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Old 07-29-2017, 05:52 AM   #1
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Question WD hitch rating vs tt weight & rw

While it is obvious that using a hitch rated below the trailer gvw and tw is a no no, is there any reason to not use a setup that is rated at lets say twice the tt gvw and tw?
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Old 07-29-2017, 06:51 AM   #2
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Most hitches are designed with 10% tongue weight factors, such as if it's a 10,000lb trailer weight hitch, it will have a 1000lb tongue weight limit. In reality, bumper pull trailers will have tongue weights more in the 12-15% range so you will hit the tongue limit before the total weight limit.

If you are using too heavy of a hitch for your trailer, you may experience a harsh ride or even possible damage to the trailer tongue in abnormal maneuvering situations due to the lack of flex, but I don't think it's very common. It could also be very difficult if not impossible to set up correctly in terms of how much weight it is transferring. You should absolutely have more hitch than too little, but putting double the hitch rating on a trailer is less than ideal.

My trailer's max weight is 7500lb (usually loaded to 6700) and a 10,000lb hitch is just enough for the tongue weight.
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Old 07-29-2017, 08:01 AM   #3
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I should have included info on my tv and tt. Pulling with an F150 a 2006 Jayco Jayfeather.
Brochures say it is around 3,000 lbs. I round up the weight a couple hundred to 3,200. I have not weighed it but figuring at 10% to 15% we get 320lbs to 480lbs. The curtis wd hitch I was considering was rated for 12,000lb w/tw of something like 2,000 lbs. It is not a massive hitch for the application but it is a consideration for the future.
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Old 07-29-2017, 08:30 AM   #4
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I experienced this same problem with my TT. The dealer provided an e2 WDH rated for 1k tongue weight and 10k total pull weight. The problem was my TT tongue weight avgs 1100 to 1300 (11 - 13% tongue weight).

The e2 WDH had problems with sway control due to the tongue weight being more than it was designed to handle.

I called around, spoke to folks at etailer.com, truck masters, and several folks on here. The majority of folks advised to get a WDH hitch that could handle 1k to 13k tongue weight which led me to the Equalizer 14k WDH.

The Equalizer 14k WDH obviously is designed to handle total carrying weight of 14k - way more than I need - but in my case, I was concerned with the tongue weight of 1100 to 1300k. The 12K WDH would be fine on most trips but when I go for a long trip the weight will increase and I was told that the 14k works fine for 1k, 1.2, and 1.4k tongue weight so I'm covered.

I have had no problem other than the break in noise which the Equalizer grease solved. Pulling, backing up, maneuvering have had zero issues. The ride is much improved - I still feel some wind affect from big rigs passing but no where near the same affect when I was using the e2 WDH.
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Old 07-29-2017, 05:00 PM   #5
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You don't technically need a WDH until you exceed 500lbs on your truck, but it's not a bad idea to have one. That being said, given the 2000lb tongue weight hitch you mentioned, I would rather run without one than with that thing hooked up personally. That's using a sledge hammer to drive in a finishing nail.
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Old 07-30-2017, 01:55 PM   #6
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I don't think it's that much of an issue to use a hitch that is rated well over what you need, but being double (or more) might at the very least cause you to have a very stiff and/or uncomfortable ride.

When we got our new Eagle TT, the hitch I was using with our previous trailer was a 1400/14000# Equalizer WDH. And although it was rated high enough to be able to handle the 11250# GVW of my new Eagle trailer, it was woefully WAY to close for a possible 15 percent tongue weight that conceivably could go as high as 1687#. Some say that I would be ok because I would be transferring at least a few hundred pounds of dead tongue weight back to the front TV axle and trailer axles when the Equalizer was engaged but even if that were the case, it was just too close to the ratings of that hitch for my own comfort. The Eagle also seemed to porpoise way too much for my liking while trying to use the Equalizer I already had. The Equalizer also didn't seem to be able to control sway as well as it did with our previous/lighter trailer.

So begrudgingly I upgraded to a 2000/20000# Blue Ox WDH that can more than handle any possible GVW and max tongue weights without issue. The Blue Ox is also easily adjustable by simply using a different link in the chain to adjust the tension on the bars for when I am towing empty vs. loaded for extended stays. Is it overkill? Maybe. But it didn't stop there. I also upgraded my OEM receiver on my 2500HD that was only rated up to 1500/150000# to a Curt 2000/20000# Class 5 receiver just to make sure I covered all my bases.

The end result is that I now have a great towing experience with almost flawless sway control, no worries about being too close to the ratings of the hitch or receiver and ease of adjustability when my weights change.

If there is one downside to doing this (besides the expense), it's that when the trailer is mostly empty, like when taking it to the dealer for service, and it's near it's base weight (about 10000#), it makes for a very stiff ride, even when barely engaging the sway bars. But that is one concession I am willing to put up with to get all the other benefits of a fully loaded, great towing trailer all the other times.
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Old 07-31-2017, 08:24 PM   #7
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You can use a double rated hitch, absolutely nothing will happen.

But get the correctly rated spring bars. Double the "strength" rating for a spring bar will make the ride very stiff.


Craig Bailey
New Hampshire
Jayflight 32 BHDS
Chevy 2500HD CC
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