Which WDH?

[tkcrawford]

Looking for some sage advice on which WDH I should be looking at. The particulars:
Trailer - 2019 Wildcat Maxx 28RKX, GVWR 11,144, UVW 7754, Hitch weight 944
TV - 2004 Dodge CTD 3500 Dually, TorkLift Magnum Superhitch, PacBrake airbags, Helwig BigWig, TorkLift Stable Loads.

We are not new to RVing but have recently traded in our Eagle Cap for this new RV. It has been many, many years since we've owned a travel trailer.

Not looking to spend thousands of dollars on a super-high-end hitch. The local dealer wants to sell a Curt 17501 but I don't see it listed on the online reviews in the top 10 best WDH's out there.

What WDH would you guys recommend? Why? Any regrets? Any Ah-ha moments?

[Durb]

I have the same truck except without all the bolt-on goodies. Used a Reese SC hitch whitch works like an Equalizer except no metal to metal rubbing. Weight distribution with built in anti-sway. It worked great albeit on a lighter trailer. To be fair, the hitch came over from a half ton truck and I never towed the trailer with the dually without a WDH. Squat on the dually with around 900 lbs. of tongue weight was around an inch. I kept my air bags at 6 pounds minimum pressure.

They do make friction type anti-sway bars only. About 60 bucks.

[trailer_newbe]

Bad links

[Galvanizd]

Ah, choice made by the OP. Rving is a leisure/ luxury endeavor . That said... Safety 1st. You paid a lot of money for your rv, you're supposed to enjoy it. Now the choice of which hitch? Cheap one? Expensive one? Cost of a hitch is certainly a consideration but its a one time purchase......unless you buy one that doesn't work for you or is unsafe. Trouble is most don't know , (some do) whats unsafe for their rig until they have a " white knuckle" experience or the Trooper asks "what happened". Here's more info;

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-which-sway-control-hitch.aspx

https://hensleymfg.com/trailer-sway-101/

https://www.propridehitch.com/understanding-sway

%^&^%$# computer. should work now.

[Lantley]

tkcrawford wrote:
Hi, OP here. I believe I'm going to go with the WD hitch with sway control. I'm sure that the truck can handle the load fine on just a ball but I've always been one to over-build things. I'd rather have too much of something than too little. Today, if the weather cooperates (we've had freezing rain and snow overnight - yay), I'm going to try to go shopping and see what's available locally. Thanks for all the suggestions and issues to think about.

I'll be the naysayer and agree that you need weight distribution even with your dually. 1000#'s plus 3' behind the axles hanging past the bumper will impact handling.
On a good day the impact maybe minimal. On a bad day the impact could be critical.

[beermanjoe]

I just upgraded to an Equalizer with integrated 4 point sway. Wow what a difference from my WDH with the chains.Should have done it years ago.

[JIMNLIN]

I pull a 10000 gvwr car hauler with a 6880 lb tractor/cab/7' mower with a 1500 chevy.
I thank Barney (moderator) for talking me into getting a WD hitch even tho I hadn't been using one. One of his recommendations was a Husky Centerline TS with 1200 lb bars (32218 hitch). clicky link

The trailer now tracks the 1500 truck like my heavier GN and 5th wheel trailers behind my 3/4 and one ton trucks when doing a sharp maneuver out on the highway.

[tkcrawford]

Hi, OP here. I believe I'm going to go with the WD hitch with sway control. I'm sure that the truck can handle the load fine on just a ball but I've always been one to over-build things. I'd rather have too much of something than too little. Today, if the weather cooperates (we've had freezing rain and snow overnight - yay), I'm going to try to go shopping and see what's available locally. Thanks for all the suggestions and issues to think about.

[jerem0621]

When I had my dually I towed my trailer with and without the WD Hitch and found no real difference in handling.

The trailer had a little wiggle in it but that would have easily been handled by couple of weld on sway bar tabs and two sway bars on my shank.

I did run my WD hitch when I carried a load in the bed. For us a load in the bed was about 1200 or so lbs.

Thanks!

[trailer_newbe]

TenOC wrote:
Try to find a used Hensley Arrow on eBay. A few $$ more will save you a lot of white knuckles and your DW will even want to help you drive sometime.

That’s overkill for what he is towing with. Hensley Arrow hitches are very heavy and a pain to install and remove. They do their job very well but it would probably be the last on my list to purchase.

[Snomas]

I use the Anderson WDH Easy to use and works well.

[badercubed]

90% of the third party trailer towers delivering trailers are using DRW and no WDH.

If you do go for something for peace of mind and to help sway, I put in a vote for the Blue Ox. Used it on my older setup (10k TT and F250) as well as my current setup and I have been nothing but pleased.

[Kayteg1]

Sway is something trailer makes.
Most of US -build trailers are having high clearances, what makes COG pretty high and with suspension having no shock absorbers, that makes them prone to all kind of waving. Add very common long truck overhang, what puts the ball 5 ft behind the axle and you have recipe for troubles.
Generally multi-axle trailers are way better than single-axle.
What trailer you have?
Again, I would not spend my money before testing.

[tkcrawford]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I guess I never thought of not using a WDH for this setup but, as I think about it, the truck should have no problem handing that weight on the ball. However, I think I should consider getting an anti-sway feature of some kind. Can you even get anti-sway without purchasing the entire WD hitch?

[WVcampground]

Kayteg1 wrote:
Hitch weight 944 is nothing for dually.
Try to drive it with nothing added and see if you have a problem before spending money.

That gets my vote. How would you even set up a WDH with that combo, you'll have nothing to measure. I would bet the front end of the dually does not rise 1/64th of an inch when you drop it on the ball. You could always guess or spend a morning at the scales I suppose.