Park maneuvers without WDH bars

[Toad]

I have to agree, I also have the E2 hitch with round bars and never have to disengage.
I had previously with our older trailer a chain load leveling bars set up with a separate sway control bar, pain in the bu.. to back up and maneuver.
Never have an issue with this E2 setup.

Originally Posted by Route 66 Traveler

Depends on the hitch. I have a Fastway e2 hitch and never remove it until I'm parked. No problem backing up or tight turns. One reason I bought it. Best hitch I've ever used.

[garywilson]

Originally Posted by BeGin

Hi Folks
Seeking advice here. I was recently in a park where I had to do a lot of back and forth, turning etc to get positioned on my campsite. A passerby suggested I remove wdh bars to make maneuvers easier. This makes sense to me in hindsight but hopefully I can get some advice here.

Is it ok to drive short distances slowly without wdh bars? (I’m thinking I could remove bars once in an unfamiliar campground to be prepared for tight maneuvers. )

Do others remove wdh bars for tight maneuvers in a campground?

Thanks in advance
B

1. Yes, it's ok if you aren't dragging. If you are, you have other issues.
2. I do, almost every time. Sometimes I drop them at the office, sometimes in front of the campsite. Depends on how far I have to go.

[Sbrinson]

Originally Posted by 16WhiteColly

If it is a WD Hitch with chain snap up brackets, they recommend removing them. In my case, I have this type due to the 5,000 lb. rated WD Hitch and remove them. Rather take a couple of minutes to do that and not take a chance of damaging the hitch head, brackets, or even possibly bending the A frame during tight maneuvers. Maybe overkill, but I do.

I've never needed to remove the bars or anti-sway for backing into a regular campsite. However, when returning home and executing a rather tortuous back-in to my driveway I've found it a good idea to make a brief stop in a nearby shopping center parking lot to remove the bars and anti-sway unit. It is only a couple blocks away, and I've found it puts less stress on the system and makes tight turning easier. It reduces the noise which also is less stress on the DW.

[garywilson]

Originally Posted by BeGin

Thanks Folks
I appreciate everyone’s input. I’ll continue leaving WDH bars in place until parked.
B

It might be cheaper to read your owner's manual.

[rimrider]

Have a Husky round bar hitch I remove the sway control and have no problem backing anywhere. I do remove the wd bars before leveling so they do not influence anything as far as leveling

[joe w]

Originally Posted by rimrider

Have a Husky round bar hitch I remove the sway control and have no problem backing anywhere. I do remove the wd bars before leveling so they do not influence anything as far as leveling

I too have the Husky straight Line TS hitch and I always leave everything attached until parked, never had a problem.

[usmc616]

Never removed my WD bars . When I used a friction sway bar , before upgrading to Reese Dual Cam, I never removed it either. Never had a problem backing in yo a site.

[imjustdave]

Originally Posted by Ryan B.

I'm still new to this, but I've been told to always use WDH/Bars whenever towing your rig. This is so the truck doesn't have unnecessary load on the rear suspension and risk of damage to truck.

If your that close Weight wise to be causing damage then you have too small a tow vehicle. As it is I see some crazy driving over the years
WD only moves so much weight

But yeah in general I find it interesting to see people pull in making all sort of creaking and clunking sounds. I seriously think sometimes people just put it as tight as possible and call it good

[Malyhupe]

Use to have a travel trailer in the past and was caught off guard once, since then, I always removed everything (sway and torsion) at the reception. Was backing in my site and there was a little hill to back in where the back wheel of the truck were kind of lifted a bit, had to put the truck in AWD and while backing up, the rear wheel ended up slightly touching the ground and the whole back end shifted sideway and stop a couple of inch of a tree. Learn my lesson from that time on, unless it was a site with absolutely no slope, always removed everything before I back up. The set up was a Reese with separate sway and torsion bars.

[16WhiteColly]

The only reason I remove the bars before backing, is that I have already damaged one hitch head on my Curt square bar WD Hitch, at the cost of $85.

[mrpavette]

Check the weight carrying capacity on your WDH without the bars and call the manufacturer and ask. My WDH without the bars is 6000lb. My TT weighs about 8000 lb + And I have two sets of Bars, 6000 lb to 8000 lb and 8000 lb to I think 10,000 lb. When I had a TT that was 5200 lbs, the mfg said it was ok without the bars. Wouldn’t try it with my present TT

[Duke4857]

I have the EZ lift type of WHD, I leave it on until I am parked. If I am going a short distance around town, I will not even put the bars on. 10 miles will not hurt anything.

