WDH Selection

[Huntsvillian]

So I'm upgrading our travel trailer from a Starcraft 186BH to a Jayco Flight 27BHS.
Currently I'm using a Curt 800lb WDH with 1 away bar. This will be enough to get my new trailer home. The dealer offered me a husky or a blue ox WDH. $700 for the Husky and $1000 for the Blue Ox. I've looked online and can get them cheaper but are these WDH any good? I've looked online at reviews for different WDH without any conclusive answers.
Anyone care to share some advice?

[Skikrazee]

I have the blue ox with 1500# bars towing a 7800# dry weight trailer and absolutely love it. A friend of mine bought the Curt but had a lot of sway when being passed by a semi. He found a used Blue ox with 1500# bars and has no more issues towing 6800# trailer, he did just buy a pair of 1000# bars (at the suggestion of Blue OX) because he could not get a good bend in the 1500# spring bars due to the lower weight of his trailer.

Keep in mind this is only my opinion and there will be others that have good success with different WDH systems.

check locally on craigslist you may find a good deal ( friend paid $200)

Good Luck

[Huntsvillian]

Thanks. Trailer dry is 6650. Dealer recommended the bars that range from 800 to 1200lb. I never knew they ranged like that.

[Skikrazee]

yes the spring bars for Blue Ox come in 550, 750, 1000 & 1500, they have Dots (indentions) on the end so you know what the rating is 1, 2, 3 & 4 dots

[oldmanAZ]

A number of us on this site have the Equalizer brand WDH. If you check the poll results, you'll find it is the most popular hitch brand on this site.

I have the 4-point model and that is what I'd recommend. I've been using it and liking it for about 10 years.

[Huntsvillian]

Yes I was just looking at that poll after I posted. What would you say makes the equalizer better or is it just brand reliability?

[bondo303]

I have a Blue Ox with 1k bars and couldn't be happier. It was between the blue ox and the equalizer 4 point. After back and forth between the 2, I went with the blue ox for a few reasons. It is incredibly easy to setup. Another member on this forum has the same camper as me and has had great results and lastly, I bought it at Sears of all places for $600 with free shipping. I had points to use and a pretty nice sized gift card that offset the price. After setting it up and hitting a cat scale, it is dialed in and I couldn't be happier. To answer your question, I made it home from the dealer with my old wdh rated for 1k, about 150 miles away, and it worked ok but not enough that I wanted to keep it. Also, keep in mind that blue ox has 2 different types, 1 for a regular coupler and 1 for an underslung coupler. I had to get the underslung for my Jay Feather.

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[Marcm157]

I agree with Oldman on the Equalizer. My camper has a dry weight of 6550 but we are closer to 8,000 loaded for camping. I started with a used 10k equalizer from a friend but felt it was a bit too light so I upgraded to a 12k and have had no issues with it at all.

The biggest downside to the Equalizer is if / when you upgrade you can't just swap bars, you need to upgrade the whole setup. Many of the others you can just upgrade the bars.

[bearcat77]

Whatever brand you go with, get one that can handle tongue weights up to 1200lbs.


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[Atlee]

The $1000 for the Blue Ox from the dealer seems high. Dealer installed a 1k on my pickup/trailer (23RB) for $650.

I had intended to put my 1K Equal-i-zer hitch on my truck when I bought the 23RB in June of this year. But the dealer said the L plates that bolt onto the tongue were too short, and it would be 3 days to order and receive new ones.

The dealer only carried Blue Ox so I reluctantly agreed to have it installed. I really prefer the Equal-i-zer. I understand it, and after the install, it's very easy to hitch up.

The Blue Ox is getting better I guess because I'm getting used to it. But the getting used to it included throwing away that awful short, wide "wrench" Blue Ox supplies to attach and unattach the spring bars. That thing is an abomination. Instead, through suggestions at JOF, I now use a round 2' breaker bar with 1" socket. Plus I jack up the truck and trailer as high as I can to relieve as much pressure as I can.

