Towing without a equalizer hitch

[mabel]

I happened to notice that my neighbor is towing his 28ft travel trailer without a equalizer hitch or sway control. He is towing it with a 1/2ton truck.
His trailer is similar to mine, which weighs 7200 pounds. I know this isn't a smart thing to do, but I was wondering if it is legal.
We are in Michigan and he is towing within the state.

[Terryallan]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

rbpru wrote:
All a WD hitch does is level out the rig, provide better braking and steering on the front of the TV, reduce sway and relieve the weight and wear and tear on the rear suspension.

If you do not care about these improvements or are satisfied with how your rig drives, there is little incentive to invest in a WD hitch.

Personally I prefer the WD hitch for all the above reasons.

A standard WD hitch does nothing to prevent sway, unless it has a built in sway control such as a Blue OX or Equalizer brand and some others, or has it added on sway control such as a friction sway control bar or adding the dual cam option to a standard Reese round bar WD hitch.

A Reese, Husky, Harbor Freight, etc, round or torsion bar WD hitch has no sway control whatsoever.

On these boards people have a bad habit of referring to the spring bars as sway bars, which they are not.

Truthfully. A WDH does eliminate sway. A correctly setup WDH on a Tt will not sway. With or with out sway control, After all Sway control does NOT prevent sway, only helps control it once it starts. That is where a properly setup hitch comes in. It returns CONTROL of the TV, and TT to the driver. You can call it what you want. But "most" not all, but most TV and TT combinations are undrivable with out a WDH. The trailer controls the TV. A WDH fixes that. After all, that is what the are designed to do. Leveling the TV is a side benefit, not the purpose.

[atreis]

bid_time wrote:

atreis wrote:
While this is true, there are two limits that ARE legally enforceable: the axle weight rating, and the tire weight rating. Exceeding either of those can land one into hot water, which might be possible given the neighbor's setup. (Especially the tires.)...

I sure would be interested in knowing what law you're citing that make these ratings "legally enforceable".

This is for tires. I couldn't find the specific regulations for axles.

Tires (GVWR 10K or less):
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/571.110
S4.2

or (more than 10K GVWR)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/571.120
S5.1.2 and S5.3.1
Assuming you drive over 80kph.

[Vintage465]

Good Grief............these are always so much fun! Wanna get things in a tither?...........Post about.
1. Diesel or gassers
2. 12v batteries or two sixes in series.
3. W.D. Hitches or not.
4. Running Generator or going solar
5. And my all time favorite....."if you want a real diesel, you have to buy a Dodge with a Cummins"

Just about as much fun as talking about what kind of worship is correct in church!

[miltvill]

A good WD hitch with sway control keeps my head lights on the road and makes me feel better in a strong cross wind. Sure people with boats and lawn service people never use WD hitches on their trailers. But they don't travel with three holding tanks on their trailers that may be full or 1/2 full.

[edd210]

I have a 2017 F250 and tow a Coleman 192RD gross weight 5200.
I was just using a sway bar but questioned a forum as to the advantages of a WD hitch and received many good answers. I have since purchased one and it made the camper feel like it is part of the truck. I had a situation on the way back from our last trip where someone decided they needed to get on the expressway immediately instead of merging, smoked the tires on both the truck and the camper but everything stayed in line in heavy traffic. I think the WD did part of the job.

[bid_time]

atreis wrote:
While this is true, there are two limits that ARE legally enforceable: the axle weight rating, and the tire weight rating. Exceeding either of those can land one into hot water, which might be possible given the neighbor's setup. (Especially the tires.)...

I sure would be interested in knowing what law you're citing that make these ratings "legally enforceable".

[GrandpaKip]

Gdetrailer wrote:

GrandpaKip wrote:
He may just be ignorant. How many of us knew about WD systems before getting into towing a camper?
Why don’t you go over and start a discussion? Most everybody loves talking about their campers.

I would suggest that the OP minds their own business rather than potentially start a war that they will never win (angry neighbors, not a good place to be in).

Yes, the OPs neighbor "might" have a problem but it IS THEIR problem.

I did not mean to go over and start criticizing, but to just go talk about campers. The WD could be brought up during conversation. I talk to people all the time about their campers and never had a problem. If the guy doesn’t want to talk, apologize and walk away.

[atreis]

Terryallan wrote:
You said it right "Recommended" limits. NOT lawful limits. Since he is not breaking a law. Gross negligence will be hard to prove. As for the warranty. Who is going to tell them.

Remember. The manufacturer weight limits are only there to tell you what the manufacturer will warranty the vehicle to carry / tow with out breaking down.. Nothing legal about them.

While this is true, there are two limits that ARE legally enforceable: the axle weight rating, and the tire weight rating. Exceeding either of those can land one into hot water, which might be possible given the neighbor's setup. (Especially the tires.)

For the OP, there's a really good chance the neighbor just doesn't know about hitches. Given the opportunity, talk some about the hitch that you use and how much nicer it is to tow with it. That might prompt the neighbor to do a little research without putting him on the defensive.

[SoundGuy]

Gdetrailer wrote:
WD has ZERO, NOTHING, NADA to do with "sway".

Disagree completely, for the reasons already stated. Without WD I've personally experienced a truck's unloaded front steer axle and ensuing sway, and it's not an experience I'd like to repeat. With our previous Spree I resolved this by using an Equal-i-zer with integrated sway control, the Coachmen I've towed thousands of miles, often in less than ideal conditions, using WD but no sway control, with no indication of sway at all. Without WD my Silvy's front end is so light the combination would easily begin to sway. The key to avoiding sway is to prevent it from happening in the first place and to that end properly balancing cargo load in the trailer & using a properly sized & adjusted weight distribution system to transfer weight back to the truck's front steer axle where it belongs is always the place to start.

