Getting home from the dealer

Hi, great forum with lots of good tips.  I have a (minor) situation that needs some insight.

I've checked all the weight numbers and everything is good for our TV and TT that we are going to purchase.  Just one hitch (pardon the pun).  I have a class III receiver rated at 600WC/1000WD.  The TT we are purchasing has a tongue weight of 750.  The problem is that the dealer does not carry a WD hitch that I want.  (Want the Equalizer, that has been so well received on this forum.  It's late, the puns just keep coming . . .) 

So, my main question:  Am I OK to hitch this up just for the 20 mile drive home without a WD?  Obviously I don't want to buy a hitch from them (plus install) that is just going to be removed a few hour later when I replace it with the Equalizer.

And a side question,  I'm going to be putting in brake controller, but wondered if there is advantage of a 7 pin v. 6 pin connector hookup?  Do TTs use one more commonly than the other?  I saw comments somewhere that indicated 7 pin was really mostly used for reverse lights, etc. 

Thanks,

Brandon 

Dealers!

All the clown has to do is order the thing from Equal-i-zer.  However, the Reese/Draw-Tite Dual Cam should work just as well with a 750-lb hitch weight, and your lad may find he carries one of these.

Phah! 

I only asked what he had, never asked about ordering or told him what I wanted.  Up to this point I've only been looking and asking questions.  I haven't made an official purchase, that's today's plan

I will pursue ordering it.  From a pure academic standpoint then,  what are the risks involved in exceeding the WC capacity, but being under the WD capaciity, as a one time event without a WD hitch?

Any thoughts on the 7 pin v. 6 pin question?

Thanks for your input,

--Brandon 

From a pure academic standpoint then,  what are the risks involved in exceeding the WC capacity, but being under the WD capaciity, as a one time event without a WD hitch?

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With a 750 lb hitch weight we are tallking about putting the tow vehicle into a gross oversteer condition with concommitant risk of loss of control, wild yawing of the trailer, and general instability.   Academically speaking that is.

Look, my little 23 footer has a tongue weight of 750 lbs as scaled with a Sherline scale.  Normally I use a Reese Dual Cam WD hitch system with 1200 lb spring bars.   Because of the configuration of my driveway, I have to drive out of it without the springbars installed.   To install them, I then have to drive around the block to straighten out the truck/trailer combo.  My tow vehicle. a '95 Bronco, is an offroad vehicle with an off road suspension -- heavy duty and with a world of compliance.   The rear end sags about a foot - 18 inches, under the weight of the tongue.  With the off road compliance I can tolerate that sag, but barely.  When I drive around the block I do so at no more than 20 mph.  I can feel every bump in the road as the trailer and truck rock.  The thought of driving it at, say, 40 mph would be scary.

However, with springbars installed and tensioned, I have driven that rig over 50,000 miles under tow all over the eleven western states with no incidents.

Don't drive away without adequate WD and antisway installed.  It is your neck, not the dealers.  I can remember one incident in which I saw a customer drive off without a system installed.  The dealer made him sign a release. 

Follow this procedure.

1.  Get a Class IV or V receiver installed on your truck somewhere, including by the trailer dealer.
2.  Take truck to trailer dealer, have him install a Class IV WD ball mount and trailer mounted hardware.
3.   Have him adjust the springbar tension and the anti-sway provisions with you watching and learning how it is done.
4.   Have him give you a complete set of the hitch system manufacturer's installation instructions for you to keep in a safe place forever after.

Do not not drive away with the trailer until that is done.   If your dealer will not go along with the plan, find another place to buy your trailer.

Carl L said:

Do not not drive away with the trailer until that is done.   If your dealer will not go along with the plan, find another place to buy your trailer.

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Excellent advice.  Remember if the dealer is not accomodating enough to provide the services Carl mentioned to make you safe then that is one dealer to avoid at all costs.

The risk is probably small for a 20 mile trip, but it is a risk. Why take it when you are getting the Equalizer anyway? Order the new receiver and Equalizer (there or elsewhere) and get it installed. THEN go pick up the trailer. So you have to wait another week or 10 days to get it home? So what?

What is the risk? The overstressed receiver could break right off, dropping the trailer in the road to go off on its own. Or it could stay on but lift the weight off the front wheels, giving extremely squirrelly steering. [Been there, done that, with a badly overloaded pick-up - never again!]

I'd install the 7 pin because that is pretty much the industry standard trailer plug, plus there are adapters available to step it down to 4, 5 and 6 pin plugs as well. But you are right, 7 vs 6 basically provides an extra circuit that some trailers don't even use, e.g. back up lights.  Have you looked at what is on the trailer?

I agree,  safety first.  Just thought I'd save some $$ IF there wasn't a safety concern.  Looks like money well spent, though.  Thanks for the input.

Carl L said:

With a 750 lb hitch weight we are tallking about putting the tow vehicle into a gross oversteer condition with concommitant risk of loss of control, wild yawing of the trailer, and general instability.   Academically speaking that is.

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Wow Carl, you got me with that word "concommitant".  I actually had to look it up to verify what I thought it meant.  Of course, it is spelled "concomitant", but it has been added to my list of "words to wow people with".  Thanks!

Oh, good advice.  Only 20 miles, but you Brandon did not say what those 20 miles consisted of.  If it's freeway or busy street type of stuff, very dangerous.  Out in the country, still dangerous, but more to himself than anyone else.  Still, why risk it.  It is worth an extra day or five to wait for a good hitch setup to be ordered than try and drive with your front wheels off the ground!