good info on the earlier hitches. Here is the tag on my 2000 X.

D.

 

Going to calculate soon and let you know my findings. I have a 34' TT with RAS and a propride 3p. Just trying to get it dialed in for the first tow.

 

A 9000# loaded trailer should have minimum 900#'s of tongue weight.

With 900# minimum of tongue weight you will likely unload the front axle by several hundreds of pounds.

With several hundreds of LESS weight on the front axle the Ex will feel much less responsive (we've all seen headlights pointing skyward on a truck pulling a trailer with NO WD hitch).

I can't disagree with the advice more. A WD hitch is the correct method we have to redistribute the tongue weight and SHIFT the weight back where it belongs...the FRONT axle.

Air bags and springs don't redistribute the load...they only mask the fact that your front axle is unloaded by not allowing the rear of the truck to squat.

Having a seriously unloaded front axle is NOT safe...does it mean the OP will immediately go out and get in an accident?...of course not.

Does it mean that the OP is playing a game of higher risk handling / stability issues?...YES.

WD is insurance to tilt the balance of risk in our favor that when towing and we run into a cross-wind on a downhill curve that the Tow Vehicle is set up to be inherently STABLE and not inherently UNSTABLE...that's all...and a WD hitch is critical to that stability equation and it is also mandated by the manufacturer of the truck to tow over 5000#'s...they mandate it because they know dropping that much tongue weight on the rear of the truck unloads the front axle and negatively impacts the handling of the truck!!!...

Everyone is free to do what they wish...but when towing around a 9000# trailer with NO WD behind and Excursion...IMO you are setting yourself up for something bad to happen to either you or those you share the road with. This is not meant to sound alarmist...but the fact remains...if the OP were in a wreck and he was clearly violating Ford's recommendation on trailer weights that require a WD hitch...he could be opening him/herself up for liability issues...that's all...you know how lawyers are today...it doesn't take much for them to figure out the person driving/towing was outside the manufacturer recommendations.

Not meant to argue...just stating that I strongly disagree with the above bolded advice is all...

Joe.

 

I very strongly agree with X_Hemi_Guy. Yes, I am a "camper guy" but I also tow other heavy trailers. I would not cross the 5000 lb barrier regardless of trailer length and/or hitch weight adjustability without a WD system. The fact is that you NEED hitch weight to stabilize the trailer. And, once that hitch weight exceeds about 600 lb (12% of 5000 lb), you need a WD towing system.

 

I don't disagree that he may be held liable in a wreck caused by him should a good lawyer peruse his tow ratings, and I don't disagree that it's not safer to use a WD hitch. I am just saying that "...unless... 2) you are towing this truck often and far and you aren't comfortable with how you can position the load on the trailer," I don't personally think the lack of a WD hitch should stop you from towing your mud truck 75 miles or less using common sense and good driving rather than missing the mud bog. It is not the ideal setup at all, but the Ex can handle the weight and a safe driver can do it safely. If he plans to tow this truck any considerable distances or once a week March-November, he should go get a WD hitch. Maybe I should have included that explicitly.

I promise we're not so different. I agree a WD hitch is the safest way to tow that weight, just not the only way, and I feel like a brake controller and LRE tires should be priorities 1 and 2, then a WD hitch.

You guys would freak out (as do I) if you saw some of the towing setups I have seen at mud bogs over the years. Half tons towing 6,000-12,000 lbs of bumper-pull trailer, some without brake controllers, some with Load Range C tires. I know a guy that used to tow his 3/4 ton mud truck with three sets of tires with a 92-96 F150 with 6" of lift with Load Range C 33s.

I hate to label you "camper guys," but I recognize that the majority of you tow the right way, with all possible precautions. That is great. I'm only pointing out to the OP that his weight can be towed a little less safely and without the cost of a WD hitch, and I said I (me, myself) would be alright with doing it short distances and/or on occasion. I have seen MUCH less safe setups (that I would never endorse) get there and back with no troubles. I just put my 2 cents out there.

Reps to X_Hemi_Guy and Forest for being all about safety, and for keeping this about facts and not people!

 

For the cost of a tank of gas (or less), you can get a basic WD hitch. For the cost of McDonalds for 2, you can get it weighed at a CAT scale to make sure you are set up properly. Sounds like a cheap way to greatly increase one's safety, not to mention the rest of us out on the road. All it takes is one incident and not only did you not save any money, might cost you thousands or ruin your life. All over trying to save a couple hundred bucks?

