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Old 11-06-2014, 02:43 PM   #1
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Recommend a good hitch

I'm picking up a '13 28BHS and am needing a hitch. I have some ideas of good brands and what weight rating I need, but I want to hear your opinions. Published tongue weight is 690lbs which we all know is a lie. The trailer is 5500lbs empty and I'm factoring 1000lbs for gear, making a towing weight of about 6500 and GVWR is 7500. The odd time I will tow with a bit of water in the tank, which is forward of the trailer axles, adding tongue weight. I'll also have dual 6V up there too.

I want good sway control (30.5ft long) and something affordable. We all know how badly us Canadians get hosed with pricing compared to our southern friends.

What do you guys think?
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Old 11-06-2014, 03:08 PM   #2
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I use a Pro 1200lb good for 12000 or 15000 lbs. with Sway Control which apparently came with a 6000 lbs. GVWR TT. It works perfect no sway at all and good distribution.
A lot of the WD hitches are mfg in China. Distributers just put their own name on it. On KiJiJi or Graig's list you might find them in your area. They are also listed at bargain prices on Amazone.ca Once I had a real expensive one and found the cheaper ones serve the same purpose. What ever you can afford or want to spent on a WD with Sway control. Good Luck in your search
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Old 11-06-2014, 03:15 PM   #3
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IMHO this is the wrong item to shop by price. I have used Equalizer now on two campers. Its all you need in a hitch.
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Old 11-06-2014, 03:25 PM   #4
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Wow ALJO, I had a 198RD before this and had a hitch half as beefy as yours! 600LB bars.

And eldermike, you're right, I know how important it is to have a quality hitch for a long bumper pull. Equalizers are rated very high, but they are also quite heavy from what I've read and I'm not sure if the E2 would be good enough or if I should look at the E4.
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Old 11-06-2014, 03:39 PM   #5
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I only have experience with an E4 Equalizer with 1400/14000 rating, and I can say it's done its job well, though I have nothing to compare it against. I will say you are correct....It's quite heavy. But otherwise, distributes weight well and I've driven through wind gusts with no sway with my short wheelbase TV.
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Old 11-06-2014, 03:46 PM   #6
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Is the Equal-i-zer made by a company called Lindon? I have found a couple used hitch ads that list as "Lindon Equalizer" and not sure if that's the real deal or not...
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Old 11-06-2014, 03:50 PM   #7
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For lack of a better term, there seems to be 3 tiers of hitches...

Premium - Propride and Hensley

Middle - Equal-i-Zer, Reese Dual Cam, Reese SC, and much less often referred to but I use with and am very happy the Husky CenterLine. Each of these offer integrated sway control and don't require a separate friction sway bar.

Economy - dozens of manufactures provide this. Typically they are either square or round bar with chains on snap up brackets and separate friction sway control.

Any of them can be dialed in to do the job. The preimum cost thousands, middle cost $400-$700 and economy are $250. I personally think any of the middle group will serve you well for years to come.

Some are very passionate about Hensley and Propride, but they exceed my budget.

As was mention cost shouldn't be the driving force in this decision -- but you IMO you don't need to spend thousands. Whatever you get make sure you take the time to get actual weights and set it up correctly with a loaded trailer. Likely will require a couple trips to the scale.
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Old 11-06-2014, 03:51 PM   #8
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I've had both Equilizer and Reese Dual Cam hitches on 3 different trailers. I would recommend looking at those, as they are both excellent choices.

I would expect that published tongue weight to end up at around 900# by the time the trailer is loaded
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Old 11-06-2014, 03:52 PM   #9
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Is the Equal-i-zer made by a company called Lindon? I have found a couple used hitch ads that list as "Lindon Equalizer" and not sure if that's the real deal or not...
Maybe -- Equal-i-Zer is currently made by Progress Mfg but formerly Lindon Hitch. Equalizer has become a generic term, so make sure it is actually Equal-i-Zer.
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Old 11-06-2014, 04:06 PM   #10
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Here is a description of my set-up for you to ponder. Our TT is 30 ft overall length, and 7,300 lbs loaded up. Our tongue weight is 1,000 lbs. We just completed a trip from Ontario to the FL Keys and back. It was 6,300 kms round trip with some 2,200 ft mountains in TN-KY. In OH we experienced 25 mph cross winds. Our Equalizer hitch is the 1k-10k model. Some will say that's too light. I say too heavy is a bigger problem. My experience on this trip is the Equalizer E4 controlled the cross winds very well, but you still needed close attention to the steering to stay on track. I would also say, I would not have wanted to tow in these conditions with a half-ton truck. Another view point I have -- the Equalizer is a friction type sway control device, with the primary difference being the friction surfaces are metal to metal, vs the traditional friction bars being metal to brake pad type material. Equalizer says they are better because the brake pad material looses effectiveness when wet, where as metal to metal does not.
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Old 11-06-2014, 04:25 PM   #11
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My experience is with the Reese Dual Cam, and I can say that I recommend this hitch system without reservation. I used it on several trailers at different gross weights and tongue weights, and was satisfied with all of them. One thing that I did was keep the same system for all the trailers. As the trailers got heavier, I just swapped out the spring bars for a heavier rated set, but kept the rest of the system, so once I bought into the system, keeping it over several trailers was pretty affordable. I don't know if the other manufacturers have something similar, but they might.
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Old 11-06-2014, 07:15 PM   #12
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I have a Husky with 800-1200# bars and one friction sway control. What I like about the Husky is that there are 3 different sets of bars that you can use. For my 26BH the 500-800# bars worked fine. My current trailer is between 900 and 1000# on the hitch so the heavier bars keep trailer from bouncing.

