Brand new to travel trailers

[Stealthpenguin]

My wife and I are contemplating purchasing a 2016 Jay Flight SLX 264 BHW. We both are completely new to travel trailers and I've been told by various sources about which WD hitch i should go with. From the specs sheet, the dry trailer weight is 4550 with a listed dry tongue weight of 490. I really want to go with a reese straight line rated for 10,000 but the confusing part is which tongue weight i should go with. 800 or 1000? Ive heard arguements for both? My tow vehicle is a 08 hemi ram half ton w/ tow package and 3.92 gears. Sorry in advance if this has been asked before.

[Grumpy]

If I was in your shoes, and I was in 1977, I'd go with (which I did) the 1,000. Having the better hitch won't hurt anything and if you upgrade trailer and tow vehicle down the road your all set.

My son-in-law is still using that hitch with a 22' STARCRAFT hybrid.

[bankr63]

More is not better with WD Hitches. Get the 800 lb trunnion bars for this trailer. Loaded to the max (6500 lbs) your TW should not go over that. The trailer has a "natural" 12% TW dry; well loaded, it will probably be similar %age. Note that you can buy just the trunnion bars if you later upgrade to a heavier trailer and need more TW capacity, but heavier trunnion bars with a lighter trailer do not adjust correctly (will hang low).

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by bankr63

heavier trunnion bars with a lighter trailer do not adjust correctly (will hang low).

You can adjust the head angle to make up for that. At least I did.

[bankr63]

Sure, you can use any weight of bars as they all technically will do zero up to their rated limit; so yes it works. But a 1,000 lb bar set is will take up 800-1,000 lbs (or whatever the mfg rates them at; our Husky's come in 200lb/2000lb increments) in the normal range of adjustment. You can move the head forward to take up the extra, but then your head angle is probably less than ideal, or you can let the bars hang low with many links hanging because you aren't pulling the bars up as tight as you should.

[need-a-vacation]

Welcome!!!

If the "brochure" dry tw is 490lbs, you will have a tw of about 610lbs once a battery and the 2-20lb propane tanks are on the tongue. What do you anticipate loading in the front pass through? Camp chairs, grill, awning mat, Camp Chef stove, etc....? Will you travel with a full tank of fresh water, and if so, where is the tank located? If yes to the water and the tank is in front of the axles, and yes to a lot of the items I listed for the front pass through, then go with the 1000lb bars (round bar) or 1200lb bars (trunion). If no to the above.... go with the 800lb bars.

The Dual Cam/ Straight Line system is very good. Do plan on readjusting the system once the tt is loaded up for a trip. This is regardless of what brand wdh you go with as the dealer is only setting it up for an empty tt.

[robkelly]

I had the Straight-Line on our White Hawk and loved it. Dealer insisted that all we needed was 800lbs bars, and they ended up being fine. I don't remember the tongue weight, but I do remember that our GVWR was 8500lbs.

[KennyG]

WELCOME!!

EQUALIZER (the brand name) The American original with 4-point sway control and weight distribution. There are a number of weight bearing heads right up to 14,000 lbs. to choose from. Always get a head that can handle a bit more weight than what your trailer tongue weight max.is. No extra cumbersome sway accessories needed to apply or remove when hooking up, and trailer can be coupled/uncoupled at any angle if needed with this hitch. It's been around and proven for over 70 years and I can attest to it's greatness having had one for many years of worry free travelling. There is a whole lot more great videos and info about this on their website. I'm not a salesman, just a happy camper/customer and you will be too with this set-up.
These are a bit pricier; but as the saying goes "you get what you pay for!"

Check the website:
Equal-i-zer® Hitch - The “American Original� with 4-Point Sway Control™ and Weight Distribution

[Stealthpenguin]

Thanks for all the helpful info! Another question I had is regarding brake controllers. The RV dealership recommended Tekonsha and said that because I didnt need multiple trailers settings i could just go with either a P2 or Primus. Suggestions?

[ctbailey]

I am also highly recommending strait line by Reese.

800 pound bars. You can upgrade to 1200 bars when you upgrade to your next trailer.

The sway control is integrated, and you can back up and even jackknife when needed without a single worry.

Brake controllers, get the best you can afford.

[need-a-vacation]

P2 and the P3 are highly regarded models. Not failure with the Primus. I was going to buy a P2 to replace our old time based unit, but got a free truck when I bought a factory brake controller instead!!! Lol

[Heady]

P2 is a great controller