[Tyler]

I found that I can back it into my driveway faster with the bars attached. It maybe because our Jayflight 174BH is so short, and single axle.

I wasn’t told rather to take them off or leave them on. So don’t know one way or the other

[mrmom]

I too have the Fastway E2 hitch and have found that most of the time backing is not a problem with the bars on. However, I do take them off when I am backing my rig into my driveway to shoehorn it into its storage location beside the garage. Tight angles and the incline make them "pop" and creak a lot, plus they are harder to remove because of the angle of the truck to the trailer. Just easier to pull them while everything is straight & level on the street before maneuvering. I have them set so that the height of my TV only changes by about 1/2-3/4", so hitch height is not really an issue.

[captainbrad1029]

We travel to a lot of state parks in MI. They don’t have water hookups and they were all laid out 30+ years ago so the sites are all back in, perpendicular to a one lane one way Road with another guys truck typically on the other side. Lately I have taken to using the time while my water tank fills at the dump station to remove the WD springs and sway bar for a few reasons. Sway bar is obvious. Advantages of removing the springs: less to do when I get to the site, if we’re arriving late (as often seems to be the case) much less noise both maneuvering and unhooking, easier maneuvering with the single ball as the only attachment point, and if I end up with the truck and trailer at an angle it doesn’t cause problems removing the bars.

Towing through the campground at walking speeds without WD bars won’t damage anything unless, as someone else said, your tow vehicle is way under rated anyway.

I have old school L bar and chain style WD bars (which I’m considering upgrading).

[Tumbler]

All comes down to what WDH you have. Some you can leave connected and some you cannot. On my old trailer with my old WDH (Curt Trunion type with vertical chains and a separate friction type sway control) you had to remove the bars if you were going to be making any tight turns in reverse. First few times I backed it in at campgrounds I did remove them and no issues. Then after that I started trying to leave them in place. Was successful a few times so thought maybe the recommendation to remove was over cautious. Got cocky after that and ended up bending one of the latchover brackets in a tight maneuver backing into a site. So in the end it was a bad idea. From then on I always removed them. Now I have an Equalizer E4 and it is explicitly stated that you can reverse with them. There are very few that do. So you should check the WDH manual and confirm.

As far as pulling your trailer without the WDH bars it should be no problem if your hitch and vehicle are sized correctly for your trailer (or your trailer is sized correctly for your vehicle and hitch). The WDH does not increase your capacity. It just helps level the load to improve control while in transit. So if you are moving at relatively slow speeds in the campground or parking the trailer it is a non issue.

[TaftCoach]

I have the Fastway E2 and twice I've tried moving a short way without the bars. Both times the ball pulled back and required a trip to a garage to straighten.

Both times were to go dump tanks. I've never noticed an issue with maneuverability.

[Tumbler]

Originally Posted by TaftCoach

I have the Fastway E2 and twice I've tried moving a short way without the bars. Both times the ball pulled back and required a trip to a garage to straighten.

Both times were to go dump tanks. I've never noticed an issue with maneuverability.

Not sure what you mean by the ball pulled back? Do you mean the hitch head rotated around the two bolts holding it to the shank? If so there is something wrong with your setup. Either the bolts were not torqued correctly or your trailer is too heavy for your hitch. I would be very concerned if that was happening. Not safe!

[joe w]

Originally Posted by Tumbler

Not sure what you mean by the ball pulled back? Do you mean the hitch head rotated around the two bolts holding it to the shank? If so there is something wrong with your setup. Either the bolts were not torqued correctly or your trailer is too heavy for your hitch. I would be very concerned if that was happening. Not safe!

I too am wondering about the "ball pulled back" problem. Just this morning I took my trailer (212 QB) up to the dealer, about 50 miles, without the bars being attached with nary an issue. Husky Center Line TS 32216.

[Route 66 Traveler]

Originally Posted by TaftCoach

I have the Fastway E2 and twice I've tried moving a short way without the bars. Both times the ball pulled back and required a trip to a garage to straighten.

You need to verify your hitch is setup correctly. Was it dealer installed or did you do it? I have thee same hitch and never had that problem. Is your Angle Set Bolt tight?