WD Needed?

[hbrady]

So my wife and I became camper people about a month after I purchased my 2104 Regular Cab Silverado. Our 'yellow sticker' camper weight is 7800 so even loaded I was well withing my trucks specifications of 9100 with a WD hitch (I borrowed one). The problem is, it was the tail wagging the dog and on steep hills my 5.3L struggled to maintain speed.

Since we are taking some longer trips this year I decided to go with a 3/4 ton. Right now I'm looking at a 2014 RAM 2500 Quad Cab short bed 4x4 with 5.7L and a max trailer rating of 12,500. I noticed the specifications show the exact same rating with or without WD hitch, I was planning to buy my own WD hitch this year but it seems it would be a waste of money.

With a properly balanced load is there any need for WD hitch if I'm running 3-4k under max trailer weight?

I've never towed with 3/4 ton so any advice would be appreciated.

[TomG2]

Back in the day, we really needed to shift some of the weight to the front axle of our Buicks and Fairlanes. It got to be an automatic add on for the trailer dealers. Some light duty pickups still need to unload the rear axle, many don't. I have towed thousand of miles with F-250 and 2500HD's with none of the much feared bounce or loss of front tire contact. I will go with what GM engineers say that their pickups "require".

[brulaz]

IDoMyOwnStunts wrote:

brulaz wrote:

2016 Ram Manual, p290 wrote:
If the gross trailer weight is 5,000 lbs (2 267 kg) or more, it is mandatory to use a weight-distributing hitch to ensure stable handling of your vehicle.

That's from an online version of the 2016 manual (Version 3) I downloaded. Trouble is, it's very generic. Used for ALL Rams, 1500s, Vans as well as 2500 and 3500s.

*sigh*

Not sure where you got that. That is NOT what my manual says.

"If the gross trailer weight is 5,000 lbs (2 267 kg) or more, it is recommended to use a weight-distributing hitch to ensure stable handling of your vehicle."

Ah well, it doesn't really matter.

The true test is for the driver to go out there on a really gusty, windy day and see for himself how the rig handles.

After doing that once w/o a WDH, I decided to use my Equal-I-Zer almost all the time. Would only be willing to take short local trips on calm days w/o it.

[Vintage465]

A weight distributing hitch make the "tow life" so much nicer. No hammering or teeter/tottering. Always remember, it's not "just" about how far down it pushes you truck when you set the trailer on the ball or what the manufacturer say you can get away with without a weight distributing hitch. It's about spreading the weight across both axles of the tow rig to make a much nicer ride.

[IDoMyOwnStunts]

brulaz wrote:

2016 Ram Manual, p290 wrote:
If the gross trailer weight is 5,000 lbs (2 267 kg) or more, it is mandatory to use a weight-distributing hitch to ensure stable handling of your vehicle.

That's from an online version of the 2016 manual (Version 3) I downloaded. Trouble is, it's very generic. Used for ALL Rams, 1500s, Vans as well as 2500 and 3500s.

*sigh*

Not sure where you got that. That is NOT what my manual says.

"If the gross trailer weight is 5,000 lbs (2 267 kg) or more, it is recommended to use a weight-distributing hitch to ensure stable handling of your vehicle."

[TomG2]

IDoMyOwnStunts wrote:

TomG2 wrote:
What does Ram have to say on the subject? A similar Silverado 2500HD does not require WD for the trailer you are towing and experience proves GM to be correct.

Read my post above. From the manual on page 689, Ram recommends a WD hitch for trailers over 5000 lbs.

Problem solved. Do as Ram says, or buy a Chevrolet.

[brulaz]

2016 Ram Manual, p290 wrote:
If the gross trailer weight is 5,000 lbs (2 267 kg) or more, it is mandatory to use a weight-distributing hitch to ensure stable handling of your vehicle.

That's from an online version of the 2016 manual (Version 3) I downloaded. Trouble is, it's very generic. Used for ALL Rams, 1500s, Vans as well as 2500 and 3500s.

[IDoMyOwnStunts]

TomG2 wrote:
What does Ram have to say on the subject? A similar Silverado 2500HD does not require WD for the trailer you are towing and experience proves GM to be correct.

Read my post above. From the manual on page 689, Ram recommends a WD hitch for trailers over 5000 lbs.

[TomG2]

What does Ram have to say on the subject? A similar Silverado 2500HD does not require WD for the trailer you are towing and experience proves GM to be correct.

[blt2ski]

You will probably find no bars has a bit more side to side rocking in cross winds than a basic WD system. A dual cam or equal will have a bit less. As far as towing straight, you should be able to do this with out bars, then add bars for more protection if you will. I've towed loads to 13K ball/pintle mounted and NO bars just fine, Along with oh SHEET!. Trailer was loaded incorrectly, and my equipment trailer loaded to 8500 lbs, with ALL of that on the axels was all over the road, despite the dumptruck that weighs in a 12K lbs in the front. A bigger dually style truck is not always the answer. But moved bobcat forward, corrected the HW to axel wt ratio. towed like a dream. Whether behind my reg cab pickup with an 8K rating, my dually dmax or sw CC 3500. If the trailer is incorrectly loaded etc, you WILL have issues, unless you have a hensley. Even then, yes it stops sway, but if the system brakes, you now have an uncontrollable trailer behind you.

