Kind of a dumb question, but I'm new

[SlothHorn]

Y'all were so gracious to help me with my last question, so here goes #2.

The only thing I have on my truck right now is a hitch cover. Therefore, I need to get a hitch, weight distribution, sway control... essentially the whole 9 yards. I'll be going to Camping World locally to have the equipment installed.

My question is this. If I know the style and approximate weight of the travel trailer I'm going to get, is it appropriate to go ahead and get this done THEN look for trailers OR do I need to buy/get the specific trailer first, then hit up Camping World? I guess what I'm asking is, does "one size fit all" when it comes to hitches and trailers weighing around 5,000 lbs dry (a little over 6,000 with people/equipment)?

We're probably not buying until September; however, as a teacher, I've got a couple of weeks of free time before reporting to school. I'd just as soon go ahead and take care of the stuff I can do now, but don't want to buy and get something installed that, ultimately, doesn't fit the trailer we buy.

[GrandpaKip]

CavemanCharlie wrote:

GrandpaKip wrote:
If you stay below 6k pounds loaded, you should also look at an Andersen hitch. By far the easiest to set up, hook up and unhook.

I love mine but, I have a small light TT with a low hitch weight. I've heard that they don't work as well on every trailer. Especially the ones with a lot of hitch weight.

Yeah, seems that 800# tongue weight is the max. I stay at 600# more or less.

[CavemanCharlie]

GrandpaKip wrote:
If you stay below 6k pounds loaded, you should also look at an Andersen hitch. By far the easiest to set up, hook up and unhook.

I love mine but, I have a small light TT with a low hitch weight. I've heard that they don't work as well on every trailer. Especially the ones with a lot of hitch weight.

[Mark_and_Linda]

When I bought my truck used it had a hitch assemble already installed. We pulled our PUP with it, then we found a larger trailer used. It came with a WDH and bars...the dealer set it up for me. I ordered a Prodigy P2 from Etrailer and installed it myself. After we had the trailer loaded I had to reset the adjustment on the WDH and adjusted my Prodigy brake controller.

[ajriding]

What truck do you have?

You do need to get a hitch. There is no reason to "match" a hitch to a trailer, this is non-sense. The only reason to match would be if you were to get a really heavy trailer and need a heavy-duty hitch, but unlikely, and that's why I say non-sense.

Class III (3) are what typically comes on a truck, or what is typically installed and will work for most all tt's out there. Look at the class V hitches as they are the most robust and really not that much more expensive.

Get your hitch from U-Haul. Yes, really. If you are having to pay someone to do it then U-Haul offers really good prices. They are in business to rent trailers, not sell hitches, so more important that you have a hitch so you can rent their trailers, which is their business...

Or

Etrailer.com has great prices on hitches if you will install yourself. Shipping is cheap/free.
You can check rockauto.com also as their auto parts prices are amazing.

Check craigslist for used hitches, that is the cheapest, but again, you will be installing yourself. Self-install is sometimes really easy, but sometimes can be harder work, just depends on the truck.

Check ebay.

Wait to get the WD hitch until you have the trailer. Some compatibility issues might arise. You will need a shank and ball so you can tow, but having a ball that is not part of the clumsy WD hitch is quite useful if you ever need to tow something else, so is a good investment, again, check for used ones. Probably lots in your area...

If your truck has auto adjusting air bag suspension then the WD hitch is not needed to "level" the truck, but WD is good for spreading the weight to the front axle, so still can be considered. For a heavy trailer then a WD hitch is good, but for a lighter trailer it might not be needed at all. You will know as soon as the trailer is dropped on the hitch.

Wait until you actually do a tow before considering sway control. You do not always need sway control as many trailers do not sway. Just having the WD system is sometimes enough of a friction resistance to limit sway, but some trailers/drivers/trucks just do not sway. Why spend money for something you do not need just because some forum guys panic.

Sway can arise from improperly loaded trailers. Too much weight behind the trailer axle can cause sway, so proper loading should be followed.

[SpeakEasy]

CharlesinGA wrote:


One thing to pay attention to is that whoever sets up the hitch has TORQUE WRENCHES to tighten the ball and the two bolts that retain the head to the shank. Many people think "German tight" is good enough, but you are playing with fire if they come loose on you.

A ball will generally have a 1¼ inch threaded shank and (fine thread) will be torqued to 450 lb/ft (yes, you read that right) and the 3/4 cross bolts holding the hitch head to the shank are torqued to 260 lb/ft (and yes, I own the proper torque wrenches).

Charles

https://www.amazon.com/photos/all/gallery/EQA9E_MPRJm7vuzzfbUQyQ

This is really important stuff from CharlesinGA if you are at all inclined to "do-it-yourself." I learned the hard way that the wrenches you need for this job are EXPENSIVE. I had the dealer set up mine originally. But then I changed tow vehicles, and then changed tow vehicles again. I decided at that point that it would be wise to re-adjust. I am the sort of person that loves doing my own work, and I generally don't buy a specific tool until I run into a job that requires it. Well, this job required it, and as I said, the torque wrench especially, was not cheap. But now I have the tools, and the know-how, and I can do the job again when necessary. Plus I can help others if and when the need arises.

