I'm in the market for a new WDH. I need it to have #1000 bars minimum and I'd like the shank to be 3 inches. This is where I am running into a problem. So far I have been unable to find a WDH using a 3" shank.


It has to be easy to attach and remove because I pull a variety of campers - I prefer trunnion bars over bent bars.


Help is appreciated.

 

Not sure if Reese makes a Straightline with a 3" shank, but I do love mine. I have had it for about 5 or so years now and tow a 33' TT.

 

Thanks. I've come to the conclusion that a WDH with a 3" shank doesn't exist yet. The Reese Straightline is the newest version of the Reese dual cam WDH I have had for the past twenty-something years.
I'm thinking I'm going to have to go with a 2.5" shank and look for something that uses brackets the torsion bars fit into, rather than something with chains. Anti-sway is not required, or even useful, in this case. In fact, the purpose for a WDH in my case is to prevent TT's from being blown over by wind, so I may go with bars rated for more than #1000 as well.

At least a 2.5" shank won't rattle around as much as a 2" shank does...

 

Andersen Hitches has a 3" shank on the WDH. I wrote a review on the one I bought. It can be found here: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ion-hitch.html

 

Jim,
Unfortunately I don't think that system will work for what I need. Keep in mind, the primary purpose we use WDH's for is to create downward force on the trailer tongue. In other words, if wind starts to push a camper up on it's right side wheels (for example), the WDH will provide additional down force on the left side of the trailer tongue. This is supposed to prevent camper blow overs.
The campers are all empty, coming straight from the factory and being delivered to the dealers. The brackets that mount to the trailer tongue have to be easy to attach - the Reese snap up hooks are a good example that only use one bolt to clamp to the beam of the tongue. However, the Reese snap up hooks use about five inches of real estate on that tongue's beam, and not all campers have that much space between the propane cylinder(s) and the battery box. I pulled one camper last week that had the umbilical cable and power jack lead screwed to the top of the tongue beam too. Creating another issue for me.
I am liking the Equ-a-lizer WDH because the brackets are only an inch or so wide, but they also look to be more complicated when it comes to adjusting tension on the bars. With the chain type I can simply move up or down a link to get the tension I want. The Equ-a-lizer type appear to require tools and time to adjust. Since I often hook up at night and in bad weather, I'd just as soon avoid complicated.

 

Gotcha. I agree the Andersen isn't a good fit for what you do. My old Blue Ox is pretty quick to connect/disconnect from the trailer frame and it does use bars. I asked Blue Ox if they were going to make a 3" and they said no.

 

Good to know.
Blue Ox does make a 2.5"x2.5" and I am liking the Sway Pro design. The clamp on brackets are slightly smaller than the Reese style snap up brackets.
I guess I'm going to have to run a couple weld beads between the 3" receiver and 2.5" sleeve.


Blue Ox looks like my best option. Thanks!

 

Instead of welding the sleeve into your receiver, drill hole or 2 on each side of the receiver but not into the sleeve, thread the receiver and use short bolts to tighten the fit between the 2. If you periodically remove the sleeve and keep it coated with grease or antiseize so it will not rust to the receiver you can easily go to a 3" shank if when 1 becomes available.

 

Just ordered the Blue Ox 20,000 GTW/2,000 TW from eTrailer. They are pretty fast shippers so I'm hoping it arrives by Monday.

 

Wow, 20K hitch. That's going to be a beast.

 

Yeah, maybe a bit of overkill there. I'll probably end up ordering a set of the 1500 pound bars. We'll see how the ride is with the 2000 pound bars first.
I cannot express how paranoid I am about wind these days...

 

One trip through Wyoming and that paranoia will seem like a prudent decision.

 

Wyoming is EXACTLY why I am now so paranoid!


About 20 miles west of Laramie on Interstate 80W

 

For sale: New-ish RV. Needs leveling.

For me the worst section of Wyoming for wind is the section north of Cheyenne and south of Chugwater on I-25. I've had a wind gust so strong that it moved my truck (with 1000 lbs of wood pellets in the bed) to the next lane before I could react.

 

I've got the 20,000 GTW shank and I'm using 1500 lb spring bars. To me, I'd ALWAYS rather be "over-equipped" with my towing setup than to be on the edge or too light. I think I've got that covered.....F350 Crew Cab Dually diesel and the heavy weight setup Blue Ox.