Question regarding weight distributing hitch

[glg20]

Hi, everyone. First post and I feel like this is going to be and excellent forum.
Back in 1994 I purchased a new 18 foot Mallard travel trailer. Dealer set it up with a weight distributing hitch and sway control. Sold the trailer years ago and am now retired. Will be actively shopping soon for a 17 Casita. If I recall correctly the torsion bars if that is the correct name are different sizes depending trailer weight. I know the Mallard was heavier than a Casita. I was thinking that I had the lightest set up made at the time in regard to the hitch. I still have the hitch and sway control in my shop building. Both are in excellent shape. Curious what everyone thinks regarding the old setup. Should it be good to go? Thanks in advance.

[Mike Magee]

Hi, neighbor! Do you have any recollection of what brand your old WD hitch is? What the old Mallard's hitch weight was? And tell us what you intend to tow with. Are you planning to get the Casita Deluxe (front bath) version, or standard (no bathroom, lighter on the tongue)?

[glg20]

I don't recall the brand and don't believe it is marked. Right now it would be a 17 Casita deluxe. Also don't recall what the Mallards hitch weight was.

[Robin G]

Welcome to fiberglassrv!


As for the sway bar. Are you asking so you can purchase one now, before you buy your Casita? If so, I would say wait if your buying used. Because mine came with one.

[glg20]

Originally Posted by Robin G

Welcome to fiberglassrv!


As for the sway bar. Are you asking so you can purchase one now, before you buy your Casita? If so, I would say wait if your buying used. Because mine came with one.

I presently own a sway bar from my old trailer with all the associated hardware. Looks just the what is currently being sold.

I tried looking up the tongue weight on my old Mallard 18 footer and have come up with nothing. My googlefoo is just not working tonite.

[Francesca Knowles]

What's the tug?

Casitas are considered "tongue heavy" by little trailer standards, but in the Real World you're coming from, even 400 pounds is nothing. If you're towing with a pickup you may not need a weight distributing hitch. Too many people struggle with such setups unnecessarily, in my opinion. Without knowing what you're going to tow with, it's not really possible to advise you properly.

Sway control is completely separate/different from W/D and a whole 'nother question...much depends on final configuration.

[glg20]

My old Mallard 18 ft was 430 pounds and a Casita 17 ft Deluxe Spirit is 365 on the tongue weight. 55 pounds difference between the two. I would like to think my old existing hitch could be adjusted and made to work.

[glg20]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

What's the tug?

Casitas are considered "tongue heavy" by little trailer standards, but in the Real World you're coming from, even 400 pounds is nothing. If you're towing with a pickup you may not need a weight distributing hitch. Too many people struggle with such setups unnecessarily, in my opinion. Without knowing what you're going to tow with, it's not really possible to advise you properly.

Sway control is completely separate/different from W/D and a whole 'nother question...much depends on final configuration.

2012 Ford F150 Supercrew with factory trailer tow package. 3.73 axle with factory brake controller. Motor is the 5.0 V8.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by glg20

2012 Ford F150 Supercrew with factory trailer tow package. 3.73 axle with factory brake controller. Motor is the 5.0 V8.

Link to specs

Only 3,000 pounds of payload...lemme think...

Don't bother with w/d unless you also intend to haul a bedfull of gravel at the same time. As for sway control: set her up level and tongue heavy and she'll tow straight as a stick without add-ons.

Have fun!

[Robin G]

In my opinion you won't need a "weight distribution" with that truck! You will be fine. I don't use a w/d with my Tacoma and when I had my full size Chevy it was a even smoother tow! Enjoy!

[glg20]

Well, that is some good news. The darn thing has got a lot heavier over the years. Glad I don't need to mess with it. Guess I will keep the sway control and get rid of some excess iron out in the shop! Thanks for the advice.

[Borrego Dave]

Hi Richard and welcome to the group. As I started reading this thread I was going to comment but when you listed what your tug is............nope, your good to go without the w/d setup. I don't use one with a SD17 and a '02 4.0 6 cyl Ranger and you've got way more punch. BTW, my toung weight is 364 the last time I checked but I think one of the LP tanks is just about empty.

