Who actually uses a weight distributing hitch?

[F-150 Prius]

The problem isn't the trucks or their size. In my opinion ford failed on the hitch. Its only rated for 500lbs tongue weight. You can buy an after market with much higher tongue weight load. Using the WDH spreads the weight efficiently. Second is the antisway. Size of a truck won't change that problem. TTs are balanced so that you will always battle sway. That's just a fact. My truck is damn near a 1 ton if you go by the numbers(1944 payload). 20 years ago I may have agreed with but these "1/2 ton" trucks have gotten bigger and better. I am well under all max specs provided by Ford. With the 3.5 inch rake on my truck I only lose 2.5 of those inches without the WDH. The week point is the cheap hitch Ford installed. I mainly use my WDH because it has the built in sway control, not because my truck requires it. The weight distribution is an added bonus.

Have you experimented with the vehicle sway control?
I'm curious to try it, so far, I've not had enough time towing or a safe situation to experiment, also, I have the Max Tow pack and my triple axle race trailer is well within the envelope. My old 6.0 diesel put up more of a fuss than this "tiny little V6 gasser" : ) … but I think the 150K mile diesel returned better mpg … we'll see once I stop driving too fast and once the Hybrid is fully run in … so far only 7000 miles and very little oil burn, and mpg seems to be getting better for the last 1000 miles.

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[F-150 Prius]

I've never used one on any of the boats I've owned. Nor have I ever used one with open or enclosed car trailers.

My old Ram but it carries over to Ford.

Funny to think of that brand new RAM as "old" … I was "this" close to getting the RAM when Ford said "oh, by the way, we've changed the game" with the F-150 Hybrid.
That's a gorgeous looking Cobia. I haven't ridden in one, but I've walked through one at a boat show and it was the pick of the show for build quality and details, more like a yacht than a "gone fishin' " center console.
p.s. boat trailers don't "do" weight distributing hitches (at least not for any trailerable boat size you'd put behind an F-150 or F-250.) I think most F-250 owners with boats chose the Super Duty because of the boat trailer.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

Funny to think of that brand new RAM as "old" … I was "this" close to getting the RAM when Ford said "oh, by the way, we've changed the game" with the F-150 Hybrid.
That's a gorgeous looking Cobia. I haven't ridden in one, but I've walked through one at a boat show and it was the pick of the show for build quality and details, more like a yacht than a "gone fishin' " center console.
p.s. boat trailers don't "do" weight distributing hitches (at least not for any trailerable boat size you'd put behind an F-150 or F-250.) I think most F-250 owners with boats chose the Super Duty because of the boat trailer.

The 277 Cobia was all the Ram wanted to pull. I'm not towing anymore. I still have the Cobia but I have it at a marina. If I was towing it all the time I would own a Super Duty. I still have the trailer but it's just to transport the boat for off water service if needed.

 

[dweller]

The 277 Cobia was all the Ram wanted to pull. I'm not towing anymore. I still have the Cobia but I have it at a marina. If I was towing it all the time I would own a Super Duty. I still have the trailer but it's just to transport the boat for off water service if needed.

Why do you say you’d get a super duty? I’m still learning about towing and hope to get some type of boat (sail or power) some day. Is towing a boat harder than a TT?

 

[fmozza]

For travel trailers the tongue weight advertised is way off. Propane tank and battery are added by the dealers and that alone is at least 100 lbs. If there's an electronic tongue jack another 30 lbs. Second propane tank add another 37 lbs. See where I'm going with this lol. Also for true travel trailer weight you want to see the sticker in the door jamb. The advertised TT weights are usually low as well. Airstream I think is accurate with their tongue weight.

Agreed. There are also some decent towing calculators out there to help - example is:

https://changingears.com/weight-calculators/travel-trailer-towing-weight-calculator/

You can also hookup your trailer and weigh things at a CAT scale if you want to get assurance of knowing how the weight is distributed.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

Why do you say you’d get a super duty? I’m still learning about towing and hope to get some type of boat (sail or power) some day. Is towing a boat harder than a TT?

This is all personal opinion.... I did have a class A CDL and drove over the road semis for a few years. But anyway, I would never drag TT's around with a half ton. They always are nose heavy and that gets the tail wagging the dog easy just like too little tongue weight. Actually, if I were to do camping, I'd end up with a motorcoach and tow the truck. But that's me. As far as my boat, it is pushing 9500 to 10000 lbs with 180 gallons of gas, gear and 2 outboards. Doing a lot of towing with a half ton is just beating it up. Again my opinion. A lot of my buddies back in Florida were towing boats my size and larger with duallys because they are beefy and super stable.

