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?

[noteven]

Overhaul the ProPride hitch and get it up for sale. The bearings and seals will be marked with part numbers you can likely buy at a bearing supply house or look them up in the manual.

I towed my 30ft x 12,500lbs Roughneck trailer on a ProPride. It went straight like on rails. Really nice.

I've also towed it bare nekked on the drawbar on 2 different won tons and my little Kenworth. It's fine.

I wouldn't think you would have a sudden unexplained catastrophic loss of directional control.

[wowens79]

Tow it home just on the ball, and see how it does. It will probably do fine.

I'd probably install the Sway Pro to help with the Sway, there is nothing to installing it. I installed mine, it is super easy. Blue Ox has instructions, and a video online on how to install.

My dealer would only install hitches he sold, and he wanted $300 more than other places for the hitch, so I drove home just using the ball, and took back roads instead of the interstate to go slow.

[valhalla360]

If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, see if there are any mobile RV techs in the area that will do it. It doesn't take special equipment, just pull the install directions from the internet.

Probably not the end of the world but check if the hitch has a different rating with or without WDH. Most are significantly lower without the WDH. Some as little as 500lb of hitch weight.

If it's a non-windy day on level ground (non-challenging conditions), you can probably just pull it home if the hitch weight is good just take it easy and avoid rush hour.

[Grit_dog]

And to sandia mans point, if you own even a marginal set of hand tools and have enough mechanical ability to use YouTube and maybe do an oil change or brake job, installing the brackets on your trailer for a wdh is not difficult.

Good luck, go tow your trailer and don’t worry!

[Grit_dog]

The short answer is yes you’re being way too conservative. Actually beyond conservative and into the realm of ridiculous to be worried about towing it across town.
The long answer is you’re also being way conservative using a wdh to tow a lightweight trailer like yours anywhere, even cross country.
The only reason having a wdh on a new HD truck to tow a 3 ton trailer would be for sway control and at that, only “if” the trailer has poor weight distribution and wiggles or sways under normal driving conditions more than a normal trailer would.
You’ve been towing for 10 years now, so if you don’t have the experience or confidence to hook up your trailer and just go for a rip to see how it handles without a wdh, then I’d suggest a small motorhome would be a much better choice for you.
There is imo a Very small chance you’ll hook up, hit highway speeds and think that it does not handle well. There is a great chance that you’ll ask yourself why you’ve been using a wdh with your new truck. Regardless of which way it goes, it will not be a dangerous venture to try.

[Sandia_Man]

It is your call but I have Chevy 2500HD with same specs as you rig and I use our hitch for the sway control it provides, not so much for weight distribution. Wind blows pretty hard in our neck of the woods, along with the mountains and valleys that add intensity when funneling them across interstates, need our sway control for those sudden gusts that want to push us off the road.

TT is a bit longer and heavier and our truck has no issue handling the weight, at 33' the wind likes to wreak havoc, with power tongue jack hitching/unhitching takes but a minute or so. Don't know anything about Propride, but most WD/SC hitches are not overly tasking to install, plenty of vids online if you want to tackle installing the hitch that is available.

[bob213]

If you have the tools install it yourself. There's a sticky for it on this forum. WDH not only help with weight but most help with sway. That is where I would be concerned. I'm no mechanic and set mine up without a problem. If you can't do it let the other RV mechanic do it, but I would use it. JMO