Towing with a WD hitch

[usranger74]

I am a new owner of an 07 RL. I am looking to buy a Trailmanor 2027 SL trailer. My owner's manual recommends NOT using a WD hitch. Yet, I note than many of you use one any way.

Looking for input on why I should or should not use a WD hitch.

Txs

Bill

[Kodiak]

I am a new owner of an 07 RL. I am looking to buy a Trailmanor 2027 SL trailer. My owner's manual recommends NOT using a WD hitch. Yet, I note than many of you use one any way.

Looking for input on why I should or should not use a WD hitch.

Txs

Bill

Here we go again........

[Webwader]

Why do you think you need one? The dry weight of the trailer is less than 3,000 lb and the tongue weight is under 400 lb. I know that loaded it is going to increase some, but it's well within the capacity of the RL. We have a Fleetwood Sequoia Highlander that weighs 3,500 lb loaded with 400 lb tongue weight. We have towed it over 10,000 miles with the RL without a WDH and it tows great. The sag at the hitch ball is 1 3/16", the axle loads are well within limits, and the weight distribution on the RL is still more than 50% on the front wheels. There's no need to fix what isn't broken. Here's a photo to show you how level it is sans WDH.

[MoosePond]

the weight distribution on the RL is still more than 50% on the front wheels. There's no need to fix what isn't broken. Here's a photo to show you how level it is sans WDH.
um, but wouldn't he also need the front-loading advantage of your superb side graphics? :rolleyes:

p.s. they really do look good, make your truck look likes it's already moving at warp speed when it's standing still!

[ToyTruck]

usranger74----I'd go without it at first. Here's my rig and although the WDH ball/hookup is there, I really only use it to hook up the anti-sway bar. My Hi-Lo weighs a little over 3,000 lbs loaded up and the tongue weight is only 275 lbs. Hardly any tension on the WDH bars, since the truck does just fine as is, so I don't need to shift any weight around at all. Save the money-although I love having an anti-sway bar. We're talking ZERO side to side movement when I pass a big rig or if a big rig passes me........in fact my setup pushes them over!!

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h169/tacobill_2006/Rig9-07.jpg

[Webwader]

p.s. they really do look good, make your truck look likes it's already moving at warp speed when it's standing still!
Thanks MoosePond. They are an enlarged version of the graphic on the opposite side of the popup.

[nolaridge]

This topic is a real mine-field, but here's my two cents. I towed a 4000lb. trailer (loaded weight) from Dallas to Alaska this summer (12,400 miles round trip) and mostly used the WD bars, but took them off for the last 1500 miles. Generally speaking, the WD hitch helps keep the rig stable in wind and really helps on rough roads in keeping the hitch from hitting the road on bumps. I hit a some "frost heaves" (large ripple-like formations in the road) that I thought would send me air bound and dig the hitch into the pavement when I came down, as many others before me had, but to my pleasant surprise it all stayed together just fine. Without the WD bars the hitch would sometimes drag going over something as small as a gutter. Lately I've been towing without them as the roads around here are fine, and putting the bars on and taking them off is kind of a chore....

Here's a pic of the truck and trailer at Bear Glacier just outside of Stewart, Canada about 30 miles off the Cassiar Hwy. Here the WD bars are on, and the truck is still not perfectly level, so they are not set very agressively.

[usranger74]

txs to all 4 your advise and help (and the pics)

Bill