Weight Distribution Hitch

[94BULLITT]

Is this a good weight distribution hitch?


CURT Manufacturing - CURT Long Trunnion Bar Weight Distribution Hitch #17302

CURT

It will be used on a 10k car trailer and maybe a dump trailer.

 

[Markcuda]

I'm no expert but it looks like a good one to me.
All you will need is a ball, probably 2.5/16
I'm sure there are alot of name brands on the market.

 

[Bird]

It looks good and apparently CURT is a big company. It's odd that I've never heard of them before.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Curt and Putnam make the best hitches in my opinion. The quality and paint surpass Reese, Draw Tite, ect.

Chris

 

[Bird]

Chris, I'm gettin' obsolete, out of date, old, etc.:laughing: I've owned and used both Reese and Draw Tite in the past and never even heard of Curt and Putnam. And right now, both of my vehicles have hitch receivers installed by the local U-Haul place. But I've not had a need for a load distributing hitch now since 1977.

 

[imgone52]

The Curt looks like a solid unit. I was impressed with the embedded video at the site you linked us to. That is one of the better videos on WD hitch set ups that I have seen. Attention to those measurements are key to proper handling and ride going down the road.:thumbsup:

 

[Travelover]

A good source of information and reviews for towing related merchandise is etrailer.com.

Curt Trunnion Style Weight Distribution System with Shank, 1,000 lbs. TW, 10,000 lbs. GTW Curt Weight Distribution 17302

 

[Diamondpilot]

Chris, I'm gettin' obsolete, out of date, old, etc.:laughing: I've owned and used both Reese and Draw Tite in the past and never even heard of Curt and Putnam. And right now, both of my vehicles have hitch receivers installed by the local U-Haul place. But I've not had a need for a load distributing hitch now since 1977.

They have both been around for years. Just not as nationally noted as others. E trailer sells both and that has really drawn attention to the name.

As far as what I install it's almost always Curt or Putnam. Once the customer sees one in person the can see the difference between them and the big names.

As for your Uhaul hitches. I would not be surprised if they are not made by Curt. The are very similar and both have a good finish.


Chris

 

[94BULLITT]

Is this WDH as good as one that is $400?

Is the trunnion style the better way to go? From what I have read it has better ground clearance, is easier too hook up and is more durable.

Since I am pulling an open car trailer and maybe a dump trailer would sway control be any benefit to me?

I'm thinking about getting a dump trailer. If I decide to get one it is probably going to be a Bri-Mar or a B Wise. B Wise owns Bri-Mar so the dump trailers I am looking at are pretty much the same. With the location of the tool box on these trailers (most others are the same) it does not look like the clamp on WDH brackets will work. I know there are are some brackets that can be bolted on but I am crazy about the idea of drilling holes in the tongue especially on a new trailer. They offer factory installed brackets for the WDH. Are the bars on all WDHs the same length? I am concerned the brackets may not be on in the correct location. Also it looks the brackets have a "key hole" for the chain, they are fixed in place. Would this make it hard to hook up the chains on the WDH since they do not pivot like the clamp on brackets? Here is a picture of a trailer with the factory installed brackets so you can see what I am talking about.

TrailerEnterprises.com

I'm no expert but it looks like a good one to me.
All you will need is a ball, probably 2.5/16
I'm sure there are alot of name brands on the market.

Yes, I will need a 2 5/16'' ball.

Curt and Putnam make the best hitches in my opinion. The quality and paint surpass Reese, Draw Tite, ect.

Chris

I have used some Curt products before. The finish on them is very nice, I believe they are powder coated.

The Curt looks like a solid unit. I was impressed with the embedded video at the site you linked us to. That is one of the better videos on WD hitch set ups that I have seen. Attention to those measurements are key to proper handling and ride going down the road.:thumbsup:

Thanks, for your reply. I also thought the video was good.

A good source of information and reviews for towing related merchandise is etrailer.com.

Curt Trunnion Style Weight Distribution System with Shank, 1,000 lbs. TW, 10,000 lbs. GTW Curt Weight Distribution 17302

Thanks, I checked out the reviews and they all looked good. I'm going to search for some more reviews before I make up my mind.

 

[94BULLITT]

I am leaning towards getting one with swap control. It comes with the hitch ball and is only $25 more than the one with out the ball and sway control. A ball is $15 or $20 itself.

 

[newbury]

Make sure you get a ball (or balls) rated for what you are going to pull. And carry an assortment of balls. When I went to rent a U haul tow dolly it required a 2" ball and U haul was out, so I had to drive a half hour to get a ball.

Also make sure you can hook up the chains. Most of the WDH's I looked at wouldn't fit my Hudson due to where the battery box is welded on.

 

[94BULLITT]

Make sure you get a ball (or balls) rated for what you are going to pull. And carry an assortment of balls. When I went to rent a U haul tow dolly it required a 2" ball and U haul was out, so I had to drive a half hour to get a ball.

Also make sure you can hook up the chains. Most of the WDH's I looked at wouldn't fit my Hudson due to where the battery box is welded on.

The ball I get will be rated for the load. I have an assortment of ball mounts and balls. I have a 2'' ball that is rated for 7500. I had a 7k car trailer that took a 2'' ball.

