13' Boler with WDH

[Carol H]

Good info Rick. I had not heard that before. I have often wondred about the changing of the weight distribution in regards to the negitive impacts it *might* in some cases have on the tow vechile but had not considered the trailer itself.

I don't use one but I have noticed a number of people putting weight distributing hiches on Subaru's even though there manual states not to. I have often wondered why Subaru does not want them on their cars and wonder if it has something to do with the fact they are all wheel drives and if perhaps the change in the weight distribution impacts that function in some way. Anyone know what the actual story behind Subaru's not allowing weight distribution hitches?

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Good info Rick. I had not heard that before. I have often wondred about the changing of the weight distribution in regards to the negitive impacts it *might* in some cases have on the tow vechile but had not considered the trailer itself.

I don't use one but I have noticed a number of people putting weight distributing hiches on Subaru's even though there manual states not to. I have often wondered why Subaru does not want them on their cars and wonder if it has something to do with the fact they are all wheel drives and if perhaps the change in the weight distribution impacts that function in some way. Anyone know what the actual story behind Subaru's not allowing weight distribution hitches?

The best way to answer this question is a brief description of what WHD hitch does. It takes some up to all the weight off the rear wheels of tow vehicle. That weight is then carried by the trailer frame, axle and suspension along with the front of the tow vehicle. The extra weight on the trailer frame and suspension can overload the axle and tires. In the case of a small car like Subaru the front tires can easily be overloaded. The chances of blow out of either the trailer or the front wheels of tow is increased.

[Carol H]

Thanks Byron that makes sence.

[Roger C H]

Here is a posting from the FAQs in Trilliumrv.com:

Question: Do I need to use a weight distributing hitch on the Trillium?

No - With less than 200 pounds on the ball, there's not enough weight to distribute. Car weight ends up being transferred back to the trailer; and the frame is not designed for this.

If your trailer is still being made, I would check with the factory before installing a WDH, as for Bolers, etc, I would think 13 footers would not need one.

[mcbrew]

If a 13 footer has too much tongue weight, this can usually be solved by relocating cargo or other items in the trailer. My Scamp had a TW close to 180 pounds when I bought it. I removed the battery from the tongue (will relocate to the rear in a vented battery box at some point) and I make sure to pack our cargo in such a way that the tongue weight is down to 130 pounds or so. This makes for a much more comfortable ride in the car, and isn't stressing the hitch and coupler as much.

[Borden]

How true Roger C H, WD hitches are only needed to exceed the 350 lb. limit of a class II or as in my case the min tongue weight is 250 lbs. 10% according to the mto web site and the car suspension has a 200 lb. limit according to Toyota without it.
You are so right mcbrew it is all about balance in trailers as in life.
Class III hitch for 2” receiver combined with WD system the dealer says (not mto) gives us 400 lbs.; 200 front and 200 back. Hitch states more but our car suspension cannot support more without modification. We do not need to pay extra to pull any trailer under 2000 lbs.
I do like having trailer brakes though on any load over 800 lbs. but again that is for my safety not law.

[Borden]

Byron Kinnaman you are right about transfer of weight; if the WD hitch is not correctly adjusted it can put undue stress on the front of vehicle. Never thought about the stress WD would place on the front tires; if incorrectly adjusted. Good point!
Rich G will have to read more to check on spring bar ratings and the effects. Personally I requested 400 lbs. and do have anti-sway bar.
It can be noted that the Equal-i-zer brand slides on the springs and so includes the anti-sway function; also a unit is made for Colman trailers at 350 lbs. that uses friction pads and slides on trailer tongue by a different company.
P.S. my trailer is a 17', so not the same requirements as a smaller 13' unit

[Borden]

Rick G the site says Quote (1500 to 2000 lbs) but wouldn't any older trailer at 17' be over that without and lot of mods. The weight of a Trillium 4500 maybe over? Is the 4500 17' ??? If it is heaver than 2000 lbs. it would require a Class II hitch or 'light duty' version of the wd with custom Class III receiver to pull.
Did see a brand new 16' 'super ultra light' at dealer that was 1600 lbs. dry but that is unusual and its flat front made it harder to pull at hyway speeds than the 17' boler.