[Joe Romas]

The tongue weigh of my 17' SD has been weighted twice at 405 pounds and that seems about normal.
What you need and what would be nice to have are different. My 07 silverado recommends one at 600 pounds. I already had the WDH and am at 3/4th of the recommended 600 so I use it.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by Joe Romas

The tongue weigh of my 17' SD has been weighted twice at 405 pounds and that seems about normal.
What you need and what would be nice to have are different. My 07 silverado recommends one at 600 pounds. I already had the WDH and am at 3/4th of the recommended 600 so I use it.

Unless you're carrying a LOT of weight in the back of the Silverado, I don't understand the logic here. That far below maximum dead weight ball load, the tug should still be riding level. What benefit does W/D provide in this circumstance?

W/D transfers weight both to the trailer and the front of the tow vehicle, using the trailer's tongue for the necessary leverage. Every pound of force exerted by W/D is felt by the attachment point on the trailer. The cost of "restoring" weight to front tug axles can be substantial. Why add that load to a lightweight trailer unless necessary for control of the tow vehicle?

BTW:
I'm curious enough about this question that I looked the manual up for a 2007 Silverado. Link
Without knowing which model you have, of course...but I see no W/D language at all there for any model except as applies to bigger models attempting to tow trailers in the ten thousand pounds and up neighborhood ( 1500 pounds of tongue weight)-?

[steve dunham]

I use a WD hitch when towing my 17 ft Casita DLX .I tow with a 2011 Ram 1500 rated to tow 8550 lbs . My vehicle's owners manual shows using a WD hitch when towing a trailer with a tongue weight of 500 Lbs. or above . My Casita' s tongue weight is between 425 to 450 lbs depending how the trailer is loaded. I feel that even though a WD is not required ,my trailer tows better with the WD hitch.
To me the WD hitch is like having A/C in your trailer ,it's not necessary but it mdoes make the trip more enjoyable

[Joe Romas]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Unless you're carrying a LOT of weight in the back of the Silverado, I don't understand the logic here. That far below maximum dead weight ball load, the tug should still be riding level. What benefit does W/D provide in this circumstance?

W/D transfers weight both to the trailer and the front of the tow vehicle, using the trailer's tongue for the necessary leverage. Every pound of force exerted by W/D is felt by the attachment point on the trailer. The cost of "restoring" weight to front tug axles can be substantial. Why add that load to a lightweight trailer unless necessary for control of the tow vehicle?

BTW:
I'm curious enough about this question that I looked the manual up for a 2007 Silverado. Link
Without knowing which model you have, of course...but I see no W/D language at all there for any model except as applies to bigger models attempting to tow trailers in the ten thousand pounds and up neighborhood ( 1500 pounds of tongue weight)-?

Your not being able to find anything about using a WDH on a 07 Silverado does not surprise me, the owner's manual is the size of a phone book but trust me it's in there and I have no intention of looking it up for you.
Also the 07 Silverado is a split model year and I have the newer one. My truck is a extended cab 1500 z-71 4x4 SL trim with 5.3L V8, 3.73 axel and 4 speed auitomatic.

Think about this. The 400 pounds of tongue weight is not in the bed but a good foot behind the bumper, think about that.
Is it necessary to have a WDH on a standard size pickup, no. But does it result in a smoother ride, keep you from blinding oncoming drivers with your head lights? YES.

Please accept there are those of us who believe in and use a WDH and those who have not experienced the differece and don't

[deryk]

I ditched my WDH when I moved up from a Rav4 to a Nissan Frontier V6 for my ParkLiner. But I still use an anti-sway bar as a just in case...towed through some windy spots that I was glad I had it.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by Joe Romas

Please accept there are those of us who believe in and use a WDH and those who have not experienced the differece and don't

And then there are those of us that have towed different combinations, some of which required the use of W/D and some that didn't.

Depends strictly on the weight of the tow/tongue as it relates to the capacity of the tug.

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by Joe Romas

Please accept there are those of us who believe in and use a WDH and those who have not experienced the differece and don't

Then there's those of us that have used them and find them a pain and completely unnecessary with a properly balanced trailer (with our tow vehicle).

A 1/2 ton with working suspension should gain nothing with the use of a wd hitch with a trailer that light.

Mine will pull 8,000 pound trailers all day long, cross country (and has), with absolutely no need for a wd hitch. Even at that weight, it's still sitting level.

IMHO, at least half of them are being used to mask crappily loaded/balanced trailers.