What hitch do you use?

MackDaddy · 05-18-2010, 05:04 AM

I have a second rate WD hitch (I can't even remember the name of it. CW discontinued it a year ago) I need to upgrade badly. I always experience sway. I am towing a 32' trailer about 7600 lbs dry. My question is what are you towing with and how do you like it?

If I had the money I would get a Hensley. I just need your opinions on a good solid WD hitch with Sway Control.. Tired of white knuckling..

Thanks

Seann · 05-18-2010, 05:25 AM

Hensley arrow... phone and ask about used ones or watch ebay and other such sites. The Pullrite is invented by the same fellow as the Hensley I am told only with newer updates to it. Pay the money you wont regret it. I thought my TT was well behaved behind my truck but it was MUCH better with the Hensley.

SLIMSHADIE · 05-18-2010, 12:50 PM

With a simialr TT and TV I'm using the Reese Straight Line. Had it delivered to my door for about $460 this spring from etrailer.com. Considering last year I had just a ball with no sway, it's definitely better now. The wd bars help alot too. Hensley arrow is the best but I'm not paying that $2-3k, thats why I didnt buy a 5ver.

m109rrider · 05-18-2010, 04:36 PM

Wouldn't use anything else. http://www.equalizerhitch.com/

jjr · 05-19-2010, 04:22 PM

Huskey Centerline. It's brand new on the market. It tows great. The only disadvantage is the weight of the head. It's really heavy. Check it out.

Stargazer · 05-19-2010, 09:11 PM

My first trailer--a 30' TT with a loaded weight of about 6600 lbs, I had a Reese HP Dual Cam and I felt that it handled great. No hint of sway at all even through twists and turns. No complaints at all.

When I bought our new Keystone--a 35' TT--earlier this year, I wrestled in my head what I wanted to do: keep the Dual Cam or get something different. For a variety of reasons, I finally decided to get something different--mostly because we're planning a 3-week trip out east and I know how nasty those thunderstorms can get out in the midwest (did the same trip a couple of years ago).

I just installed the ProPride 3P hitch and will try it out for the first time this Saturday.

1Soxnut · 05-22-2010, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m109rrider

Wouldn't use anything else. http://www.equalizerhitch.com/

Yup. Due to the "V" nose this is what I had to get and love it. A little noisy at times but works great!!

jjr · 05-27-2010, 09:14 AM

I posted earlier about having the Husky Centerline. Well I don't have it anymore. The hitch seems to have a serious design flaw and keeps breaking the disk that provides the sway control. I did some research and found out that I am not the first to have this problem. Husky may have resolved the problem with a newer design but my dealer just offered to replace it with the tried and true Reese dual cam. My dealer is awesome when it comes to customer service. They knew that I was getting ready to leave on a trip and are on their way to my house right now to pick up the trailer and have it waiting for me at the dealership when I get off from work. Best dealer ever. I hope all of you are as lucky.

bennydog · 05-27-2010, 05:53 PM

I'm an EQ guy. Second trailer same hitch. Best money I ever spent.

jambull · 05-31-2010, 07:12 PM

we tow a 31 foot that is 5020 lbs with just a husky weight distribution hitch and nothing else..(well ok a brake controller..) but no sway control or anything and she rides very nice . I did a lot of reading about towing and a large factor is in how the hitch is set up and also the kind of tires your tow vehicle has on it . from your post am not sure if you looked into those factors .

JAG · 06-03-2010, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennydog

I'm an EQ guy. Second trailer same hitch. Best money I ever spent.

Very interesting how happy everyone seems to be with the Equalizer hitch. I am new to towing trailiers (bought a 27 foot Cougar TT in October,) and the dealer installed one of those hitches that requires the bars with chains to be mounted on each side, along with the separate anti-sway bar. Even with all of this installed and the anti-sway bar on there, I still get sway when big trucks pass or any sort of wind comes up. Will the Equalizer eliminate all of this, or is my hitch okay? Towing with a 2010 Nissan Armada.