But don't go into it with your eyes closed.

(BTW - the readjustment was the right thing to do. There were some significant changes needed due to differences in hitch-height and suspension differences.)

-Speak

[Lynnmor]

LakeN wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:
Skip the CW & the Good Sam. Get CoachNet if you want an assistance plan. Buy your WDH from eTrailer using their advice. Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need to drop a ton of money on a WDH, most issues are maladjustment. If you closely follow instructions, you can install or get some help from someone that has mechanical ability. I drove home from my wonderful dealer with the hitch completely loose on the shank.

Best advice! Get Coachnet and use eTrailer.

Just think, several said the safest thing to do is let the dealer install it, they could have killed me.

[Family-of-five]

surprised no one mentioned ebay for a source. I get the best deals there. I think because you have many sellers selling the same part they have to compete with each other.BTW I like my reese weight distrinution hitch with cam anti sway.Not cheap but works good.check it out

[dodge_guy]

Get it at the same time and place you buy the trailer. If you really want to buy it early look at Etrailer. They always have great deals.

[profdant139]

I've got nothing to add that is on topic, but here are a few important points:

Your question was not dumb.

There are no dumb questions, except the one you don't ask.

Keep asking questions -- it provides guidance for other folks with similar issues, and it gives us old timers something to do! 😉

[LakeN]

Lynnmor wrote:
Skip the CW & the Good Sam. Get CoachNet if you want an assistance plan. Buy your WDH from eTrailer using their advice. Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t need to drop a ton of money on a WDH, most issues are maladjustment. If you closely follow instructions, you can install or get some help from someone that has mechanical ability. I drove home from my wonderful dealer with the hitch completely loose on the shank.

Best advice! Get Coachnet and use eTrailer.

[GrandpaKip]

If you stay below 6k pounds loaded, you should also look at an Andersen hitch. By far the easiest to set up, hook up and unhook.

[aftermath]

OK, here are a couple of things for you to think about. I agree with the concerns about CW. I would go somewhere else if I could.

I think having the dealer sell and set up your hitch is probably the safest way. Before you do that though, find out what kind of hitch they recommend. Go online and see what the cost is and how hard it is to adjust. Every manufacturer should have directions for you to follow.

Knowing the price going in will help you in negotiating. I have an Equalizer and I don't find it all that hard to adjust. But, to be honest, I have never used any other hitch and I am somewhat handy around a wrench. There are a lot of good hitches out there. Find out the one the dealer sells and come back here and ask owners how they like theirs. I would look for one that is easy to set up, easy to hook and easy to unhook.

[wowens79]

You should be able to figure out what spring bars you need one you decide on the trailer. Order it from etrailer or Amazon, and watch a YouTube video and set it up yourself. My Blue Ox sway pro was super easy to install and setup.

Maybe it was just my dealer, but he did not instill much confidence when he started to scrape some excess caulk off with a metal puddy knife on the fiberglass siding.

[CharlesinGA]

Due to the fact that the bars on a WDH are specific to ranges of tongue weight, you really need to wait until you get the trailer.

Equal-i-zer® brand hitches DO NOT have interchangable bars, they are removable but due to design differences you have to replace the entire hitch head (but not the shank) and the bars, as a unit if you need to go from one weight range to another. Other hitches have interchangeable weight bars, such as the Blue Ox Sway Pro, its available with 350 lb. 550 lb, 750 lb, 1000 lb and 1500 lb weight bars. The hitch head is the same, you just change the bars (but thats a $200 plus proposition).

Many dealers do not really know how to set up hitches. An Equal-i-zer in particular is not the easiest to set up.

Shop for a good used WDH, they are on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, you just gotta search for them, and know what you are looking at. I just bought a 7 month old, possibly used once (ball was not scratched) Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch with 1000 lb bars for my 800 lb plus tongue weight. Paid $300 for it, cheapest I can get it delivered to my door for was something over $600, plus the cost of the ball. I made a 900 mile round trip in the car to get it, but I got a bunch of other camping stuff also, the guy was cleaning out his garage. New Camco lego blocks, Zero Gravity lounge chairs, dogbone adapters, and a couple of other valuable items all thrown in. Camping was not his bag and they were moving.

One thing to pay attention to is that whoever sets up the hitch has TORQUE WRENCHES to tighten the ball and the two bolts that retain the head to the shank. Many people think "German tight" is good enough, but you are playing with fire if they come loose on you.

A ball will generally have a 1¼ inch threaded shank and (fine thread) will be torqued to 450 lb/ft (yes, you read that right) and the 3/4 cross bolts holding the hitch head to the shank are torqued to 260 lb/ft (and yes, I own the proper torque wrenches).

Charles

https://www.amazon.com/photos/all/gallery/EQA9E_MPRJm7vuzzfbUQyQ