Weight distributing hitch

[Excalibur]

Ok, bear with me. Going to try to give as much info as I can before I ask. Last year I got a new 17 foot Aspen Trail TT, 3069 lbs dry weight, 396 lbs hitch weight. Pulling it with a 2001 Chevy Express 1500 with a 5.7L. Pulled it on just the hitch ball, didn't like the way it swayed in tow. Today went looking for a light duty weight distributing hitch. My hitch ball height is 26 inches. Guy quoted me 1100 dollars for the set up, Blue Ox. Seems like more than I need. Does anyone have any experience with perhaps lesser cost? I was told that the standard units are overkill and would create other issues, hence the need for a lighter duty unit. I haven't towed this size trailer for about 30 years,. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[steveblonde]

Ok, bear with me. Going to try to give as much info as I can before I ask. Last year I got a new 17 foot Aspen Trail TT, 3069 lbs dry weight, 396 lbs hitch weight. Pulling it with a 2001 Chevy Express 1500 with a 5.7L. Pulled it on just the hitch ball, didn't like the way it swayed in tow. Today went looking for a light duty weight distributing hitch. My hitch ball height is 26 inches. Guy quoted me 1100 dollars for the set up, Blue Ox. Seems like more than I need. Does anyone have any experience with perhaps lesser cost? I was told that the standard units are overkill and would create other issues, hence the lighter duty unit. I haven't towed this size trailer for about 30 years,. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Go to www.curtmfg.com

You only need a small wdh

 

[SpencerPJ]

I do agree you need a wdh. With your hitchball height of 26", I'm assuming the the front of the trailer was pretty high, as in not level. That probably caused most of your sway action. Any wdh would work, the Curt as above, heck, whatever Harbor Freight sells, but you need to get the tongue down and get the trailer level, and that is done with the shank that the wdh connects to. You need to understand that your actual travel weight (assuming moderate packing) will be closer to 4000#, and that your hitch weight should be 12% or a bit more, so roughly 500#

 

[Excalibur]

I do agree you need a wdh. With your hitchball height of 26", I'm assuming the the front of the trailer was pretty high, as in not level. That probably caused most of your sway action. Any wdh would work, the Curt as above, heck, whatever Harbor Freight sells, but you need to get the tongue down and get the trailer level, and that is done with the shank that the wdh connects to. You need to understand that your actual travel weight (assuming moderate packing) will be closer to 4000#, and that your hitch weight should be 12% or a bit more, so roughly 500#

Trailer is perfectly level at 26" ball height according to my 4 foot level. This trailer model just sits very high. I know about the packing load. Been towing trailers almost 50 years. I was just looking for something that costs less than 1100 dollars. Already have a Class 3 receiver, receiver height is 14", coupler height is 23 1/2", so 9 1/2 " - 10" rise. Don't really need the weight distribution so much as the anti sway.

 

[Onyrlef]

Trailer is perfectly level at 26" ball height according to my 4 foot level. This trailer model just sits very high. I know about the packing load. Been towing trailers almost 50 years. I was just looking for something that costs less than 1100 dollars. Already have a Class 3 receiver, receiver height is 14", coupler height is 23 1/2", so 9 1/2 " - 10" rise. Don't really need the weight distribution so much as the anti sway.

Just grab a simple WDH w/ sway control then. You shouldn’t be spending at the most half what the Blue Ox guy wants.

 

[Excalibur]

My thought exactly. Just looking for recommendations since I haven't used a wdh in about 30 years. The ones I have looked at online so far can't give me the 10" rise I need.

 

[CharlesinGA]

The rise or drop is not in the hitch, but rather the shank the hitch is attached to. The Blue Ox is a very good hitch and is lightweight compared to other hitches. In addition it has shorter, lighter spring bars than many, and there is very little setup to it. If you are any good with tools, you can do the installation and if you don't have torque wrenches, find a truck or diesel shop to do the torquing of the ball )450 lb/ft and the two cross bolts that hold the head to the shank (260 lb/ft)

Do you have the trailer loaded correctly? Trailer sway, especially in a small trailer is largely caused by loading too much stuff aft. You need a tongue weight that is 10% to 15% of total trailer weight. Looking online, it appears the trailer has a GROSS WEIGHT of 3850 lb so expect a tongue weight of 500 lbs. If less than that, you could be creating the sway. Load the trailer forward and take it on a test drive.

