Sway bars or WDH

[Irks73]

Hi all tomorrow is the big day I'm picking up my 2016 19h!! I will be towing it with a 2013 F150 with Eco Boost, my question here is do I need a WDH or will sway bars alone work? The trailer is rated at 4950# max with approximate tongue weight of 500# I've been towing boats and large snowmobile trailers for years and never messed with either(young and dumb I guess) any input would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks

[canadiankid]

My 1500 required a weight distribution hitch for any trailer above 5k lbs. pretty sure that's the same across the board. Not sure. But I would definitely want sway pulling a box. Big fan of the blue ox which is a 2 in 1 so why not have both.

[need-a-vacation]

Is that ~500lbs tw the "brochure" dry weight? Even if not, you will want the tw to be somewhere in the range of 12-15% of the loaded weight. If it's below ~12%, you may have sway caused by having to little tw. If you loaded to near the gvwr, you could possibly have a tw as high as ~750lbs. So a wdh would definitely be helpful, even if not required per Ford's ratings and suggestions....

The Reese Dual Cam, Reese SC, and the Equal-I-Zer 4 way system are all very good models with integrated sway control. Integrated sway control eliminates the need to remove the sway bar (side mounted models) when backing in and making very sharp turns.

Are the sled trailers you have pulled open or enclosed? If open, like a boat, they will generally have less than 12% tw.

Congrats on the new rig!!!

[Irks73]

the dry tw is 400, I will have dual 30# propane tanks and 2 6v batteries so I guess I'm a little off probably closer to 550-600# tw. But thanks for the info I will definitely look into them.

[tylersdad]

Look at your F150 owners manual. It says that anything with a tongue weight over 500 requires a WDH.

[BJR]

We had a 2014 X19H we towed with our Sivlerado 1500. I bought a used ProSeries WDH on Craigslist with 800lb bars for $250 and it worked like a charm. Never needed sway control.

Bryan

[DocBrown]

My X20E has a GVWR of 4750#. Without a WDH I would have very poor steering control.

And that's the reason you need one. To put the weight back on the front wheels so that you can control the truck. Your truck's manual has a specification for this. You measure the front fender at stock height. You connect the trailer, then adjust the WDH to bring the front back down. In the case of Ford I believe it's half the distance back to stop height. GM wants the front all the way back to stock height.

This is a safety issue. Boats and snow mobile trailers are different animals when it comes to towing. Neither has the heavy tongue weight of a travel trailer. Don't try to save a few bucks after you've spent many thousands.

And yes, you need sway control. It's cheap insurance for events that are out of your control.

The good news is that once you have this stuff, it will last you years. I've used my current WDH and sway control on 2 trailers and 4 tow vehicles.

[need-a-vacation]

Originally Posted by Irks73

the dry tw is 400, I will have dual 30# propane tanks and 2 6v batteries so I guess I'm a little off probably closer to 550-600# tw. But thanks for the info I will definitely look into them.

Having 2-30lb tanks and a "standard issue" 12v RV battery adds ~160lbs, without knowing the weight of the 6v batteries I will guess you will easily be at or over 600lbs tw before loading the trailer with "stuff".

Having 2-30lb tanks, and 2-6v batteries I would have a wdh myself on a 1500/150 truck. Not knowing the exact tw makes it tough sometimes, but the 800lb wd bars should do the job. 1000lb bars may be just a little to much. Sounds like you should be ok on having sufficient tw, just don't load to much behind the axle(s) and lose tw!!!

Follow the links in my signature for a ton of wdh info!!!

Hope today goes well!!!!

[NVGun40]

Everyone has pretty much covered the technical aspect of this. So I won't beat this horse. Spend the money and get a WDH. Even if you TT and TV were on the lower end of the have to have spectrum. You will be glad you got one.

[Irks73]

Thanks a lot for all the great info!! Now it will be the descion of which one to get!!

[tylersdad]

Originally Posted by Irks73

Thanks a lot for all the great info!! Now it will be the descion of which one to get!!

If I had it to do over again, I would NOT buy one of the old-style round bar systems again. They are incredibly cumbersome. There are more parts to store than are necessary. And they take longer to hitch up.

[Irks73]

Here it is!

[jestoy7]

What wdh did you get?

[Irks73]

I ended up getting a Husky Centerline ts. Dealer said they really like those and I read some good reviews about it.

[canadiankid]

Congrats! Other than the Ford it looks great!