Weight Distribution Hitches

[fried1765]

Forgot to mention - I like the Equalizer but I have not tried others.
There are only 3 main parts to move around - The hitch ball and shank (which weighs 54lbs) and the two sway bars (21lbs @). Plus I carry a killer farm jack in the truck to hitch it up easily.


My feelings exactly, especially since the three parts I mentioned weigh almost 100 lbs by themselves. Seems like when I bought it 5 years ago it wasn't as heavy

Maybe it's a symptom of old age and conversion to metric. I'd swear what used to be 50lbs feels like 50kg

I have the 14K Equal-i-zer hitch.
At 76 years old I find it rather difficult to hook up, due to the hitch weight.
The 14K Equal-i-zer is a brute!
That said: I would not tow my 14K trailer with any other brand weight distribution hitch.

 

[Egon]

Holy Toledo, I didn't think those hitches were so expensive, this is why I bought a class 5 hitch for my half ton pickup.

I bought a Curt hitch and it will haul 15,000lbs with 2500lb tongue weight, it far exceeds my truck but I wanted to avoid not having enough hitch, I paid $280 for it with free shipping, install took about an hour on a virgin frame.

I have a 7500lb Reese ball for a hallow 6k ball mount for smaller trailers and a 2 5/16 16k curt ball mounted on a solid 15k Reese ball mount, now I never have to worry about hauling anything.

My truck also has coil over rear shocks which are fantastic for towing, I can haul a 6-7k load and the truck rides level and barely knows it's back there.

I would invest in heavier rear shocks and a heavier hitch first. I'm not sold on the weight distribution hitches, feels like a bandaid solution to me.

After a specified trailer weight the weight distributing hitch may be a legal requirement.

 

[bandaidmd]

Is there a trailer load weight where it makes sense to use a weight distribution hitch? Used them with RVs before. Wasn't thinking of one pulling tractor and bush hog on trailer. Any rule of thumb to follow for when they are helpful?

when you have no choice in where you position your load such as a tractor with a bush hog that either all the weights ahead of your axel or back it on and you have a swaymaster due to not enough tounge weight.

 

[jwstewar]

I use a Reese (12k) and a Curt (10k) WD hitch on a regular basis. I use the Curt with my utility trailer (sometimes with, sometimes without the bars), with my stock trailer (w/o the bars), and Mom's camper (w/ the bars). It is a nice hitch, but I don't like it. I can't get the head for either of my hitches to stay in the position I set it - even when using the little "pin" they provide to keep it in place. You can actually feel the head shifting back and forth as you are driving and you will lose the weight on the spring bars. I use the Reese with our camper (and also have a 7500 lb Reese I used on Mom's old camper) and I like the setup much better. Put the head in place and it stays where you put it. Much better system. A little more money, but if I had it to do over, I would have never bought the Curt - even though it is very heavy made and I've had no breakage with it.