Recommended Hitch for New Bigfoot - Fiberglass RV
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Old 01-09-2019, 08:36 PM   #1
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Name: Robert
Trailer: 2019 Bigfoot 25 foot rear twin
Maine
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Recommended Hitch for New Bigfoot

Very excited to be taking delivery of a new 2019 Bigfoot 25B25RT next week. My tow vehicle is a 2018 GMC Sierra 2500 HD with 6.0L Vortec. I have never towed a trailer before and am confused about what kind and brand of hitch to use. The dealer has suggested that he install an "E2" weight distribution and sway control switch for $400 installed. He and others have also told me that I could try towing the trailer with just the regular ball hitch and "see how it goes" and then decide later. What does everyone on here think? I value everyone's opinion.
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Old 01-09-2019, 11:16 PM   #2
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I just moved from a Weigh Safe hitch to a Curt 45902 hitch. Our setup is similar to yours. We are towing our Oliver with a Silverado 2500 HD Diesel. Hitch is rated at 20K pounds for the 2-5/16" ball, 10K pounds for the 2" ball. It will fit your 2-1/2" receiver. Our Oliver has 2-5/16" Bulldog hitch so I am using the larger ball.
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Old 01-10-2019, 07:43 AM   #3
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We needed both weight distribution and sway control after buying our 28' Silver Cloud. The RV dealership originally installed the WDH but we rapidly discovered it wasn't enough after driving home to Chicago from Oregon. We went with the ProPride system, which has been great for us. However, you may want to try it with nothing first rather than spending money for a system that may not be needed. You have a new, smaller Bigfoot and a bigger TV than we do.
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Old 01-10-2019, 10:22 AM   #4
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Name: Dan
Trailer: Bigfoot 30th Anv. 25B25FB
Washington
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You can not go wrong with an Equalizer hitch. You can even back up with the hitch on, which is really nice. Super easy to hook up. Once you make the adjustments, you are good to go with you tow rig forever. I highly recommend as most would do, who have this system. Made in the USA.

https://www.equalizerhitch.com/
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Old 01-10-2019, 10:24 AM   #5
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Hi Bob,


You won't need (or want) an weight distributing hitch to tow that trailer with a 3/4 ton truck. Get a full 2 1/2 inch ball mount with the right amount of elevation to have your trailer perfectly level from front to back when loaded for camping.
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Old 01-10-2019, 10:50 AM   #6
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If you have the choice, definitely opt for a Bulldog hitch. I have never felt a WDH is necessary for our small trailers, but I do use an inexpensive sway control bar.

