Weight Distribution Hitch

[newbury]

Make sure you get a ball (or balls) rated for what you are going to pull. And carry an assortment of balls. When I went to rent a U haul tow dolly it required a 2" ball and U haul was out, so I had to drive a half hour to get a ball.

Also make sure you can hook up the chains. Most of the WDH's I looked at wouldn't fit my Hudson due to where the battery box is welded on.

 

[94BULLITT]

Make sure you get a ball (or balls) rated for what you are going to pull. And carry an assortment of balls. When I went to rent a U haul tow dolly it required a 2" ball and U haul was out, so I had to drive a half hour to get a ball.

Also make sure you can hook up the chains. Most of the WDH's I looked at wouldn't fit my Hudson due to where the battery box is welded on.

The ball I get will be rated for the load. I have an assortment of ball mounts and balls. I have a 2'' ball that is rated for 7500. I had a 7k car trailer that took a 2'' ball.

Do you have a picture of your trailer and how the WDH is on it? I think I may have the same problem with a dump trailer.

 

[newbury]

Here's a pic of the problem

Specs for the hitch were

Sway-control bracket positioning: 27" - 32" back from center of coupler

.Equal-i-zer Weight Distribution w/ 4-Point Sway Control - No Shank - 14,000 lbs GTW, 1,400 lbs TW Equal-i-zer Weight Distribution EQ90-00-1401

Most other hitches were similar and when I talked with E-qualizer and other WD mfg tech reps they strongly advised against moving the hanging bracket in as far as I would need to in order to miss the battery box (about the 22" point). And none of them went out farther.

At the time I didn't weld so I didn't want the extra cost of moving the box. And I didn't want to bolt a bracket into the frame. I'm picky at times.

I ended up moving the bar under the tongue box further back. The bracket fits under the cord just beyond the box. All is well. It's made 3 or 4 loaded trips down to Mississippi.

 

[94BULLITT]

Here's a pic of the problem
View attachment 412006
Specs for the hitch were .Equal-i-zer Weight Distribution w/ 4-Point Sway Control - No Shank - 14,000 lbs GTW, 1,400 lbs TW Equal-i-zer Weight Distribution EQ90-00-1401

Most other hitches were similar and when I talked with E-qualizer and other WD mfg tech reps they strongly advised against moving the hanging bracket in as far as I would need to in order to miss the battery box (about the 22" point). And none of them went out farther.

At the time I didn't weld so I didn't want the extra cost of moving the box. And I didn't want to bolt a bracket into the frame. I'm picky at times.

I ended up moving the bar under the tongue box further back. The bracket fits under the cord just beyond the box. All is well. It's made 3 or 4 loaded trips down to Mississippi.

Thanks, I see, the equalizer is adjustable. I have seen some hitches that have short or long bars.

 

[newbury]

Thanks, I see, the equalizer is adjustable. I have seen some hitches that have short or long bars.

If I remember correctly the more weight you have the longer the bar you want. I've put about 9K on my Hudson and it's always towed like a dream w/ my 2002 7.3 dually at HIGHway speeds. Tows better if kept under 75 when passing big trucks or being passed by big tucks.

 

[timswi]

I don't have a "name brand" WD, it was supplied by the dealer when I bought by TT..Different in that the bars insert through the bottom and not mounted to the top as was my last one..It does a great job with the anti-sway and all of the fire-power built into my truck. The physics of this stuff is very impressive.

 

[jwstewar]

I've got 3 different WD systems with 5 different hitch heads. One is an old Reese 7k system. Works great up to its weight limit. Then I have a 10k (maybe 12 can't remember) Reese system that I bought when I bought the new camper. It works great once I got it adjusted correctly when the dealership didn't have it quite right and I broke the hitch head, but Reese stood behind it anyway and sent me a new hitch head, after I had already bought one, so now I have a spare. Then I needed a WD system for my utility trailer. I ended up ordering a Curt from Amazon. I didn't need much "bar" on the trailer, so I always kept the hitch head up straight. I then ordered another hitch head w/ a longer drop to use with the Suburban. Never had any issues with it until this past summer when Mom bought another camper that was just a bit too heavy for my old 7k system. But since it was closer to the same hitch height as my utility trailer I used the Curt, but now I needed more bar. I adjusted the head back to get it, but unlike the Reese, it is a smooth connection. The Reese has ridges to keep it from moving. I can feel the hitch head sliding back and forth on the shank. It has a short "block" (for lack of a better term) to supposedly stop this, but it isn't long enough for where I want the hitch head set. So if you would have asked me prior this summer, I would have given 2 thumbs up on the Curt, now, not so much.

BTW, it is the same hitch that is pictured in the link.

 

[94BULLITT]

I've got 3 different WD systems with 5 different hitch heads. One is an old Reese 7k system. Works great up to its weight limit. Then I have a 10k (maybe 12 can't remember) Reese system that I bought when I bought the new camper. It works great once I got it adjusted correctly when the dealership didn't have it quite right and I broke the hitch head, but Reese stood behind it anyway and sent me a new hitch head, after I had already bought one, so now I have a spare. Then I needed a WD system for my utility trailer. I ended up ordering a Curt from Amazon. I didn't need much "bar" on the trailer, so I always kept the hitch head up straight. I then ordered another hitch head w/ a longer drop to use with the Suburban. Never had any issues with it until this past summer when Mom bought another camper that was just a bit too heavy for my old 7k system. But since it was closer to the same hitch height as my utility trailer I used the Curt, but now I needed more bar. I adjusted the head back to get it, but unlike the Reese, it is a smooth connection. The Reese has ridges to keep it from moving. I can feel the hitch head sliding back and forth on the shank. It has a short "block" (for lack of a better term) to supposedly stop this, but it isn't long enough for where I want the hitch head set. So if you would have asked me prior this summer, I would have given 2 thumbs up on the Curt, now, not so much.

BTW, it is the same hitch that is pictured in the link.

Thanks for the reply. I looked at the Reese WDH's and saw that the washers have ridges on them. I will definitely take this into consideration before I buy one.