Sure, the truck will pull it and MOST of the time get there in one piece. What if some knucklehead does something stupid around you while driving and you NEED that extra margin? Yes, bad things can happen even if you did everything possible right. But why knowingly do something wrong to start with when it's not too difficult to do it right?

 

One needs to take all the different factors into account i.e. hitch receiver, hitch, ball, tires, rims, overall load & balance on trailer, GVWR, GTWR, GCWR, brake controller, trailer brakes etc. to determine which of these factors is limiting one the most, and then upgrading any items that are limiting desired load (if possible), until all factors meet the desired load rating.

Since I have a '00 X, I went out to double check my hitch receiver, since I know the original owner towed a relatively large boat with my X, and the previous owner towed a 30' toy hauler with it. Well, it appears the original owner upgraded the hitch receiver (thank you to him!!) to a Class V 'HitchMasters' 2.5" receiver, which has a specified max weight rating of 15,000 lbs, with a max 1,700 lbs tongue weight (with no specified stipulations regarding weight distributing bars, not that I would ever suggest or actually tow up to that max weight without WD bars). So it appears there are aftermarket options for those early X owners who wish to upgrade.

My X has an 8" all spring lift (i.e. no blocks) front & rear (I don't know what brand, but I think they might be Deavers), with hooped double Bilstein 7100 resi shocks in front, and single Bilstein 7100 resi shocks with air bags (with in-cab adjustable pressure) in the rear. I also have 37" tires (Load Range D, 3850 lbs each @ 50 psi), but have 4.56 gears (with ARB air lockers) front & rear to help offset the tire size, at least from a power point of view, rather than specifically a load point of view. I think the next time I need tires I am going to get Toyo Open Country M/T 37" x 13.5" x 17" tires, as that particular size of that tire is rated Load Range E, 4300 lbs @ 65 psi each; though that would necessitate buying some 17" rims, so I'd have to make sure the rims were also rated similar or close, or the added weight capacity of the tires is of limited value.

Anyway, my current limiting factor is 8,000 lbs for the 2" ball or 10,000 lbs for the 2 5/16" ball. Since my max trailer load at the moment is ~ 6,000 lbs (race car on an open deck trailer), I am pretty sure I am well within my X's capabilities, especially considering all the upgrades. If at some point I were to upgrade to an enclosed trailer, I would ensure that it was equipped with a WD hitch. I would also investigate a Hellwig rear sway (no rear sway bar currently). However Hellwig currently only supports max suspension lifts of 6", so I'd have to have different end links installed. I'd probably want different end links anyway, as I'd probably want a quick-disconnect system, so the rear sway bar didn't limit rear axle articulation when offroading.

In general, lots of race car club racers tow race cars on open deck trailers without WD hitches every weekend without much issue, so while owners of early Xs with lower rated hitches need to take heed, in general, it seems that trailer loads of 6k - 7k lbs seem okay without WD bars. I think, in general, it's a good idea for one to start considering WD bars once the GTWR starts to get to around 8k lbs.

P.S. I might be mistaken, but I think in some state, e.g. CA, the trailer is required to have trailer brakes if it weighs > 1500 lbs. However, despite the one poster who himself admitted it wasn't the smartest idea, I don't think anyone here is advocating towing a heavy trailer without trailer brakes, so this isn't really an issue, just something I thought I would point out.

 

I have an '03 Eddie Bauer with the 7.3 Powerstroke. When we moved to Alaska from Arizona; I added Firestone airbags to the rear. The installation was straight forward and all bolt on. Combining this with the weight distribution hitch is a combo I would never be without again. I was well overloaded (23K gross) coming up here but took it easy all the way up. Everything held up fine even though the tranny temperature went a little higher than I'd have liked. I wouldn't make the same trip hauling the same weight in the summer though.

 

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm going to get a WD hitch and if that don't work the way that I want it to then I'm going to put some air bags in it. And one more thing, can i use a non-centric rim or do I need it to be hub centric? Looking to put some rims on it and all the one's i like are non-centric. Can I use a non-centric rim for towing or not??? Thanks.....

 

You can use non - hub centric wheels, however you may end up with a situation where you feel like a tire is unbalanced or a vibration. This varies, however I ended up going back to stock wheels on my 2005 Excursion for that very reason. I was running Dick Cepek 17X9" lug centric wheels and could never seem to get rid of a high speed vibration (between 60-65 mph); after three sets of tires and nearly 100K miles; I went back to the factory stock wheels and a similary sized tire (35"), and have not had that problem since. We had even replaced one of the front unit bearings when we went to the powerslot brake rotors and it did not clear up the vibration. This may open a whole new can of worms so to speak but it's my 2 cents.