Anybody besides me using old school WD hitch?

[Drum]

I'm still a forum newbie, and one thing I've noticed is all the talk about the newer WD hitches like Hensley and Equalizer. When I go camping, I guess I don't really pay attention to others' hitches. Before discovering this site, I thought most people used the old school bars with chains and a separate anti sway bar. I can use an old pipe for leverage if needed to set the chain tension. That's what my dad used and it's what I use. It's simple to set up and gets the job done with no issues for me. Am I truly in the minority as it seems by reading the threads here?

[Drum]

First, let me apologize for my ignorance regarding how long some of the other systems have been around. I didn't mean to imply they weren't established.

I also didn't mean to start a huge debate, but my question had more to do with wondering if there's something I'm missing. I pull/have pulled a lot of miles with my setup with various TV/TT combinations, all with the same traditional hitch , bars, and anti sway bar. I can't imagine the trailer being more level or swaying less because both the TT and TV are level and neither sway. It's easy to set up and remove. With all the people here who seem to be using these new (to me) systems, I wondered if there may be something more to the story than just weight distribution, leveling, and sway.

[mckind]

This is my first TT. A friend has a fiver and he had the WD hitch as a doorstop in his garage, let me have it for free just so he would stop tripping over it. Works great. Didn't realize it was old school until I came here.

[Terryallan]

Slowmover wrote:

jmtandem wrote:

I have found that a well aligned and correctly balanced (loaded) camper being pulled by a properly setup and sized tow vehicle does not need one of the more complicated hitch assembly to mask or correct the under lying problems.

X 2

"Most" trailed RVs probably don't go very far, or on very many trips annually (even if it is a long one). And only then in best weather and on best roads. Given that leaf-sprung, beam-axle trailers AND pickups are hard-pressed with only minor winds and road problems (tripping hazards, not just steering control) it is good that the drivers keeps their exposure to the range of potential problems limited.

For those for whom the annual miles and exposure to more types of road, load, weather and traffic are expected, a hitch that is substantially better at keeping the combined rig lane-centered and upright with fewer driver corrections is an easy AND cheap choice given the dollar value of the rig.

Any rig deserves to be well set up via WDH leverage. Even an Airstream which can run rings around the conventional or 5'er types. After all, an RV isn't "needed" to go camping. And while settling for poor combined rig handling/braking with a cheap hitch is on the owner, the difference between "good enough" and "best" is enormous. So long as both TT and TV are seen as being disposable, so then the mentality of "cheap enough is good enough" will reign. Until the day it mattered.

Besides, the best hitch, given maintenance, is likely to be with most owners longer than either the TT or TV. That is not "expensive" given the depreciation on TT or TV which sky high by comparison, it is the opposite.

Folks will do what they will . . but it is NOT an "either/or" situation as stated in the above quote ("mask or correct").

.

I believ that what he was saying is that, With a properly setup hitch, along with a properly balanced trailer, and the right sized TV. A TT should not sway in NORMAL driving. IF you have to have a fancy hitch installed just to be able to keep it in a straight line. You are just hiding the problem, and just hiding the problem is super dangerious. Some day the problem will come out from under the hitch bandaid and hurt you. NEVER hide the problem, Fix it, and then you won't need a fancy expensive hitch.

My hitch is setup correctly, and the Tv is the correct size. I can drive it in ANY road conditions, even wind, without any handeling problems. The TT just sits there and follows me right along. You realy don't get to chose the weather you tow in. A Hensely would be just a waste of money.

So it could be a eiter or thing. Either do it right or hide it under a Hensly, or Pro Pride

[Slowmover]

jmtandem wrote:

I have found that a well aligned and correctly balanced (loaded) camper being pulled by a properly setup and sized tow vehicle does not need one of the more complicated hitch assembly to mask or correct the under lying problems.

X 2

"Most" trailed RVs probably don't go very far, or on very many trips annually (even if it is a long one). And only then in best weather and on best roads. Given that leaf-sprung, beam-axle trailers AND pickups are hard-pressed with only minor winds and road problems (tripping hazards, not just steering control) it is good that the drivers keeps their exposure to the range of potential problems limited.

For those for whom the annual miles and exposure to more types of road, load, weather and traffic are expected, a hitch that is substantially better at keeping the combined rig lane-centered and upright with fewer driver corrections is an easy AND cheap choice given the dollar value of the rig.

Any rig deserves to be well set up via WDH leverage. Even an Airstream which can run rings around the conventional or 5'er types. After all, an RV isn't "needed" to go camping. And while settling for poor combined rig handling/braking with a cheap hitch is on the owner, the difference between "good enough" and "best" is enormous. So long as both TT and TV are seen as being disposable, so then the mentality of "cheap enough is good enough" will reign. Until the day it mattered.

Besides, the best hitch, given maintenance, is likely to be with most owners longer than either the TT or TV. That is not "expensive" given the depreciation on TT or TV which sky high by comparison, it is the opposite.

Folks will do what they will . . but it is NOT an "either/or" situation as stated in the above quote ("mask or correct").

.

[jmtandem]

I have found that a well aligned and correctly balanced (loaded) camper being pulled by a properly setup and sized tow vehicle does not need one of the more complicated hitch assembly to mask or correct the under lying problems.

X 2

[Bonefish]

Traditional WD hitch and bars in use. My two cents but I have found that a well aligned and correctly balanced (loaded) camper being pulled by a properly setup and sized tow vehicle does not need one of the more complicated hitch assembly to mask or correct the under lying problems.

[kearlms]

Have used the old school bars and chains sense starting to camp with a TT back in '05 and has been used on 3 different TT's with no issues.

[kirklandsc]

I have the Pro Series and it works fine. That is what I got with the camper and have had no issues once I got it set up. I always take the sway bar off once I get off the main highway. Mine came with a little pipe too, but I got a bigger one so my jack does not have to lift as much.

[TomG2]

Most people use and are happy with traditional WD hitches. The folks on this forum are a little more likely to try something different, whether it is better or not.

[certified106]

I use the old school WDH and have used it on the past 4 campers I owned. I have never had an issue with it but I also use the friction anti sway setup.

[jmtandem]

all the talk about the newer WD hitches like Hensley and Equalizer.

[Locky]

Same here and I don't use the sway bar. Never had an issue in the past 7 years of towing our TT.

[K_Charles]

Cheep round bars here and they came with a piece of pipe.

[Terryallan]

In all honesty, You and I are in the majority. There are way more of us using the basic WDH than there are those using the super expensive hitches. Why? You may ask. It's simple really. It's what the dealers supply with the TTs. They work, so why change. My new TT came with an EZ-Lift hitch, my last TT came with a Reese, Both use a swaybar for sway control. Niether has any sway. Wht spend more to do the same thing.

Remember 99% of people who camp, or RV. Don't visit this site, or even know it exists

[dodge_guy]

I have the Dual Cam which uses the bars and chains. It just has the sway control built into it!