I dug out my horse trailer from under a pile of snow and hitched it up to my new truck for the first time on Sunday. One of the 'observers' told me that I didn't need my weight distributing hitch on the new truck. I have the unit already so it is not a matter of extra expense but my other tow vehicle was a 1/2 ton and needed the WD hitch. The trailer weighs 5500 to 6500 loaded I think, it's a steel 2 horse slant load with a large dressing room. Is it really overkill to have a WD hitch on this truck/trailer combo--I mean he was laughing at me but then I take no chances!

I have not had a chance to try it on the highway with all the semi's passing and sucking me into their wind vortex but I think I'll try it first with the WD hitch. My first little spin was up a big hill that used to kill my other truck, it lost power at full throttle, my 04 was able to speed up going up the hill and it feels so much more stable and safe.

 

If you do not mind hooking it up, then it sure isn't going to hurt matters,but with a 3/4 ton with that load it is not a neccesity. But again it will not hurt and will keep your hitch weight down, Goodluck,,,, Rick

 

I dont think I have seen to many horse trailers with WD set ups, if any. Dont really know why either. But I do have a 4 horse ball hitch trailer that is pulled with 3 horses and tack without WD. Estimated weight is around 10,000 lbs. I have asked trailer shops why towing gear is rated so low and the only responce I get is that it's for liabilty reasons. Hitchs, *****, ect. are rated way low for safety reasons.

 

I have an e-quali-zer. My trailer made my 3500 sag, when not in use; bars evened it right out. Nothing wrong with a little added safety IMO.

 

Check out the weight ratings of the receiver on the truck.

If it says 500 lbs dead hitch weight, you NEED the EQ hitch to protect the receiver.

Your trailer weighs 5500-6500 lbs., so with the very MINIMUM of 10% hitch weight (15% is better) your trailer hitch is 550 to 650 lbs- WAY too much for the dead weight rating of your receiver.

I'd use the EQ hitch, myself.

FYI, the EQ hitch in itself doesn't stop sway. Reese has anti-sway type bars that work well with their EQ hitch.

 

I don't think it is anywhere close to "Over kill". I would say you would be borderline Irresponsible it you didn't use an weight distributing hitch. Sure your truck has no problem with the 700 lb hitch weight that the trailer will have, it is built to heavy to call that a "Load". And yes you are over the 500 lb limit imposed by the hitch manufacturer, this I am sure you know. But the best reason for the use of the weight distributing type hitch is it's ability to reduce sway. They just tow so much nicer it is silly not to use one. Look at it like insurance, most times you don't need it, but when you do watch out.

 

I had the same thing and there is a Technical Service Bulletin for this issue. There where some defective hitches out there. I decided to weld a reinforcement to the old hitch simply because my hitch ripped like that in transit and I was not in a position to wait for a tsb/warranty replacement.

 

well when i moved to north carolina i purchased a 900lb pace trailer to haul my stuff back and forth i set up the van and trailer with electric brakes/ controler and i used a weight dist. set up i new that i would be buying the dodge 1 day but not sure when. i pulled with a chevy express 1/2 ton and i have also pulled it with my dodge. was it really needed probaly not but even unloaded i put the bars on it helps with the sway . but i would much rather have more than I need than not .less worries and easier driving. it does make a big difference when trailer is loaded.

hope this helps

 

Like some have already said, the WDH should be used to protect the hitch. The hitch has a Max rating of 500 pounds tongue and 5000 pull but with the weight bars in use it is 1000 tongue and 10,000 pull. If you are pulling a 7000 pound trailer with 700 pounds of hitch weight, you will probably never have a problem, and your truck won't care one way or the other. The hitch will probably never break, but.....

 

Load leveling bars or weight distrabution bars do not stop sway unless you are using a dual cam system, but standard bars do not stop sway. You can actually induce a sway condition by taking to much tonge weight of the rear of the truck. There should be a proper balance of weight distubtion over tow vehical and the trailer you are pulling.

 

I go with two anti-sway on my 31' TT, which comes in wet at 8k. I also use a weight distributing hitch. I have towed the trailer about 40k with this setup and have had great performance, even in a 40 mph cross wind.

 

If you got it, use it.

I can't find a benifit in not using it. Other than the observers say you don't need it.

Anything to increase safety is a good thing, I agree with y-knot. You may not always need it but when you do...

 

Thank you everyone for your replies (and support!). My inclination is to use the weight distributing hitch anyway regardless of the 'observer' comments. Yes, I know that following the hitch guidlines means that I should use it as well. I should know by now that the advice from the well meaning? onlookers should not necessarily be taken as actually useful. I don't see many weight distrubuting hitches on horse trailers, in fact I have seen some dangerous set-ups--the cargo we cary which is top heavy and moving (horses) makes me think we should be much more careful than someone pulling a boat or camper. It continues to baffle me that I get snickers about being too cautious. Some of the advisors could not understand why I would even need a 3/4 ton truck, they are using 1/2 tons to haul but that is a whole other topic

My understanding of the WD hitch is that it can help prevent sway by itself because the rig is much more stable, the sway bars added on after will dampen sway once it has started. I'll make sure it is set up correctly, I have also read that taking too much load off the rear axle will reduce traction and lead to unstable handling.

 

Not down playing saftey here by any means but I though the same as Rick1. WD hitchs dont stop sway. They transfer weight off the back axle and onto the front axle. This is to stop bounce and hitch damage. By reducing the tounge weight you actually increase the chance of sway. If you want to stop sway then install one or two sway bars on the hitch. I believe in safe towing too but connecting a trailer to a vehicle by every heavy duty means possible isnt going to stop accidents. Driving safely is probably the most effective means of safe towing. Most accidents you see on the road are simply a cause of ignorance or just plain stupidity (over loading axles, under inflated tires, speeding, swerving in and out of traffic, drinking and driving), not traliers coming loose from vehicles. Just a thought.