Best weight distributing hitch with a sway control

[alexramsey]

ok, I'm just too lazy to look it up, but I'd like opinions on the best weight distributing hitch that also has sway control. I've never towed with one, but feel that it's time to make that step since we plan to travel with our setup now, and I'd just like the peace of mind.... I welcome all input!

I do have a class V receiver, so something available with a 2.5" shank would be preferred....

***Link Removed***

[Community Alumni]

When I read "the hitch point is a fulcrum," in their first post that pretty much told me all I needed about their expertise.

[BarneyS]

robgrune wrote:
I owned a Hensley. imho, the claims are false. facts: no hitch "distributes" weight; no hitch eliminates sway; physics rules the day.

fact 1. physics. the hitch point is a fulcrum. the force of any object is the result of mass x acceleration. the change in force is a vector. simple story: the trailer will always exert a 3d force against the truck. trailer mass is always greater than truck mass, so the resultant net force vectored to the truck must be dissipated somehow. no WD hitch will magically dissipate this force. only the truck's suspension and tires can do so, up to the point the tires lose grip.

fact 2. weight distribution.
a/ no hitch distributes weight. to distribute weight, you need to physically alter the placement of weight.
b/ example: boxes stacked 2x2x2=8 boxes on a 2x2 area. now alter this to 4x2=8 boxes on a 4x2 area. THIS is how you "distribute" weight, by altering the "pounds per square foot".
c/ all hitches connect at only one point: the tow ball. no hitch can alter the area of the hitch ball. thus the "distribution" claim is 100% false.
c/ what hitches really do is to add increased torque to the hitch ball, so to vector forces forwards. this is counter productive. all WD hitches are very heavy, so torque must be applied to counter the weight of the WD hitch by itself! then more torque to vector the trailer weight. all that torque is applied to the truck frame- not good. give enough torque in the right driving condition and you can crack your frame. every time you apply brakes, the hitch will INCREASE the forward force of the trailer, via torque vectoring!
d/ WD hitches are false: they are torque hitches, with very limited effect.

fact 3. sway control. hitches try to offset sway force via friction or torque. the friction "control" is 100% useless. the torque control is not control- it simply adds more torque to your truck, attempting to vector forces forward to front wheels, thereby overloading front axle and steering control. sway "control" can be achieved only at one point- the trailer wheels. see the Tuson device- it's the answer.

the rule is: caveat emptor. educate yourself for basic physics and drive sensibly. you are far, far better off to adjust the truck suspension to level the load and have proper trailer brake control to counter sway forces.

Somebody that doesn't have any idea what he/she is talking about! :R

Trying to use "scientific" sounding terms to describe something he/she has probably never used (including the Hensley he mentioned) and has no concept of how it works or what it does. Also doesn't seem to even know what happens when you place a weight about 4 feet behind the fulcrum (rear axle) of a vehicle.

Just a useless troll post in my opinion.
Barney

[Vintage465]

lanerd wrote:
Ok, you used the word "BEST". That narrows it down to two units. Hensley Arrow or Pro Pride.

Dropping down to "BETTER" narrows it down to three units: Equil-i-zer, Reese Dual Cam, or Blue Ox Sway Pro

Dropping even further down to "GOOD" is any of the el-cheapo units that require a separate sway control bar.

And..............even thought I'm in the "good" camp, you have to be real careful which one of the "good" you get. There is a lot of Chinese junk that looks just like an actual "good" one. I've always towed with weight distributing hitch and and additional frictions sway control. They've always been Eas-lift, Valley Tow-right or Draw-Tite. I never have a bit of sway and I really doubt if there is any difference in hook up time. Takes no more than ten minutes to hook mine up...........Probably less than five really.

[joshuajim]

Best (what ever) or How high is up?

[Hannibal]

Tucson device. For a problem that doesn't exist. Brilliant!

[Community Alumni]

Turns out we've all just been doing it wrong. All we needed was just some of them fancy airbags thingies to level everything. Oh the wasted years. :S

[robgrune]

afidel wrote:

robgrune wrote:
I owned a Hensley. imho, the claims are false. facts: no hitch "distributes" weight; no hitch eliminates sway; physics rules the day.

fact 1. physics. the hitch point is a fulcrum. the force of any object is the result of mass x acceleration. the change in force is a vector. simple story: the trailer will always exert a 3d force against the truck. trailer mass is always greater than truck mass, so the resultant net force vectored to the truck must be dissipated somehow. no WD hitch will magically dissipate this force. only the truck's suspension and tires can do so, up to the point the tires lose grip.

