OK guys, I need some more advice for my upcoming tow from Maryland to California. As you all know, I will be towing 8000 lbs which is 550 lbs short of the max. I've already installed air bags, cross drilled and slotted brakes and a brake controller and have a few more things like synthetic rear diff fluid and stuff. So, I need to order a WD hitch but have a few choices. Since I need 10% of the total weight on my hitch that will be about 800 lbs. So, do I get a WD hitch that is rated at 200 - 600 lbs TW, 400 - 800 lbs TW or 600 - 1200 lbs TW? If I get a bigger TW cap, and in the future tow less then the TW rated for the hitch then that will be just as bad as overloading it. To me, the 400 - 600 is the best. In the future after the move if I tow 4000 lbs or less which puts 400 lbs or less on the hitch then from 350 lbs TW to 400 lbs TW, I will be against the manufacturer specs but I dont think the 50 lbs would be a big deal (I know this is a little confusing). I think my best bet would be to buy the one that is 400 - 800 lbs TW. Do you all agree?

 

i would but bigger than needed, there is nothing wrong with a too big of a hitch. weight distributing hitches are adjustable. and with small trailer you dont even need to put the weight distributing bars on. Bigger is always better.

 

oh and i forgot to mention that the 800lb tongue weight turns to 15,000 say if you hit a large bump.

 

Do some research on the Equal-i-zer Hitch. Its weight distribution and sway control all in one. By far the best system (for the money) on the market. I used it to tow my 8,000lb on my DITY from Vandenberg AFB, CA up here to North Dakota. ZERO sway issues, and it towed like a dream. no issues whatsoever.

I bought mine brand new and will never use it again, so if you can make me a decent offer, i'll sell it to you. WELL worth the investment if you'll be doing any kind of towing in the future

 

This is absolutely the way to go. I move a gross wieght of 12800 on my last military move from California to Virginia. It was by far the best transfer of my career.

 

I will probably be buying the WD hitch from eTrailer.com. I need some other things from them as well so the shipping will be free.
http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Weig...y_Control.aspx

AF HEMI...thanks for the offer. I would take you up on it but since etrailer has free shipping and I need some other things I will just go though them. Its too bad my route wasnt going through your neck of the woods or I would have stopped by!

So I will probably get the 600 - 1200 lbs WD hitch. Hammer...do you have any comments?

 

pshhh what does Hammer know about towing :P

But seriously, I did a LOT of research before I paid the extra cash for the Equal-i-zer (over $600 including the shank). It was definitely a case of you get what you paid for. I read a lot of reviews about people that werent happy with the other types of sway control, because in the chance the trailer did begin to sway, there was as much force preventing it from correcting as there was preventing it from starting in the first place. The Reese with the dual cam system is the 2nd highest rated tow-system out there, but its really not any cheaper than the far superior Equal-i-zer (according to reviews)

 

I would use 13% of GVWR for selecting the spring bars. 8000 lbs x .13 = 1040 lbs so I would get the 1200 Lbs bars.

I would also not go with the Equal-i-zer brand and would get the Reese (or Draw-Tite) Stright line hitch (p/n 66088 comes with shank). The reason is that the Equal-i-zer is a friction based anti sway system that does not self centre, it applys the same amount of force when you try to straighten the connection as it dose in keeping it straight in the first place. The Reese dual cam setup will self centre and only applys extra force when not fully centred.

And last make sure you measure the front and rear wheelwell hight (without the trailer hitched up). With the hitch setup properly the front end will be at the same hight and the rear will be the same or slightly below (1/2") but never above the original hight. The trailer should be level to the ground.

Edit: Air Bag's - Only use them to level your truck before you hitch up. This will let the weight distribution and sway control work as it should. You can use the Air bags after you hitch up to firm up the ride but don't use them to change the hitched up hight.

 

Bigger is better, I pull a 35ft bumper pull travel trailer with my truck, I bought a 1000lb TW, 10,000lb max weight hitch. My trailer is 8000lbs.

 

Another agreement on "bigger is better" and get the 1,200lb bars (I like equal-i-zer as well). I use 12% as my guide for tongue weight.

If you use 12% as your guide, 600lb bars give you a 5,000lb trailer. If you push to the high end of the recommended range for tongue weight (15%), you get a 4,000lb trailer. You'd probably have to move stuff around to shift the center of gravity, and the ride would be harsher, but... well, "bigger is better"