Weight Distribution Hitch recommendations

[CJNAZ]

Going to be purchasing a WDH for a 7K lb. travel trailer with about a 400lb tongue weight. Hoping you seasoned towers can provide some pros & cons of what brand/type to get and what to avoid. I've researched and have seen Andersens for $500+, Huskys for about $300, and the others like EZ Lift and Curt for about $200. Always interested in not spending too much but will if there are considerable pros in doing so. It's only a 25' trailer weighting 5500 dry and being pulled with a 3/4 ton Cummins.

Any issues with installing a hitch for tongue/trailer weights "higher" than what I currently have? Like will I wear out the tongue cup or ball/shank? I'll be buying a larger heavier rig in a few years and may want to keep my WDH.

 

Some of the things I'm thinking I would prefer are:

Ease of installation/hooking up bars

Amount of noise produced

Ease of ability to back-up without disconnecting  

[jdown]

in my humble opinion you would not need any distribution hitches for that load with that truck.  In fact taking too much weight off the hitch can be more dangerous than carrying that weight. If it were me I would give it a tow without anything to Rye or Globe and see if you are comfortable.  If you do end up going with something the EZ lift system worked well for me with a 7K trailer with 550 tough weight.   I would invest in a heavy duty hitch however.   

[360 0r Better]

32 minutes ago, jdown said:

in my humble opinion you would not need any distribution hitches for that load with that truck.  In fact taking too much weight off the hitch can be more dangerous than carrying that weight. If it were me I would give it a tow without anything to Rye or Globe and see if you are comfortable.  If you do end up going with something the EZ lift system worked well for me with a 7K trailer with 550 tough weight.   I would invest in a heavy duty hitch however.   

+1. Also hitch height plays a lot on tounge weight along with load distribution in the trailer. Being to light on tounge weight will cause the trailer to fishtail from mild to extremely wild not a fun tow that way 

[Curtis Reed]

I think they are all pretty similar and pretty easy to set up. I like using WDH to level everything out.  Sway control on the other hand comes in all shapes and forms and price points.  From cheap and basic to complex and expensive. 

Every WDH i’ve used creates some loud bangs and squeaks. 

[jdown]

1 hour ago, 360 0r Better said:

+1. Also hitch height plays a lot on tounge weight along with load distribution in the trailer. Being to light on tounge weight will cause the trailer to fishtail from mild to extremely wild not a fun tow that way 

 guess that is what I meant by hitch weight and yeah I would rather have too much than too little for the reasons 360 said. I assume the trailer has trailer brakes?  You should be totally fine.. plenty of truck to handle that trailer and tongue weight. 360 brings up a good point.. If you are throwing a UTV in the back of that trailer and not over or forward of the axels, you can get a lot of sway.  Keep the weight on the hitch! You have plenty of truck to support it.  

[azbirdhunter88]

Just put a 2 5/16 or whatever ball it is on and tow. You’ll be fine without bars. 

[Hoss50]

You need more tongue weight especially if you are going weight distribution. 400lb seems pretty light.

That truck doesn't need it for a 7k lb. Trailer realistically. WDH isn't a bad thing, but you too little tongue weight is bad and can be dangerous. 

My 7k trailer behind my Dodge cummins uses WDH, but it is a toyhauler with no toy in the back so I have plenty of tongue weight. I will tow short distance without the WDH, but for any trips out of town I put the WDH on. 

I have an equalizer style, but the husky looks similar and is cheaper. 

I tow my car hauler trailer with 7-8k on it without WDH, but i make sure to adjust the tongue weight by moving the vehicle location on the trailer. 

I would rather have a little to much TW than too little. 

[CJNAZ]

Great info. The issue I didn’t mention or state is that I am concerned about sway control also. I understand what you guys are saying about weight distribution with the size and weight of the trailer versus the truck. I also want to make sure that there are minimal sway control issues, especially if the wife has to tow the trailer at any point. One bad issue with the trailer swaying back-and-forth while she is pulling equals a bad situation.

So, that being said, should I just get a WDH with sway control and have overkill and avoid most chances of a white knuckle experience? 

[More D]

Equal-i-zer

 

They are the best IMO

[Hoss50]

TW is the most important part for sway control. A WDH will help but not cure a sway problem. 

You can get a friction sway bars that can help, but a well setup dual axle trailer with good TW should tow fine without sway control. 

If it is windy causing sway you need to slow down. If you start to get sway, you use the trailer brake override to calm down the sway. 

[Curtis Reed]

If I were you I would just get a WDH with one friction type sway control bar and feel good about it.  My rig is about 550 lbs TW and 6k lbs dry.  I use WD and two sway bars (my trailer is 32’ long) and I am very conscious  about how I distribute weight when I pack up. 

[elkman]

I have a hitch and the sway bars like in that picture.  I’ll sell them to you for 100$ I don’t need them anymore 

[Hoss50]

1 hour ago, elkman said:

I have a hitch and the sway bars like in that picture.  I’ll sell them to you for 100$ I don’t need them anymore 

That's a steal. You better jump on it. 

[CJNAZ]

Elkman - sent you a pm.

[Green Bullet]

Anderson