sway control requirements

[brackleybeach]

I am trading for a 25 ft mini lite. My tv is a F250 crew cab with a 6.2l gas motor The tongue weight is about 600lb . Will I require a WD hitch and will I require sway control.

[djnedd]

Hi all

After 10+ years with a TT, I consider WDH/Sway hitches required safety equipment. Not optional equipment.

2 or 3 trips a year across South or North Dakota and /or Nebraska where the wind always blows the wrong way for my travels. Also 2 or 3 times I have seen TT rigs with wheels to the sky on these windy days. I am convinced my Equalizer hitch is worth every penny.

[Community Alumni]

RPreeb wrote:
This is a topic that I'm still back and forth on. I have a 2016 F-150 Super Crew 4x4 with 3.5L Ecoboost V6 and tow package. I have only pulled my JF X213 TT from the dealer to my home so far, but that was 150 miles on the freeway in a 25-30 mph crosswind (in other words a typical eastern Colorado day). It towed effortlessly with no WDH. That doesn't mean that I have no plans to get one, but I want to try a couple of short trips next spring before I make the investment.

Since I was towing with full propane tanks and battery but no water or other gear, it probably wasn't a fair test. Factory spec for tongue weight is 420 lbs, and the LP tanks have already run that up a bit. My truck is only rated for 500 lbs. That's my biggest concern. I think that the actual towing isn't really going to be an issue.

Head to a CAT scale and get an actual tongue weight. A couple of 20 lbs tanks will weigh 74 lbs when full and a single Group 24 battery weighs around 60 lbs. That alone may be enough to put you over your lbs weight carrying rating on the receiver. I'd get the WDH even if it's just a cheap round bar system. There's much better options like ones with integrated sway control. Whatever you do, make sure you have some form of sway control either integrated or external. If you've never experienced true sway, it's no joke and normally doesn't end well.

[austingta]

Ivylog wrote:
A PU will ride/handle better with some weight in the bed. 600 lbs, even on the tailgate will improve the handling. Hook the trailer up and go for a test drive without WD or sway.
The tangent of 2/250 is less than 1 degree so no one is going to flash their high beams at you if you do not use WD...
in the trees :S

I like to have 600 pounds of ballast to smooth out the ride.

[RPreeb]

This is a topic that I'm still back and forth on. I have a 2016 F-150 Super Crew 4x4 with 3.5L Ecoboost V6 and tow package. I have only pulled my JF X213 TT from the dealer to my home so far, but that was 150 miles on the freeway in a 25-30 mph crosswind (in other words a typical eastern Colorado day). It towed effortlessly with no WDH. That doesn't mean that I have no plans to get one, but I want to try a couple of short trips next spring before I make the investment.

Since I was towing with full propane tanks and battery but no water or other gear, it probably wasn't a fair test. Factory spec for tongue weight is 420 lbs, and the LP tanks have already run that up a bit. My truck is only rated for 500 lbs. That's my biggest concern. I think that the actual towing isn't really going to be an issue.

[drsteve]

It's worth mentioning that 600 pounds of sand in the bed is a very different load than a trailer bouncing up and down, moving independently, with it's fulcrum far behind the truck, exerting way more leverage on the truck than a load carried in the bed (or on the tailgate, for that matter). I suspect that's why WD raises the carrying limit of the receiver. The truck in my sig has a cargo capacity of 2900 lbs. Does that mean I don't need WD with my ~800lb tongue weight TT? Of course not.

[TomG2]

Lynnmor wrote:
Before 2011, the F250 had much stiffer springs. To improve ride the current springs will sag till the overload springs are contacted.

My last F-250 was a 2006. I had no idea that they had reduced the capability since then. The answer? Get a Silverado 2500HD. Much more capacity and that little trailer would not make it squat more than one inch. SYDTR

[Lynnmor]

TomG2 wrote:
I have towed trailers similar to what the OP is talking about for thousands of trouble free miles with F-250's and Silverado 2500's. None had significant "Squat". The first thing I did when I recently downgraded to a F-150 was to purchase a weight distributing hitch.

Before 2011, the F250 had much stiffer springs. To improve ride the current springs will sag till the overload springs are contacted. If you had F250's before 2011, there is no comparison, read the information posted in the link I provided.

[Community Alumni]

TomG2 wrote:
The OP has a F-250 and no weight distributing hitch will be required for that small of a trailer. One of the joys of driving a more than adequate pickup is the elimination of the bars and junk associated with the fancy hitches. Enjoy the freedom.

A WD hitch would be required for the OP's truck. According to Ford's 2012 RV and Trailer guide, the weight carrying capacity of the hitch is 600 lbs and the max trailer is 6,000 lbs without a WDH. Assuming the OP meant the 600 lbs was the dry tongue, they'll surely exceed the hitch's max rating once loaded. Also, as mentioned before, if this F250 is prone to rear end sag, a WDH will help correct this along with any potential steering issues.

Just because one has a large truck doesn't mean that a WDH would be useless. Over the years some folks have reported that even their 1 ton towed better with a WDH than without despite the truck being very capable of carrying the load. Not saying that they are necessary, but they can be beneficial even on very capable trucks. Tow capacity doesn't cancel out physics.

[TomG2]

I have towed trailers similar to what the OP is talking about for thousands of trouble free miles with F-250's and Silverado 2500's. None had significant "Squat". The first thing I did when I recently downgraded to a F-150 was to purchase a weight distributing hitch.

[Lynnmor]

TomG2 wrote:
The OP has a F-250 and no weight distributing hitch will be required for that small of a trailer. One of the joys of driving a more than adequate pickup is the elimination of the bars and junk associated with the fancy hitches. Enjoy the freedom.

You might want to read up on F250 sag.
rear sag

[rbpru]

My Blue Ox WD hitch contains some sort of sway control designed into it. It works fine with my F-150 and 6200 lb scale weight Dutchmen.

[TomG2]

The OP has a F-250 and no weight distributing hitch will be required for that small of a trailer. One of the joys of driving a more than adequate pickup is the elimination of the bars and junk associated with the fancy hitches. Enjoy the freedom.

[TundraTower]

No one has questioned this yet, but 600 lbs seems unreasonably light for the tongue a 25 foot trailer.

We have a 26 foot trailer and the tongue wt is 950-1000 lbs depending on level in the 2 propane tanks. (yes, I have a Surline tongue scale). The trailer loaded for a trip weighs 7,600 lbs total, including tongue weight, by the Pilot CAT scales.

We bought this trailer new and the sticker indicates tongue weight of 700 lbs, but I have NEVER seen it anywhere close to that. I'm pretty sure that sticker tongue weight is without propane tanks and battery installed on the tongue. A full propane tank weighs 35# and a battery around #70, so you will be adding at least 140# to the tongue, plus all the clothes you and DW stuff in the closets that are probably forward.

I suspect when reality sets in, you take delivery with 2 full propane bottles and the battery, load it for a trip, and then ACTUALLY WEIGH the tongue, it is going to be closer to 900 lbs if not more.

All my experience is with a half ton pickup, but if you ever plan to pull west of Arkansas you are going to need the WDH for sway control at the very least. And I suspect you will need it for leveling even on a 250 truck, but that's a guess.

[Flatfoot-Rogue]

I use both a WD hitch and sway control...Do I need them? -No- not by law. What the WD hitch does is help keep my truck (f150) level and the weights where I want it (on all 4 wheels) As for the sway control, the roads where I am can be heavily rutted and there is frequently strong cross winds and extreme weather so the sway control just helps keep things going straight. This is all personal preference as there is no laws requiring either....(in my jurisdiction)