WDH Question - Err on High or Low End?

[lagman]

The RV dealership plans to set me up with a Curt High Performance Trunnion Style 600# WDH for use with my soon to be new Jay Flight 26BH. Fully loaded, I'm thinking the hitch weight will be around 650lbs. After reading some of the posts on the forum, it sounds like people with my TT are leaning more toward an 800# or even 1000# WDH. I asked the dealer about this and this was his reply:

"As far as the hitch goes-I like to stay as light as possible with the bars-the 600 # will work great-as you put heavier bars on it tends to get too stiff feeling and doesn’t allow suspension to work as well."

Is there any truth to this? Am I better off going light or stepping up to the 800#? What are the advantages/disadvantages?

Thanks,
Dan

[amabee]

That's weird, our dealer was pushing for 1000lb bars which I felt was way to much. They are right in that if you excessively overdo it, it could result in a stiff ride, at the same time going to light isn't good either.
IMO, with your setup, I would go with 800lb bars. Most WDH have about a 400lb range, I know mine is rated for a tongue weight of 400-800lbs. You would be right in the middle of that.

[TheRevJosh]

My fully loaded ready to camp 2012 26BH has a tongue weight of 760-820 pounds depending on what I take, so I'd recommend at least 800# bars. I run a 1200# Reese straight line round bar setup since they don't make the 1000# anymore, and wouldn't call it stiff at all...

[Raugustin]

Hi Dan,

Have a look at the Andersen hitch it provides WD and anti sway and is good up to 14000 lbs. by the way it only weighs 50 lbs all in. From what hear it's also very affordable in the US if you look around.

To

Originally Posted by lagman

The RV dealership plans to set me up with a Curt High Performance Trunnion Style 600# WDH for use with my soon to be new Jay Flight 26BH. Fully loaded, I'm thinking the hitch weight will be around 650lbs. After reading some of the posts on the forum, it sounds like people with my TT are leaning more toward an 800# or even 1000# WDH. I asked the dealer about this and this was his reply:

"As far as the hitch goes-I like to stay as light as possible with the bars-the 600 # will work great-as you put heavier bars on it tends to get too stiff feeling and doesn’t allow suspension to work as well."

Is there any truth to this? Am I better off going light or stepping up to the 800#? What are the advantages/disadvantages?

Thanks,
Dan

[Doug]

Originally Posted by TheRevJosh

My fully loaded ready to camp 2012 26BH has a tongue weight of 760-820 pounds depending on what I take, so I'd recommend at least 800# bars. I run a 1200# Reese straight line round bar setup since they don't make the 1000# anymore, and wouldn't call it stiff at all...

X2

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by lagman

"As far as the hitch goes-I like to stay as light as possible with the bars-the 600 # will work great-as you put heavier bars on it tends to get too stiff feeling and doesn’t allow suspension to work as well."

Is there any truth to this?....... snip

Dan,

It's a statement of what I like to refer to as "miss-information". An under rated WDH will only create additional unwanted movement at the hitch area and the TV suspension, thus compromising the TV's steering and handling.

You already know that with your particular TV/TT combination you will have a loaded tongue weight above 600lbs under some very limited/controlled weight limit conditions. Reference thread: http://www.jaycoowners.com/showthrea...a-Tacoma/page6 The potential for your 26BH loaded tongue weight to increase is also a reality based on the CCC of the 26BH.

IMO you need a 800lb WDH at a minimum, even at your targeted loaded tongue weight range the 800lb WDH when adjusted correctly will not create any undesired stiffness. Keep in mind when the dealer adjusts the WDH your TV/TT will be in an unloaded condition, you will have to re-adjust the WDH under loaded conditions......, and the help of a CAT scale will confirm your adjustment.

Hope this helps.

Bob

[Huntsvillian]

Hey Dan,

I am far from an expert on this, but I did spend a far amount of time calculating for my TT with the help of Rustic and Crabman and I started off thinking maybe get away with 600lb WDH before thinking 1000lb would be better then settling on 800lb. See the following thread:

http://www.jaycoowners.com/showthrea...-Brand-Opinion

What I can confirm is that we would have went with the 1000lb WDH on a Starcraft 186BH but that would be if the trailer was stocked to the limit and all tanks full, but with the tanks going to be empty 99.9% of the time the 800lb seemed the best option.

You have asked the right people!

Jim

[Crabman]

Better off to err on the "high end" since the bars are rated to handle loads below their top rating, but not above. For example, here are the specs of a Reese WD system with 1200 lb trunnion bars. Note in the specs it says for tongue weights of 600-1200 lbs. I`m not saying you need 1200 lb bars, these specs are just an example.


Reese Weight Distribution System w Shank - Trunnion Bar - 12,000 lbs GTW, 1,200 lbs TW

http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distr...e/RP66542.html

Specs:
Tongue weight: 600 lbs - 1,200 lbs
Gross towing weight: 12,000 lbs
Fits: 2" x 2" trailer hitch receivers rated for use with weight-distribution systems
Lift-bracket positioning: mount about 30" back from hitch ball
Requires approximately 5-1/2" of space along trailer frame
Optional mounts (sold separately) that take up less space on a trailer frame are available
Will not fit trailer frames wider than 2-1/2"
Shank length: 14" from center of hitch pin hole to center of ball hole
Total height adjustment along shank: 5-1/4"
Maximum rise: 6-1/2" from top of hitch receiver opening
Maximum drop: 1-1/4" from top of hitch receiver opening

[RightYouAreKen]

Agree, error on the high side. If you go to low, you might not be able to transfer as much weight as you need to the front axles, and your sway control might not work well enough. Fwiw, I went with a 1000 lb equalizer for a tt with a hitch weight of 600/850 lbs dry/loaded. Rides well.

[lagman]

Thanks again everyone for the suggestions. I've been getting so much help from all of you this week! I told my dealer I want to go with the 800# bars based on your advice. I just need to be sure they are adjusted properly. I also decided to upgrade my brake controller from a time delay to a proportional (Prodigy P2) based on comments from the last thread. So here is my setup:

Curt High Performance Trunnion Style 800# WDH
Prodigy P2 Brake Controller
Curt Friction Sway Control Bar (he called it a "double sway".. Not sure if that means I'm getting two..)

So I should be set. Now it just needs to warm up here in Iowa!

[Rustic Eagle]

Dan,

Looks like a good set-up for your TV/TT combination, but make sure you get all the documentation with the products after the install ..., they will come in handy down the road.

Originally Posted by lagman

snip...... Curt Friction Sway Control Bar (he called it a "double sway".. Not sure if that means I'm getting two..)...... snip

Not sure what he meant either.., may have been referring to the for/aft motion of the single friction sway control bar unit...., but if your getting two separate units that's even better for your 26BH.

Bob

[Nighthawk 96]

Think you made a wise choise. Once you put stuff in the front passthru storage, stuff under the bed and 100# of water (1/3rd tank fresh water) you will be close to 800# on the hitch.