WDH Gurus Weigh In Please

[Desert RVers]

I vote for the Equalizer E4 too. We have one and love it. It's a breeze to hitch up and disconnect (especially with the electric tongue jack). I've not had to disconnect the bars before backing and I've done some sharp angles to get into spots. When big rigs go flying past us (we only drive 55-60) the hitch does a wonderful job and I don't have any white knuckle driving. Just my .02 cents. Have fun with your new bird!

[Murff]

With the light weight of your trailer, the Andersen WDH would be perfect for your trailer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRoQ_yQZQwQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FhIEc62mKA

Murff

[Dropnaduece]

This is the one all IMO

http://www.camco.net/wp-content/uplo...6/05/48750.png

The new R6 model out now is what I would buy but they didn't have it when I bought my WDH.

[paulandkaci]

For any Blue Ox owners, can you hitch up if the TV is not straight with the TT?


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[SouthCo]

Originally Posted by paulandkaci

For any Blue Ox owners, can you hitch up if the TV is not straight with the TT?


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I'm very happy with my Blue OX. I have hitched up without being perfectly straight without issue but I was pretty close to being straight with the camper. How out of line you can be I don't know...

Do you anticipate having to hitch up without being lined up?

[paulandkaci]

Thanks to everyone for their expertise and feedback. Clearly a lot of good choices on the market. After reviewing all input and several coin tosses, I have decided on the Blue Ox. Next question, there is a 550 and 750 tongue weight model. At 550 I am at max or close to it if I have 15% weight on the tongue. There seems to be opinions of always buy more than needed and others about overbuying not being the best choice. Any input welcome.


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[hboy]

I'm in the camp of overbuying may not be a bad idea in this situation. Before purchasing I would ask myself what the chances are of moving up in camper size in the near future. If the answer is you "may" likely own a larger camper in recent years, overbuying could save you down the road.

The progressing of RV camping often times includes the purchase of many different RV's. Just putting this out for your consideration. Happy RV'ing.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by paulandkaci

Thanks to everyone for their expertise and feedback. Clearly a lot of good choices on the market. After reviewing all input and several coin tosses, I have decided on the Blue Ox. Next question, there is a 550 and 750 tongue weight model. At 550 I am at max or close to it if I have 15% weight on the tongue. There seems to be opinions of always buy more than needed and others about overbuying not being the best choice. Any input welcome.


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You should call Blue Ox tech and ask. Give them your specifications and tell them what you're looking for, and they'll steer you in the right direction. They are VERY helpful, and VERY customer-service oriented in my experience. They won't sell you a hitch directly (I got mine from ETrailer.com), but they can help with parts and specifications.

That being said, I would go with the larger capacity if you're at the top of the lower rated hitch. IIRC, the specifications say that given a range (say 1000-1500 lbs), you should be right in the middle if possible. Too heavy a trailer for the hitch, and it won't work right; too heavy a hitch for the trailer and you could get a rough ride (and this hitch won't work right). The bars are designed to flex somewhat, so if you go with a really heavy hitch and at optimal setup your bars aren't deflecting some, you're not getting the full benefit out of the hitch.

One good thing is that it's the bars that are the difference in the Blue Ox system. If you end up getting the wrong hitch and need to change out the spring bars, I'm willing to bet Blue Ox will help you out.

One little tidbit I learned with mine is that it's helpful to give the chain a half turn before you wind it up in the rotating bracket. The chain link is the same width as the "channel" it travels in. So when I'm all hitched up, that link gets stuck in the rotating latch and it's a bugger to get undone without "trauma". If you give the chain a half twist, that link sits in the channel a little "crooked" and allows it to fall freely when you go to unhitch. Also, a breaker bar (15" or 18", swivel head) with a 1" socket works better than the included wrench tool. So when you lose that tool (ask me how I know) don't worry, a breaker bar works better anyway.

Best of luck with your choice, and let us know how it goes!

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by paulandkaci

Thanks to everyone for their expertise and feedback. Clearly a lot of good choices on the market. After reviewing all input and several coin tosses, I have decided on the Blue Ox. Next question, there is a 550 and 750 tongue weight model. At 550 I am at max or close to it if I have 15% weight on the tongue. There seems to be opinions of always buy more than needed and others about overbuying not being the best choice. Any input welcome.
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Did you add in the weight for the battery and propane tanks?

[Subaru297]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

One little tidbit I learned with mine is that it's helpful to give the chain a half turn before you wind it up in the rotating bracket. The chain link is the same width as the "channel" it travels in. So when I'm all hitched up, that link gets stuck in the rotating latch and it's a bugger to get undone without "trauma". If you give the chain a half twist, that link sits in the channel a little "crooked" and allows it to fall freely when you go to unhitch.

Good tip Camper_Bob. I will have to try that next season as I have had that problem myself with our Blue OX. Great hitch though!

Back to the OP and anyone else who is reading on the discussion of using a WDH or not, it is a simple decision. Your vehicle will have a weight carrying limit and a WDH limit. If your tongue weight is over that limit you need a WDH. If you are under you don't "need" one although you can still use one.
For most 1/2 ton vehicles that limit is 500lbs in weight carrying mode.

