Spring Bar Opinion needed.

[Aluminum_Siding]

I have the regular old Reese hitch. I have 1000 lb bars. My TT is 32'.10" 5500 dry with a 640 tongue wt. With junk and propane i'm up around 800. add a full tank of water and now I'm at close to 1100-1200 lbs. Let me know if this sounds correct. My F150 would sag pretty good but it would sag with groceries in the back (kidding). Now I have a new 250 and it doesn't feel a thing. 70% of the time my water tank is empty but we do dry camp a couple of times a year. Do you think I should upgrade to a set of 1200 bars. Just trying to keep undo pressure off the truck.

[Aluminum_Siding]

downtheroad wrote:
My rule of thumb has always been to pick a bar size to match 12% of the trailer's GVWR.

That's 840 lbs for me.

Thanks a ton for the great replies folks! Gives me some good piece of mind. I originally saw a tongue weight of 640 and figured 1000 would be fine not thinking of water in the tank, batteries, propane and gear in the front storage. In retrospect thinking may have needed to go higher but with my truck and set up I do believe i'm ok. I do balance the rear with supplies, bikes, dutch ovens, beer etc, but keeping the front heavier for less sway etc.

[MM49]

Ron Gratz wrote:

Aluminum Siding wrote:
---Now I have a new 250 and it doesn't feel a thing. 70% of the time my water tank is empty but we do dry camp a couple of times a year. Do you think I should upgrade to a set of 1200 bars. Just trying to keep undo pressure off the truck.

The weight rating of the WD bars should be based on how you plan to use the bars.

For your truck, Ford specifies that the WDH should be adjusted to eliminate approximately 50% of the front end rise.
This means the WD bars would be loaded only to approximately 50% of the load required to eliminate 100% of front end rise.

If you have a 1200# tongue weight and your goal is to eliminate only 50% of the rise, you could get by with 600# bars.
Your current 1000# bars are more than sufficient to eliminate 50% of the rise.

Ron

Ron and I rarely agree on anything, but this time the 600# bars are correct. The lighter bar will give you the tolerance to tune your setup with more or less tension.
MM49

[Ron_Gratz]

Aluminum Siding wrote:
---Now I have a new 250 and it doesn't feel a thing. 70% of the time my water tank is empty but we do dry camp a couple of times a year. Do you think I should upgrade to a set of 1200 bars. Just trying to keep undo pressure off the truck.

The weight rating of the WD bars should be based on how you plan to use the bars.

For your truck, Ford specifies that the WDH should be adjusted to eliminate approximately 50% of the front end rise.
This means the WD bars would be loaded only to approximately 50% of the load required to eliminate 100% of front end rise.

If you have a 1200# tongue weight and your goal is to eliminate only 50% of the rise, you could get by with 600# bars.
Your current 1000# bars are more than sufficient to eliminate 50% of the rise.

Ron

[4x4Bob]

I would like to offer another reason to switch to a Equal-i-zer hitch system with built in 4 point sway control.

A friction operated anti-sway bar can work good up to 25 feet of TT. After 25 feet some people have added another one on the other side trying to keep sway down and maintain control in windy conditions.

I know, I used to tow with a frame mounted sway bar. Then I upgraded to my Equal-i-zer hitch with 1,200 lb bars. World of differance. My TT is 33 feet from hitch to rear bumper.

I made one panic, tire smoking stop, trying to avoid a 18 wheeler that turned right in front of me. No jack knifing or loss of control. Also, I have been nailed from the side with wind gusts that would pushed me around before. No control problems now.

Bob

[downtheroad]

My rule of thumb has always been to pick a bar size to match 12% of the trailer's GVWR.

[DutchmenSport]

Bars will work fine with the new truck. Relax and enjoy the ride! Congrats on the new truck!

When we got our new truck last April, I used my original Reese hitch that was over 10 years old, and now on it's 3rd trailer and tow vehicle combination. But it just didn't sit right, looked kind of funny. So went back to my dealer and had them examine my set-up with the new truck. Found out the hitch head itself was bent. What caused it? No clue. Maybe just old age, excessive stress on the Reese system, or maybe the weight of the new camper was a bit too much for the old girl. Ended up switching and got an Equal-i-zer hitch rated 12,000 pounds. That would be the only reason to swap hitch systems, if the old was damaged or somehow the new combination of truck and trailer somehow caused excessive wear on the hitch system. Keep an eye on everything for about 6 months. And then only if you see something apparently wrong, change your system for your needs. Other than that, I think you're fine with your current system. Save your money for camping.

[K_Charles]

Keep the 1000 lb bars, they will work fine