[Gdetrailer]

SoundGuy wrote:

Ralph Cramden wrote:
A standard WD hitch does nothing to prevent sway, unless it has a built in sway control such as a Blue OX or Equalizer brand and some others, or has it added on sway control such as a friction sway control bar or adding the dual cam option to a standard Reese round bar WD hitch.

I'd have to disagree in the sense that a properly sized & adjusted WD system will restore weight back to the TV's front steer axle where it belongs, allowing the TV to operate as it normally would when not hitched to a trailer. A TV that has an excessive amount of weight bearing down the hitch ball, with no WD in play to help restore the TV's balance, will be inherently more prone to allowing the trailer to sway. So yes, in that sense the use of WD does help to prevent sway, just as does properly loading the trailer in the first place and loading it so it has a reasonable amount of gross tongue weight to gross trailer weight, IMO 13% to 14% being just about ideal. I'd be one of those who does use WD but does not use any additional friction sway control because I've taken the time to make sure the WD setup is correct for the trailer I'm towing.

Sorry but Ralph DOES make some very good points.

STANDARD WD systems DO NOTHING FOR PREVENTING SWAY.

Sway STARTS with the TRAILER, NOT THE FRONT WHEELS OF THE TOW VEHICLE.

I highly doubt that you could ever put enough "load" on the trailer hitch to reduce the weight on the FRONT OF A PICKUP TRUCK to "induce" sway or lose steering (yes, the steering could get "light" but not "lose" steering).

You are forgetting that a PICKUP TRUCK has CONSIDERABLY MORE WEIGHT ALREADY ON THE FRONT AXLE. Pickup trucks (especially 4x4 trucks) will have nearly 60% or even better of their weight already on the front axle. There IS a good reason as to why a unloaded pickup has the BED WAY UP IN THE AIR!!

You REALLY have to work hard to remove even 10% of the weight from the front axle.

The majority of the trailer weight WILL be on the REAR axle of said truck and THAT is where the problems can start. Too much weight on the REAR axle of the truck can easily overload the REAR AXLE AND TIRES.

WD hitch IS designed to push some weight from the rear truck axle TO PREVENT YOU FROM OVERLOADING THE REAR AXLE.

WD has ZERO, NOTHING, NADA to do with "sway".

The BEST way to "prevent" sway is to MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AT LEAST 10% of the trailer weight ON THE TONGUE OF SAID TRAILER. MUCH BETTER HOWEVER IF YOU HAVE 15%!!!

But as I mentioned in my other post, OP might really wish to reconsider the thought of approaching the subject, the neighbor might really take offense to the notion that they are doing something wrong..

[Gdetrailer]

GrandpaKip wrote:
He may just be ignorant. How many of us knew about WD systems before getting into towing a camper?
Why don’t you go over and start a discussion? Most everybody loves talking about their campers.

I would suggest that the OP minds their own business rather than potentially start a war that they will never win (angry neighbors, not a good place to be in).

Yes, the OPs neighbor "might" have a problem but it IS THEIR problem.

[John_Bridge]

I'm on my third travel trailer with a fifth-wheel thrown in as well. My current 30-foot travel trailer does NOT sway at 70 mph, and I have no sway control. I also have a one-ton dually, so weight distribution is not a concern.

If sway is not a problem you don't need sway control. Weight distribution with a smaller truck is another matter. If your hitched trailer lowers the back of your truck down significantly, a weight distribution hitch is the way to go.

In short, you don't have to buy anything you don't need. 🙂

[SoundGuy]

Ralph Cramden wrote:
A standard WD hitch does nothing to prevent sway, unless it has a built in sway control such as a Blue OX or Equalizer brand and some others, or has it added on sway control such as a friction sway control bar or adding the dual cam option to a standard Reese round bar WD hitch.

I'd have to disagree in the sense that a properly sized & adjusted WD system will restore weight back to the TV's front steer axle where it belongs, allowing the TV to operate as it normally would when not hitched to a trailer. A TV that has an excessive amount of weight bearing down the hitch ball, with no WD in play to help restore the TV's balance, will be inherently more prone to allowing the trailer to sway. So yes, in that sense the use of WD does help to prevent sway, just as does properly loading the trailer in the first place and loading it so it has a reasonable amount of gross tongue weight to gross trailer weight, IMO 13% to 14% being just about ideal. I'd be one of those who does use WD but does not use any additional friction sway control because I've taken the time to make sure the WD setup is correct for the trailer I'm towing.

[Ralph_Cramden]

rbpru wrote:
All a WD hitch does is level out the rig, provide better braking and steering on the front of the TV, reduce sway and relieve the weight and wear and tear on the rear suspension.

If you do not care about these improvements or are satisfied with how your rig drives, there is little incentive to invest in a WD hitch.

Personally I prefer the WD hitch for all the above reasons.

A standard WD hitch does nothing to prevent sway, unless it has a built in sway control such as a Blue OX or Equalizer brand and some others, or has it added on sway control such as a friction sway control bar or adding the dual cam option to a standard Reese round bar WD hitch.

A Reese, Husky, Harbor Freight, etc, round or torsion bar WD hitch has no sway control whatsoever.

On these boards people have a bad habit of referring to the spring bars as sway bars, which they are not.