Should I Buy The Dealer's Hitch

[DallasSteve]

I'm buying a bumper pull trailer and the dealer is offering to install a weight distribution hitch for $1,000. They said it is an Equal-i-zer, I don't remember which model. It's my first trailer so it may be nice to have it set up, but I'm pretty sure I could watch a YouTube video and do it myself. I installed a base plate on a Jeep. I checked Amazon and I see Equal-i-zer hitches for around $700. GVWR on the trailer is about 9,000 pounds. I'm planning to tow it with an F 250 though I might get an F150 if people think that's plenty. The difference in price isn't a big deal. Would you pull it first and then decide if it feels like it needs the WDH?

[MitchF150]

I'm an F150 tower, but I'm only towing about #7000. My F150 has a "tow rating" of #11,000.. It's MaxTow, has #7700 GVWR and #1900 payload according to the door jamb sticker. All fine and dandy, right..

Well, I've been towing stuff of different combinations since the mid 80's.

At this point in my life, I like a nice comfy tow. Not a maxed out load that sure, all the bench numbers match up, but out on the open road with all the other Nuts out there... No thanks. 🙂

If your new trailer "can be loaded" to #9000 GVWR, chances are, over time, you'll get that heavy. I know I'm at my trailers #7000 GVWR, as I pack heavy, carry all the water I want to and don't worry about it! 🙂

I have just a simple WD hitch setup. Just a #1000 bar and chain setup. Dealer charged me $350 for it back in 2003 when I used it on my 1997 F150.

I transferred that hitch to my 13 F150 and it's still just fine for my towing comfort.

Anyway, I'd get the F250 for your choice of trailer and maybe get just a basic WD hitch setup. All those fancy and $$ hitches are all fine and dandy and have their purpose in life.. They give the owners of them a comfy tow and that's the main thing, as the point of getting out in an RV is to be relaxed and comfortable, right?

Good luck! Mitch

[valhalla360]

Thomas/NH wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
If you're willing to pay the $1000's extra for an F250 over an F150, then why are you quibbling over the $300 of shop time to have the hitch installed? That's 2 hours of shop time these days, which is about right.

Say what??? When was the last time you went truck shopping? There is very little differnce between the 150s and the 250 or the 350 set up the same. Availability of trucks is another issue. Yes, I've been shopping and very discouraged by the lack of inventory. My local Ford dealer usually has hundreds of trucks on the lot, only had 6 Super dutys and 35 F150s.

That's been my experience...not much difference in price.

That said, $1000 seems kind of high. We had a hitch with installation thrown in for $600 a couple years back during the height of the RV boom.

Yes, a 3/4 ton will tow better with or without a WDH but generally nicer with. Our F250 with WDH tows like a dream. We've had it in 40mph cross winds and no sway. We also have a decent percentage hitch weight (13%) which the F250 has no issue with. With some marginal 1/2 ton trucks, people try to keep the hitch weight down which makes sway more of an issue.

[MFL]

It's not just how much will it pull, 150-250, but the rear axle and tire capacity difference is huge in comparison. A trailer weighing 9K lbs will have a heavy tongue, plus any other wt added to truck bed, which is mostly being carried by the rear axle.

Jerry

[JBarca]

DallasSteve wrote:
I'm buying a bumper pull trailer and the dealer is offering to install a weight distribution hitch for $1,000. They said it is an Equal-i-zer, I don't remember which model. It's my first trailer so it may be nice to have it set up, but I'm pretty sure I could watch a YouTube video and do it myself. I installed a base plate on a Jeep. I checked Amazon and I see Equal-i-zer hitches for around $700. GVWR on the trailer is about 9,000 pounds. I'm planning to tow it with an F 250 though I might get an F150 if people think that's plenty. The difference in price isn't a big deal. Would you pull it first and then decide if it feels like it needs the WDH?

Hi,

I will mention a few things not yet discussed.

First off, the WD hitch.

Make sure the WD hitch the dealer is calling an Equalizer is made by Progress Manufacturing which makes the 4-point brand "Equal-I-zer" WD hitch. A classic camper buying mistake for first-time trailer buyers is, the dealer-supplied an equalizer hitch, as they called it, which can be almost any other brand WD hitch. Generally, the cheapest one they can throw in is with a friction anti-sway bar. This is a very different WD hitch than the branded Equal-I-zer WD hitch.

Another dealer-supplied classic mistake is on the sizing of the WD hitch. If you have never been through this before, you expect them to give you the correct size for "your" camper. It only sometimes works that way. The WD hitch "needs" to be sized for the "loaded" tongue weight, not the dry (empty) tongue weight. If they give you a standard, cheaper WD hitch rated at 1,000# tongue weight, and after you load the camper, you find out you have a 1,200# tongue weight, you have the wrong WD hitch.

The floor plan also drives the loaded tongue weight. Some floor plans load heavily towards the front, others less. This comes from the experience of knowing how to help predict the right size WD hitch needs to be. Too light is no good, and way too big is no good. Since you have a 9,000# GVWR camper in mind, 15% TW is 1,350#, 12% TW is 1,080#. And since you are looking at the Equal-I-zer brand hitch, that brand needs to have the whole hitch head and WD bars changed to jump sizes. So ideally, spend some time sorting out which WD hitch would fit your fully loaded floor plan. Odds are high, sooner or later, you will load it fully. Many of us do... If you tell us the make, model, and year, of the camper, we can help suggest the right size WD hitch.

