Haul Master Hitch

[mat60]

For now its going to be this or nothing for so here it goes..Im lookin at getting a Haul master 10,000 Max LB-- 1000 LB max tung LB. From Harbor Freight... Its less than $200 with coupon. I have haled my new TT without one and it went down the road fine but the truck and trailer were empty. I could tell that I didn't want any more tung weight than I have without a WDH. Does anyone have one and what is your opinion.

[dodge_guy]

It’s a gamble on anything you buy from HF. I bought a ball joint press and on he second BJ the arbor snapped. The metal actually just tore! I returned it and they replaced it free, but that’s hard to do on the side of the road. And even harder when there is potential damage to the trailer. I’ll buy a few tools from them, or small things that I’ll use once a year. But not something like a hitch that is a safety device.

[mat60]

Well. I agree some HF stuff is junk like anything else. The hitch Is not to bad for the money. After some time in parking lots adjusting and testing the hitch made a big difference. I raced cars for years and don't think your going to feel the difference in a more costly bar hitch. Will it last as long,,maybe not. After I finished adjustments on the WDH I went home and installed a HF Sway Control kit.. The bolts that came with it were junk so I wielded it on. We had some strong cross winds that day and I tested it out on the same RD and a spot that was bad with and without . It took care of about 50%. Don't no if this is something all you guys half to live with.

[Bedlam]

dodge guy wrote:
After it breaks, then you can buy a Reese.

I buy stuff from Harbor Freight a lot. But something like that I wouldn’t. Spend the money on something good!

My Harbor Freight special gets about 7500 miles per year towing 8000 lbs since 2012 without any issues. I sense some bias that does not reflect my experience. My previous roundbar Reese lasted just over 7 years towing 11,500 lbs for 10,000 miles per year before egging out the hitch head spring bar sockets.

[mat60]

dodge guy wrote:
After it breaks, then you can buy a Reese.

I buy stuff from Harbor Freight a lot. But something like that I wouldn’t. Spend the money on something good!

LOL.. I had to get something like this because I started with nothing. I cant believe how much I have spent getting basic stuff.:) Are you saying the bars can snap or is my TT going to pass me?

[dodge_guy]

After it breaks, then you can buy a Reese.

I buy stuff from Harbor Freight a lot. But something like that I wouldn’t. Spend the money on something good!

[mat60]

Hi.. I changed tires and the only other change I had to make was to take a washer out of hitch. Truck is about 1/8 up in front and 1 1/4 down in rear. Trailer is 1 1/4 lower in nose. I tried several different set ups and this works very well. I'm close enough now so a washer in or out makes a difference. Thanks for the help.

[mat60]

This helps a lot. I have much more homework to do. Thanks again guys. Mark.

[Bedlam]

It really depends on your vehicle rear axle and spring capacity. If your have reserve and your truck is sprung heavy, you may find it rides better with more weight over of behind the truck axle. If you are getting sag, you should try to locate the heavier items farther forward in the truck.

Some trailers will track well with only 5 percent tongue weight, but most need 10-15 to be stable. I generally try to pack the heaviest items in a trailer over the axles or just slightly forward if I have stability problems. My enclosed trailer holds five 60 lb batteries in a PowerArmor battery box on the tongue. this gives me over 20 percent tongue weight when empty and I can load the trailer tail heavy without concerns as long as I try to keep left and right weights evened out.

[BarneyS]

Take a look at our Travel Trailer hitch set-up procedure thread, stuck at the top of this forum, for detailed instructions on how to set up your hitch.
Barney

[mat60]

Thank You guys. Got one more thing to ask. I'm thinking the best place to carry heavy tools and such would be in the back of truck up close to cab as possible. I understand the trailer needs to be loaded for the right amount of tung weight but after that would the center of the trailer be best like under the booth storage? I also am thinking it may not be best to put heavy stuff in rear of TT. Does this sound ok to you?

[Bedlam]

Adjusting the angle of the hitch head, will also change the angle of the spring bars when they are rest. To add more tension to the bars, you can use more or less links of chain at the hangers or adjust the head angle to do the same.

You want to allow as much chain as possible between the spring bars and tongue hangers to ease stress during turns, but you do not want the spring bars to be hanging so low that they drag on uneven ground. A general rule of thumb is to get the bars parallel with the tongue - This should give sufficient chain length and ground clearance.

My enclosed trailer is around 8000 lbs with 1000 lbs tongue weight, I use the maximum hitch angle in my application to redistribute that hitch weight between all the axles.

[Lynnmor]

mat60 wrote:
I understand everything except what is the reason for the angle of the head/Ball.

That adjusts the angle of the bars so that you can have the appropriate load on them when they are parallel to the ground.

[1995brave]

If you are going to use the 20 percent off coupon, be careful. Seems they have changed what you can use the coupons on now. A lot of their name brand items like Haul Master, Earthquake, etc. cannot use the coupon. Check the fine print on the coupon for what you cannot use it on.

[mat60]

I understand everything except what is the reason for the angle of the head/Ball.