I find generally speaking, if I lose on a typical 8600-10K SW 25 or 35 series truck, somewhere between 300-400 lbs off the FA, then handling goes south per say. Be this with a load in the very back of the bed, or a hitch! Under this, not so may problems. I also find, the amount off the front is not linear. Ie always say 20 lbs per 100 lbs of HW. It is more like 5-10 lbs the first 100, 10-20 for the next, 20-30 for the next etc etc. At 1000 lbs of HW, you will literally take 100 off the front for that 100 you had in HW, so a total of 200 lbs to the axel. maybe a total of 50% as one persons math says, but less than this amount, you will be less, and over way more than the ratio suggests. This will vary based on WB, size engine in the front, rear axel spring rating, be it a stiff or soft suspension also can vary the amount off the front vs the amount added to the rear.

At the end of the day, if properly setup, yes you will be safe. Probably safer per say with a dual cam or equal. BUT, i have had bars fall off, so best as mentioned earlier, make it so you can safely tow the trailer with no sway and no bars, then add the bars for extra measure.

Just my own findings after 35-40 years of towing various and sundry trailers.

Marty

[IDoMyOwnStunts]

There is a warning in the 2016 Ram manual on page 689 recommending a WD system if the trailer weighs over 5000 lbs. It doesn't use the word "requires" like it does on trailer brakes for trailers weighing more than 1653 lbs (odd number. I'm still not going to put brakes on my utility trailer).

As far as using a sleeve for a 2.5" to 2" adapter, at least on mine, once the WD is set up there is no slop in it. I only notice slop when I don't have a load on the hitch.

[brulaz]

Just recently tried my new 2500 CTD without any sway or weight distribution. Figured that heavy diesel in the front might make it possible. Got a simple hitch that kept the trailer about level, maybe 1" lower in front.

Took it out once and it seemed fine. Then took it out on a windy day, and no. Went back to the Equal-I-Zer.

When/If you do your test run, do it with the worst conditions possible. Do it on a windy/gusty day, do it on the freeway with large trucks zooming past. Do it when you'll really want the sway control.

[hbrady]

mudfuel07 wrote:
Look at Harbor Freight for a reasonably priced WD hitch. I use one on my trailer and have no issues. You can get a coupon too.

I've got a Reese Trunnion WD system but I haven't set it up yet, with a short 15 mile tow I wasn't too worried. Looking forward to seeing what kind of difference it makes once I have the WD all properly set up.

[Vintage465]

hbrady wrote:
So I was checking out my hitch receiver last night and it's a class V with 2.5'' opening. All my hitches and my buddy's WD hitch (I borrow) are all 2''. Looks like another expense 😞

I purchased a Curt brand drop shank with a 2.5 inch (CURT Weight Distribution Shank #17128) for the truck and it reduced to 2" to bolt my receiver head too. I bolted a Draw Tite head to it. I think the standard hole spacing is 1-1/4". I am glad to hear you decided to go with WD hitch. I also fully recommend a friction sway control to go with the WD hitch. Though your basic WD hitch is "not really for sway", they can go a long way to preventing sway if you were to come across a large dip in the road and it started the teeter-totter action going with your tow vehicle and trailer. I am not in the camp that tow's trailer without one but it seems there are way more people that tow this way then I ever would have imagined. Every now and then I will hook everything up on mine and forget to tighten the friction sway control and I will get about 10 miles down the road and the trailer feels just the teeniest bit wiggley back there. Pull over tighten it and smooth as glass!

[colliehauler]

hbrady wrote:

camp-n-family wrote:
I hope you have better experiences than me. Report back and let us know how it goes, maybe there's a problem with my truck.

OK, I had my 1st loaded tow, about 15 miles with some good long hills. I was lazy and did not set up my WD bars so I towed without them. Truck did fine, I loaded the front pretty heavy (4 cinder blocks in front pass through, 3 cases drinking water under bed in front). I had no sway issues at all, I did however experience some surging / bucking a few times but I imagine that will improve when I get WD set up.

My weight (based on yellow sticker and what I had loaded) was probably around 6200 lbs. I had to get into the Hemi on the hills but I was able to accelerate and pass slower vehicles. At one point going up a rather long steep hill I passed a semi and realized I was doing about 65 and had to back off. Gas millage was only 9 but most of the drive was hills.

All in all, I'm happy.

Can you get by without a WD hitch, you bet. Would I? No way, the ride and handling are so much better with a properly set up WD hitch.