Once you have sorted out the expected loaded TW, next comes the truck receiver and payload. The truck receiver needs to be rated at or above the WD hitch rating when in WD mode. The F150 might be WD mode limited below your needs.

Now comes the truck and payload; you are talking about an F250 or an F150. Pulling the camper is one thing; carrying the load of the camper TW, truck bed weight, and all passengers is a big difference between an F250 and an F150. What are your expectations for bed weight and people's weight? Are you going to have a truck cap? While the right-sized F150 might be able to pull the camper, can it handle all the added weight?

Where are you going to tow at? Long trips, short trips, higher elevation? Is the truck only needed for towing mainly, or is the truck your daily driver, and towing is a small amount of distance and time?

For my camping situation, given a 9,000# camper, I would go with the F250. But that is my case. I started out a long time ago with a truck that could pull the camper OK but could not hold up the weight once everything was loaded to go camping. And the larger truck makes for a more enjoyable towing experience. You do not have to get a diesel, the right-sized gasser truck will do you well.

Hope this helps.

John

[DallasSteve]

I also did a quick comparison of the prices on Ford.com and the F250 appeared to be about $5,000 more for the cheapest models. But the cheapest F250 probably tows much more than the cheapest F150, so that seems like a bargain to me. Now the actually prices that dealers are getting is another story.

I want something with a towing capacity of at least 10,000 pounds to tow a trailer with about 9,000 pounds. The F150 ranges from about 5,000 to 14,000 so if I am looking for an F150 I have to be considering the different combinations of motor, gear, bed, cab, yada yada. The towing capacity on an F250 starts at 12,000 pounds. Problem solved.

[Grit_dog]

And also to not lead anyone astray, there isn’t a half ton truck made in, since about forever, that is t strong enough to tow a 9klb trailer….
It’s a moot point

[nickthehunter]

Boomerweps wrote:
...
If you go the F150 route, get the Max Tow (53C) for the reinforced hitch & a thicker frame...

Just an FYI so no one is led astray, although there are several different thicknesses of frame depending on the configurations of the F150, the thickest frames are with the Heavy Duty Payload Package option, not the max tow package. Regardless, you need to choose the vehicle based upon the payload you need and the frame will be appropriate for the load.

Clicky

[Thomas_NH]

Thomas/NH wrote:


Remember what I said: Not all F150s are equal. There are the "Air Haulers" and then there are the work horses. Since my trucks have to work every day with either the service cap/tools or hauling my trailers. I also haul a 5-ton dump trailer at least once a month. My last Heavy Duty F150 hauled my Reflection 313 RLS (11,000 lbs.) 37,000 miles and it had 1,400 lbs. tongue wight. The truck had more advanced electronics, a better ride, better mileage and a better safety (that truck actually cared who was riding in which seat). My F350 (same trim level) is such a dumb truck and its 5 years newer. Short of my $10,000 Diesel option both trucks cost about the same. Make no mistake about it, you will most defiantly need an equalizing hitch for that trailer for either truck.

Here's a little more information for you... The reason I stepped up from the F150 (Eco-boost) to a F250 (6.0) was because I noticed the receiver hitch was distorting from hauling the heavy trailer (1400 lbs. tongue weigh). Crawling under the truck for a close inspection I noticed the hitch was stamped with a 1000 lbs. hitch/10,000 gorss capacity (class 4 I think). I traded in the truck for the F250 with the same trim level. After 10K of towing I noticed that hitch with (2-1/2" reviver) was also distorting. On close inspection it was also stamped with the same rating, it just looked beefier. The F350 has done a much better job towing, but it's equipped with B&W 30K Gooseball. The receiver hitch only gets used for the smaller trailers and I suspect it is the same class 4 hitch, which is fine.

[KD4UPL]

Get the F250 and you shouldn't need to fool with the WDH.

[Grit_dog]

Or the short answer to your actual question. Yes I would absolutely get the truck n trailer and then decide what you need.
How can you buy a trailer with no truck AND make the right decision on accessories when you don’t even know fundamentally what size truck you’re getting?
This is IMO the logical order of operations.
1. Decide roughly what size/weight/configuration of trailer you want and be certain about that.
2. Buy truck suitable for that trailer taking into account whatever you need to.
3. Buy trailer.
4. Buy or don’t buy accessories based on the first 3 and your comfort level towing it.

And another off the wall suggestion. If you’re getting a 9klb gross TT, she’s a pretty big girl.
Have you considered a small 5th wheel camper instead? Not confusing the issue here but if you’re gonna be pulling it all over the country, may as well get a setup that tows better overall. If not a lot of trailering miles, then disregard, as apples to apples IMO the additional cost is not justified if not realizing the value in ease of towing.

[ford_truck_guy]

mkirsch wrote:

Thomas/NH wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
If you're willing to pay the $1000's extra for an F250 over an F150, then why are you quibbling over the $300 of shop time to have the hitch installed? That's 2 hours of shop time these days, which is about right.

