I need a Weight Distribution Hitch (WDH) for Heavy Toy Hauler

Hello - our 28' Thor Vortex is on the way!  Now, I need a WDH to tow it with.  The tongue weight on this unit is 1,338 lbs and the GVWR is 13,000 (7,800 empty so I seriously doubt I'll ever get to the 13K).  Anyway, I order an Equalizer hitch with a tongue weight max of 1,400 lbs.  A rep at one of the hitch places tells me unless I'll be throwing in a lot of heavy toys all the time, I might have too much tongue weight upfront, after I fill all the fluids. 

So, can anyone recommend a WDH for this beast.  The dealer was going to sell me a hitch, but for $1,300!!  I've seen the Reese for about $200, any ides on that one? 

Any help would be great.  Thanks!

Suggest you wait for Carl and Gary to discuss this with you, But your figures won't work  They need better and more info.

Here's a copy of the person's email back to me after asking them about the weight.  Pretty informative, if you ask me: 

Gary,

Thank you for contacting Progress Mfg Inc. with your questions about the Equal-i-zer Hitch. 

Your Question:
"We ordered a 28' Toy Hauler.  The brochure says it has a hitch weight of 1,338 and GVWR of 13,000 lbs.  I would imagine we should go for the 14,000 lb hitch, correct?  Also, is tongue weight and hitch weight the same?

The only item I have is the hitch receiver and the brake controller.  What exactly do I need from here?"

Answer:
Hitch weight and tongue weight are different terms for the exact same thing.  Since your trailer has a dry hitch/tongue weight of 1,338 lbs., then you definitely need our heaviest hitch model, which is the 14,000 lb. Hitch.  The 12,000 lb. Hitch should only be used on trailers that will weigh less than 12,000 lbs. at all times, and that will have less than 1,200 lbs. in loaded tongue weight at all times.

However, your trailer may end up with too much tongue weight in some cases even for our heaviest hitch.  The 14,000 lb. Hitch is rated to handle up to 14,000 lbs. in Maximum Trailer Weight, which is higher than the 13,000 lb. GVWR of your trailer, so you are covered on trailer weight.  But a dry hitch/tongue weight of 1,338 lbs. is only 62 lbs. below the 1,400 lb. Maximum Tongue Weight Rating.  You should not have more than 1,400 lbs. of tongue weight at any time on the 14,000 lb. Hitch.

Now toy haulers are a bit different.  They are intentionally designed with a heavier-than-normal tongue weight in order to counter-balance the heavy weight of the "toys" that you will be loading in the rear.  This counter-balancing effect essentially can balance out the trailer and reduce the tongue weight, but only if you are putting enough weight behind the axles, and not too much weight in front of the axles.

Some people will occasionally use toy haulers as a basic travel trailer, which means no heavy toys in the rear to counter-balance the very heavy tongue weight.  This is the situation that a toy hauler will have the heaviest possible tongue weight, which for your trailer will probably begin to exceed 1,400 lbs.  If you plan to ever tow without "toys", then you better plan on loading very heavy amounts of cargo in the rear to create the same counter-balancing effect.  Otherwise, you will probably end up with too much tongue weight for the hitch to perform properly.  In other words, you may get too much squat and be unable to transfer all the weight, and it may not be able to stop all the sway.  Also, the warranty may be voided if you exceed the 14,000/1,400 lb. Maximum Weight Ratings.

As long as you can "tip the scales to your favor" by having more weight in the rear of the trailer at all times, this should give you the ability to moderate the tongue weight so that it does not exceed the 1,400 lb. Maximum Tongue Weight rating on the 14,000 lb. Equal-i-zer Hitch.  You need to consider where all your fluid holding tanks are located, as the weight of water and fuel essentially is cargo too, so try to figure out what happens if you fill all your tanks.  Are your tanks behind the axles?  I would hope so for your sake, as having them behind the axles when full will provide you with counterbalancing weight (even if you don't take the toys). 

But if these tanks are in front of the axles and you will be filling these up, this will cause the tongue weight to become even heavier (unless you add even more weight to the rear for counter-balance).  What some people have done that have front water tanks (150 gal. fresh water tank adds 1,251 lbs. of weight), is they have filled some fresh water in separate 5-gal. tanks (or other sizes), and positioned those in the very back of the trailer.  That way they can still travel with the water they need, but place the weight of that water in a better position (to the back) to prevent too heavy of a tongue weight.  When you reach your camping destination, that water can be added to the trailer's normal fresh water tank for use.

The Equal-i-zer Hitch comes with everything it needs, except for the hitch ball.  You will need a hitch ball with a weight rating of 13,000 lbs. or higher, and the ball diameter will probably be 2 5/16".  The ball shank (the threaded shaft at the bottom of the ball) needs to be 1 1/4" in diameter by 2 1/4" in length.  We offer a 2 5/16" Equal-i-zer Hitch Ball rated to 14,000 lbs. with those exact ball shank dimensions for $22.95 plus shipping (http://www.equalizerhitch.com/store/index.php?p=catalog&parent=4&pg=1).

Every Equal-i-zer Hitch also comes with the standard Shank (90-02-4100) that comes by default, unless you specify otherwise.  This Shank provides the minimum range of drop and rise (3" drop/7" rise), which works for probably 80% of the tow vehicle/trailer combinations out there.  However, sometimes there is a vehicle/trailer combination where the receiver tube and trailer coupler are too far apart to use this Standard Shank, so longer Shanks are needed.  Please use our Shank Selection Tool at the bottom of our Tech Specs page to find out which Shank you need for you towing set-up: http://www.equalizerhitch.com/productinfo/tech_specs.php

Please let me know if you have any questions about this.

