FX4RR

Thanks guys I will check locally to see what's available. I'm looking at a Reese SC WDH that uses friction pads any ones opinions? I'm a little limited locally to what I can get.

Mike Up

That's their cheapy hitch. Get the better Strait-Line system. I've never had sway. Now my rig does get pushed around with strong winds, but as one, no sway. LT tires would help the side to side rocking motion you get with high side winds. I just deal with it as it's not that bad and my P rated tires give a car ride when I'm not towing.

Just make sure the Strait-Line is installed correctly. Many installers can't install them correctly. Mine wasn't and grenaded. Luckily no one was hurt. Just make sure that the bars, when turned at a sharp angle, don't hit the ball threads or pivot on the cam lobes. Many at Rv.net say the best thing to do is to get 6 or 7 links between the hanger bracket and the arm bracket. Also even though some say you can, take the bars off before making very sharp angles while backing up. That way the bars won't hit and push on anything while your backing in.

For a more simply approach, the Equalizer brand may be the way to go, but it uses steel to steel friction on it's arms and compression friction in the head. These 'could' cause dog tracking on slick roads. The Equalizer is better than the Reese SC because it uses friction on the head which the SC does not, and it doesn't use pads that wear out. The Reese Strait-Line system uses a different concept based on Cams which works really good.

Dog tracking refers to a condition where the trailer wheels do not follow straight behind the truck because the friction of the hitch can not be overcome by the force of the trailer. The trailer wheels track off to one side.

FX4RR

One question I have is that some WDH are rated at 600lbs, 800lbs, 1,200lbs. Would 600lbs be enough or should I be safe and get a larger one then I need?

SIC_HDPP

I would get a larger one. It's always better to have some extra cushion then to be over it's rating.

Boulevard

2013 F150 Super Crew, 6000 Lbs. travel trailer, Blue Ox WDH with 1500 lb bars = 70 mph down I-75 for 1 hour sustained. 100% stable, 100% no sway, 100% safe. You can buy ****, or you can buy hitching and Blue Ox is hitching.

smokeywren

Somebody has been lying to you. The cheapest 20' (interior length) car hauler I know about is the Pace American Journey Car Hauler. GVWR is 7,000 pounds, and max car weight is 3,790. Your car may not weigh 3,790, but it will probably weigh at least 3,000 pounds, so that 7,000-pound GVWR is necessary.

Ignore dry hitch weight and compute real-world hitch weight. Hitch weight will range from 12.5% to 15% of the gross weight of a properly-loaded car hauler trailer. Assume you'll have the trailer loaded to its GVWR, so use 15% of 7,000 pounds, or 1,050 pounds wet and loaded hitch weight.

Here is a link to the specs for the least-expensive enclosed car hauler trailer made by Pace American.
http://www.looktrailers.com/gallery/...ney_Auto_2.pdf

Skip over the least expensive WD hitches that cost less than about $500 online discount price, and go for the good ones. The best ones for a reasonable price are the Reese Strait-Line, Equal-I-Zer, Blue Ox, and Husky Center-Line. Reese and Husky also make cheap hitches, so don't look at anything from Reese that doesn't include "Strait-Line" in the name, and don't consider anything from Husky that doesn't include "Center Line" in the name. Equal-I-Zer and Blue Ox don't make the cheap junk, so no worry about which Equal-I-Zer or Blue Ox to buy.


Here's a source for my Strait-Line:


Note that hitch does not include the adjustable shank. Reese makes a stock number that includes that same hitch as well as the shank, so shop around and you'll find it - probably on e-trailer.com. Or buy the shank as a separate purchase on Amazon.com - probably another $100 or so.

For the really serious trailer puller that wants absolutely no sway, you can get a ProPride hitch. But my ProPride cost about 4 times as much as my Strait-Line, so not many folks are willing to spend that much for a hitch until after they have experienced severe uncontrollable trailer sway.

You want a WD hitch rated for more than the most your tongue weight could ever be. So in your case, more than 1,050 pounds. So regardless of brand, go for a minimum of 1,100 pounds, and 1,200 pounds is fine and dandy. And more than 1,200 is okay too.

My tongue weight on my TT will probably never be more than 850 pounds, but my ProPride hitch is rated for up to 1,400 pounds hitch weight. But it's simple to adjust the actual weight on the spring bars. On my ProPride, I simply turn a jack handle until I have the correct tension on the spring bars. On my Reese Straight-Line on my cargo trailer, I can add or subtract a chain length to adjust the tension on the spring bars.

Mike Up

Looked at blue Ox's new hitch and they redesigned it for the worse. Talked to their engineer and an executive. While they believe the new design is good, I had a hard time buying it. Talked to a few hitch specialists at RV.net as well, and had a long discussion why the new head design was for the worse. The previous head design with built in friction and adjustable head angle was a good design and hitch.

At rv.net, the 2 best 'inexpensive' hitches are said to be the Equal-i-zer brand hitch and the Reese Strait line. The 'previous' Blue Ox Swaypro with adjustable head angle was a strong 3rd. The best hitches are Pro-Pride, Hensley, and Pull Rite, but they'll set you back a couple grand.

Mike Up

My tongue weight is over 800 lbs. The next Reese Trunnion Strait-line system over 800 lbs is 1200 lbs . Only the round bar strait-line comes in a 1000 lbs rating as well. I use the 1200 lbs for my 26BH and still have my old 800 lbs bars I used for my previous 2008 Jayco Jay Flight 19BH trailer. I prefer trunnion bars.

The 1200 lbs bars work great and I have little porpoising unless the pavement is really really bad. I have absolutely "0" sway even in high 40 mph winds. My rig then gets blown around as a single unit.

Boulevard

I hate to say it but you may be right. The new Blue Ox look to be less of a hitch than my 7 year old model. That said a brand new/old model Blue Ox is going for $740.00 on RVpartscanada.ca. In the states PPLmotorhomes.com is also offering the new/old style Blue Ox for $600.00


I was in a big RV place in the States this weekend and I got a look at both the Reese straight line and the Equal-i-zer and they both look like toys when compared to the Blue Ox. The Blue Ox is simply massive and made to handle 1500 lb tongue weight. The only dis-advantage is the weight of the head unit. Believe me, proper lifting technique is a must.

Mike Up

What size hitches are you looking at. The ones I've seen look just as robust, if not more so, than the Blue Ox (old style) I've seen. My dealer has a old style Blue Ox Swaypro on display and it simply doesn't look any heavier duty than my Strait-Line. Both are 1200 lbs models. My shank is only rated to 1400.