Too much WD bar?

[HaulinBass02]

It's been a while since I've had anything but a 5er so help me refresh my memory. Obviously having not enough spring to your WD bars is bad but can having too much be bad as well?
If I'm shooting for about a 800lbs tongue weight will 1200lb trunnion bars be too much?
I ask because I had a Reese Dual cam system with our first TT and LOVED it! I never have liked the friction type sway controls and would like to go back with the dual cam again but I don't see that they have them in anything under 1200lb spring bars.

On edit, Etrailer shows 600, 800, 1200 and 1500lb bars but it misses the 1000lb mark. Surely they have those somewhere? That's what I am shooting for as far as extra capacity to my spring bars.

[rbpru]

I have raised and lowered the bars a link or so. Did not notice much. So when all else failed I read the manual.

The hitch maker said to use the hitch to keep the TT and TV sitting level. So that is what I did. Actually I am just a tad nose down, which seems to be popular on the forum.

[Community Alumni]

If you're interested in looking at a alternative hitches to match your target a little better, the Blue OX Swaypro comes with bars in 350, 550, 750, 1000, 1500, or 2000. We have one and love it. It's a very good alternative.

[Hannibal]

With a 3500 Cummins Ram towing a TT with only 800~lbs of tongue weight, do you really need any more than enough to satisfy the rating of the receiver? We just traded our 5th wheel for a 32' TT with 800~lb tongue weight. It only sits the F250 down 2" without bars. The last link on the chains picks the draw bar up and takes 1" off the rear squat. The front doesn't change either way. I went with the Reese HP trunion so I could opt for the DC if I ever felt I needed it. If the hitch were rated for the tongue weight, I likely wouldn't have WD.

[danimal53]

Dirtpig wrote:
The huntindog has it

agreed!

having gone thru the "bars too stiff" issue myself, it is a noticeable difference. i have about 400lb TW, and dealer sold me 1,000lb bars. Ride was really stiff, every bounce was felt by the TT, no flex at all. the TT was actually angled upward! i was worried about damage to the a frame as well. i went back to the dealer and showed them, they admitted it was poorly installed ("who installed this?! we did this?!") and dropped the bolts, but it was still too stiff for my liking, and i went down to 600lb bars. What a difference! dont "buy up" for the possible future larger TT you might get, get the one that's right for what you have.

[Dirtpig]

The huntindog has it

[Acdii]

Multiply the GVWR by .015, use that for the bar type. So 8600 is roughly 1200, so you need 801-1200 bars.

[jerem0621]

Spot on Huntingdog!

[Huntindog]

DP

[Huntindog]

WD bars are a lot like shoes. Too big is no good as is too small. The right size is the right size.

Many here advocate moving up in bar size,so that when the next larger TT comes along, new bigger bars won't be needed.

I disagree. Sure one can probably make it work... But it will never work as well as it should.

Bars are working springs. They need to be strong enough to transfer the needed weight, and NO stronger...

When a TT/TV go thru a dip, or enter/exit a steep driveway... The bars MUST bend. Too strong of a bar can resist bending to the point where the TV tires lose traction, or stress the TT frame to the point of damage... This is a particular concern with many of todays TTs using lighter frames to save weight.
My Fleetwood manual actually had ratings on how heavy a bar was allowed based on how thick the frame was.

Now having said all of that... In some cases a step up or down in bar size may be beneficial.
A stiffly sprung TV may be a little better with a slightly weaker bar, and a softly sprung TV may be better with a slightly stronger bar.... But when in doubt, try to match the actual TW.

[HaulinBass02]

jerem0621 wrote:
I believe the round bar version of the straight line is available in 1,000 lb weight.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

I was hoping it would be as the TT we are looking at (used) comes with hitch and whatnot. It uses round bars so I'd rather not buy an entire hitch setup if at all possible.
I guess I'll have to get on Reese's website and see what they offer and search from there. Etrailer seems to be missing some stuff.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

If the bars are a little heavy for the application, then don't take up as many links on the chains, which will put less tension on the bars.

[jerem0621]

I believe the round bar version of the straight line is available in 1,000 lb weight.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[HaulinBass02]

Hondavalk wrote:
If you go to E Trailer and bring up the specs for a straight line hitch it will give a range for the tongue weight for their bars. This is from their web site


ie: Specs:
Tongue weight: 600 lbs - 1,200 lbs
Gross towing weight: 12,000 lbs

I just couldn't find the specific listing for a 10k/1000lb hitch set. They actually have one that goes up to 15k/1500 and I think one that was 17k/1700. That is what I'm leaning for but bigger is better, sometimes.

[TomG2]

HaulinBass02 wrote:
It's been a while since I've had anything but a 5er so help me refresh my memory. Obviously having not enough spring to your WD bars is bad but can having too much be bad as well?
......snip...........

To answer your question, yes one can have too much. As mentioned, the ride will be a little harsher and there is the possibility of removing too much weight from the rear axle of the tow vehicle which can reduce traction. Neither of these should happen with the bars you are looking at.

[Hondavalk]

If you go to E Trailer and bring up the specs for a straight line hitch it will give a range for the tongue weight for their bars. This is from their web site


ie: Specs:
Tongue weight: 600 lbs - 1,200 lbs
Gross towing weight: 12,000 lbs