Truck Camper and Weight Distribution Hitch Setup

Question

Hello everyone, I am a long time lurker, but this is my first post. We recently got into truck camping and I am now the new happy owner of a 2013 Lance 855s camper. We are now wanting to take our Hyundai Sonata with us on trips so I picked up an 18' PJ car hauler trailer. As I use a 34" hitch extension to extend the hitch past the camper (I have a Titan Class V) my tow capacity is reduced, thus needing a weight distribution hitch to safely and efficiently tow the trailer with the car loaded. I will only be using the WD hitch when the camper is one the truck, so I am assuming that the initial setup of the hitch would need to be done with the camper on the truck fully loaded correct?

Thanks, Clay

like2build · Answer

I would check with Reese, but my guess is the receiver extension will make the WD hitch ineffective. There will be enough flex/slop in the extension that I doubt you'll get much weight transfer to the receiver and truck frame.

Can the Sonata be towed with all 4 wheels on the ground? Or, what about a 2-wheel tow dolly to get the drive wheels off the road? Those might be better options than trying to pull a car on the trailer.

If you were to try using the WD hitch, then yes you'll need the camper and truck fully loaded before making any adjustments.

KJ

orbiker · Answer

I had a 10.8 Citation camper with a 30" extension. With a Super Hitch and extension I was able to use a WD hitch towing a heavy duty tandem axle enclosed trailer.

The truck liked having the trailer back there.

bedlam · Answer

A Torklift SuperHitch with a double truss extension is designed for this purpose. I tow an enclosed trailer weighing 6-8k lbs on a 28" SuperTruss and will going to a longer one when we get our larger Host.

tjmarc · Answer

I've always done the initial setups with the camper on but I'm not entirely sure it's necessary.  Based on the concept of removing the additional rear axle weight created by the rear axle to ball offset, provided the entire hitch setup remains the same, theoretically it shouldn't make a difference.

chaparralman197 · Answer

According to the label on the hitch extension, I can use a WD hitch up to a total of 600lbs TW and 6000lbs GTW. Without the WD setup, I am limited to 400lbs TW, and 4000lbs GTW. The trailer weighs 2000lbs, and the Hyundai weighs 3500lbs, so I am under the 6000lb weight limit as long as I use the WD hitch setup. I have set everything up, but in order to properly set the torsion bars, I believe that I have to have the camper on the truck, but I am not sure.

We thought about flat towing the Hyundai, but according to the owner's manual that is a no-no. I would prefer to not go with a tow dolley either. I feel better about keeping the car on the trailer.

Clay

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Truck Camper and Weight Distribution Hitch Setup

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