Hey all, In May I will be towing a 8.5'x24' toy hauler from Mississippi to New Hampshire. Total weight should be less than 7500#. I have a 2000 2wd V10 Excursion. I already plan on putting in the biggest tranny cooler I can find, but what else will I need to make this run safely? The trailer has electric brakes and I am getting a prodigy brake controller as well. Thanks in advance.

Bill

 

Make sure you have an equalizer hitch with a sway bar setup and good mirrors, extendible if possible. Does your tow unit have a class four hitch?

 

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Thank You

Dave Jabas

 

What would be a good equalizer hitch? And I think its just a class 3. It is what ever is stock on a 2000 Ex with a tow package.

 

Reese is a well known name. When I towed a TT I had one that was height adjustable with 4 different heights so you could level the trailer better. Check with the dealer re: the class. You may have too much weight for a class 3 but I don't remember the weights for various classes. When you do set up make sure the equalizing bars are at the proper tension so you have your tow vehicle balanced. You don't want the back end up (too much tension) or the front end up (not enough tension). This would screw up handling.

 

The equalizer hitch will make for a much smoother tow and it will also help to keep the truck more level. What you are doing with an equalizer is distributing the weight more evenly over all your axles. It will effectively move some of the weight off of your trailer tongue and onto other axles. The sway bar is going to help keep the trailer from wandering about behind you so much. If you're out on the highway, you're going to get blown around a lot worse without a sway bar. 7500# should only require one sway bar.

Another thing that will make or break a tow is the tongue height. You want the trailer tongue to be parallel with the ground. In other words, if you have the truck sitting on flat ground, you want both the truck and trailer to both be flat. You don't want to have the trailer pointed upward or downward too much.

The Prodigy is an excellent choice for a controller. Be sure you have the controller power level set so the trailer brakes are doing some of the work with that load. The Prodigy's manual will give you some pointers on how to do this better than I can explain it here.

I think a Class III hitch is good to 1000 lb on the tongue. You'll be fine there, but I really would consider the equalizer. It'll make for a much better tow, particularly if you're new to towing stuff.

Lastly, keep those tires inflated properly and remember to check your oil. Those two things lead to more trouble than anything else.

 

Unless of course you're towing a trailer then your Key Vault aint much good.