Do you have a picture of your trailer and how the WDH is on it? I think I may have the same problem with a dump trailer.

 

[newbury]

Here's a pic of the problem

Specs for the hitch were

Sway-control bracket positioning: 27" - 32" back from center of coupler

.Equal-i-zer Weight Distribution w/ 4-Point Sway Control - No Shank - 14,000 lbs GTW, 1,400 lbs TW Equal-i-zer Weight Distribution EQ90-00-1401

Most other hitches were similar and when I talked with E-qualizer and other WD mfg tech reps they strongly advised against moving the hanging bracket in as far as I would need to in order to miss the battery box (about the 22" point). And none of them went out farther.

At the time I didn't weld so I didn't want the extra cost of moving the box. And I didn't want to bolt a bracket into the frame. I'm picky at times.

I ended up moving the bar under the tongue box further back. The bracket fits under the cord just beyond the box. All is well. It's made 3 or 4 loaded trips down to Mississippi.

 

[94BULLITT]

Here's a pic of the problem
View attachment 412006
Specs for the hitch were .Equal-i-zer Weight Distribution w/ 4-Point Sway Control - No Shank - 14,000 lbs GTW, 1,400 lbs TW Equal-i-zer Weight Distribution EQ90-00-1401

Most other hitches were similar and when I talked with E-qualizer and other WD mfg tech reps they strongly advised against moving the hanging bracket in as far as I would need to in order to miss the battery box (about the 22" point). And none of them went out farther.

At the time I didn't weld so I didn't want the extra cost of moving the box. And I didn't want to bolt a bracket into the frame. I'm picky at times.

I ended up moving the bar under the tongue box further back. The bracket fits under the cord just beyond the box. All is well. It's made 3 or 4 loaded trips down to Mississippi.

Thanks, I see, the equalizer is adjustable. I have seen some hitches that have short or long bars.

 

[newbury]

Thanks, I see, the equalizer is adjustable. I have seen some hitches that have short or long bars.

If I remember correctly the more weight you have the longer the bar you want. I've put about 9K on my Hudson and it's always towed like a dream w/ my 2002 7.3 dually at HIGHway speeds. Tows better if kept under 75 when passing big trucks or being passed by big tucks.

 

[timswi]

I don't have a "name brand" WD, it was supplied by the dealer when I bought by TT..Different in that the bars insert through the bottom and not mounted to the top as was my last one..It does a great job with the anti-sway and all of the fire-power built into my truck. The physics of this stuff is very impressive.

 

[jwstewar]

I've got 3 different WD systems with 5 different hitch heads. One is an old Reese 7k system. Works great up to its weight limit. Then I have a 10k (maybe 12 can't remember) Reese system that I bought when I bought the new camper. It works great once I got it adjusted correctly when the dealership didn't have it quite right and I broke the hitch head, but Reese stood behind it anyway and sent me a new hitch head, after I had already bought one, so now I have a spare. Then I needed a WD system for my utility trailer. I ended up ordering a Curt from Amazon. I didn't need much "bar" on the trailer, so I always kept the hitch head up straight. I then ordered another hitch head w/ a longer drop to use with the Suburban. Never had any issues with it until this past summer when Mom bought another camper that was just a bit too heavy for my old 7k system. But since it was closer to the same hitch height as my utility trailer I used the Curt, but now I needed more bar. I adjusted the head back to get it, but unlike the Reese, it is a smooth connection. The Reese has ridges to keep it from moving. I can feel the hitch head sliding back and forth on the shank. It has a short "block" (for lack of a better term) to supposedly stop this, but it isn't long enough for where I want the hitch head set. So if you would have asked me prior this summer, I would have given 2 thumbs up on the Curt, now, not so much.

BTW, it is the same hitch that is pictured in the link.

 

[94BULLITT]

I've got 3 different WD systems with 5 different hitch heads. One is an old Reese 7k system. Works great up to its weight limit. Then I have a 10k (maybe 12 can't remember) Reese system that I bought when I bought the new camper. It works great once I got it adjusted correctly when the dealership didn't have it quite right and I broke the hitch head, but Reese stood behind it anyway and sent me a new hitch head, after I had already bought one, so now I have a spare. Then I needed a WD system for my utility trailer. I ended up ordering a Curt from Amazon. I didn't need much "bar" on the trailer, so I always kept the hitch head up straight. I then ordered another hitch head w/ a longer drop to use with the Suburban. Never had any issues with it until this past summer when Mom bought another camper that was just a bit too heavy for my old 7k system. But since it was closer to the same hitch height as my utility trailer I used the Curt, but now I needed more bar. I adjusted the head back to get it, but unlike the Reese, it is a smooth connection. The Reese has ridges to keep it from moving. I can feel the hitch head sliding back and forth on the shank. It has a short "block" (for lack of a better term) to supposedly stop this, but it isn't long enough for where I want the hitch head set. So if you would have asked me prior this summer, I would have given 2 thumbs up on the Curt, now, not so much.

BTW, it is the same hitch that is pictured in the link.

Thanks for the reply. I looked at the Reese WDH's and saw that the washers have ridges on them. I will definitely take this into consideration before I buy one.