 

[dweller]

This is all personal opinion.... I did have a class A CDL and drove over the road semis for a few years. But anyway, I would never drag TT's around with a half ton. They always are nose heavy and that gets the tail wagging the dog easy just like too little tongue weight. Actually, if I were to do camping, I'd end up with a motorcoach and tow the truck. But that's me. As far as my boat, it is pushing 9500 to 10000 lbs with 180 gallons of gas, gear and 2 outboards. Doing a lot of towing with a half ton is just beating it up. Again my opinion. A lot of my buddies back in Florida were towing boats my size and larger with duallys because they are beefy and super stable.

Man I have a lot to learn. The entire reason I’m looking at an F-150 is because we want to start camping and get a boat. Have been looking at around 7000# TTs and was thinking with max tow we’d be okay. I’ll give it a shot to get started. Maybe I’ll trade it in when the super duties get their refresh. Thanks for the info.

 

[spectre446]

The max tow limit for a properly specced F150 is like 13,900lbs. Why are you all worried about a 10,000lb trailer? Even with cargo and people that still leaves a lot of wiggle room

 

[Arcteryx]

Have you experimented with the vehicle sway control?
I'm curious to try it, so far, I've not had enough time towing or a safe situation to experiment, also, I have the Max Tow pack and my triple axle race trailer is well within the envelope. My old 6.0 diesel put up more of a fuss than this "tiny little V6 gasser" : ) … but I think the 150K mile diesel returned better mpg … we'll see once I stop driving too fast and once the Hybrid is fully run in … so far only 7000 miles and very little oil burn, and mpg seems to be getting better for the last 1000 miles.

I have not. Been in 40+ mph gusts and had to make adjustments. Also got up to 85 mph for a bit just to see how it handled. No issues at all. I do load everything in the front of the trailer to keep the back light. It moves back there but wouldn't consider it sway.

 

[Jus Cruisin]

The max tow limit for a properly specced F150 is like 13,900lbs. Why are you all worried about a 10,000lb trailer? Even with cargo and people that still leaves a lot of wiggle room

I've towed with half, three quarter and one ton dually trucks. Yep the little half tons have big ratings but all that's all a marketing gimmick as far as I'm concerned. I'll take 8 lug wheels, bigger axles, bigger brakes, better suspension, longer standard wheelbase of the super dutys. The half tons now are basically an SUV with a bed.
Not worried just the fact I've towed with all of them and the half tons come in last place. Towing a couple three times a year? Sure put up with a lightweight half ton to keep momma happy with a short wheelbase soft riding truck.

 

[cghall77]

The max tow limit for a properly specced F150 is like 13,900lbs. Why are you all worried about a 10,000lb trailer? Even with cargo and people that still leaves a lot of wiggle room

I typically look at trailers up to 70% of the vehicles advertised, at almost 14k lbs capacity that puts you right around the 10k mark. Payload does become an issue but also the length of trailer must be a consideration. I have never used a WD hitch on any of our boats, but with the travel trailer, yes, I use the equal-i-zer. Towing with the super duty has been nice, but now ready to hit the road in the F150 (time to return the F250 to parents after borrowing it for the last year). We are also looking at upgrading our Roo 183 to a bunkhouse with 1 slide out (dinette & sofa). Looking at keeping the trailer under 32ft and under 7000lbs. Reason for keeping it somewhat smaller is we like the long road trips, we are not just into camping in a small radius from our home. This year, our big trip was canceled, but hoping next year it is a go. 3-4wks, Ontario to BC and return thru Northern Canada or back thru the US.

Yes I know this is just a standard hitch in below pic, this was only to move the trailer to front yard.?

 

[smackit]

What engine do you have?

Sorry for the delayed response...off grid camping My truck has the 3.5L V6 Ecoboost.

 

[coloradobrandon]

I have a Fastway E2 on my 20’ (26 ft) travel trailer and current tow vehicle — Mercedes GLE 450. I’ve found it to be an excellent WDH combined with the sway control on the TV.

I’ve ordered a 2022 Lariat Powerboost…. Do y’all have any recommendations for shank length on the Fastway E2 for a stock F-150 with 20” wheels?

 

[Whiskey]

To disable the sway control, go in the settings under Tow - it is a toggle there.

Yep…that’s the wife’s job as soon as she gets In the truck she starts pecking away at the screen to disable the trucks sway control feature. Love the Anderson WDH

 

[USAFordW1E]

I run the Andersen set-up on my 34 foot 7,000lbs Travel trailer. I have over 10K miles on it and only replaced the friction cup twice (due to my error). One thing to keep in mind, turn off your truck sway control when running a WDH with anti-sway.

PROS:
-Lightweight
-Quick connect/disconnect
-QUIET!!! No popping, groaning, creaking sounds
-No need to disconnect to back-up...even on really sharp turns
-Adjustable on the fly
-Andersen stands by and backs up their product

CONS:
-Price
-The friction cup used for sway control was problematic (fixed in the latest version) but Andersen has a lifetime guarantee on it and will send you a new one.
-As with all SDH...takes some trial and error to get the perfect set-up

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