Some towing help
 

I have plenty of experience towing smaller trailers with the f150 and large trailers pulled with an f350 all with no weight distribution systems.

Trailer I am looking at pulling is a 27' enclosed cargo trailer with a gross loaded weight of 9500lbs. I have a eco with Max tow and payload capacity of 1,700lbs. I figure my tongue weight to be 1000lbs-1150lbs.

This is the hitch I am looking at is a Reese distribution with sway control.
http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distr...e/RP66088.html

Does anyone have any experience with this hitch and any feedback they can provide on it?

Can't give you info on the Reese - I have an Equal-i-zer.


However, your tongue weight is going to be right up at the max your hitch receiver can handle.


Crawl down under your rear bumper and look up - you should see a sticker with the hitch rating limit weights. I believe that with the Max Tow you'll see that it says for a WDH the limits are 11500/1150, i.e., the max tongue weight the hitch receiver can handle is 1150 lbs. Standard tow package is 10500/1050.


The hitch head for your WDH will probably weigh 50 to 75 lbs, so that leaves you a max of 1100 lbs remaining that your hitch receiver can handle for the tongue weight of the trailer.


If you have the max allowable 1150 lbs on the hitch receiver, subtract that from your payload capacity and you've got 550 lbs for people and cargo in the cab and bed - so 3 normal size people and a little bit of luggage in the cab/bed and you're maxed out.


BTW, if you've added any mods to the truck since it was built (bed liner, tonneau, etc.) subtract their weights from the payload capacity as well - they'll reduce your usable payload.


You also need to check the rear axle GAWR and make sure you're not exceeding that.


Bottom line - that's a pretty heavy trailer to be pulling with an F150, even with Max Tow.
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I have the Reese system that you are asking about and it is a great system. The thing that I really like about it is that it actively works to move the trailer to its proper position (if out of place) and to keep the trailer from moving from its proper position in the first place. It will actually try to put the trailer back where it belongs. Look at the design and you can see how it works. The arc of the tension bars sit right in that cam.

I've towed over 25,000 miles with this system. Heavy, gusty winds; 2 lane roads meeting semi's; mountainous terrain; we have never had a hint of sway.

E-trailer is a great outfit. I bought my system from them. They also have great online tutorials about setting up your system.

As previously mentioned, your issue may be tongue weight. You are rated for 1,100 pounds with a WD system. Tongue weight can be 15% of the trailer weight so be darn sure of your tongue weight before proceeding. Also, be careful about compensating for this problem by moving your load toward the back of the trailer. That is asking for a sway condition.

If you load the trailer to 9,000 pounds and have tongue weight of the normal average of 13%, you'll have tongue weight of 1,170 pounds. So the high end of your estimate of 1.150 pounds is a decent estimate - if you don't load the trailer heavier, and you properly distribute the weight in the trailer to have 13% hitch weight.


With 1,150 pounds tongue weight, you'll probably exceed the GVWR and maybe the rear GAWR of your F-150. So don't plan on hauling anything else in the truck if you don't want to overload the suspension of your F-150.

That is the Reese Strait-Line with round bars and dual-cam sway control. It works great.


But the disadvantage of a round-bar hitch is the round bars come out of the bottom of the hitch head and then do a turn to go back to the trailer tongue. That reduces ground clearance between the bottom of the hitch and the road. You will probably often drag the bottom of the round bars on the ground when crossing dips and drainage ditches - even normal drainage ditches between the street and the convenience store.



For only a few bucks more you can instead get the Reese Strait-line hitch that has trunnion bars instead of round bars. It doesn't perform any different, but the trunnion bars come strait back from the hitch head to the tongue, so they don't reduce ground clearance under the hitch. Here t is with 1,200-pound trunnion bars:
http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distr...e/RP66084.html



I have towed various trailers, including a TT and an enclosed cargo trailer, tens of thousands of miles with my Reese Strait-Line Trunnion bar hitch. Coast to coast across all sorts of terrain and weather conditions with nary a bobble. You cannot buy a better hitch for less than $1,000 buying price from discount sources including etrailer.com.

Trailer weights 4,500lbs empty. I'm am carrying 5 atvs, gear, clothes, food etc. I figured max weight of the trailer will be 9,000 but I am hoping for lower weight than that. Figured each atv weights 450lbs and less so 2,250+4,500 gets me at 6,750. Plus gear, tires, tools, food , beer and firewood in the trailer shouldn't be more than 1,500lbs.

I am actually want a different hitch now. I want on with weight distribution and sway control but I do not want to drill in the trailer frame. Any suggestions on this.

what size atvs do you have, 450 sounds a little low.

Raptor 700, kfx400, Ltz, 400 honda 250 and a honda utility 400 (heaviest of the bunch)

Equal-I-Zer has built in sway control, and you don't have to drill into the frame.

That sounds like a lot of fun in that trailer!

I have a smaller (but just as heavy) 10k gvwr enclosed car hauler which use that very same Reese straight line with sway cams hitch on. I've actually owned that hitch a while and used it on other trailers too. You can't beat it for an all around WDH. Very common and reliable WD design, easy to use and adjust, the sway cams are a bit unique in how they center the trailer and require friction to overcome their center position as acadianbob described. Overall I really like the hitch. There are certainly better (and more expensive) hitches out there if sway-control is your primary objective, but for a short'ish 24' enclosed trailer it will work just fine!