[need-a-vacation]

Hunt,

Congrats on the new rig!!!

As for the new wdh, as mentioned, get a system rated for at least 1000lbs tw, if not 1200lbs. If you pack lighter in the front pass through and don't haul water, the 1000lb bars should do. But if you pack heavier and/or haul water, go with 1200lb rated bars.

As for which wdh, tough call!

The Reese Dual Cam is an awesome system, it a little more finicky when setting up. And the tongue mounted cam arm brackets need to be mounted properly.

The Reese SC and the Euqal-I-Zer 4 way system are very similar models. The advantage the Reese has (for both the DC and SC models) is the hitch head allows more fine tuning vs the 4 way system, and if needed (as mentioned above), the wd bars can be changed out for different rated models if you buy a new rig down the road. The Equal-I-Zer system requires a whole new wdh to be purchased as you can't swap just the bars out. BUT the Equal-I-Zer system is still made in the US (last I knew).

The Husky CenterLine and Blue Ox seem to be growing in popularity as the number of happy owners increases. A buddy has the CL system and has been very happy with it so far, though it's his first wdh of any kind.

I have read good reviews on the Recurve R6 as well, but don't know anyone with the system.

With the money saved on the wdh you will have more than enough to buy a 3/4" breaker bar and some sockets to get the hitch set up if you don't have the right tools. Don't forget a 2' pipe as a "persuader" as well!!!

Good luck deciding!!!

[Huntsvillian]

The prices I quoted are canadian dollars. I checked on Amazon and the prices are within $100 for both comparing to the dealer. So figuring that they would install and setup and save me the initial hassle when collecting the trailer I'm good with that of I decide to go that way.

I did watch a bunch of videos on etrailer last night and I was surprised by how well the Husky seemed to perform as well as the rating, 4.5/5.

I do agree with most here. I will be gong with 1200lb bars.

My initial question regarding bars that range from 800 to 1200 was that I thought if rose bars were for 800lb use it would be too stiff but it appears the Husky is more about the setup for the weight rather than the bar just covering all weights.

The is for the feedback. Much appreciated.

[bearcat77]

If you have the dealer set it up, you need to load that front storage, or at least talk with them about how you plan to. Otherwise, they may set it up based on dry hitch weight.


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[blujay40]

I have used a Husky Centerline TS w/1200# bars, an Equalizer with 1400# bars, and now am using a Blue Ox with 2000# bars.

The Husky and Equalizer were used on our previous TT (Coachmen) and out of those two, I personally liked the Husky the best out of the two. The Husky controlled sway better, prevented porpoising better, and was MUCH quieter. But with all the possible combinations and the way you load a trailer, one may work better than another for others.

The only reason I moved from both of those to a Blue Ox 2000# hitch is because our new Eagle TT, when fully loaded, is ending up with a 1600# tongue weight, and neither the Husky or Equalizer can handle that with room to spare.

In the end, if the Husky Centerline TS had a sufficiently rated spring bar for our new Eagle, I would still be using it, hands down.

[1wayhighway]

Equalizer. Easy to install, easy to set up and easy I put bars on and off. All around I think it's a simple but very effective system. I have a Reese dual cam that I like but my son just bought an equalizer and I have to say I like the equalizer more.

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[geezerbob]

I'm up grading from a 600/6000 equalizer to a 1000/10,000 equalizer.
Moving from x23b to 23rlsw. Had 11,000 miles on the equalizer and liked it.
Bob

[need-a-vacation]

Originally Posted by 1wayhighway

Equalizer. Easy to install, easy to set up and easy I put bars on and off. All around I think it's a simple but very effective system. I have a Reese dual cam that I like but my son just bought an equalizer and I have to say I like the equalizer more.

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The DC system definitely is a little more finicky to set up. Look into the Reese SC system. It is the same style as the Eaual-I-Zer system, but as I mentioned above allows the wd bars to be swapped for a different trailer down the road if needed. AND the hitch head allows the same fine tuning for the head tilt as your DC hitch head if you have the trunnion bar model.