Is a WDH really needed?

[Peto]

2022 F250 Super Poopy towing a 25RDS Hideout GVWR 7600. Tongue weight estimate 7-900 lbs. Trailer length 30' hitch to slinky holder.


I typically use a Curt WDH and have no issues but last time I towed I just used my regular drop hitch and did not notice much difference in the towing characteristics.

I plan to use it when towing longer distances or in cases when I know the winds will be up (az spring / summer time)....

Just curious what the discussion will look like around the need for a WDH with my set up. Pro/Con.

Pic is set up using just the drop hitch.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

It certainly couldn't hurt to keep using the WDH. My Passport was similar size and weight and while a WDH with sway control was an absolute must when I towed with an F150, it was questionable when we upgraded the truck to our current one. I just reset the WDH hitch for the new truck and kept using it, so I have no idea how it would have handled without it, but I suspect I would have had similar results as you. Now that we have a 5th wheel, it is a moot point. That being said, we travel such long distances every year that it was easier and safer for us to just keep using the WDH with sway control.

I think that your idea of using the regular drop hitch for day to day towing and using the WDH only on longer trips is "okay". HOWEVER, I don't recommend it, and if you do go that route, make sure that the drop hitch (and ball in particular) are rated for the weight as well as your truck hitch (there are different weight ratings for capacity with and without weight distribution).

 

[flybouy]

I have an older Reese Straight Line hitch that has sway control built in. Distance, IMO is not relevant, speed is. Like tire age/condition it doesn't matter if you have a failure or road condition that requires the control 5 miles from home or 500 miles.

The other consideration is the hitch capacity. When your up near 1k or higher hitch weight it may exceed the capacity rating of the hitch itself.

 

[JRTJH]

How would you feel if on one of those short trips where you feel you don't need WD to help with trailer control, a child on a bike darts out in front of your truck and the steering isn't as responsive as needed because of weight unloading and you swerve but the truck keeps going straight and hits the child???

Doesn't matter if that child is in Phoenix on a "long trip" or a block from your house, just as you're getting up to 50MPH, on that "short trip"....

Front end loading and maximizing control with a WD hitch isn't dependent on trip distance, rather on the physics of the rig which are similar without regard to planned destination.... YMMV

 

[Peto]

My boat has a much higher tongue weight and I've yet to kill a kid while towing it.... Besides, I don't see many kids on 50mph roads.

My biggest dislike with the WDH is that on short trips (distance wise) we are typically in one spot much longer and I have to remove the hitch before I can go to town or out exploring (Off Road) and the knuckle on the curt is a beast. Years of racing dirt bikes and back injuries makes it no fun to remove and install it. I've tried pulling the pin and adjusting the trailer height to the neutral point and just pulling away and letting it hang in the tongue but it takes 2 to get it lined up when reconnecting. Then I have to lock it so no one steels it... At home I've built a dolly using a hydraulic moto stand.

My truck has a class V 3" receiver that is rated for much more than anything I tow. Same for the drop hitch. The thing is much more than adequate...


So, front tire steering capabilities is the issue everyone is concerned about?

 

[RacerX-KEY]

Agree with John. The extra effort is worth the risk mitigation. Nothing worse than driving a rig with weight off the front tires. Steering responsiveness can just be a little off but still affect things. It also gets more noticeable as your speed increases. Eg 10mph is very different than 55. Our rig is heavier, but I can feel the difference if my WD is not dialed in. Steering feels looser (or rear end feels sloppy if too much weight is shifted the other way.).

I upgraded our stock receiver to one that can handle the higher tongue weight but still use WD on the road whenever driving further than the campground dump station.

One other point. I would check the specs of your F250. My 2016 F350 was limited to 600 lbs on the receiver itself without WD and 1250 with WD. (Hence my upgrade to a replacement receiver.). Remember to check the limits of all the components. Truck, receiver, hitch and hitch ball. For me the hitch receiver was the weakest link. The other elements all stated 1200 or higher but as mentioned with no WD my receiver was limited to 600 lbs. This spec is hidden in the towing guide much below the other specs, so it is worth checking. Here is a pic of the 2016 version.

 

[sourdough]

I am a proponent of using the wdh. I had the pleasure? of towing the same trailer with a 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton truck. The 1/2 ton was overloaded and never moved the trailer without the wdh, the 3/4 and 1 tons were not. I too wondered about towing without the wdh so I gave it a whirl since the truck didn't squat with the trailer and it was level. It "sort of" feels OK when first going but it doesn't take long to notice that you feel a lot more of the movements coming from the trailer. Thinking about it, without anything at all to keep the trailer from taking off side to side, anything could happen at any given time and a 7k+ lb. trailer surely will take a 3/4 ton with it if it decides to go sideways. Passing semis/vans etc. were felt more than with the wdh but the kicker was when wind was mixed with traffic on the highway. Our part of the country has a lot of wind but with just a 20mph wind and traffic I really missed the control of the wdh. Solution? I just used the wdh all the time - and I would recommend doing that to anyone in the same situation. Once a catastrophy begins you can't pause it, stop it or redo it....it plays out. The wdh is just another piece of safety gear to hopefully prevent the unexpected from happening.

 

[flybouy]

I've encountered kids, adult on bicycles, hickers, deer, dogs, even sheep in the middle of the road in my travels on roads withh >50 mph limits. Having the sway control saved the situation from being a "statistic" more than once.The last time it happened was driving to Ocean City, MD. Cam around a curve and there was a child of maybe 7 yrs in the middle of the road. Scary encounter.

