Use WD hitch or not?
I have an 18' TT with dry weight of 3700 lbs and tongue weight of 500 lbs, and a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 to tow it with (120" wheelbase). I did get an e2 WD hitch with the trailer but wonder if I really need it. Also it is a heavy, greasy beast and annoying to hitch up. The stinger is long, thus increasing the lever arm and making sway happen more readily.
So I bought a simple aluminum stinger and ball and hooked up with that, and also put my 250cc motorcycle in the bed of the truck (weight about 270 lbs), which is how I intend to run it.
The truck unloaded has the back end higher than the front (using the wheel well arch tops to measure), presumably because pickups are designed to carry a load in the bed. With the weight carrying (WC) hitch on and the TT hooked up and the motorcycle in the bed, the truck is exactly level (and the TT is almost level, just a tad lower up front). In hooking it up, the truck front wheel wells have come up just a quarter of an inch. I figure the load reduction on the front is around 225 lbs, with nobody seated in the truck.
BTW I have removed the 65 lb tailgate as it gets in the way, which of course removes maybe 100 lb from the rear axle. I could also remove the spare from behind the rear axle and stash it in the trailer if I were going overboard.
My question is, do I really need WD? I have a hitch weight scale so I can easily set the tongue at 12% (actually I think it is 13% right now). What does WD buy me? I know the e2 has a form of integrated sway control, but with the 6" longer stinger it also induces more sway in the first place. I'm also looking at that Tuson electronic sway control (if it ever comes available) so with that I wonder if the WC hitch is good enough.
I have looked around on the internet and found these statements:
1) Use WD hitch for any trailer over 2300 lb (ebay hitch FAQ).
2) WD is needed when GTW (say 4000) is over 50% of GVWR (about 6000) (etrailer.com)
3) WC... for hitch weights typically under 300 lbs (curtis trailers)
4) If your trailer weights more than 3500 lbs, you should invest in a WD hitch (curtis trailers)
I note that all the above are in the business of selling expensive WD hitches. My Dodge Ram towing capacity chart says this:
5) A weight distributing system is recommended for trailers over 5000 lbs. (my particular truck actually has a max trailer weight of 4650 lbs).
If you've read this far, what do you think?
So I bought a simple aluminum stinger and ball and hooked up with that, and also put my 250cc motorcycle in the bed of the truck (weight about 270 lbs), which is how I intend to run it.
The truck unloaded has the back end higher than the front (using the wheel well arch tops to measure), presumably because pickups are designed to carry a load in the bed. With the weight carrying (WC) hitch on and the TT hooked up and the motorcycle in the bed, the truck is exactly level (and the TT is almost level, just a tad lower up front). In hooking it up, the truck front wheel wells have come up just a quarter of an inch. I figure the load reduction on the front is around 225 lbs, with nobody seated in the truck.
BTW I have removed the 65 lb tailgate as it gets in the way, which of course removes maybe 100 lb from the rear axle. I could also remove the spare from behind the rear axle and stash it in the trailer if I were going overboard.
My question is, do I really need WD? I have a hitch weight scale so I can easily set the tongue at 12% (actually I think it is 13% right now). What does WD buy me? I know the e2 has a form of integrated sway control, but with the 6" longer stinger it also induces more sway in the first place. I'm also looking at that Tuson electronic sway control (if it ever comes available) so with that I wonder if the WC hitch is good enough.
I have looked around on the internet and found these statements:
1) Use WD hitch for any trailer over 2300 lb (ebay hitch FAQ).
2) WD is needed when GTW (say 4000) is over 50% of GVWR (about 6000) (etrailer.com)
3) WC... for hitch weights typically under 300 lbs (curtis trailers)
4) If your trailer weights more than 3500 lbs, you should invest in a WD hitch (curtis trailers)
I note that all the above are in the business of selling expensive WD hitches. My Dodge Ram towing capacity chart says this:
5) A weight distributing system is recommended for trailers over 5000 lbs. (my particular truck actually has a max trailer weight of 4650 lbs).
If you've read this far, what do you think?
