I'd love to sell my trailer and get a Gooseneck or 5th wheel trailer. It's just hard to sell anything right now unless you pretty much give it away. If I do that then I can't afford to get another trailer...

 

The trailer before the 5ver/gooseneck was a bumper pull. I got rid of it because of the weight rating. The 5ver had a changeable pin for ball or pin which was very convenient and a much greater GVWR. I got rid of it for two reasons. Where I parked it was through my back garage door which I increased to 10 feet wide but having to turn the trailer going through the door proved very difficult and I took out the door trim. The other reason I live in a residential area and the gooseneck clearly stuck up above the fence line. No one complained but I figured because I park my RV and a number of other vehicles at home I go back to a shorter and slightly narrower bumper pull.

Maybe I should have kept my last trailer, cut the bits off that stuck out and painted it GREEN to blend in.

I hear you, there are so many trailers for sale right now. I sold mine in 2 1/2 weeks but like you say I gave it away. One thing I do notice is the price of "truck box" trailers has shot up. They are asking $800 - $850 and I've even seen one for $1150

 

The 2004 DODGE Owners Manual says that a weight-distributing hitch should be used any time tongue weight exceeds 350-lbs. The type of trailer is irrelevant.

I've had a HENSLEY ARROW hitch for several years now. Wouldn't go back to an inferior type; only that, ProPride or PullRite can eliminate sway and they are an easy-to-use, IMO, load-equalizing hitch.

Weight distribution hitch, with good anti-sway otherwise (cheaper) would be a REESE Straitline "Dual Cam".

Go all the way in the name of safety. Get the details of how to properly use a weight scale to verify hitch effectiveness in "distributing" weight properly. Longer tire life, better braking, better handling, less driver fatigue, etc, etc.

And a properly set up rig will maximize fuel mileage as well.

 

I believe everyone is overlooking that a properly loaded trailer shouldn’t exceed weight restrictions, bumper pull or gooseneck. It is very easy to roll that car, truck, skid steer, etc. forward are back on the trailer deck to obtain the proper tongue weight. RV’s have a completely different requirement, you can’t shift your weight around the axles thus the weight distribution setups handicap the excessive tongue weights.

Gerald

 

I think the point you're missing (maybe I'm wrong) is that if you're towing something that weighs 12,000 lbs then the proper tongue weight is 1200 lbs or more. That mandates that you have a WD hitch on a bumper pull. Now if you move that load back to get the TW within the hitch ratings without WD then you're setting yourself up for a very dangerous tow. Bumper pull trailers are designed to have 10% to 15% of the total load as TW in order to reduce sway.

 

Yes, I am aware that bumper pulls trailers require a 10 to 15 percent tongue load where as goosenecks like 15 to 20 percent. My understanding is this is a class III hitch maybe I am wrong, don’t have a way to look it up at the moment. Either way the hitch is intergraded into the bumper; on the bumper it clearly states a tongue weight of 500LB and towing capacity of 5000LB. So from my understanding, if you towing over 5000LB, you are going to require a different hitch option. Such as the Ranchhand replacement rear bumper it clear states that it will tow 10000LB and carry a tongue weight of 1000LB, without a weight distributing hitch.

A weight distributing hitch isn’t designed to allow you to tow more, that is the function of your bumper/receiver mount. The weight distributing hitch only function is to preload you vehicles chassis, to minimize the effect of unloading you front wheels and reducing sway from heavy tongue loads. A trait that is common with all bumper pull trailers. Yes there is a point in which you tongue load is going to cause drivability issues (even on big O’le 1-ton duallys), thus the weight distributing hitches. But what I was trying to state is with proper equipment and knowledge in loading your trailer you won’t have to rely on a weight distributing hitch to safely tow a given load within given limitation. Travel trailer manufactures tend to push these limitations thus requiring the use of devices such as weight distribution hitches.

On a side note, one thing I have seen people over look is the receiver/ball their using, I haven’t seen too many above Class III capability without going to a trial shop or online. And trust me I have seen them snap.

Gerald

 

dump your factory hitch and get a reese titan or some other class v.

WC Tongue Weight: 1,200 lbs.
WC Carrying Weight: 12,000 lbs.
WD Tongue Weight: 1,700 lbs.
WD Carrying Weight: 14,000 lbs.

 

I drove 4,000 miles with 1500lbs tongue weight on a tandem axle 7k enclosed trailer loaded to the max without weight distrubution with my class IV. At no time did it ever feel unsafe (wind, snow, wet roads, quick stops). The stinger was rated at 20k and the ball at 10k. I did look over things quite often and everything held up just fine. Not saying pushing the limits is a good thing but I think things are rated a lot lower than they are actually capable of.

 

Im wondering where you found data saying that the towing weights and limitations were derived using weigh distribution.

I looked here
http://www.dodge.com/en/towing_payload/2009/
and here
http://www.dodge.com/bodybuilder/2009/intro.pdf
and I rescanned the 09 owners manual and 2500 supplement. I couldnt find anything ....

 

you make a good point, Sir

 

A good point indeed. Especially at 65 w/ a sail behind you...... A good point indeed.

(My pants and wife (laundry doer) thank you!)

 

[QUOTE=sumncguy;2620447]Im wondering where you found data saying that the towing weights and limitations were derived using weigh distribution.QUOTE]

The information comes off the little sticker the MANUFACTURER of the hitch put on when they built the hitch. They decide what their hitch can and cannot handle. Dodge did not make the hitch, so they won't include what it can handle in the manual.

 

Dodge does say it...heck, they all do.

All the tow limits and load limits have those 3 little disclaimer words, "when properly equipped".

That's where you go to the fine print and discover that no matter what, any competent scheisster can put you in the wrong. You didn't have a WD hitch? Your tires weren't inflated to max load capacity? You were driving 3 mph over the rated speed limit of the trailer? The trailer tires had not been replaced in the last 24 months? Doesn't matter...YOU did SOMETHING wrong!

That said...do everything you can to be right. It tips the odds in your favor that you won't have an accident in the first place. Use your WD hitch, even with your dually, even in town, even on short trips. It's common sense.

Off my soapbox...carry on!

 

I ordered one today and will give the flatdeck bumper pull a try.

 

Can anyone tell me what the ratings are for a stock 99 ram 2500. Mine has no stickers