND anti-sway. The design eliminates sway not just dampens it.

I have a Hensley and do not care for it, two much trouble to hook up. I now use the 4 point Equilzer and love it

[badercubed]

I love my BlueOx SwayPro.

I used it with a 10k TT w a F250 and now on a 5k TT and Canyon. It works fantastic for both sway and weight. Its easy to hook and unhook regardless of earth conditions and I find the turn radius when backing up to be great.

[bikendan]

gouldc wrote:
Curious about awkward angle unhooking. Is it difficult with the Equalizer or is essentially the same challenge with all WD hitches?

Not with an electric tongue jack.

[Hannibal]

On one trip with the Equalizer, the ground was uneven. I removed the bars before I backed in. When we hitched up to leave, I pulled out to the pavement in the park, ran the trucks rear tires up onto a couple of 2x6 leveling blocks, then easily pushed the bars on, rolled off the boards and away we went. The Reese HP chains are more forgiving. With either, chances are you can just raise the tongue a little higher with the tongue jack. I hate hearing it groan.

[gouldc]

Curious about awkward angle unhooking. Is it difficult with the Equalizer or is essentially the same challenge with all WD hitches?

[TurnThePage]

I will offer one last piece of advice. You should be able to set up your tow vehicle and trailer so that you don't experience sway under normal circumstances. That should be your basic goal. The anti-sway feature of these hitches should be considered a safety feature above and beyond being properly set up. Those HA and PP hitches can eliminate sway from a system that may otherwise not be stable. The other hitches mitigate it as it happens.

If your set up is fine tuned and your tow vehicle is not close to maxed out, any of the hitches should work fine.

I've used the Equal-I-zer brand hitch for 16 years now without a hiccup. It has pros and cons.
Pros:
No need to remove and store hitch or bars if you don't want to. They won't fall off after unhitching.
If you use a power tongue jack, hitching/unhitching is quick and easy with no tool required.
Awesome sway control.

Cons:
Heavy, but aren't they all, except maybe the Andersen.
Noisy, especially during low speed maneuvers. You can add nylon pads to the L brackets, and it's recommended that you grease the head where the bars are attached, which works some but not for long.

I'm sure there's more pros and cons, but they're just not coming to me now.

[nalts]

Thanks for all the info so far. Sort of like drinking from a firehose! Hahahaha!

I question that pops up as I look at the different hitches, is what are the benefits and drawbacks of a bar and chain setup vs. a solid bar setup like an Equilizer?

[Bobbo]

Any of the top 5 or 6 brands are eminently suitable. I would be happy with any of them, but if I had to replace my Reese Strait-Line hitch w/Dual Cam, I would get the same.

[aftermath]

APT wrote:
Not much has changed in 12 years for WDH. Anderson is a new player in the mid-range with integrated sway control with positive feedback along with Equal-i-zer 4pt, Reese Strait Line, and BlueOx SwayPro.

I am not sure I agree with this. I believe that there are more choices today than ever. A few were mentioned here. What is best for you will be what you will be most comfortable with. Make sure it is matched to the weight of your trailer. Find out how easy, or difficult it is to hitch and unhitch. And most importantly, make sure it is properly set up for both weight distributing and sway control. Buy a hitch that has sway control built in.

I have only used an Equalizer. When I got my first one it was mainly because of how easy it is to hitch and unhitch. The others, at the time, required that you disconnect before backing up and I didn't want to worry about that. I got what I got and have been happy with it ever since. Mine is not loud nor have I had any issues with it what so ever.

Be careful of those who tout theirs as the "best". It is not unlike the individuals who believe in HUGE tow vehicles. Their one tons can pull anything, don't you know? And they don't need no stinkin' weight control, no siree. Sway control is only for wimps too.

I have an Airstream and many owners swear by the HA or PPP hitches. They are the best and they will tell you why. If I had trouble with sway I might look at them but I have never had sway issues in over 50K miles of towing with my half ton. I do know that they weigh a lot. My Equalizer head is heavy too but I don't want to deal with any more. I have personally watched a few folks hook up and 2 of the 3 had a tough time, at least while I was observing. With practice, they say it gets very easy. Mine was easy by the second time I did it.

They all have their pluses and minuses. Like I said earlier, get one that fits your situation the best. Good Luck.

[MitchF150]

I'd say your own towing experience has tons more influence than a bunch of goofs on the internet will have!

The actual Equal-I-Zer brand of hitch has been around forever... I was a kid when we traveled with a family friend that had a TT that used that kind of hitch.. The "rig" was a 1965 Imperial 4 door "boat" and towing a 1965 Aristocrat "Low-Liner" 24 or 26 foot TT back in the day.. (we were in a tent)

Had the same square bars resting on L shaped brackets on the trailer tongue and using that to distribute the weight and also provide some friction for some form of 'sway' control.

We also used the basic "bar and chain" type of WD (Eaz-Lift) brand once our family got into the TT scene and that worked on a totally different TV/trailer setup.. (1971 F250 and a 26' TT, it was a new truck back then)

The Hensley's, Pro-Prides and the rest are all fine and dandy too...

I'd say that you just gotta use whatever works best for you with the combo you have and go from there...

Setup can have a lot to do with a basic WD setup...

Set it up wrong, and it won't work. No matter what the kind of hitch it is.

Set it up correct (for your combo) and it might be just fine...

If you need to tow a 30' Airstream with a front wheel drive mini van, that Hensley will probably be your "best" choice.. 🙂

What was that video of that outfit that would setup your front wheel drive vehicle to tow some huge ass trailer and claim no 'sway"?? Can-AM or something like that?? 🙂

Good luck! Mitch

[nalts]

Dick_B wrote:
Remember the title to the post was: `Best....'. Our Equal-i-zer has service us well for all the years we have had our rig BUT it is not the `best'.

You're correct. I maybe could have asked, how do I determine which hitch is best for me. 😉

[TurnThePage]

Maybe we should all get back to the original question, which was "best weight distribution hitch". Honestly, they all distribute the weight away from the the hitch just about the same.

Hitches like the Hensley and Propride, etc. might have more robust sway control built in, but they sacrifice other features to get there, like cost and flexibility. I'm pretty certain that they would be extremely difficult to hitch and unhitch at some of the places I camp. Besides, their superior sway control has been completely unnecessary to what the Equal-I-zer provides in a much simpler package.