Advisibility of using weight distribution hitch: pros and cons

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Francesca I totally understand that in Glenn and Deryk's case the door is hitting the raised tongues but I also know that if I hooked my Scamp up to a RAV4 the door would either hit the jack or the propane tank well before it opened fully - even with the trailer sitting perfectly level.

Obviously anything on the tongue of a trailer would impede the full opening of a swinging door....I have a side- hinged spare tire that has to clear anything on my tongue. Or any tongue. The difference in this case is that these guys can't even clear the coupler due to the height of the trailer.

Sheesh!

Francesca

[deryk]

I clear the coupler...not the jack....i managed fine all last year
..its not a problem to me....the squatting is....i got a tracking number for the air coils there on their way
..probably wont have time to install them till next sunday the 27th but want it there ready to do lol

Deryk

[Glenn Baglo]

Toyota has dropped the side opening door on the RAV, and maybe we should drop the topic too.

[deryk]

eXXXactly...its a pointless discussion it is what it is. I'm fine with it I'm young enough to reach anything in the back area from the backseat... my only issue is resolving the squat

Deryk

.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by deryk

my only issue is resolving the squat

Well it sure sounds like your well on the road to doing that.

[deryk]

Thanks Carol, Im sure by looking at Denny's pic with airbags and 390lb tongue weight, if mine is around 270 with airbags I would be ok too. And I havent really added anything into the trailer...Im thinkin of a trunk or something on wheels that would hold my leveling gear, extention cords hoses my outside rocket stove, hatchet, some folding chairs that would be kept under my large dinette on the otherside of the axle while traveling, and when I get to my camping spot, un secure it and wheel it out the door and put it out of site... Im sure it would lighten my tongue weight as a counter balance to the 2 full propane tanks.

deryk

[hotfishtacos]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

I get it...I think...

Are these all A-frame jacks? If so, and access to tailgate/back tug door is also a problem, I highly recommend replacement with a side-mount swivel jack, available in various heights/throws.

I love being able to open the back hatch on my Kia all the way!

Francesca

My Equal-IZ-Zer WD hitch moved the hitch ball back about 4 inches further than a normal hitch which made my tall 3500 lb electric tongue jack easily clear the tailgate on my Honda Pilot. This was kind-of a free benefit of going with that WD hitch.

Steve

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by hotfishtacos

My Equal-IZ-Zer WD hitch moved the hitch ball back about 4 inches further than a normal hitch which made my tall 3500 lb electric tongue jack easily clear the tailgate on my Honda Pilot. This was kind-of a free benefit of going with that WD hitch.

Steve

Glad that worked out for ya!

Say- the Pilot's been ahead in my replacement-tug smackdown, but 'til now I never even thought to ask about the 'gate- is it a flip up or a side hinge, and where do you carry the spare?

Thanks!

Francesca

[hotfishtacos]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Glad that worked out for ya!

Say- the Pilot's been ahead in my replacement-tug smackdown, but 'til now I never even thought to ask about the 'gate- is it a flip up or a side hinge, and where do you carry the spare?

Thanks!

Francesca

Francesca,

The hatch is a flip up and the spare is under the back bottom end like a pickup.

Here is the 3500 lb jack. It is really tall but clears the hatch back anyway..

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by deryk

.Im thinkin of a trunk or something on wheels that would hold my leveling gear, extention cords hoses my outside rocket stove, hatchet, some folding chairs that would be kept under my large dinette on the otherside of the axle while traveling, and when I get to my camping spot, un secure it and wheel it out the door and put it out of site... Im sure it would lighten my tongue weight as a counter balance to the 2 full propane tanks.
deryk

It should work out fine. I have a large plastic tote bin that I keep all my hoses, leveling blocks, extension cords, tire iron etc in - all adds up weight wise - usually carry right over the axle in the trailer but it comes in handy to use as a counter balance. Most often if I need to move it it need to go forward to add weight on the tongue if I am having to run with my rear water tank or grey water tank full.

[deryk]

Yeah that is a point, if the water tank is full, which on my shorter trips might be the way Im gonna travel... longer trips will look for a place to stop to fill up, but 2 or 3 times a summer I camp with a group of friends at Bass River state park and its less then an hour and a half...I would fill my water tank before I head out just to not have to stop.

