Towing w/out weight dist -- am I being too conservative?

[willdennis]

Hi all,

I have been towing since 2010, first with a 2010 Chevy Silverado 1500, where on the first TT I had (bought used) I used a Reese WD hitch that came with it (Dual Cam model), but then went to a ProPride 3P when I got my current TT in 2017. In 2018, I got a much better TV (GMC gasser 2500) which of course has a much better towing capacity, and kept using the ProPride with that.

After my first trip of this season, I noticed the ProPride hitch head on the TT didn't move as smoothly as it should, and removed the top pivot "hubcaps", and found that the left-hand bearing assembly was all rusty (water intrusion) and that the topmost roller bearing had cracked open (!) Towed it over to my RV mechanic who inspected both upper pivots (each contain two roller-bearing assemblies) and he tells me all four are bad! (who knows about the bottom two pivots bearings...) So, because of this and other PP issues (hitching can be a real drag), I'm done with the ProPride... Told my RV mechanic to remove it from the TT, and he did.

But, dumb luck, my sister's boyfriend just got rid of his TT, and has a 2008 BlueOx SwayPro with 1000-lb bars that he's glad to loan to me, so I went over and got it from him. Unfortunately, my RV mechanic said he will not install any hitch that he doesn't sell (and at present, he can only get Fastway e2 hitches, which I don't want.) So, I'm faced with towing the TT just on the ball, at least to another place that installs customer-provided hitches (I actually found one that's 15 min's away from my RV mech.)

Both my RV mech, as well as my wife who looked in my GMC owner's manual, asked why I couldn't just tow on the ball without a WD hitch from now on (we were supposed to go out on a trip yesterday, which got cancelled anyways for other reasons.) The owner's manual says that WD hitch is "Optional" with TT weights of up to 20K lbs (my particular model is rated to tow up to 13K lbs max.) I guess I'm just (a) used to towing with a WD hitch, and (b) very conservative saftey-wise (don't want any harm to come to my family, and secondarily the TV which I love, or the TT, from being involved in a towing-related accident...) Am I being way too conservative here?

Relevant facts:
- unladen TT weight: 5225 lbs
- TT GVWR: 6250 lbs (guesstimating that our laden TT is +/- 6000 lbs)
- est tounge weight: 750 lbs
- calculated max TV tounge weight: 1100 lbs

Your thoughts please?

[aftermath]

What Mr. andyj just said. If can install an equalizer hitch, you can do yours. Not a big thing.

[mr_andyj]

That was a long story to set up a question.
You are asking if you should worry about towing across town once?
Don't even bother with a WD hitch for a short tow....

How much does the truck sag when you drop the trailer on the hitch? If it rides level enough and the trailer tows well enough then it will get you there.

The other issue... Installing a WD can be done by most people who are not handy with tools. Read directions, watch a video and go try. Not a lot lot it. Find a different mechanic. Any mechanic can do this, auto, lawnmower, bicycle... it is not hard stuff and any mechanic will be able to read directions and follow the steps to install...

[lane_hog]

I'm amazed at the amount of rust and overall damage on a six year old hitch, especially at the price the ProPride comes in at...

By comparison, my Reese Dual Cam has almost no signs of its age aside from some surface rust on the bars where the paint chipped away. but it also has no actual moving parts.

For the original question... you should be fine with the shorter wheelbase trailer, but I'd still use it for sway control.

[Vintage465]

As far as moving the trailer from one side of town to the other, certainly no issue. I've been towing trailers for 40 years and I'm completely in the W.D. camp when it comes to towing. And yes, the weight carrying capacity of the receivers on most tow vehicles is "2 sided". 1 with W.D. and 1 without. W.D. hitches do more than just "hold up" the back of the tow vehicle. It spreads the load from the rear axle of the tow vehicle to the the front axle of the tow vehicle and the axle/s on the trailer. This makes life on the road so much better when encountering whoops on the road like bridge approaches etc. I don't really see any combination of conventional tow vehicle and coach that won't benefit from a properly set up and tuned W.D. set up. I believe if you have an F-550 type tow vehicle and have a 28 foot trailer it will benefit.......and as they say...JMHO

[Fisherman]

Sorry but that is complete neglect on the operator.