This is the 550 lb tongue weight model with a nine hole shank (they also have an 11 hole shank)

The shank is the bar in the lower left.

You can many times find these used where someone upgraded trailers and ended up with the hitch. I bought my nearly new 1000 lb model on Craigslist for $300.

Amazon has the 550 lb Sway Pro with the seven hole shank for $658
Blue Ox web page with description for this particular hitch 7 hole shank combination
9 hole hank combination and 11 hole shank combination

Cheap hitches tend to be all or mostly weight distributing and little or no sway control. You can get a cheaper hitch and add a anti sway damper to it.

OK, editing somewhat, if your receiver is at 14 inches (middle of the 2 inch square opening?) you need ten inches to the top of the ball?, bottom of the coupler? not sure here.

Receiver 14 off the ground, measured with the trailer hitched to account for sag? Just trying to get the picture here. All you need is the right shank. As you can see from the pic, the Blue Ox hitch head puts the ball well up above the two bolts that attach the head to the shank.

Just measured. If I were to move the hitch head to the very top holes of a 7 hole shank, turned up, I can get the TOP OF THE BALL 12 inches above the CENTER of the receiver.

Shanks are standard hole spacing and size. Almost any shank will work on almost any head. The holes are 3/4 and spaced 1¼ apart center to center.

Charles

 

[Excalibur]

I already have my receiver installed when I bought the van in 2001. See above posts for all the measurements.

 

[Domo]

I've used Harbor Freight WDH for several trailers. Sometimes I had to shave a little off the hooks so the chain slides on - exact design of others, works great and it's much less expensive.

 

[Rene T]

I would put an add on Craiglist. Someone will have one just collecting dust and is always in the way.

 

[CharlesinGA]

WDH that have very high (1500/2000 lb) tongue weight, and ones that have very low (300-500 lb) tongue weights are generally higher priced due to low volume of sales. The Haul Master hitch above can have a friction sway bar/brake added to it, however it is way too much hitch with 1000 lb tongue weight, the bars will be too stiff, and without the add on sway bar, you don't gain anti sway capability.

800/1000 lb hitches probably account for 1/2 or more of the WDH sales, and thus are cheaper and more easily found.

As I noted above, the Blue Ox with the 7 hole shank and the head all the way up, will put the top of the ball 12 inches above the center of the receiver socket.

Not knowing if you are measuring from the top of the receiver opening, or the bottom, or the top of the coupler or the bottom of the coupler, that is as close as I can get you. If the 12 inches is not enough, a 9 hole shank will raise the head an additional 2½ inchs.

Charles

 

[Excalibur]

Thank you Char

WDH that have very high (1500/2000 lb) tongue weight, and ones that have very low (300-500 lb) tongue weights are generally higher priced due to low volume of sales. The Haul Master hitch above can have a friction sway bar/brake added to it, however it is way too much hitch with 1000 lb tongue weight, the bars will be too stiff, and without the add on sway bar, you don't gain anti sway capability.

800/1000 lb hitches probably account for 1/2 or more of the WDH sales, and thus are cheaper and more easily found.

As I noted above, the Blue Ox with the 7 hole shank and the head all the way up, will put the top of the ball 12 inches above the center of the receiver socket.

Not knowing if you are measuring from the top of the receiver opening, or the bottom, or the top of the coupler or the bottom of the coupler, that is as close as I can get you. If the 12 inches is not enough, a 9 hole shank will raise the head an additional 2½ inchs.

Thank you Charles. That's closer to what I was told by a guy that has installed 6 different hitches for me over the years. He told me that I needed a 4000-5000 pound hitch, not much more that because of the stiffness issue you speak of. Unfortunately he was not able to help me because he doesn't deal in hitches that small, so he sent me to another shop. That's the guy that wants 1100 dollars. I am having trouble finding one with less than 6000 pound capacity. Hoping someone might know of something in that 4000-5000 pound range.

