Load distributing hitch?'s

[nridler]

I was just reading my owners manual and it said for any more than 500lbs of tounge weight you should be using a load distributing hitch. Does this seem like a low number for a F350 psd? I know that i very rarely see anybody using those type of hitches with 3/4 and 1 ton tow rigs. Im guessing my jeep and trailer tounge weight is probably between 600-900 lbs. I guess I'd like to know install time, install difficulty, and cost? The only reason I bothered looking in my owners manual was to find my max payload. I'm looking into buying a slide in truck camper and figured that between the camper and jeep trailer I'd be getting close to my max payload. Oh, it's an 06, shortbed, with single rear wheels. Do they make that big of a difference, because with the set up I have now the only time I notice anything is behind me is during windy conditions.

[ScaldedDog]

I was just reading my owners manual and it said for any more than 500lbs of tounge weight you should be using a load distributing hitch. Does this seem like a low number for a F350 psd? I know that i very rarely see anybody using those type of hitches with 3/4 and 1 ton tow rigs. Im guessing my jeep and trailer tounge weight is probably between 600-900 lbs. I guess I'd like to know install time, install difficulty, and cost? The only reason I bothered looking in my owners manual was to find my max payload. I'm looking into buying a slide in truck camper and figured that between the camper and jeep trailer I'd be getting close to my max payload. Oh, it's and 06, shortbed, with single rear wheels.

I use a draw-tite trunnion one on our Excursion, and like it. Easy to install, though fiddling with them can take some time. I much prefer towing with a WD hitch.

Mark

[Tom N]

If the only time you notice anything is when its windy then you probably only might need a friction type anti-sway unit. Not a wd hitch. I personally think you only need a weight Dist. hitch if your tow vehicle is something like a smaller SUV, but I am not exactly Mr. Safety although I can say I have hauled a lot of big loads with no mishaps. I have a wd hitch that came with my stock trailer but I don't need it with my 1 ton truck or my 81 K20 Suburban. It's nice to have though.

[HaySeed77]

The WD hitch helps the sag between the tow vehicle and the trailer, sitting static too, but mostly on bumps. It "distributes the weight" more evenly between all tires on the vehicle and the trailer. While it is not required, it is sure nice to have especially if you do not have air bags.

I have a slide in camper in my F350 and without the air bags and WD hitch, towing would be alot more difficult. With both, towing is a breeze and even large bumps in the road don't make a difference. Towing to Moab last year, even the worst of the mogels on I70 in Utah did not feel unsafe at the speedlimit.

[zero cool]

My '86 3/4 ton Chevy can handle 1,000 pound hitch weight without load distributing.

The limitation they're talking about is probably more likely related to the hitch and not the truck. A basic class III hitch is limited to 500 pounds tongue weight. A class IV or V can handle more. With the proper hitch on the truck and with the trailer, you should have no trouble with 1,000 pounds or more on a 1 ton pickup.

[old_man]

Since the tongue weight should be a percentage of the total trailer weight, you must be running one hell of a load to put that much weight on the hitch. I run one on my dual axle trailer for my Jeep. I pull with a relatively light vehicle and it helps distribute the load to both axles. If I move the rig back to put only a couple hundred pounds, it tends to whip.

[TwistedObsession]

I pulled my 18+2' dove tail with a full steel floor from Indiana to Colorado with my wrangler on it fully loaded with tools and camping gear with my grand cherokee. felt pretty safe up to about 75 on the interstate. since I bought my WD hitch, I hate towing with out it.

But yeah I'd say that 500lbs. is related to your hitch not your truck. We just put a class V tow beast on my friends dodge... that thing looks pretty stout!

[stroke this]

IMO-the issue becomes a safety one because when you put a 1000 pounds on the ball you "lift" the front tires up and that could be a problem if you had to swerve or stop aggressively(sp). i was told the class V stock hitch could take the weight but you "cant" do it because of the above reason. the really heavy trailers are all 5th or goose which keeps the front from lifting up.

[nridler]

I pulled my 18+2' dove tail with a full steel floor from Indiana to Colorado with my wrangler on it fully loaded with tools and camping gear with my grand cherokee. felt pretty safe up to about 75 on the interstate. since I bought my WD hitch, I hate towing with out it.

But yeah I'd say that 500lbs. is related to your hitch not your truck. We just put a class V tow beast on my friends dodge... that thing looks pretty stout!

I actually went out to my truck and it says its a class V. The owners manual says 500 lbs max tounge where as the hitch says 600 lbs:shrug:. The truck came with the tow package, integrated brake controller, and a camper package. Without a WD hitch the max it says to tow is 6000lbs, with a WD hitch it has a max tounge of 1250lbs and max tow of 12500 lbs. Even with the bed packed to the gills with tools, luggage, and every other thing you can imagine it still tows fine as long as there aren't 40+ mph gusts of wind. I'm just worried how it will do once I add 2500 lbs of truck camper. I'm just suprised a one-ton came with such week ratings (no Ford Jokes):D . I guess it looks like there is WD hitch or airbags for the truck in my future.

[ScaldedDog]

IMO-the issue becomes a safety one because when you put a 1000 pounds on the ball you "lift" the front tires up and that could be a problem if you had to swerve or stop aggressively(sp).

That's exactly why I went to a WD hitch. When the front end of an 8000lb Excursion starts to feel light, you need one. :D

Mark

[Rambill II]

The WD hitch is an attachment (or ball mount) that slides into your factory receiver hitch. It will have spring bars that attach to the trailers frame and help support the tongue weight of the trailer.

All receiver hitches have weight ratings for "weight carrying" and "weight distributing".