Have never experience any sway with this setup. Having 13 to 15 percent of total trailer weight on the tongue will help with sway control.

I don't think you have to spend big bucks to have a properly set up hitch.
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Old 11-06-2014, 11:31 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyBound View Post
snip..... The trailer is 5500lbs empty and I'm factoring 1000lbs for gear, making a towing weight of about 6500 and GVWR is 7500. The odd time I will tow with a bit of water in the tank, which is forward of the trailer axles, adding tongue weight. I'll also have dual 6V up there too......snip
Based on your loading habits, I would use the TT's GVWR of 7,500lbs as a worst case loaded TT weight scenario.

A recommended loaded tongue range would be 13% - 15% of 7,500lbs = 975lbs to 1,125lbs.

IMO a would go with a 1,200b rated WDH. Both the Equal-i-zer brand WDH and Reese Strait Line (Dual Cam) WDH will give you excellent towing results. Also both of these WDH's have integrated sway control.

Bob
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Old 11-07-2014, 10:48 AM   #14
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Based on your loading habits, I would use the TT's GVWR of 7,500lbs as a worst case loaded TT weight scenario.

A recommended loaded tongue range would be 13% - 15% of 7,500lbs = 975lbs to 1,125lbs.

IMO a would go with a 1,200b rated WDH. Both the Equal-i-zer brand WDH and Reese Strait Line (Dual Cam) WDH will give you excellent towing results. Also both of these WDH's have integrated sway control.

Bob
I agree with that. Even at 6500/900#, I would recommend the 1200# bars. Having used both hitches, I like the setup of the Equilizer best, but I like the flex of the Dual Cam bars better. My driveway is 10% and I never liked the stress that the much stiffer Equilizer bars put on everything. However, with the Equilizer, there is no drilling holes in the frame.
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Old 11-07-2014, 11:36 AM   #15
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I have the Reese trunnion bar system with dual cam on that model trailer, with 1200 lb spring bars.
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Old 11-08-2014, 07:47 AM   #16
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I just towed it home empty with a borrowed Fastway E2 with 800lb bars. It towed acceptably, albeit not perfectly since I didn't take the time to tweak the hitch since it was a one time tow. The front fender was about 1/2in higher than unloaded so not bad. The trailer was 100% empty so those bars did OK.

I was looking at a 1000lb tongue weight set up, but you guys are saying go even heavier? What are the consequences of over-hitching? Those 1200lb hitches are what I see on 32TSBH's and similar.
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Old 11-08-2014, 10:58 AM   #17
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snip..... What are the consequences of over-hitching? Those 1200lb hitches are what I see on 32TSBH's and similar.
You stated an estimated loaded TT weight of 6,500lbs (not including the extra added weight you mentioned) will give you a recommended tongue weight range of 845lbs to 975lbs (13% to 15%)....., so a 1,200b rated WDH isn't overkill. Like any WDH, proper adjustment is "key" and a CAT scale visit is the only way to confirm. At the end of the day the majority of HTT & TT loaded tongue weights tend to be closer to the 15% end of the range which is desirable on the longer TT's.

Oh, in many cases a 1,200b rated WDH on a 32TSBH is just enough, or "under-rated". Most 32TSBH owners find that there starting "loaded" tongue weight is 1,200lbs, it goes up from there.

CAT scale how-to: http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3871

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Old 11-08-2014, 04:46 PM   #18
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As RVer-Bill says "My driveway is 10% and I never liked the stress that the much stiffer Equilizer bars put on everything."

This is the problem with going heavier with the Equal-i-zer hitch bars. They are not tapered. The other brands being discussed are tapered and it makes a big difference.

If the bars you get are tapered, you will do fine with 1200 lb rating. If you go with the Equal-i-zer non-tapered bars, IMO don't go over 1,000 lb rating.
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Old 11-08-2014, 07:11 PM   #19
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It doesn't matter what your DWH preferences are? Proper adjustment gives you a smooth operation. Even back in the 70's with a 750 lbs. round bar Reese (which I still have) needed proper adjustment. Most mfg's and distributers go nowadays to china for their products, no wonder there is a to much "look a like" with a made in china sticker. One distributor put 250 on a DWH another put 500 on the same. Well you have to pay for the name........right. Searching the web will tell you the story so it is with all the consumer goods. Whatever makes a person happy!
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Old 11-09-2014, 01:13 PM   #20
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It doesn't matter what your DWH preferences are? Proper adjustment gives you a smooth operation. Even back in the 70's with a 750 lbs. round bar Reese (which I still have) needed proper adjustment. Most mfg's and distributers go nowadays to china for their products, no wonder there is a to much "look a like" with a made in china sticker. One distributor put 250 on a DWH another put 500 on the same. Well you have to pay for the name........right. Searching the web will tell you the story so it is with all the consumer goods. Whatever makes a person happy!
Are you talking product quality, or product design?
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