larry2c

We just bought our '11 F150 FX4 and we really like it. We did one short trip towing our camper to a local site - about 15 miles each way - so no real test of capability yet.

Looking at other trailer towers on this site, I see some folks use WDH and some don't. I attached our trailer to the truck and let the full tongue weight of the trailer sit on the hitch and the rear fender height dropped about 1.5" I figured since I already own a WDH I'd just put it on and I readjusted it to get almost no drop out of the rear (maybe a 1/2") and the front fender height stayed the same. This seemed to tow pretty well and since I am used to the hookup process, not big deal.

So my question is, when do you decide to go with a WDH? Do you also use the anti sway bar (I have the old sandwhiched slider bar style) or is the truck's anti-sway good enough?

Just trying to make the most of the new setup - thanks!

Trailbreak74

Isn't a WDH required for trailers over 5000 lbs?

2014Screw

Needed for tongue weight of 500 lbs or more or 5000 lb trailer or more

Should say on the hitch on the truck

frieed

WDH brings the FRONT of the truck down, the back does not come up much, if any.

larry2c

Correct, I stated it wrong - it made the difference between the front and rear measurements go back to being "level".

FYI, our trailer is stated as 3700# not including "options". So with AC, awning, propane, water and our stuff, so I'd say it is at least 4500# - we've never taken it to a scale.

Velosprout

Smaller (8 or 10 foot single axle low-wall) pop-up camper, lawn mower or snowmobile trailer, smaller single or double horse, sheep or livestock trailer, dog trailer, and lighter boats no weight distributing hitch. Large double-axle or highwall popups, larger camping trailers, longer enclosed cargo trailers, yes.


Many have and will tow for decades without problem without using a WDH, and brag about it. Even if the weight transfer from the rear to the front axle is not absolutely necessary and the WDH is set up so little weight is transferred, the sway control provided by the trunnion-bar type weight distributing hitches makes sense to me exclusively for that purpose.

When towing in unexpected high-cross-winds, using a high-profile trailer, on curving, hilly roads in rain or light snow, why not have all the margin of safety you can?

smokeywren

I go by what the experts at Ford say. The Ford RV and Trailer Towing Guide says any trailer with hitch weight more than 500 pounds requires a weight-distributing or fifth-wheel hitch.


Travel trailers (TTs) with tandem axles have about 13% tongue weight. So any TT that grosses more than about 3,850 pounds will have tongue weight of 500 pounds or more.



Any WD hitch that uses "the old sandwhiched slider bar style" sway bars is a cheap hitch, and not good enough for me to risk the life of my family members. Get rid of that cheap hitch and buy a new WD hitch that has built-in sway control. Equal-I-Zer, Blue Ox SwayPro, and Reese Strait-Line WD hitches are very good. They all list for around $1,000, and a new one will cost you about $500 to $700 from discount sources such as Amazon.com and ETrailer.com. Reese offers the Strait-Line with or without the adjustable shank, so be certain when shopping that you get the model number that includes the adjustable shank.


The electronic sway control built into most new pickups now works pretty good for minor conditions that can cause trailer sway. My F-150 has that electronic sway control, but I've never felt it do anything because my WD hitches prevent sway from getting out hand enough to trigger the electronic stuff in the truck. But would I rely on the electronic sway control to do the job without a good WD/sway-control hitch to rely on? No.

Jus Cruisin

It's a Class IV hitch. Pretty darn sure the tongue weight "limitations" is purely based on the wimpy rear springs. The hitch will safely carry 1,000lbs of tongue weight. I've added RAS to mine and put around 4,000 towing miles on the truck last month with somewhere around 600-650lbs of tongue weight without a WDH. I wouldn't have any concerns with even 800lbs of tongue weight.

Now, I'm a car hauler and previous boat hauler kind of a guy. No travel trailers for me. My idea of "camping" would be sleeping in a 45' motorcoach.

larry2c

Thanks to all for the feedback. My questions on the WDH were more of an academic question than a what should I do question. I want some of the weight that gets dumped on the rear axel when I hook up my trailer to be transferred to the front suspension so that suspension is more balanced. I just wondered what the general consensus on this was since I see so many F150's pulling fairly large trailers with no WHD.

As far as the sway bar, I wish there was a better option available for my torsion bar set up because I won't be spending the $$'s to replace my current unit any time soon (the $30K for the truck left a pretty good hole in my savings). I was hoping that maybe the F150's anti-sway feature might replace the bar but from the responses, I'm guessing that won't be the case.

Ricktwuhk

A lot of people are poorly educated / ill-informed when it comes to towing safely and drive around vastly overcapacity. You see post after post on this forum from people who do come to get educated and realize that their belief that they can tow 10,000 pound trailers is not correct.

In addition to the poorly educated / ill-informed, you have the "I don't give a rat's behind, let's endanger my family and the rest of the world" people.

That's why you see so many people towing unsafely.