fact 2. weight distribution.
a/ no hitch distributes weight. to distribute weight, you need to physically alter the placement of weight.
b/ example: boxes stacked 2x2x2=8 boxes on a 2x2 area. now alter this to 4x2=8 boxes on a 4x2 area. THIS is how you "distribute" weight, by altering the "pounds per square foot".
c/ all hitches connect at only one point: the tow ball. no hitch can alter the area of the hitch ball. thus the "distribution" claim is 100% false.
c/ what hitches really do is to add increased torque to the hitch ball, so to vector forces forwards. this is counter productive. all WD hitches are very heavy, so torque must be applied to counter the weight of the WD hitch by itself! then more torque to vector the trailer weight. all that torque is applied to the truck frame- not good. give enough torque in the right driving condition and you can crack your frame. every time you apply brakes, the hitch will INCREASE the forward force of the trailer, via torque vectoring!
d/ WD hitches are false: they are torque hitches, with very limited effect.

fact 3. sway control. hitches try to offset sway force via friction or torque. the friction "control" is 100% useless. the torque control is not control- it simply adds more torque to your truck, attempting to vector forces forward to front wheels, thereby overloading front axle and steering control. sway "control" can be achieved only at one point- the trailer wheels. see the Tuson device- it's the answer.

the rule is: caveat emptor. educate yourself for basic physics and drive sensibly. you are far, far better off to adjust the truck suspension to level the load and have proper trailer brake control to counter sway forces.

1) Not all trailers weigh more than the truck, my trailer weighs about half of what truck does (gvwr vs gvwr, and for our big trip last year we were at about 90% on both)

2) Um, they distribute weight from the rear axles to the front, exactly what they claim to do. This is 100% verifiable via a scale. This is very productive in reducing unloading of the drive axles which can happen when adding lots of weight rear of the rear axle. It also helps in properly focusing your headlights on the road, not into the eyes of oncoming drivers and up into the trees.

3) Experience towing with and without sway control will show anyone paying attention that it's useful in doing what it says on the tin, it's not a substitute for properly loading a trailer but some trailers will be squirrely even at 15% tongue weight.

reply:
re 1/. agree. The line should be edited to "trailers are USUALLY loaded to be more weight and mass than the TV".

re 2. disagree. The effect you describe is the result of torque. The same effect can be achieved by lever; ie. reduce the sag at the rear axle, which will level the truck and thus lever weight to the front axle. This is a far safer means to level the truck, as it keeps the dynamic forces applied to the suspension, not the frame. This is proved by weigh scales and simple mathematics.

re 3. agree. any trailer can sway, regardless of 10-30% hitch weight. that is precisely my point. ask any semi driver about this.

[afidel]

robgrune wrote:
I owned a Hensley. imho, the claims are false. facts: no hitch "distributes" weight; no hitch eliminates sway; physics rules the day.

fact 1. physics. the hitch point is a fulcrum. the force of any object is the result of mass x acceleration. the change in force is a vector. simple story: the trailer will always exert a 3d force against the truck. trailer mass is always greater than truck mass, so the resultant net force vectored to the truck must be dissipated somehow. no WD hitch will magically dissipate this force. only the truck's suspension and tires can do so, up to the point the tires lose grip.

fact 2. weight distribution.
a/ no hitch distributes weight. to distribute weight, you need to physically alter the placement of weight.
b/ example: boxes stacked 2x2x2=8 boxes on a 2x2 area. now alter this to 4x2=8 boxes on a 4x2 area. THIS is how you "distribute" weight, by altering the "pounds per square foot".
c/ all hitches connect at only one point: the tow ball. no hitch can alter the area of the hitch ball. thus the "distribution" claim is 100% false.
c/ what hitches really do is to add increased torque to the hitch ball, so to vector forces forwards. this is counter productive. all WD hitches are very heavy, so torque must be applied to counter the weight of the WD hitch by itself! then more torque to vector the trailer weight. all that torque is applied to the truck frame- not good. give enough torque in the right driving condition and you can crack your frame. every time you apply brakes, the hitch will INCREASE the forward force of the trailer, via torque vectoring!
d/ WD hitches are false: they are torque hitches, with very limited effect.

fact 3. sway control. hitches try to offset sway force via friction or torque. the friction "control" is 100% useless. the torque control is not control- it simply adds more torque to your truck, attempting to vector forces forward to front wheels, thereby overloading front axle and steering control. sway "control" can be achieved only at one point- the trailer wheels. see the Tuson device- it's the answer.

the rule is: caveat emptor. educate yourself for basic physics and drive sensibly. you are far, far better off to adjust the truck suspension to level the load and have proper trailer brake control to counter sway forces.