[ktmrfs]

time2roll wrote:
If your hitch and vehicle are rated at 6250+ with no weight distribution I would give it a go.
Every day you will see a dump truck or other HD vehicle with no W/D and it does fine because it is rated accordingly.

My hitch says 5000 max unless W/D is used.

hitch receiver also likely has two tongue weight limits. weight carrying and weight distribution. Often the weight carrying limit is in the 500lb range while weight carrying can be in the 1500lb range.
weight carrying puts different loads on the receiver mounts than weight carrying does.

[NamMedevac_70]

I have towed a 28 foot TT thru the Rockies and mountains of Oregon and California without WDH using a Dodge Ram 2500 V-10 with a rear axle of a 3500 and never any sway problems at all or stopping problems. When I towed same trailer in flatlands of Texas with Dodge Ram 1500 I definitely used and needed the WDH because of passing big rigs.

[Boomerweps]

My SIL towed his comparable weight toy hauler no WDH for a few years on two different Ram 2500s, one diesel, now gasser, before just getting a used fifth wheel.

I’d contact the WDH maker and give them a what’s up with this message. 4 years on a WDH should have ZERO probs on the WDH unless you left it in the weather.

[willdennis]

Welp, used just the ball mount from the BlueOx, and towed it from the RV mechanic's place back to where we store the TT (about 20 min's away, no highways.) Noticed the ride was "bouncier" than what I'm used to, but nothing too bad. The TV didn't pop up more than 1/4" in front once hitched, so that seems good. But still, I am def going with WD hitch for the ride's sake. The BlueOx my buddy gave to me is missing a few pieces, one of which is needed for functionality ("chain sway return loop", needed for anti-sway) so look like a new hitch is going to get bought.

On the P3 hitch side, WOW -- the upper spindle bearing pairs were all completely shot -- my mechanic removed and disposed of the uppermost pair on each side, but the lower pair were heavily worn, and the congealed grease full of metal filings!

top roller bearing cone assembly worn thru:


upper spindles with top bearings removed:


bottom roller bearing wear:


Can't wait to see the bottom spindles... 😕

And this after 4 years of use with an estimated ~1000mi/yr trip mileage, and hitch covered (along with TT) every year off-season... Doesn't seem right to me that "the best hitch in the world" would fail like this.

[time2roll]

If your hitch and vehicle are rated at 6250+ with no weight distribution I would give it a go.
Every day you will see a dump truck or other HD vehicle with no W/D and it does fine because it is rated accordingly.

My hitch says 5000 max unless W/D is used.

[rexlion]

If I were you, I'd tow it to the other place (or to home) on the ball, although I'd keep the speed down to 50 or so until I knew it felt stable. The brake controller is right at the fingertips if it were to misbehave, but it probably won't because you have enough hitch weight.

The WD hitch will serve as long-term peace of mind, though. And it will reduce bouncing (improve your ride comfort). So I'd still install it, or get it installed.

[azdryheat]

At work we move all travel trailers without using a WD system. Seems if you have enuf truck WD isn't needed.

[ktmrfs]

see what the weight carrying limit is on the truck hitch reciever. Often it is much lower than the WD hitch limit. That may answer your question.

don't estimate tongue weight. It can easily be much higher than you think. each battery adds essentially 100% of its weight to the tongue as do any propane tanks.

If you choose no WD hitch, at least use a WD ball mount that has a ball for a friction sway control and use it.

[ferndaleflyer]

I have towed a 32ft bumper pull with, since 1999, a 3500 Chev, and 2 different F 350 fords. Never owned a WDH and have been from coast to coast and border to border without no real problems. Over 100,000mi. Trailer has 3 axels for stability. Kind of depends on how you load it and my combined weight is around 23,000lbs. I also tow this trailer with my DP without a WDH. Do what makes you comfortable and be safe.