Say what??? When was the last time you went truck shopping? There is very little differnce between the 150s and the 250 or the 350 set up the same. Availability of trucks is another issue. Yes, I've been shopping and very discouraged by the lack of inventory. My local Ford dealer usually has hundreds of trucks on the lot, only had 6 Super dutys and 35 F150s.

Don't know where you've been but the difference between 1/2 tons and 3/4 tons is about $10,000. Trim level for trim level.

Of course if you compare a mid-trim F150 with a base F250, the price is about the same. That's not apples to apples.

I ordered a 2022 F150 platinum AND a 2022 F250 Platinum, both speched as close as possible... they came in and the sticker was just about $4500 higher on the F250... BTW, there is a 2022 F250 Platinum in Feasterville PA if anyone wants one ! ! :B

[Grit_dog]

On to the hitch. $1000 is a total ripoff for that hitch, which btw the dealer can “install” in like 30 minutes. Maybe 19 min if that guy who claims 15 minute wheel bearing services on this forum works there! Lol.
You can buy other clanky old school spring over whatever they’re called wdhs for cheaper, new. And you can buy them even cheaper, used. I have a basically new Husky hitch that so far I can’t get $250 for….
If you can install a base plate on that Jeep, the hitch is a 1 beer job for you.

But not sure where you’re at with all this since you don’t have a truck or a trailer yet. I’d get those 2 married up first then decide what kind of jewelry you want or need in the hitch/suspension department.

[Grit_dog]

Well Dallas steve, this thread will turn into a doozy real quick….
Having read your posts for years, I understand sort of “where you’re at” with respect to understanding the nuances of vehicles and mechanical stuff. You have a good base to make a decision, however there is so much more to that decision (which also be reading your posts will end up being an expensive venture).
So know this. An F150 properly equipped will tow a 9klb travel trailer like a dream. Period end of story, don’t let the weight cops scare you away from that option, if it works best for you overall.
A comparable (gasser) F250 will not necessarily do a better job, it will just be more capable handling the load with less modifications. So yes it is “better” if you’re towing weight bearing. No wdh.
A big ole F150 should have a wdh for a trailer that size, unless you shore up the rear suspension. I would still tow that, unless it’s a poor handling trailer, all day long with a good stout half ton. However you’re in the territory where most would want or use a wdh….as far as I see.
A F250 any of them from base model to fully loaded cc 4wd diesel, won’t need any additional jewelry on the hitch whatsoever. Unless of course you get an aforementioned poor handling trailer. In which case sway control is a good band aid for that.
The decision is largely in how you will be using the truck. A daily driver commuter and occasional towing is largely F150 territory. Primarily towing and towing a lot, the F250 makes more sense. Or in your case, I know you have completely switched gears on RV types recently. If you have another gear to switch and that gear involves a bigger trailer, then save yourself half the mistake now and get a 250.

[Thomas_NH]

DallasSteve wrote:

Thomas/NH wrote:

Having towed with several F150s (hundred of thousands miles), it's a better truck than the Super Duty. I have had 3 Super Duty's. My current one is a F350/PS 6.7 Lariat and I tow 42' fifth-wheel and it's one hell of a good truck, but the last F150 was a better truck all around (except capacity & power). Keep in mind, that there are F150s and then their are F150s. You need to buy a truck properly equipped to tow the load you have.

Thomas
Thanks for the feedback. It seems like I need the F250 for this much trailer, but your comment concerns me. (In case you missed it the trailer is a max weight of 9,000 pounds- 7,760 empty) Why do you think the F150 is a better truck? Will I regret stepping up to the F250?

Remember what I said: Not all F150s are equal. There are the "Air Haulers" and then there are the work horses. Since my trucks have to work every day with either the service cap/tools or hauling my trailers. I also haul a 5-ton dump trailer at least once a month. My last Heavy Duty F150 hauled my Reflection 313 RLS (11,000 lbs.) 37,000 miles and it had 1,400 lbs. tongue wight. The truck had more advanced electronics, a better ride, better mileage and a better safety (that truck actually cared who was riding in which seat). My F350 (same trim level) is such a dumb truck and its 5 years newer. Short of my $10,000 Diesel option both trucks cost about the same. Make no mistake about it, you will most defiantly need an equalizing hitch for that trailer for either truck.

[mkirsch]

Thomas/NH wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
If you're willing to pay the $1000's extra for an F250 over an F150, then why are you quibbling over the $300 of shop time to have the hitch installed? That's 2 hours of shop time these days, which is about right.

Say what??? When was the last time you went truck shopping? There is very little differnce between the 150s and the 250 or the 350 set up the same. Availability of trucks is another issue. Yes, I've been shopping and very discouraged by the lack of inventory. My local Ford dealer usually has hundreds of trucks on the lot, only had 6 Super dutys and 35 F150s.

Don't know where you've been but the difference between 1/2 tons and 3/4 tons is about $10,000. Trim level for trim level.

Of course if you compare a mid-trim F150 with a base F250, the price is about the same. That's not apples to apples.