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Second pic is center of ball to there. Think Equalizer says the bracket can be mounted 27-32" from center of ball. So I got to be able to weld on the backside, so maybe mount at 30"?
Payload is 1,527 on truck btw
Is there a way to make these pics smaller...
Last edited by phantasyhax; May 12, 2021 at 06:53 PM.
Second pic is center of ball to there. Think Equalizer says the bracket can be mounted 27-32" from center of ball. So I got to be able to weld on the backside, so maybe mount at 30"?
Payload is 1,527 on truck btw
Ok, yeah that is what I was thinking but I didn't know about the 27-32" measurement recommendation. So yeah, you are going to have to notch the diamond plate. Not sure if that is a deal killer or not but probably going to have to happen no matter what you go with if you want to do it right with a WD hitch. It is a matter of comfort towing vs cosmetics of the diamond plate I guess.
I am kind of surprised your payload is that low. Mine is 1568 and my truck has all that Plat stuff that adds a ton of weight. I was going to guess that you were going to be in the 1700 or so range with the XLT. Being you are light on payload it is more important to put everything possible in the trailer if you can. 100# of stuff in the bed of the truck is 100# against payload. If you are doing the 13% tongue weight, that 100# of stuff moved to the trailer now only counts as 13# against payload. That can make or break the numbers. As tempting as it is to load up the bed of the truck, we tow with it empty and everything goes in the camper that can.
Hmm there is a problem. There is some angle iron along the bottom edge to support the diamond plate. If you are notching that you will have to get a bit creative there as well. Size of the pics is fine. I would rather have bigger pics that I can see and are clear vs tiny pics taken with a potato camera.
I guess I can't picture the bar in action. Does it really move up past the frame when turning? I would think it would clear being below the frame and locked in that bracket?
I would read up on the options that they had in the manual. As I said I only skimmed it but I would think it would look like this. You would likely have to trim the angle iron and diamond plate like the red line. The L bracket would mount about where it is in the pic and the purple is the WD Bar. It would be kind of hard to get the clips on the L bracket but do able. You might be able to mount it lower than what I indicated but this is a rough idea. Unless there is another option that I am missing in that manual. Of course there might be other hitch options as well. Someone mentioned Anderson. I have never seen one in person. I have only seen the Equalizer (never used personally) and Blue Ox.
I went back and looked at the user guide and option 3 might work for you to hang below the frame. Though the risk would be a loss in ground clearance. I don't know if that is an issue for you or not. I would be concerned about it being you were talking snow and mud before.
Some WDH's have bars well below the frame out of the box, like this Reese:
I'd go that route, no need to cut up the rock plate and support, then flip the axle if I wanted more clearance. Doing an axle flip on box trailers is always a good idea if you're going to drag them out to riding spots.
Some WDH's have bars well below the frame out of the box, like this Reese:
I'd go that route, no need to cut up the rock plate and support, then flip the axle if I wanted more clearance. Doing an axle flip on box trailers is always a good idea if you're going to drag them out to riding spots.
That trailer comes with Dexter torsion axles so he can't flip them. I'm thinking you'll either have to weld the L brackets to the frame or cut holes in the floor. Just need to be careful of whose brand you buy, L bracket placement can vary between 24"-32"
As someone else said use the tongue jack to lift the truck and trailer to get the spring bars on. My 7 YO grandson pushes mine into place when you use the tongue jack. Added bonus when everything is way up like that it will be easy to reach under and latch the springbar clips.
I have seen the Andersen Hitches. There seems to be a giant population that love it, and a giant population that hate it. From my research I agree that for my application it sounds like the Andersen would work well. The problems I have seen comes when people are trying to distribute 1,300 lbs of TW with the chains.
I think my options are Andersen, or a Bar + Chain kind of setup. Weld the hook/bar onto the frame, jack up the trailer/truck, and hook the chain/attach the plate.
I have debated if a bar type would work if I fabricated some kind of modified pry bar to get the bars up on the holders that would work underneath the trailer, but that sounds like a lot of messing around, and crawling under trailer to get it hooked up.
Was hoping someone else had already accomplished adding a WDH to this style of trailer.
I have the Andersen on my enclosed cargo trailer that I haul ATV's with and it has worked well for me. My trailer is also a v-nose but I think more of my trailer frame is exposed than yours. I'll have to look when I get home.
I also read a lot of mixed reviews on the Andersen, but it seems like the general consensus is that it works good for smaller/lighter trailers and not so good with heavier trailers (heavy tongue weights). I'm around 500-600lbs tongue weight depending on what's loaded.
I think you should call and talk to Andersen since you can shorten the chains up and be able to mount the brackets in an area where you won't have to modify the floor and walls of the trailer.
One thing I did (based on feedback from reviews that I read) was weld my brackets to the trailer when I installed them. That way there's no possibility of them sliding forward.