The "weight carrying" ratings are what the hitch can safely handle with a traditional ball mount/drawbar. There are two numbers to look at which are the tongue weight, and then the trailer weight. If your trailer falls within both of these weight carrying numbers, then there is no need for weight distribution equipment. If your trailer falls outside one of those ratings, then you need to add the appropriate weight distribution equipment.

The "weight distributing" ratings are what the hitch can safely handle with a slide in weight distribution head and bars. Again there are two numbers to look at which are the tongue weight of the trailer and the total weight of the trailer. Knowing the tongue weight of the trailer is essential to not only set the WD head up correctly, but also to make sure you are using the correct spring bars for the WD head and your trailer.

A WD head will basically take the undistributed tongue weight and distribute that weight through the frame of the trailer, the spring bars, and the ball mount. This significantly reduces the amount of weight that used to rest soley on the ball mount and pull down the back of your truck. The result by using WD equipment is (when the head is set up corrrectly), a trailer that rides level, and a tow vehicle that retains it's normal ride and stance.

While weight distribution equipment is important to make sure you are not exceeding the safe tolerances in your hitch equipment, and keeping everything riding level, it does nothing for trailer sway.

The sway a trailer can exhibit can be safely reduced with the aid of a friction sway control. This device attaches to your WD head or standard ball mount (by welding a tab on it) and to your trailer frame and provides resistance to the trailer swaying by the tension placed on the sliding portion of the sway control. Sway controls can be used on a standard ball mount or a WD head but almost always are used in combination with a WD hitch.

Your F350 while strong from the factory is only as strong as the hitch. You can upgrade your factory receiver hitch to a Reese "Tow Beast" or Superhitch (brand names)receiver hitch, which are aftermarket hitches built much heavier than the factory hitch. Both of these hitches also have available WD equipment and sway controls too.

While it is true that you see quite a few trucks out there towing trailers without WD hitches, there are also alot of guys out there that are not towing safely and are not educated about hitch equipment, or they just choose to ignore it because they think their truck doesn't need it because they have a big bad F350 (those guys are the most dangerous ones out there because they refuse to even get the facts).

If I were you I would look into gettig the proper equipment to tow your trailer safely.

[lil_foot_91]

I actually went out to my truck and it says its a class V. The owners manual says 500 lbs max tounge where as the hitch says 600 lbs:shrug:. The truck came with the tow package, integrated brake controller, and a camper package. Without a WD hitch the max it says to tow is 6000lbs, with a WD hitch it has a max tounge of 1250lbs and max tow of 12500 lbs. Even with the bed packed to the gills with tools, luggage, and every other thing you can imagine it still tows fine as long as there aren't 40+ mph gusts of wind. I'm just worried how it will do once I add 2500 lbs of truck camper. I'm just suprised a one-ton came with such week ratings (no Ford Jokes):D . I guess it looks like there is WD hitch or airbags for the truck in my future.

Where it shows class V on your hitch is actually a rating of hitch safety..it means it passes some test. You'll actually see that on class I hitches too. Its kinda like anything with electronics, they always say UL LISTED. As far as your owners manual vs. the hitch sticker, always go by the hitch sticker. Those numbers in the owners manual are almost always wrong because they use a general number to most vehicles. Use the hitch info before the owners manual. Most trucks come from the factory without the strongest hitch available, kinda like the cheapass tires they give you too. If they provided the largest hitch possible they would have to charge you an additional grand on the price. And as far as your ford joke, don't worry. I'm a chevy fan but the chevy is the one with the problems...their factory hitches are the joke, they have more twist using w/d than anything i've ever seen built. That pertains to the round tube factory chevy hitches. If using w/d with one of these over 1000lbs hitch weight, i'd seriously look into a better hitch.


As for the rest of the post...listen to RAMBILL II....he's right on target.

[nridler]

Thanks for all of the info everyone. Looks like I'll be upgrading my hitch. When I get my camper I'll get some airbags. It figures, now that I'm done dumping money into my jeep its time to start dumping money into my tow rig. What kind of never ending, money-pit of a hobby have I gotten my self into:) .

[Rambill II]

Thanks for all of the info everyone. Looks like I'll be upgrading my hitch. When I get my camper I'll get some airbags. It figures, now that I'm done dumping money into my jeep its time to start dumping money into my tow rig. What kind of never ending, money-pit of a hobby have I gotten my self into:) .
It's a fatal disease for sure, but you want to be safe I'm sure. How bad would you feel if you skimped on something that failed while you were towing and that resulted in hurting somebody else?

I know that would haunt me.

lil_foot_91..........you know I'm always right, but thanks for publicly admitting it..........:flipoff2:

[TwistedObsession]

Thanks for all of the info everyone. Looks like I'll be upgrading my hitch. When I get my camper I'll get some airbags. It figures, now that I'm done dumping money into my jeep its time to start dumping money into my tow rig. What kind of never ending, money-pit of a hobby have I gotten my self into:) .


I have both air bags and the hitch and may be willing to part with them.

[nridler]

Ya what's the cost?

[nridler]

It's a fatal disease for sure, but you want to be safe I'm sure. How bad would you feel if you skimped on something that failed while you were towing and that resulted in hurting somebody else?

I know that would haunt me.

lil_foot_91..........you know I'm always right, but thanks for publicly admitting it..........:flipoff2:

I couldn't agree more.

[HaySeed77]

I went with the Superhitch By Torq-Lift and could not be happier. The Double draw-bar setup is stout as heck even at 48" behind the reciever + the WD head. My camper hangs over 4' behind the bed. Without the WD setup AND the airbags, I would not be comfortable towing at much over 45 mph. But I am guessing that I am approaching or passing up completely the rated tow limit with the Scout, trailer, camper all loaded on. I really need to stop and have it weighed sometime.