 

[Excalibur]

Thank you Char

Oops

Think I hit the wrong button. My reply is in your post. Sorry.

 

[CharlesinGA]

When looking at hitches, look at tongue weight. Hitches are usually something like 400/4000 based on a 10% tongue weight. You need to consider 13% as a more accurate tongue weight, so a 4000 lb trailer is going to have a 520 lb tongue weight. Consider buying one like the one I linked to at Amazon and either installing yourself, its just a tape measure and wrenches, or have your long time hitch business do it if they will. At least have them torque to specs the three important bolts. Blue Ox has literally no adjustments beyond the ball height, and what link you hook the chain with.

With the Blue Ox you can upgrade bars when you get a new trailer, something you cannot do with some other hitches. And while heavy, its nothing like others I have hefted.

If you were to go with a Blue Ox, do yourself a favor and go to Harbor Freight and buy a 1 inch 12 pt socket and a 24 inch long breaker bar, it works much better than the tool BO provides.

The other alternative is to look at the Andersen WDH which is a very different animal. It is said to work well on light trailers.

If you don't know, typical WDH usually requires you use the tongue jack to raise the hitched truck/trailer combo to make connecting/disconnecting the bars easier and safer.

Charles

 

[Excalibur]

I might have found something. Reese 6k model. 6000 pound , 600 tw. About $360. Would have to get a higher shank to get the height I need, but aren't shanks more or less unlversal? Are those specs still too much hitch?

 

[CharlesinGA]

Many Reese hitches require a separate friction anti sway attachment. Reese has many model hitches, and some have as low as 550 lb tongue weight, some are 600 lb. Shanks are 2 inches wide in the vertical bar with the 3/4 holes, spaced 1¼ apart (ctr to ctr) and the horizontal drawbar is either 2 inch (most common) or 2½ or 3 inch used on newer pickups.

The Reese SC is the only one with a 600 lb tongue rating that is classified as sway control and doesn't require the friction bar like above. (I'm sitting here with the Cequent catalog, which owns Reese and a bunch of related brands.)

Show us links to the Reese so we can see what you are looking at.

Charles

 

[Excalibur]

Reese 6k Integrated Sway Control Weight Distribution Kit, Shank Included

Reese Integrated Sway Control Weight Distribution Kit, 6,000 lbs. Capacity, Shank Included RE49911 Trailer Weight Distribution Kit New 49911

www.towuniverse.com

What do you think? My hitch measurement for the receiver height of 14 inches is from the ground to the top of the tube opening, and the coupler height of 23 1/2 inches is from the ground to the bottom of the coupler,to answer your earlier questions. My understanding is that is the standard way of measuring. Top of the hitch ball is 26 inches from the ground when trailer is level. 2 5/16 inch ball.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Thats a friction sway control (bars rubbing on the brackets) and you have the added advantage that if it is not enough sway control, you can buy a add on kit ($60-$70), as the head has places to mount the small chrome balls to attach the sway control as in the pic I posted above. The shank looks like it is tall enough too.

Charles

 

[Excalibur]

Thats a friction sway control (bars rubbing on the brackets) and you have the added advantage that if it is not enough sway control, you can buy a add on kit ($60-$70), as the head has places to mount the small chrome balls to attach the sway control as in the pic I posted above. The shank looks like it is tall enough too.

Charles

So you think its a good fit for my needs? Without being too much hitch?

 

[Ray-IN]

You might already know this; to reduce/stop trailer sway use the manual lever gently on the brake controller while maintaining speed. This pulls the trailer back in line with the tow vehicle, thus stopping sway.
One cause of trailer sway is trailer axle mis-alignment; it's easy to check this yourself and the instructions are on the web.
Another cause is having P-rated tires on the tow vehicle, they have weak sidewalls and induce sway, especially when not inflated up to the Federal Placard on the door post or tire sidewall.
This is the best instructions for properly setting up a WDH I've ever read or seen.