kameronth

I am picking up a new to me travel trailer this week. It's going to be winterized once I get it but next summer I want to head out on the road with it.

What WD hitch would you recommend? Also, I have front coil overs that leveled the truck but the rear is stock. Would a WD hitch keep the rear from "sagging" really bad since the front is leveled or should I look at bags?

Here is the TT info tag:

smokeywren

Of the available affordable WD hitches, ignore the cheap ones and go for the high-end of the affordable class. Those include:

Reese Strait-Line trunnion bars with dual-cam sway control.
Equal-I-Zer
Husky Centerline
Blue Ox Sway Pro

Skip the less expensive Reese, Curt, and Husky WD hitches. If you find one for less than $500 online that includes the adjustable shank, that's the cheaper ones you don't want. Equal-I-Zer and Blue Ox don't make the cheap hitches, so any new Equal-I-Zer or Blue Ox WD hitch is fine.

You don't need air bags unless the rear end sags so badly after you have properly adjusted the WD hitch that your head lights blind oncoming drivers at night.

GVWR of 7,700 is too much for your F-150 that has 6-lug wheels without exceeding the GVWR of the F-150. So if you load the trailer to have the normal max of 1,000 pounds tongue weight, you'll be overloaded. So you definitely want the high-end WD hitch such as my Reese Strait-Line, with 1,200-pound trunnion bars, and tighten the trunnion bars to eliminate most of the rear-end sag.

Yeah I know, Ford says your 6.2L drivetrain can tow well over 9,000 pounds. But then they qualify that by adding fine print that says you must not exceed the GVWR of your F-150. So GCWR used to compute tow rating is not your limiter for trailer weight. GVWR used to compute max hitch weight is your limiter.

After you have the good WD hitch properly adjusted, if you still have headlights pointing to the stars, then consider adding air bags to the rear suspension of the tow vehicle.

kameronth

Thanks smokeywren, very informative. The only reason I was thinking airbags off the bat is because of the front being leveled but I will try it without them first.

Boulevard

I prefer the older style Blue Ox Sway Pro WDH which has the head angle adjust. These hitches are still available for about $600 (check PPL) and they are incredibly over built. I use the 1500lb bars on a 6000lb travel trailer and after 6 years of using it I say look no further.


Whatever you buy look for one that you can back up and still remain hooked. Many hitches need to unloaded/disconnected before you back up. It may sound minor but its like air conditioning, once you have had it you will never do without.


A good hitch like Blue Ox will have no trouble leveling your truck and if you go too far will easily lift the back of the truck and drive your headlights into the ground but do get 1500lb bars so that you can the level the truck no matter what. Some may argue that heavy bars will give you a harsh ride but my trailer is 2000lbs lighter than yours and the truck rides as if the trailer was never there.

smokeywren

Yeah, add Blue Ox to the list of good WD hitches. I keep forgetting that one because they don't sell very many.


So make it
Reese Strait-Line trunnion bar
Equal-I-Zer
Husky Centerline
Blue Ox

Jeremy1979

+1 on Blue Ox. I have the new style without the adjustment and I love it, mainly because I don't need to deal with head adjustment, it is all set up ready to go, just need to get the right tension on the bars. Plus it can be left on when backing up.

kameronth

I will look into Blue Ox as well. I saw that post someone put up and their Blue Ox hitch snapped after hitting a bump. Hopefully it was just a bad cast.

Do all of these hitches have built in sway control? If not, do I still need it if my truck has the computerized sway control because it's the Max Trailer Tow?

smokeywren

The ones I listed all have built-in sway control. Cheaper WD hiches either have no built-in sway control or else they use the friction-based "sway bars" that are not nearly as effective as the dual-cam sway control system used by the Reese Strait-Line.

You want all the sway control you can get. My 2012 F-150 Lariat includes the computerized sway control, and it helps, but will not prevent trailer sway under extreme conditions. If you have ever experienced uncontrollable trailer sway, then you will pay a lot of money to be certain it never happens again. That's why my WD hitch for my TT is an expensive ProPride.
http://www.propridehitch.com/product...ol-Hitch-.html

I have a Reese Strait-Line on my cargo trailer, and it works great so far. But I have never been in extreme conditions that can cause uncontrollable trailer sway while towing with the Strait-Line. If I ever get in those conditions, I hope I'm dragging the TT with the ProPride hitch.

I didn't recommend the ProPride for you in the posts above only because it costs three to four times what the Strait-Line costs, so most folks don't consider it to be in the "affordable" class. The Strait-Line is probably all the sway control you need. If you install and adjust the Strait-Line per the Reese instructions, are careful in how you distribute the weight in the TT so you have about 13% tongue weight, tow at a reasonable speed, and don't tow in violent weather conditions, then you'll probably never need the extra sway prevention of the ProPride hitch.

acadianbob

We have met semi's on twisty, curvy, 2-lane highways on windy days in the mountains with our TT and Reese Dual-Cam. Steady as a rock.

Spending extra on higher end hitches might be appropriate if you are pushing the upper limits of your payload and trailer length.

Meathead

iTrader: (2)

I have a 2011 Lariat myself and I pull my 7,000 lb trailer a lot. I have an equalizers wd hitch and it has worked flawlessly for years. Just don't set it too light on the rear end or it will give you fits. I let mine drop the rear about 2" and then set the bars. All the F 150s excluding the Raptor will pull 10,000 lbs.