It sounds like you have it figured out so I'll wish you safe travels. I use a Hitch Grip tool that makes connecting and carrying much easier.https://youtu.be/73XsNQ22r8c

 

[JRTJH]

My DW just got off the phone with her sister who lives in Waterford, MI, a suburb of Detroit/Pontiac. Their sub-division is a middle class, established neighborhood. They were talking about an event that happened today. DW's sister was standing in the living room this morning, looking out the window, just watching birds, etc. She saw a neighbor's 2 year old daughter was outside by herself. DW's sister said the toddler walked next door, turned around and walked partway back, then stopped, looked sort of like she was lost or unsure, then walked out into the road, sat down in a pothole that had a little water in it and started playing in the pothole. So, kids do strange things, not always expected and certainly not always with their safety as the most important thing in their activities at the moment.... By the time DW's sister got outside and to the little girl, she said 5 or 6 cars had swerved to avoid hitting her, just in that minute or two it took her to open the door and get to the toddler.

 

[Peto]

How did we get from the need for a WDH to kids sitting in pot holes?

I don't have my manual handy so don't know if my reciever is limited w/o a WDH but it appears to be rated well within my need with one. I'd assume I'm safe either with or without in that regards.

Forgot to mention. My truck is diesel so I'm assuming the few extra thousand pounds would help offset the lack of steering created by the tongue weight.

 

[sourdough]

The "need" for a wdh (assuming a good one with sway control) plays right into the child in a pothole and being able to control a trailer while in duress - every time. Any effort to make an evasive action, and the trailer doing what it will do....including taking the truck where it wants to go, is mitigated by the dampening effect of a wdh with sway. If talking about a hitch that only has weight distribution, I've never seen the logic. A wdh with sway does a LOT of things to keep one safe....or not if you choose not to use one and leave safety to chance.

 

[Eman85]

Seatbelts aren't needed, but there are laws and they do work. I don't believe there are any laws on WDH.

 

[DutchmenSport]

I 100% concur with sourdough and his assessment of WDH. It doesn't matter if you travel 1 mile or 100,000 miles, anything can happen at any time. And if you choose not to use it and something happens, you'll be kicking yourself for the rest of your life.

I drive a 1 ton dually diesel and had a 31 foot and a 35 foot travel trailer. I still used WDH every time I hitched, even if just going around the block to exercise the tires on the trailer in the Winter. If you have them, use them. Once an accident happens, you can never take it back.

 

[Notanlines]

I’m not certain if the OP was actually looking for advice (probably not) or just throwing this out for general conversation (probably). Either way, I believe the pothole baby story is germane to the subject. And most people are going to do whatever they please anyway.

 

[Peto]

^^^ this. I was just opening it up to discussion. Never meant to kill babies in potholes.

But then, being chastised for opening a discussion does occur.

 

[Max23]

^^^ this. I was just opening it up to discussion. Never meant to kill babies in potholes.

But then, being chastised for opening a discussion does occur.

LOL, I'm with ya. My use is for the short stuff around locally, I don't use the EQ hitch. But, anything out on the highway, ya, I'm gonna use it cuz the wind tends to blow very hard around here every day. Hard to get away from. Just a fact of life on the plains. It's always a cross wind to. Doesn't matter which direction you go, it's a cross wind. Go figure. In your pic the truck does look like she's dipping a bit more than you would probably want so must have some extra stuff loaded bringing up that tongue weight. Again, I use mine for anything out of town. (I don't camp in town, but it gets taken for service or there is a local park about 10 miles from the house if friends are getting together etc.

 

[sourdough]

^^^ this. I was just opening it up to discussion. Never meant to kill babies in potholes.

But then, being chastised for opening a discussion does occur.

Opening the subject for discussion with a question about the use of a wdh and then the comment that you are interested in what the comments would be about the need for the wdh - pro and con, seems to be a wide open question inviting comments from every angle...that's what it said. No chastising that I read anywhere. The comment of babies in potholes fits right into your question and request for comments.......an illustration of what can/might happen.

 

[Peto]

LOL, I'm with ya. My use is for the short stuff around locally, I don't use the EQ hitch. But, anything out on the highway, ya, I'm gonna use it cuz the wind tends to blow very hard around here every day. Hard to get away from. Just a fact of life on the plains. It's always a cross wind to. Doesn't matter which direction you go, it's a cross wind. Go figure. In your pic the truck does look like she's dipping a bit more than you would probably want so must have some extra stuff loaded bringing up that tongue weight. Again, I use mine for anything out of town. (I don't camp in town, but it gets taken for service or there is a local park about 10 miles from the house if friends are getting together etc.

It does look like it has a little sqwat in the rear but in reality both the truck and trailer are sitting very level. The picture was taken while I was measuring everything. I check it often just to make sure I'm applying equal weight to the axles of the traler. Truck settles a bit when I hook the trailer but not more than a couple inches and most of that is the softer spring in the rear. Nowhere near the overloads. It rides and drives real nice as it sits.

 

[JohnBike]

Made a short trip to the dump station at a state park without the WDH. Even at walking speed in the park the front end was squirrelly. Would never consider open road without WDH.

 

[Eman85]

I just happened to look at the V5 hitch on my dually, it lists weight carrying on the hitch at 500lbs not much for an F350. It's rated 1250 with WDH and 12,500 gross with WDH.