Thanks,

JAG

bennydog · 06-03-2010, 06:40 PM

JAG

There are several factors that contribute to a nice towing experience. With luck I'll recall them all or perhaps others will add their thoughts. The trailer should be level or slightly low at the tongue, like by an inch but no more. There should be at least 12% up to 15% tongue weight. So if you have a trailer that weighs 5000lbs pounds the tongue weight should be between 600 and 750 lbs. The lighter the tongue weight the more likely you are to encounter sway. The wheel base of the tow vehicle and how far the ball is from the rear axle also play a part but there is nothing you can do about them. Finally a good weight distribution hitch and sway control. The equalizer hitch when set correctly provides for both weight distribution and sway control with the sway control coming from the friction of the bars of which there are 2 so twice what a sway bar provides. There are a couple of other hitch manufactures that work in a manner similar to the EQ hitch and one, the Hensley Arrow that claims to eliminate sway before it starts all be it with a price tag north of $1000. I have use my equalizer hitch with 2 trailers with a length of 25' to 28' weighting less than 7000lbs and find driving to be a non stressful task. I do keep an eye for trucks coming up on my left and if I can will hug the fog line as the more distance between them and you the less effect they tend to have but its more habit then needed as I started towing with a hitch similar to what you describe. IMO well worth the $500 I spend on it. I have what I think is a really cool mod for storing the bars, can't remember if there are pictures on this forum or not. If not I'll dig them up and post.

It takes a bit of fiddling to get a trailer and a tow vehicle dialed in but if you load the same way most of the time you will find the sweet spot and enjoy the ride.

Cheers

Bob

JAG · 06-04-2010, 01:34 PM

Hi All,

Everyone seems to speak very highly of the Equalizer hitch. I have a 2010 Keystone Cougar 27RLSWE travel trailer that I tow with a Nissan Armada. The tow set up is your typical two-weight distribution bars with chains and I also secure an anti-sway bar on one side of the trailer hitch. Despite increasing the air in the tires of the TV to the max and securing the anti-sway bar down pretty tight, I still tend to get some sway at speeds over about 55 mph (I know this is the speed limit typically) and even lower speeds than this when big trucks go by.

So my question is this: is my hitch sub-par and would the Equalizer really make that much difference and cause all sway to go away? Just gets a little scary when it starts moving on me. The current switch seems pretty robust, but is only what I was sold when I bought the trailer. Could there be something else contributing to the sway? Recommendations appreciated!

Thanks,

JAG
So. California

Seann · 06-04-2010, 04:39 PM

Rereading your post... Do you have 15% of the trailer weight on the tongue? You need this amount or you will have sway.

JAG · 06-14-2010, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bennydog

JAG

There are several factors that contribute to a nice towing experience. With luck I'll recall them all or perhaps others will add their thoughts. The trailer should be level or slightly low at the tongue, like by an inch but no more. There should be at least 12% up to 15% tongue weight. So if you have a trailer that weighs 5000lbs pounds the tongue weight should be between 600 and 750 lbs. The lighter the tongue weight the more likely you are to encounter sway. The wheel base of the tow vehicle and how far the ball is from the rear axle also play a part but there is nothing you can do about them. Finally a good weight distribution hitch and sway control. The equalizer hitch when set correctly provides for both weight distribution and sway control with the sway control coming from the friction of the bars of which there are 2 so twice what a sway bar provides. There are a couple of other hitch manufactures that work in a manner similar to the EQ hitch and one, the Hensley Arrow that claims to eliminate sway before it starts all be it with a price tag north of $1000. I have use my equalizer hitch with 2 trailers with a length of 25' to 28' weighting less than 7000lbs and find driving to be a non stressful task. I do keep an eye for trucks coming up on my left and if I can will hug the fog line as the more distance between them and you the less effect they tend to have but its more habit then needed as I started towing with a hitch similar to what you describe. IMO well worth the $500 I spend on it. I have what I think is a really cool mod for storing the bars, can't remember if there are pictures on this forum or not. If not I'll dig them up and post.

It takes a bit of fiddling to get a trailer and a tow vehicle dialed in but if you load the same way most of the time you will find the sweet spot and enjoy the ride.

Cheers

Bob

Bob,

Thanks so much for the info you provided! Sounds like the quick and dirty method for maybe reducing sway first will be to put more weight in my storage compartments in the front of my Cougar trailer. I did inflate my tires to the max pressure on the tow vehicle and this helped somewhat. Is it safe to say that the weight distribution hitches and single sway bars that the dealers sell you with the trailers are not necessarily the best? If so, wish I'd known this when I bought it and I would have requested the Equalizer hitch.

Thanks again!