P.S. Body twisting of the cars seems to be the fear of WD and unibody; Our car is unibody the custom hitch is fastened at the back and 2" center tube snakes forwad along bottom to be fastened again. This design lets us use a Class 3 hitch.

[Rick G]

Originally Posted by Borden

Rick G the site says Quote (1500 to 2000 lbs) but wouldn't any older trailer at 17' be over that without and lot of mods. The weight of a Trillium 4500 maybe over? Is the 4500 17' ??? If it is heaver than 2000 lbs. it would require a Class II hitch or 'light duty' version of the wd with custom Class III receiver to pull.
Did see a brand new 16' 'super ultra light' at dealer that was 1600 lbs. dry but that is unusual and its flat front made it harder to pull at hyway speeds than the 17' boler.

P.S. Body twisting of the cars seems to be the fear of WD and unibody; Our car is unibody the custom hitch is fastened at the back and 2" center tube snakes forwad along bottom to be fastened again. This design lets us use a Class 3 hitch.

I actually do not have an opinion about weight distributing hitches, I was only providing the quote from the TrilliumRV website. They would be the people to ask. As for the weight of bigger trailers, yes I am sure the 17 foot Bolers and 15 foot Trilliums approach or exceed the 2000 pound range, but they were not manufactured until around 1977, about 10 years after the original models appeared. I have not weighed our 4500 yet, but from towing it a few hundred kilometres home when we bought it I don't think it was more than a couple hundred pounds heavier than our Boler, which weighed just over 1400 pounds fully loaded with camping gear. I am anticipating the 4500 will be in the 1600 - 1700 pound range when I get to weigh it next spring.

We always used a Class 2 hitch on the old Aerostar for several trailers including stickies and the Boler, and the new(er) Chevy Uplander that we bought will have a Class 3 hitch, only so that we can add a wider range of accessories to the hitch than we could with the smaller Class 2 hitch.

Rick G

[Roger C H]

By all means weigh it. We weighed our 13' Trillium with some stuff in it, not everything we carry, and it was 1700#.

Here is a hint, if you do not require a certified copy of the weight, some scales will let you weigh your rig no charge. That is what happened to us. If we had requested a certified weight slip, it would have been $5.

Weigh and record the entire rig, then pull the tv off the scale and record the weight of the trailer. Then unhitch the ball of the trailer with the tongue jack on the scale and jack it up until it no longer places any weight on the tv and record that. Either weigh it empty or fully loaded. (I wish I had weighed it fully loaded. This way I am not completely sure how much we carry when loaded for the road..).

Subtract the weight of the trailer from the total and that gives you the tv weight. Subtract the weight hitched from the weight unhitched and this will give you the tongue weight.

Some people like to weigh each trailer wheel individually, which if you have the time and the scale isn't busy I guess you could do. Then you will know how to load the trailer side to side.

[Borden]

With water, and good ours will be over 2500 lbs. reduced trailer weight just lets us have more items like TV coffee maker, blankets and food etc. Still might even go to 3000 lbs. and that would require 300 lbs. tongue to be stable. The design of the custom hitch removes the body twist so we can safely use the WD to meet the car requirements. To the weight of the WD hitch I am adding to my tongue total and that is why I requested 400 / 4000 lb. setup. I was unable to find out if WD unit weight counts in tongue weight placed on the car but made sense to me to include it so 300 plus 50 = 350 lbs. total tongue weight. Would rather be safe than sorry. Will have to go to scale this summer and find the true weight will post the result. We may carry more cargo weight than we know.
Thanks for the tip on scales Roger C H and did like the quote Rick G on trillums.
P.S. Yes mine is 1978 and was told they were made this size for only 2 years and also was told only about 400 made with our layout not shure on this. Our bolers original weight and spec sheet has it with shower and toilet.