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Old 01-10-2019, 11:26 AM   #7
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Name: Dan
Trailer: Bigfoot 30th Anv. 25B25FB
Washington
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I don't know if I would consider a 25' Bigfoot a small trailer. In my mind anything that makes the trip safer is the way to go. Weight distribution hitches do that. Tire monitoring systems are also worth the investment. Peace of mind is worth a lot when you traveling. JMO.
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Old 01-10-2019, 11:59 AM   #8
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Trailer: 2019 Bigfoot 25 foot rear twin
Maine
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Thanks to everyone for the input. Just to clarify, although we live in Maine, we are wintering in the Gulf Shores, Alabama area and will be driving up to Denver from there to take delivery of the Bigfoot on Tuesday, Feb 15. Our choices seem to be hauling it back to Gulf Shores (approx 1,400 miles) without a WD/SC hitch and then deciding what to do upon return, or having the dealer install the Fastway e2 WD/SC hitch that he has quoted at $400 installed, which seems like a good deal and may be the safest way for me to proceed?
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Old 01-10-2019, 12:08 PM   #9
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For much peace of mind and for that amount of distance traveling, I'd go for it. $400 is not very much in the scheme of things. I'd much rather have it and not need it than to need it and cause an accident due to not having it.
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Old 01-10-2019, 12:09 PM   #10
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Name: Robert
Trailer: 2019 Bigfoot 25 foot rear twin
Maine
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Good video explaining how the e2 hitch works: https://www.fastwaytrailer.com/e2-hitch
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Old 01-10-2019, 12:58 PM   #11
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Name: Bruce & Kathryn
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We have a 1,400 pound Equalizer WD hitch on a rig similar to yours. Our 25RQ weighs 6,920# configured for travel, 5,680 on the axles and 1,240 on the tongue. With the Equalizer, tongue weight falls to 980#, with 200# redistributed to the front tires and 60# added to the trailer axles. This brings tongue % weight from 18% to 14%. These are fairly small numbers, and with the 2500 (ours is the diesel version) I don’t notice much difference towing with or without. Did not use a WD hitch with our Oliver. The hitch is super easy to use once you develop your technique. Adds maybe 2 minutes to hook/unhook times. Equalizer does allow me to lower tailgate when hitched, normal hitch puts me too close to tongue jack. 200# back on front tires is most likely a good safety call. If you have airbags tho, your numbers could well vary. Enjoy your new Bigfoot!
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Old 01-10-2019, 01:17 PM   #12
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Trailer: 2019 Bigfoot 25 foot rear twin
Maine
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Thanks Bruce! Lots of good, relevant info for me there. I did not realize that this trailer could weigh up around 7,000 pounds loaded for travel or that the tongue weight would be that much. The dealer tells me that my tailgate will open with the trailer hitched up using the Fastway e2 hitch. Thar was something else that I had not considered.
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Old 01-10-2019, 01:27 PM   #13
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Name: Dan
Trailer: Bigfoot 30th Anv. 25B25FB
Washington
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Bob, decided to look up the hitch your guy recommended. Was surprised to see it looked a lot like the Equalizer. Then I did some research I thought I would share. Clipped the following off a post on an rv related site regarding the Fastway E2 you are considering. Some interesting information below. You might want to get a quote from your guy on the Equalizer as well and compare the difference in price before making a decision. Hope this helps....


Fastway is a Division of Progress Manufacturing. Scroll to the very bottom of that web page and look where they link you. Progress makes the Equal-I-zer. When I saw the E2 and the L brackets they were using I said, WoW that is the same L bracket setup Equal-I-zer uses. Then after digging I found out why. The engineering groups share parts and concepts.

The E2 I "believe", do not know for fact, was developed and marketed under Fastway as a lower cost alternative to the higher end Equal-
I-zer. The price competition is pretty fierce in the WD hitch market. Reese has done the same thing in recent years creating products to compete at a lower cost then their top of the line Straight Line Dual Cam.

The E2 is a good hitch. As far as a weight distribution is concerned, it is very good as is most any other WD hitch. It does not have any new revaluation on how to apply WD.

The L brackets create high friction on the WD bars and create a level of anti sway control. By having high friction at the L brackets it helps stiffen the connection between the TT and the TV to resist sway forces acting on the TT.

There is a significant difference between the E2 and the Equal-I-zer. The Equal-I-zer has a more involved hitch head, cost more to make and in turn provides a higher level of anti sway control. On the Equal-I-zer the WD bars fit into a pivoting trunnion socket. The pivot bolt of the trunnion socket can be tightened where it pinches the trunnion socket top and bottom. When the trunnion socket is tightened, it creates very high friction in these pivots points when it combines the large WD forces pulling up on the WD bars. So you get ultra high friction at the hitch head plus high friction at the L brackets to create more resistance to sway.

The E2 only creates anti sway friction at the L brackets where the Equal-I-zer has both the L brackets and the hitch head.

The difference between round bar and trunnion bar for the most part is sizing. Trunnion bar often features higher rated WD bars for higher TW's. There is also a clearance difference. The round bar hitch hangs down further at the hitch head and in low riding TT's it can some times bump the ground. Both round bar and trunnion bar are common in the WD hitch world. Both do WD using the same concept however some brands have have more features with trunnion bar.

