Should I Buy a New Truck
05-27-2017, 05:02 PM
#21
Grumpy Old Man
Disagree. Not because of the cost, but because of the design.
Granted, a properly-adjusted Husky round bar hitch will do just as good a job of weight distribution as an Equal-I-Zer or my much-more expensive ProPride. The difference is sway prevention/control. Adding friction-based sway bar(s) to a Husky round-bar hitch will help a bit to control trailer sway under some mild conditions. But when the sway-causing conditions get severe, you need a lot better sway control than sway bar(s) can provide. An Equal-I-Zer hitch (or a Blue Ox SwayPro or a Reese Strait-Line or a Husky CenterLine HD) has built-in sway control that doesn't rely on antiquated sway bars.
And a Husky round bar hitch will not work on boat trailers with surge brakes. An Equal-I-Zer will.
Husky makes a good WD hitch with excellent sway control. The Husky CenterLine HD is as good as an Equal-I-Zer or Blue Ox SwayPro, but it costs as much or more than an Equal-I-Zer or Blue Ox.
= Husky Centerline
Note the fine print:
"Husky Center Line Head Assembly Kit includes head assembly, spring bar brackets, hardware kit and 10 inches shank. It does not include spring bars that are required to complete hitch."
The (torsion) spring bars cost another ~$200, so the complete Husky Centerline costs more than a complete Equal-I-Zer.
So if you want a Husky hitch, they make a good one. But the round bar with sway bars is not it.
Last edited by smokeywren; 05-27-2017 at 05:05 PM.
05-27-2017, 05:58 PM
#22
It does have it's limits, true, but still does a decent job for the cost. Works perfect on my 28' Coleman, and my Trail-Et New Yorker. If you have issues with sway on a trailer that the sway bar(s) can't deal with, it may take more than the hitch to resolve, like maybe more truck for the trailer along with the sway control hitch.
So far on mine with only one sway bar, on very windy cross wind days, the rig barely budges, so it works very well, BUT it is noisy as all get out and has to be removed to back up. When I first got the Coleman and got it home it was a handful, and considered getting an Equilizer, but went through and disassembled the hitch, and went through the setup from step one, and it did the trick. If at some point I get a heavier trailer, one that needs more than the 800# bars I have, then I will go to the next level and put the round bar in the Trail-Et.
The round bar may or may not fit his boat trailer, but if it does, the hitch would be plenty for 6500#.
So far on mine with only one sway bar, on very windy cross wind days, the rig barely budges, so it works very well, BUT it is noisy as all get out and has to be removed to back up. When I first got the Coleman and got it home it was a handful, and considered getting an Equilizer, but went through and disassembled the hitch, and went through the setup from step one, and it did the trick. If at some point I get a heavier trailer, one that needs more than the 800# bars I have, then I will go to the next level and put the round bar in the Trail-Et.
The round bar may or may not fit his boat trailer, but if it does, the hitch would be plenty for 6500#.
05-28-2017, 09:14 PM
#23
Senior Member
Trade that sucker. At 9 years old you are right at the perfect point. I've found that at 10 years or 150,000 miles (which ever comes 1st) any truck in decent shape will bring 1/2 what it cost new in trade and it is rare to spend any money for major repairs at that point. You could sell to an individual for over 50% of what it cost new. The guy who buys it and drives it until the wheels fall off will at best have exactly the same amount of money in it that you had. And he gets to pay for all of the repairs.
If you keep it much past 10 years or 150,000 miles then you won't get enough out of it and may as well keep it till the wheels fall off. But financially in the long run I think you come out cheaper to trade. On some vehicles that don't hold resale value very well this may not work. But with mechanics charging $100/hour labor, high resale value and interest rates under 2% trading makes more sense.
Especially with that engine. Had one that was a dog. I lived with it for 5 years and took the financial loss and traded sooner than I really wanted to.
If you keep it much past 10 years or 150,000 miles then you won't get enough out of it and may as well keep it till the wheels fall off. But financially in the long run I think you come out cheaper to trade. On some vehicles that don't hold resale value very well this may not work. But with mechanics charging $100/hour labor, high resale value and interest rates under 2% trading makes more sense.
Especially with that engine. Had one that was a dog. I lived with it for 5 years and took the financial loss and traded sooner than I really wanted to.
The following users liked this post:
Jacksson (05-30-2017)
05-30-2017, 10:46 AM
#24
Great information. I definitely appreciate the input. I decided not to go new but now my wife is trying to talk me into it! Basically decided that we will look and if I can get what I need at the price I need I'll do it. If not I wont. I'll be ok either way, just better with new. Waiting for my bonus which may cause a problem with inventory of 2017's with all of the rebates. We shall see.
06-01-2017, 10:59 PM
#25
Senior Member
Trade that sucker. At 9 years old you are right at the perfect point. I've found that at 10 years or 150,000 miles (which ever comes 1st) any truck in decent shape will bring 1/2 what it cost new in trade and it is rare to spend any money for major repairs at that point. You could sell to an individual for over 50% of what it cost new. The guy who buys it and drives it until the wheels fall off will at best have exactly the same amount of money in it that you had. And he gets to pay for all of the repairs.
If you keep it much past 10 years or 150,000 miles then you won't get enough out of it and may as well keep it till the wheels fall off. But financially in the long run I think you come out cheaper to trade. On some vehicles that don't hold resale value very well this may not work. But with mechanics charging $100/hour labor, high resale value and interest rates under 2% trading makes more sense.
Especially with that engine. Had one that was a dog. I lived with it for 5 years and took the financial loss and traded sooner than I really wanted to.
If you keep it much past 10 years or 150,000 miles then you won't get enough out of it and may as well keep it till the wheels fall off. But financially in the long run I think you come out cheaper to trade. On some vehicles that don't hold resale value very well this may not work. But with mechanics charging $100/hour labor, high resale value and interest rates under 2% trading makes more sense.
Especially with that engine. Had one that was a dog. I lived with it for 5 years and took the financial loss and traded sooner than I really wanted to.
It replaced my 13 year old F150 with 130,000 miles. I bought it used as well.
I understand why you might want to replace your truck but I do not understand that new is the only option. My last new truck was 1981, and I should have bought used then.
By buying used and keeping them a long time, I've enjoyed not having a payment book on any vehicle since that Toyota. And at least in that case, I only had a 29 month loan (Credit Union oddball). So I have been vehicle payment free since 1983.