Ride Everything said:

Hello - our 28' Thor Vortex is on the way!  Now, I need a WDH to tow it with.  The tongue weight on this unit is 1,338 lbs and the GVWR is 13,000 (7,800 empty so I seriously doubt I'll ever get to the 13K).  Anyway, I order an Equalizer hitch with a tongue weight max of 1,400 lbs.   A rep at one of the hitch places tells me unless I'll be throwing in a lot of heavy toys all the time, I might have too much tongue weight upfront, after I fill all the fluids. 

So, can anyone recommend a WDH for this beast.  The dealer was going to sell me a hitch, but for $1,300!!  I've seen the Reese for about $200, any ides on that one? 

Any help would be great.  Thanks!

Click to expand...

You need a Class V hitch, ball, ball mount, spring bars, and anti-sway system.

Go to the Reese Products web site at http://www.reeseprod.com/  (click on the URL) and read this on Class V:

Class V
Class V hitches is very similar to Class III & IV hitches except for the weight ratings and that the hitch uses a 2-1/2" receiver. Class V hitches are weight carrying (WC) and weight distributing (WD) hitches. Class V hitches used as weight carrying is rated up to 12,000 lbs. gross trailer weight (GTW) with a maximum trailer tongue weight (TW) of 1200 lbs. Hitches that are used for weight distributing are rated up to 17,000 lbs. gross trailer weight (GTW) with a maximum trailer tongue weight (TW) of 1700 lbs. The use of a ball mount and hitch ball of the same rating or higher is required. To use the weight distribution side of the hitch a weight distribution system is required. Class V hitches attach to the vehicle frame only. Always consult your owner's manual for vehicle rating.

Follow thru the Class V component descriptions, Reese uses the designation Tow Beast for these components.

Just guessing, I would bet you have a Class III or IV hitch on your truck with a 2" receiver opening.  That has to be replaced.  Class V receivers have a 2-1/2" opening to accommodate the beefed up shanks of Class V ball mounts.  Anyway read all about it on the Reese site.  And yes, you are going to spend a few bucks -- over 1000 of them for sure.  Class V ain't cheap.

By the way, if you have not got the heaviest duty electric powered hitch jack you can buy, add that to the shopping list.  You are going to need its help.

I hope you have one helluva tow vehicle for this project.  An F-150 with a 5.4L ain't gonna cut it.

Thanks Carl....aaarrrgghh.  It seems like no matter how much research I do, it's still not enough.  The hitch I have now is rated for 15,000 lbs and 1,500 tongue weight, so I figured I should be ok.  Is that still not enough?

I have a F-250 with the 4.30 gears, so max trailer weight is 12,500 lbs.  My trailer empty  + approx 4,600 lbs will get me there.  I can't ever imagine having that much weight in there, even after the water, so I should be ok there.  I know I'll need to stay around 10,600 to be around 80 to 85%, so the rig empty plus 2,600 lbs should give me enough grace.

Ride Everything said:

Thanks Carl....aaarrrgghh.  It seems like no matter how much research I do, it's still not enough.  The hitch I have now is rated for 15,000 lbs and 1,500 tongue weight, so I figured I should be ok.  Is that still not enough?

I have a F-250 with the 4.30 gears, so max trailer weight is 12,500 lbs.  My trailer empty  + approx 4,600 lbs will get me there.  I can't ever imagine having that much weight in there, even after the water, so I should be ok there.  I know I'll need to stay around 10,600 to be around 80 to 85%, so the rig empty plus 2,600 lbs should give me enough grace.

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You have a problem there fer sure.  Again from the Reese site:

Class IV
Class IV hitches is very similar to Class III hitches except for the weight ratings. Class IV hitches are weight carrying (WC) and weight distributing (WD) hitches depending on the vehicle and hitch specifications. Not all Class IV hitches are rated to be both. The hitch specifications will alert you to a hitch that is not weight distributing. Class IV hitches used as weight carrying is rated up to 10,000 lbs. gross trailer weight (GTW) with a maximum trailer tongue weight (TW) of 1000 lbs. Hitches that are used for weight distributing are rated up to 14,000 lbs. gross trailer weight (GTW) with a maximum trailer tongue weight (TW) of 1400 lbs. The use of a ball mount and hitch ball of the same rating or higher is required for weight carrying. To use the weight distribution side of the hitch a weight distribution system is required. Class IV hitches attach to the vehicle frame only. Always consult your owner's manual for vehicle rating.

You appear to be right at the edge of Class IV to V.  Frankly if I were at the edge, I would like to fail to the more unlimited class, but then I wear suspenders and a belt.

I think we need some reality in here.  What is the weight of your toys?  What is the real weight of your trailer as equipped for the road with all fluids and living gear on board?  Time to start looking up the local public scales in your Yellow Pages.

Let me recommend a gadget to you.  In your case, tongue weight is at the heart of your problems.  I have used a thing called a hydraulic estimating scale, both with my trailer to get tongue weight, and on the job, once upon a time, to weigh and balance aircraft.  The tariff is $110 but in my humble opinion is the answer to a toy hauler's prayer.  Easy to use and reads directly.  See it by clicking on this URL: http://www.sherlinedirect.com/merchant.cfm?pid=169&step=4.  You want the 2000# unit I suspect.

Great, thanks again Carl.  My research continues....

I had a 29 ft Tahoe Fury Toybox that is almost identical to the one you described.  I pulled it all over the US with a Drawtite WDH using the receiver that came on my Chev 3/4 Diesel PU.  It was loaded with two full size H-D roadbikes.