I use the R6 and it has bars you can opt for up to 1200 lbs. I believe. I have the 1000 lb. due to my TT is not a very large one.

 

What he said works for me too,,,

 

I towed a heavy trailer with the Equalizer for many years. I moved away from it when I got past its capability (14K lbs). I always felt the 1 inch square bars didn't flex much, and thought maybe they comprised the ride. When I switched to the Blue Ox, that theory was definitely confirmed to be correct.

On.side note, WDH manufacturers often note you can back up with their model. In 35 years of towing with numerous WDH systems, I have never encountered one that did not let you back up...

 

On.side note, WDH manufacturers often note you can back up with their model. In 35 years of towing with numerous WDH systems, I have never encountered one that did not let you back up...

That’s good to know!

 

I think it's only the add-on friction-based sway control thingies that don't allow you to back up. Although some of the tighter bar-style can make a heck of a noise when doing tight corners, you aren't likely to break anything.

 

Like mentioned above, it's not the WDH that can't be backed up with, but the sway bar that attaches on some of these. When I got my camper the dealer threw in an EAZ Lift WDH with the sway bar... it's probably the cheapest kind you can get, but it has worked well for my set up, however, I have to take the sway bar off before backing up... If I weren't making any sharp turns it would be fine, but it's just safer to take it off, otherwise it could rip one of the small ***** that it connects to right off the hitch or the trailer.

I'm really looking forward to my truck coming in though so I can upgrade to the Anderson WDH with the 3" shank! I won't need the weight distribution so much with the new truck, but will appreciate the exceptional way control that the Anderson's are known for, at a lighter weight and not having to take it off before backing up!

 

Pro Pride or Hensley. The difference is night and day.

 

I have heard great things about those... but I'm having a hard time thinking about the money I'll put out for a new Anderson WDH, I couldn't even think about the money for one of those! Especially with the truck and everything else I'm getting for it... lol.

 

I see it a little differently I guess (and my tow rig is now 16 years old and the TT is 8) but the cost of a top tier hitch system, although high, is actually only a small percentage of the combined truck and trailer costs. And having the best trailer control available just takes some concerns off the table when you are out having fun on your adventures.
I like a good deal as much as anyone and they can be had with these high end hitched too, I bought my 10 year old Hensley Arrow 10 years ago for $650 used. I went through it and installed a new set of bearings and bearing seals (both cheap trailer units) and a fresh coat of paint and it was as good as new, now 10 years later and it could use another paint job, but it still operates like a new unit. These hitches have been around for some time now and they do pop up for sale every so often, you just have to pounce on them quickly as they don't stay available for long!

 

Understood.

We tow a lot of miles each year. 15k-25k miles a year in all kinds of weather, including a lot of wind.

Prior to two years ago we used a traditional WD hitch (Equalizer was the most recent) and even with it set up well, times with 15-35 mph crosswinds are not unusual and we had to slow way down, plus regular, good weather, cruising speed was lower.

With a traditional WD with anti-sway, they are just a sway reduction, not a sway elimination. It only takes one "perfect storm" for that trailer to get oscillating and make things uncomfortable. Not saying it has to end badly, proper driving and application of trailer brakes only will get things under control 99.9% of the time.

With the PPP (Pro Pride) it is impossible for the trailer to sway, it is also much easier to hook up and get everything set right, regardless of the trailer load.

Much of our travel is in big chunks of miles between one spot we are at, and the next spot we want to be at. Each year we are saving 6-9 days of driving time by using the Pro Pride.

To us, this time savings and added stability is worth it.

 

I sat through the eight (!) YT install videos last night for the ProPride. That is one very involved install. I think I could install two or three Andersen WDH in the amount of time it took to install the ProPride.

I'll agree that the ProPride should have very reproducible results. Put a mark on the spring bar tensioning jack and you can get it back to that spot every time. The Andersen WDH is very hard to reproduce the same results from hookup to hookup. Using a torque wrench would seem to be the only way to get the same results each time.

Connecting the ProPride would be a challenge for me. I'm not a campground person. I'm off in the boonies where nothing is flat and that would make hitching up the ProPride a bit of a challenge. Even in the video, which was shot in a warehouse, they had to fiddle around to get connected.

That said, if someone gave me a ProPride hitch to try out, I would be out there the next day to install it. It certainly looks interesting.

 

you got a good deal, for sure, at that price.

one must be very careful buying one of these used though. A friend of mine bought one for $500 on eBay and it was a total disaster. It was a completely worn out piece of garbage with a fresh coat of paint to make it look good in the pictures. It was bad enough that eBay made the seller give him his money back.

last I checked, Hensley will buy them back from customers in any condition to rebuild for $500, so it is unlikely that you would ever find one cheaper than that.

just something to be aware of I guess.


all of that said, if you can find a worn out Hensley or pro pride for 650, you can still find a brand new Reese straight line DC for the same money. And my experience with the DC is such that you can buy it with confidence. I know the Hensley and PP are better by design, but in operation, I don’t see how it can work better. The DC really does work that well.

 

I want to say that I was not knocking the ProPride or the Hensley, and not even saying that they aren't worth the money. I would actually love to have one, and while I understand that they are just a smaller percentage of overall cost, the fact is, it's still a cost. I am still paying my camper off, and about to have a new truck payment, and there are some things that I need to buy for the truck once it comes in, so I gotta spread the money properly for the time being. I will also say that the el cheapo EAZ Lift WDH that the RV dealership threw in for free with the camper has actually worked very well. I pulled the camper for the last few years with a Pathfinder, which wasn't really enough vehicle, but I will say that I never felt like it was unsafe, and never had issues with sway, even when larger semi's would pass me on the highway. I could technically still user the same WDH when my SD eventually comes in, however, it will have a 3" receiver and I really don't want to use 2 different reducers (and I know I can weld 2 together to make it more stable, but don't want to do that either). As well, the WDH has some parts that need replaced so I want to just replace the whole thing. Being that my new truck will be way more than adequate I think the Anderson will be a great choice since I can get it with a 3" shank, and I don't need the weight distribution so much anymore, but will still appreciate the sway control, which it sounds like the Anderson is one of the best at that (aside from the PP and Hensley). I will admit also that the Anderson appears to be much easier to hook and unhook... Also, for the record, the whole reason we are getting this truck is because in less than 2 years my wife and I (with our 2 dogs) will start travel working and living in our camper, so we will be putting a lot of miles on the vehicle then. I still feel like the Anderson will be a great option though!

 

I hear ya on the installation....it took two of us a solid 6 hours to get it done, A-Z.

We boondock on uneven ground over 50% of the time. At first the Pro Pride could be a bit irritating to get lined up in certain circumstances. But after a while we got the hang of it, and now it does not matter the angle, whether the ground is level, etc. the PP receiver is easily manipulated on all 3 axis, making it easy to adjust for whatever approach the shank on the truck is taking.

The purchase was definitely a hard pill to swallow when I did not know for sure what benefits we would see. Now that we have towed with it on two different trucks, close to 50K miles, it is a no brainer and I would not hesitate to spend it again.

 

We got the Recurve R6 for our current TT. Sway control is turned off/on with a hex wrench. This has done a great job including on an over 2200 mile trip from SE VA to Southern MS.