Weight distribution / anti-sway hitch recommendations

Any of the good hitches will work. I'd suggest looking at the Blue Ox Sway Pro because it is such a "clean" hitch" i.e. no exposed grease other than the hitch ball. I have an Equalizer which performs well. You could also look at the Reese Dual Cam or the Andersen hitches.

My vote would be for the only one I have any experience with, the Equalizer. I feel very comfortable towing. I seem to read good things about the Blue Ox and Anderson as well.

Another vote for the Equal-i-zer here. I used a Reese standard old style bar with the attached chains with a separate friction sway bar for years and years. It worked well on 3 different travel trailers, a Surburban, and 3 different truck combinations, until the hitch head bent (simply old age I think).

I then switched to an Equal-i-zer (mainly because that's what my RV dealer pushed and recommended for my Outback TT and 3500 duly). So I went with it. My dealer set it up for me, and after a very short while, I realized it was so much easier to hitch than the old Reese "ball and chain" and performed great, and didn't have to mess with the separate friction sway bar, I realized I liked the Equal-i-zer so much more!

The Equal-i-zer did make a lot of noise, popping and groaning when it was first installed. I did eventually get the little pads that go on the L brackets and it quieted down tremendously without changing performance at all. So if you go with Equal-i-zer, get the little pads that go on the L-bracket from the beginning. They don't cost "that" much and in my opinion are well worth it.

I had a Reese sraight line and I really liked it.

I towed our KZ Spree for 6 yrs with an Equal-i-zer and while it certainly deserves the good reputation it has there's no question it's an older design that's based on direct metal to metal contact which results in it's also well deserved reputation for being noisy. Yes, one can lubricate the pivot points or add the manufacturer's sway brackets to mitigate the noise but you and everyone else in the campground will still know you're towing with an Equal-i-zer. :E Setting it up is also annoying in that head angle and therefore the amount of weight being transferred to the front steer axle requires changing the number of washers in the head and that can only be achieved by disassembling the head and starting over each time you do it. My current trailer doesn't require it but if I were to do it again I'd instead go with a Blue Ox Sway Pro which addresses all of the drawbacks to the Equal-i-zer, including the noise issue.

BlunderLust wrote:
To tow the trailer I think I'll need weight distribution and anti-sway hitch add-ons.

There's absolutely no "thinking" about it, you will need a properly sized and adjusted weight distribution system to safely tow with your F150. However, pick the right WD system and there won't be any need at all for what you're calling "anti-sway hitch add-ons" as sway control will be an included function of the weight distribution system. Equal-i-zer and the Blue Ox Sway Pro are just two examples of such systems.

The percentage of of people with the 4-pt Equal-i-zer, Reese Straight Line, and Blueox Swaypro is far higher than the standard WDH with friction bars. That bumps cost from about $300 to $500.

APT wrote:
The percentage of of people with the 4-pt Equal-i-zer, Reese Straight Line, and Blueox Swaypro is far higher than the standard WDH with friction bars. That bumps cost from about $300 to $500.

Here in Canada where a conventional chain style round bar WD hitch and separate friction sway bar costs in the neighbourhood of $500 more sophisticated systems like the Equal-i-zer and Blue Ox that include sway control as a function of it's design and don't require use of a separate sway bar are twice that in cost. While some will ante up for such an expensive WD system it's fair to say that the majority opt for the less expensive system because despite some obvious disadvantages they still can get the job done.

skiles wrote:
My vote would be for the only one I have any experience with, the Equalizer. I feel very comfortable towing. I seem to read good things about the Blue Ox and Anderson as well.

Ditto.

APT wrote:
The percentage of of people with the 4-pt Equal-i-zer, Reese Straight Line, and Blueox Swaypro is far higher than the standard WDH with friction bars. That bumps cost from about $300 to $500.

Only on RV.net...most TT's are towed with standard WD hitches and add on friction sway control still.

I bet I see 10-1 ratio out there. 10 standard to 1 integrated...just my casual observations.

I've ran dual cam before and found it to be okay...a bit finicky... Towed no better or worse than my standard WD hitch with TWO friction sway bars. I think using two is key for most trailers....

I like the flexibility to add remove the sway bars if the conditions change. You can't take integrated sway control off on most of the fancy hitches. Not a big deal until you are in icy or loose roadways.

Thanks!

Jeremiah