I have a question for y'all that have weight distribution hitches. I've read if you get bars that are rated too high for your application it won't work as effectively. Now my question is my load weight is 6600 lbs. and tongue weight is 1020 lbs.; will 1000 lb bars work for me? My tongue weight is over that which these bars is rated for but the overal load is well under. Any help is greatly appreciated. I posted this over in the towing section also. Thanks.

 

Tongue weight should be no more than 15% (10% is better) of total GTW so in this case 990#'s so you are over by 30#'s. You really want a WD hitch with spring bars that are rated 20% higher than the tongue weight load so 1200# would be better, but the 1000#'s will work. Is there any way to get the weight off the tongue? Make sure you have a long breaker to tension the spring bars! Good luck and be safe out there.

The problem with bars being rated too high is it can cause erratic performance and be more difficult to set the heights. 1200#'s are not too high for this application.

 

The load is an 88 F-250; I guess I could load it a little more to the rear but not much considering where my tie-down points are. By my math the TW I have now is 15.5%. If the 1200# bars won't be too much then I think I'll go with those then if I get a hitch. I'm moving from Washington to Texas next weekend and I'm just not sure if I want to spring to a WD hitch or not.

 

Not to sound alarmist...Given the very soft rear springs on the Ex...if you are considering towing with the Ex for that distance with near 1000#'s of tongue weight dropped on the rear end ~4' BEHIND the rear axle which will seriously unload the FRONT axle making your handling unstable at best...well...I'd pop for the WD hitch to allow you to be able to RETURN weight back to the front axle and thus returning the handling characteristics that are critical to control as you go down the road...especially under wind loads and passing semi trucks which all will be acting on the trailer and Ex as you travel.

Having too light of a front end will be a very unstable feeling for you under good conditions...throw in weather and other vehicle influences...well...I'd reconsider your thoughts.

As far as the right sized bars...either 1000's or 1200's would work nicely.

What happens when your bars are WAY over sized is that you'll get a very stiff ride and it can pose difficulties with set up on your weight and balance...for this situation...you should be fine.

Other than the Ex having those rear springs so soft...having slightly more tongue weight should improve your stability on the trailer end of things...but the balance is that more tongue weight (especially without a WD hitch) makes things more unstable on the Ex end of things...

Get the WD hitch for your safety as well as those around you as you travel.

When you set it up...you can simply use the tape measure method...

Measure your front fender height in an UNHITCHED condition.

Hitch up and snap up your WD bars (as an aside...when snapping up your bars...crank the front of the trailer UP as high as you can after you have coupled the ball...thus actually LIFTING the rear of the Ex...doing this makes snapping the bars much easier...once the bars are snapped...lower the trailer onto the Ex so the Ex and WD bars take the load).

Re-measure your front fender height in the same location as before...if the front fender height is HIGHER than before...you need to use more WD by taking another link OUT OF tension (i.e. hang another link). Keep doing this until the front fender height hitched with WD = front fender height unhitched.

Good luck and I don't think it is a good idea to haul your trailer with that much tongue weight without a WD hitch...but that's just my opinion.

Joe.

 

As always, good advice Joe!

 

I did go ahead and pick up a 10k/1k hitch. I got the Haul-master brand from Harbor Freight; I checked the reviews and it seems to be a decent product. I also picked up a sway control bar while I was at it. Thanks for all the help!

 

Joe would have gotten some reps, but it wont let me. :P

 

I gave Joe a smack for ya. And a weight distribution pic to boot.

 

Just want to say THANKS to those of you that pushed me to spring for a WD hitch. I went down to my buddy's house to pick up my trailer today and took my new hitch and put it together. The only problem I ran into was getting the angle of the head right; I think I might have to take it apart to pull one more washer out. I say this because when I engaged the bars on the first link of chain they didn't come parallel to the frame so we tried to go to the next link. We got it on the second link but in order to do that we had to put a brick under the end of the bar and then set the trailer down on it to close the gap a little.

The drive home (50 miles) was immensely different than previous towing experiences. At first the Ex was a little see-sawey so I pulled over and cranked the **** on the rear shocks (rancho 9000xl) all the way up; that seemed to fix that problem pretty well.

The only thing left is to finish installing the sway control that I bought with the hitch. We started it but had to stop due to inadequate mounting hardware. The kit came with "self tapping" screws that only needed an 11/32 pilot hole to work. We tried and tried but these screws just wouldn't catch. So we drilled all the holes needed and I'll just get some bolts with nuts and put it on that way. I think the sway control will really make a difference on my trip.

 

WD bars are usually pretty tight. Easiest "trick" for pulling them up is to use the trailer jack. Lower it down on the ball, then close the collar and raise the jack back up a few inches. That will also pick up the back of the truck a bit and make it a lot easier to snap the bars up.

Did you use the tape measure method Joe spelled out above? It's not hard to do and will make sure it's set right.

 

I hook up the trailer then use the jack to level the trailer frame. Attach the chain so the bars are level with the trailer frame then pull up on the lever to lock them in. Set the trailer weight on the truck and you should be set to go. The tape measure method works too but if rear springs are worn you may end up over loading the spring bars causing failure while towing.

My ex I had to add air bags until I find the right spring combo for smooth ride loaded and unloaded. It only takes 35-45 pounds of air with my trailer but the ride is very firm and straight.

 

Is there any danger/issue with entering a parking lot where there
is a step rise up from the roadway?
I'm thinking having the Towing vehicle nose-up would dramatically
increase the stress on the WD chains during the transition from
the roadway to the driveway?

Do you need to release the chains when presented with this?

 

Nope, I tow my TT off-road with the bars hitched up all the way to the camping spot. Have a set on my ex and on the back of the camper for the ATV trailer.

 

Well, we made it down to Texas a few days ago. We had a couple hickups with the Ex (another thread) but otherwise the rig did very well. I think getting the WD hitch and sway control made it a better drive. On a side note the sway control user manual states that loads over 6,000# may require two sway control units. I think with the load I had another unit would have been beneficial but one was better than none.

 

You're moving here from Texas? Are you crazy?