I was thinking of something like this, I just need to make sure it will fit through my door lol

Shop Task Force 30-1/2-in Black Plastic Tool Box at Lowes.com

Could easily be a table top outside or add a cushion and a place to sit. I do have a receiver hitch on the back of the ParkLiner but Ive heard it could add some sway to the ride... so putting this inside, just need to add a way to secure it so it didn't move around while traveling.


deryk

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Say- the Pilot's been ahead in my replacement-tug smackdown, but 'til now I never even thought to ask about the 'gate- is it a flip up or a side hinge, and where do you carry the spare?

Like Steve mentioned, it is a flip up hatch. On mine, I uset a short straight ball mount (no WDH), and have no trouble clearing the regular jack on my trailer.

I have never measured against other SUV's, but the back end of the Pilot sits fairly high, and all Pilots now come with a factory equipped hitch with the receiver mounted integrally inside the bumper. All this equates to keeping the ball fairly high. The receiver height is not much lower than that on my F250.

[Carol H]

Deryk, thats about the size of my bin. Word of warning on anything with wheels, you may find you need to put wheel chocks under it to keep it from shifting in the trailer. Yes they do work well as a small table for holding refreshments etc during happy hour etc.

[MCDenny]

Deryk, with bags at 35psi no trailer 11 5/8". With trailer 9 3/4"

[cpaharley2008]

It should fit under your dinette, perhaps a spring bar across the front or I used a cargo net in my Eggcamper to keep things from moving.

[MCDenny]

Pic with 2007 RAV4 rear door wide open. Note no propane and folding jack.

The tire on the back looks ugly but the underfloor storage well holds lots of stuff. We call it the basement.

[Francesca Knowles]

Originally Posted by hotfishtacos

Francesca,

The hatch is a flip up and the spare is under the back bottom end like a pickup.

Here is the 3500 lb jack. It is really tall but clears the hatch back anyway..

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

Like Steve mentioned, it is a flip up hatch. On mine, I uset a short straight ball mount (no WDH), and have no trouble clearing the regular jack on my trailer.

I have never measured against other SUV's, but the back end of the Pilot sits fairly high, and all Pilots now come with a factory equipped hitch with the receiver mounted integrally inside the bumper. All this equates to keeping the ball fairly high. The receiver height is not much lower than that on my F250.

Boy, is this ever a golden opportunity...Two fellows, same tug/tow combination, two different approaches!

I'm curious about two things (for now ):

First, (perhaps irrelevantly but what the hey) if either one of you guys know: why is there such a honkin' hefty (3500 pounds!!!) jack on the trailer tongue???
Also:
Are you, Steve, carrying more weight in the tug/tow than Jim is (extra people/cargo etc.), perhaps thus necessitating the use of the w/d hitch?

Thanks!

Francesca

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by MCDenny

Pic with 2007 RAV4 rear door wide open. Note no propane and folding jack. ]

Wondering about why the need for such a long tongue on the trailer - although with the RAV4 it clearly works well - no propane tank helps as well. Wondering if its due to the pointed front end - longer tongue keeps it from hitting the tug in a tight turn?

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

First, (perhaps irrelevantly but what the hey) if either one of you guys know: why is there such a honkin' hefty (3500 pounds!!!) jack on the trailer tongue???
Also:
Are you, Steve, carrying more weight in the tug/tow than Jim is (extra people/cargo etc.), perhaps thus necessitating the use of the w/d hitch?

Dunno, but it works fine, though after 4 years is starting to squeak a bit.

Usually all there is in the Pilot is the two of us, our 50lb dog, and maybe 150 lbs of cargo tops (often it is just my guitar and camera gear). Even the trailer itself is not very loaded usually. Heck, I have lots of storage space left over, and don't even have the front storage box. While we like the size of the 19, I don't like to carry a lot of extra stuff most times, preferring to keep my gear to a minimum.

The Pilot has a fairly stiff rear end. It seems a bit more truck-like, than car-like as other makes tend to be. As mentioned earlier, there have been only a couple instances where a WDH would have been an advantage, but never on good roads, and for me there are more instances where it would be a disadvantage or just a pain. As I add a few more things to it in preparedness for retirement and longer travels, I will revisit using one, but for now I am happy to not need it.

[cpaharley2008]

Original Lil Snoozy had a generator platform in the front, reason for the extra length.