Now is the E2 a good for for your camper and TV?

As far as WD, it will do as good as most any other brand in obtaining proper WD on the TV.

As far as anti sway, it will be less effective than the Reese DC or the Equal-I-zer.

The question comes down to, will it be good enough for anti sway control? You have not given enough info for us to help guide you on that. Any of the high or ultra high friction anti sway control hitches will not guarantee they will solve your TV and TT sway problems. If you call and and ask that question to the hitch manufacture the response will be something like this. Our hitch is a good tool to help be part of an anti away program. It has limitations and can only correct so much.

What your TV is and the tires on it are a large variable for controlling a TT.

Your TT, is another large variable on how well it is balanced for loaded tongue weight in relation to loaded gross weight and other construction characterizes.

So where does this leave you? Tell us some more about your TV and TT and we can supply an opinion based on our experiences. If you are looking for the highest level of anti sway control in the friction type WD hitches, you will need to spend more money. That is not to say the E2 will not do a good job for you.
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Old 01-10-2019, 01:39 PM   #14
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Name: Dan
Trailer: Bigfoot 30th Anv. 25B25FB
Washington
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Originally Posted by Bob in Maine View Post
It looks to me like the Equalizer and the Fastway e2 are very similar and accomplish the same things. They both appear to be relatively easy to hook up and unhook and both can remain attached while backing up.
Correct, except the Equalizer has some advantages over the Fastway as far as sway control for the most part as pointed out above and more complex hitch head and bars which raise the price. I'm guessing $400 for Fastway E2 and probably $600 plus or minus for the Equalizer.
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Old 01-10-2019, 01:47 PM   #15
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Trailer: 2019 Bigfoot 25 foot rear twin
Maine
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Yes Dan, I posted the comment that you quoted before I saw the excellent information that you provided above and have now deleted the comment as I understand there is a difference, I will check with the dealer to see if he can install an Equalizer for me. If he can't, maybe I could go to a nearby equalizer dealer to get this done. Thanks very much Dan!
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Old 01-10-2019, 01:49 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by Wacenturion View Post
I don't know if I would consider a 25' Bigfoot a small trailer. JMO.
Yeah, I think you are likely right there. I'm really only familiar with trailers up to 17' and 3000 lb dry weight.

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Old 01-10-2019, 01:50 PM   #17
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Name: Dan
Trailer: Bigfoot 30th Anv. 25B25FB
Washington
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Originally Posted by Bob in Maine View Post
Yes Dan, I posted the comment that you quoted before I saw the excellent information that you provided above and have now deleted the comment as I understand there is a difference, I will check with the dealer to see if he can install an Equalizer for me. If he can't, maybe I could go to a nearby equalizer dealer to get this done. Thanks very much Dan!
I looked on Amazon.....Fastway E2 was $388 and Equalizer was $459. Not that much of a difference.
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Old 01-10-2019, 01:53 PM   #18
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Name: Dan
Trailer: Bigfoot 30th Anv. 25B25FB
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Bob, just saw your response. If dealer can't get one at a decent price, order it off Amazon and have it shipped to him. If Prime member....free 2 day shipping and probably a little cheaper initial price.
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Old 01-10-2019, 02:02 PM   #19
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Trailer: 2019 Bigfoot 25 foot rear twin
Maine
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The dealer, Trailer World Denver, says that they will have the proper size Equalizer there for me to evaluate and consider as an alternative to the Fastway, but that the Equalizer would cost $300 more installed! They say they sell more Bigfoots than any other dealer in the U.S. and that nearly every Bigfoot they sell is sold with the Fastway e2 hitch and that they have used these for years now with zero negative feedback.
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Old 01-10-2019, 02:09 PM   #20
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Name: Robert
Trailer: 2019 Bigfoot 25 foot rear twin
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Wow! The dealer must be buying enough of the Fastway hitches to get a big volume discount in order to be able to quote them at $400 installed and still make a decent profit!
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