This will usually be written on the hitch itself as well.

Also something to keep in mind is that a WDH and sway control are two separate things. However some of the more popular WDH's also include sway control. So if you buy a cheap round bar WDH you probably aren't getting sway control. The Blue OX, Equalizer, Reese and others include sway control in the design.

The OP made a good choice with the Blue Ox as well as getting a WDH as he is on the limit of needing a WDH.

Cheers

[Subaru297]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

You should call Blue Ox tech and ask. Give them your specifications and tell them what you're looking for, and they'll steer you in the right direction. They are VERY helpful, and VERY customer-service oriented in my experience. They won't sell you a hitch directly (I got mine from ETrailer.com), but they can help with parts and specifications.

Wow you weren't kidding about Blue Ox's customer service. I have been trying to track down some replacement u bolts for attaching the chains to the bars for some time now and after reading your comment I decided to email them directly.

New u-bolts are being sent to me free of charge! Amazing customer service!

Cheers

[paulandkaci]

Contacted Blue Ox CS and they were very helpful, told me to buy the 550. Said there is a point of buying too much hitch that the sway control will not work as engineered


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[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by Subaru297

Wow you weren't kidding about Blue Ox's customer service. I have been trying to track down some replacement u bolts for attaching the chains to the bars for some time now and after reading your comment I decided to email them directly.

New u-bolts are being sent to me free of charge! Amazing customer service!

Cheers

The way it should be, don't you think?

I've had good experience with Progress Manufacturing (Equal-i-zer) as well, but the CS at BlueOx is second to none IMO.

[Chickeneye]

Just a heads up to anyone ordering Andersen hitch on Amazon I have had to send mine back twice because I ordered a 2" ball and 8" drop. The first one they sent me was a 2 5/16" ball and a 4" drop. The second one was a 2 5/16" ball but the 8" drop. So I just ordered the 2" ball from Andersen and now I have the option where I can pull a larger trailer later. Just kinda a hassle.


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[Raghanger]

I use an equalizer for my 23 foot Jayco. Works very well. I don't really know much about others. I do recommend one. Especially if you are going to travel out west in the wind.

[RogerR]

I have the Andersen on my SLX195rb and love it. While in the Rockies my brackets started to slip and I wanted advice on how to properly align them. A call to the Andersen number got me to a tech who described what I needed to do to properly reposition them. Very helpful and took time to make sure I was able to do it right.

In short, Andersen customer service was GREAT!

[Chickeneye]

Originally Posted by RogerR

I have the Andersen on my SLX195rb and love it. While in the Rockies my brackets started to slip and I wanted advice on how to properly align them. A call to the Andersen number got me to a tech who described what I needed to do to properly reposition them. Very helpful and took time to make sure I was able to do it right.



In short, Andersen customer service was GREAT!

Can you elaborate on why it was slipping and how you fixed it.
Thank you


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[RogerR]

My brackets are the two plates attached with bolts above and below the tongue that hold the chain and compression pucks. They also have a set screw to hold them in place.
After some hard mountain roads and climbs they started to tilt towards the front pivoting on the set screw.
I loosened the bolts and made them upright again then re-tightened them with an 18 inch bar I bought from Harbor Freight .
His next suggestion was to have them tack welded to prevent further slippage but am putting that off till spring.
I guess the dealership did not have enough muscle to tighten them properly.

[bansai]

Originally Posted by RogerR

My brackets are the two plates attached with bolts above and below the tongue that hold the chain and compression pucks. They also have a set screw to hold them in place.
After some hard mountain roads and climbs they started to tilt towards the front pivoting on the set screw.
I loosened the bolts and made them upright again then re-tightened them with an 18 inch bar I bought from Harbor Freight .
His next suggestion was to have them tack welded to prevent further slippage but am putting that off till spring.
I guess the dealership did not have enough muscle to tighten them properly.

It's easy to create the same problem with the Equalizer brackets too.. I helped one of my friends fix his. If the person installing them doesn't take the time to slowly tighten each of the nuts/ bolts, a little at a time, kind of like putting a wheel on a car, you can end up pinching the top (or bottom) of the bracket a bit too much which then makes it impossible to properly secure the other end. Having the brackets perfectly flat against the A-Arm while bolting them down is easily as important as the amount of torque applied. This is called out in the install instructions for the equalizer, not sure about other hitches, but I imagine it's a fairly common problem.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by bansai

It's easy to create the same problem with the Equalizer brackets too.. I helped one of my friends fix his. If the person installing them doesn't take the time to slowly tighten each of the nuts/ bolts, a little at a time, kind of like putting a wheel on a car, you can end up pinching the top (or bottom) of the bracket a bit too much which then makes it impossible to properly secure the other end. Having the brackets perfectly flat against the A-Arm while bolting them down is easily as important as the amount of torque applied. This is called out in the install instructions for the equalizer, not sure about other hitches, but I imagine it's a fairly common problem.

A common problem indeed; I had to deal with it on my previous hitch as well.