1) Not all trailers weigh more than the truck, my trailer weighs about half of what truck does (gvwr vs gvwr, and for our big trip last year we were at about 90% on both)

2) Um, they distribute weight from the rear axles to the front, exactly what they claim to do. This is 100% verifiable via a scale. This is very productive in reducing unloading of the drive axles which can happen when adding lots of weight rear of the rear axle. It also helps in properly focusing your headlights on the road, not into the eyes of oncoming drivers and up into the trees.

3) Experience towing with and without sway control will show anyone paying attention that it's useful in doing what it says on the tin, it's not a substitute for properly loading a trailer but some trailers will be squirrely even at 15% tongue weight.

[rvshrinker]

New to towing but I bought the ‘cadillac’ as far as I could tell - an Andersen WDH with sway control. I have an 8100 wet weight trailer and tow it with a full ton, so I may not have strictly needed the WDH - but I am a very happy ‘camper’ with my set up. Towing is so easy. Between the power of the truck and the stability of the WDH, I feel in complete control even in windy or trafficky conditions. Highly recommend.

[GrandpaKip]

Yes, technically a hitch system is really a force distribution system. That is, until you put your rig on a scale. Then it becomes a weight distribution system.
My sway control works by friction, which is a basic part of physics.
Why make it sound so complicated?

[drsteve]

troubledwaters wrote:
So rob, how do you explain the fact that if you weigh the axles with WD hitch attached and without WD hitch attached, the weights will change by several hundred pounds?

Oh wait I know why; because the downward force on the scale changes. Which is the meaning of weight as used in this context. Hence a weight distribution hitch does work; it changes where and/or how the downward forces are applied.

Same with sway control, it changes how and/or where the forces are applied. While your description may be technically correct, the laws of "simple" physic still apply. Applying outside forces changes the vectors.

+1. A lever is a thing that is well known in physics.

[troubledwaters]

So rob, how do you explain the fact that if you weigh the axles with WD hitch attached and without WD hitch attached, the weights will change by several hundred pounds?

Oh wait I know why; because the downward force on the scale changes. Which is the meaning of weight as used in this context. Hence a weight distribution hitch does work; it changes where and/or how the downward forces are applied.

Same with sway control, it changes how and/or where the forces are applied. While your description may be technically correct (although your assumptions about cracking the frame aren't), the laws of "simple" physic still apply. Applying outside forces changes the vectors.

[robgrune]

I owned a Hensley. imho, the claims are false. facts: no hitch "distributes" weight; no hitch eliminates sway; physics rules the day.

fact 1. physics. the hitch point is a fulcrum. the force of any object is the result of mass x acceleration. the change in force is a vector. simple story: the trailer will always exert a 3d force against the truck. trailer mass is always greater than truck mass, so the resultant net force vectored to the truck must be dissipated somehow. no WD hitch will magically dissipate this force. only the truck's suspension and tires can do so, up to the point the tires lose grip.

fact 2. weight distribution.
a/ no hitch distributes weight. to distribute weight, you need to physically alter the placement of weight.
b/ example: boxes stacked 2x2x2=8 boxes on a 2x2 area. now alter this to 4x2=8 boxes on a 4x2 area. THIS is how you "distribute" weight, by altering the "pounds per square foot".
c/ all hitches connect at only one point: the tow ball. no hitch can alter the area of the hitch ball. thus the "distribution" claim is 100% false.
c/ what hitches really do is to add increased torque to the hitch ball, so to vector forces forwards. this is counter productive. all WD hitches are very heavy, so torque must be applied to counter the weight of the WD hitch by itself! then more torque to vector the trailer weight. all that torque is applied to the truck frame- not good. give enough torque in the right driving condition and you can crack your frame. every time you apply brakes, the hitch will INCREASE the forward force of the trailer, via torque vectoring!
d/ WD hitches are false: they are torque hitches, with very limited effect.

fact 3. sway control. hitches try to offset sway force via friction or torque. the friction "control" is 100% useless. the torque control is not control- it simply adds more torque to your truck, attempting to vector forces forward to front wheels, thereby overloading front axle and steering control. sway "control" can be achieved only at one point- the trailer wheels. see the Tuson device- it's the answer.

the rule is: caveat emptor. educate yourself for basic physics and drive sensibly. you are far, far better off to adjust the truck suspension to level the load and have proper trailer brake control to counter sway forces.

[Wills6_4_Hemi]

There is a used Hensley for sale in my area winston salem nc craigslist. the best hitch period. JFYI