SLIMSHADIE · 06-14-2010, 08:31 PM

I will give kudos to my newer Reese Dual Cam Wd hitch (straightline also). We were packing up a little early, yesterday cause there was a storm coming. We just got done, hitched up and started spittin rain. We headed out and 10 minutes later it started raining cats and dogs. It even got to the point I couldn't see 100 ft in front of me and even slowed down to 35 mph in a 65 on the highway. Cars were drivin with their hazards on and even quite a few stopped under bridges. It was even worse when semi's were passing us and I couldn't see the car in front of me. We went thru a stretch where 8 cars were pulled over to the side. I called my buddy with a 5ver behind me and we were wondering if we were missing something. I was white knuckling not for the camper but a little hydroplaning now and then. The camper pulled like a dream and didn't sway at all. The wife said it was a little scary and she was right. That was one of the worst storms I've drivin in, let alone pulling a camper.

campingcpl · 06-16-2010, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m109rrider

Wouldn't use anything else. http://www.equalizerhitch.com/

I have this hitch and I love it!!

Like someone else posted it is a little noisy at times but has great sway control and is easy to hook up. We just did a 3000 mile trip and covered every corner of South Dakota before heading home. Durring this trip we incountered sustained cross winds of atlease 20mph and gust into the 30+mph range along with heavy rain and even some snow. For the most part the wind did not really affect the trailer sway and it stayed behind the truck. However not to say I didn't feel the wind pushing against the truck and trailer but there wasn't much sway at all. Any wiggle that came from the trailer was stop pretty quickly by the sway control of the hitch. I've worked in the RV industry for a long time and have seen/used/sold and installed just about every hitch out there and next to the PullRite (http://www.pullrite.com/pullrite.htm) hitch witch is a little on the expensive side this has worked great for the price. I believe I paid about $500.00 for mine compaired to $1000.00+ for hitches that offer the same features. The best thing I could say to you is check the reviews and ask the questions like you have already in this forum. Good luck and happy camping.

2004 GMC Sierra 1500 W/HD tow package
2009 26RL Keystone Sprinter

MackDaddy · 06-17-2010, 10:51 AM

Are there any backing restriction with the Equilizer hitch or the Reese straightline? I have heard some brands of hitches, that you have to disconnect the sway before backing. This might prove as a deal breaker. Also, when do you hear the noise from the hitch? Is it when the Sway is doing its job? Maintance wise, what do you have to do to maintain the Eq hitch?

bennydog · 06-17-2010, 05:02 PM

Can't say that I have ever HAD to disconnect the bars to be able to back into a spot. The thought poses an interesting question as to whether the trailer would respond differently with the bars disconnected. I guess if it were really really tight and I was having a hard time of it I might try taking them off. To "disable" the sway control you would just need to jack the rig up to swing the WD (square) bars off of the trailer, so you would not need to remove them completely. As to your maintenance question...At the beginning of each camping season I do take the hitch head apart and clean off the grease and give it a fresh coat of paint. Takes maybe an hour if I'm distracted. I check the parts that are attached to the trailer and make sure that all the nuts and bolts are tight. Nothing that don't think that I would do with any hitch so it's not special to the EQ. There are many folks that safely tow trailers with no WD hitch and no sway control....you see them all the time...a one ton pickup with a 16' 3000lbs trailer. Those folks don't even know they are towing a trailer. Then there are folks like me who tow with a half ton and a trailer that puts us near the upper limit of the truck that like the added margin of safety (real or imagined) that a hitch like the equalizer gives us. Having towed with both (what the dealer installed and the Equalizer) I just like the the way the trailer behaves with the hitch. As to the noise question, for me I usually hear the "grinding" when I'm driving slow and making turns. Don't think I have ever heard it while moving down the freeway. It is not the sway control that makes the racket but the weight distribution parts that do. The sway control comes from the torque on the parts that the square bars slip into that are part of the head and the weight distribution come from the bars resting on the "L" brackets that are on the a-frame of the trailer. It's the friction of the bars on the "L" brackets that make all the noise and the manual states that you can (and I do) apply a little grease to quite them down without effecting the operation of the hitch.

m109rrider · 06-17-2010, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MackDaddy

Are there any backing restriction with the Equilizer hitch or the Reese straightline? I have heard some brands of hitches, that you have to disconnect the sway before backing. This might prove as a deal breaker. Also, when do you hear the noise from the hitch? Is it when the Sway is doing its job? Maintance wise, what do you have to do to maintain the Eq hitch?

None, it's the friction of the spring bars on the "L" brackets that results in the sway control. No need to disconnect. The only maintenance I do (aside from the occasional paint job) is shoot the the "L" brackets and the pivot point where the spring bars plug into the hitch head with some white lithium grease before hook up to keep the squeaks and groans to a minimum.

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