Hitch System for Travel Trailer

[BigDawgWill44]

I am getting a travel trailer soon and need to decide which weight distribution/anti-sway hitch I should get. The dealer I am buying the trailer from installs Equalizer, Blue Ox, And Reese. The trailer is 30’ and fully loaded weighs 7,500 lbs. My tow vehicle is an F-150. Do any of you guys have a suggestion? Thank you.


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[Tod osier]

I know you are on your way on the purchase, but that is a LOT of weight on an F150. I'd guess that when you are loaded up for a trip you will exceed at least one, if not several of your weight limits.

Sit down with paper and pencil and do the calculations, they are tedious, but I think you will be surprised.

I use a Reese dual cam and when properly adjusted it does its job well.

 

[Campcreek12]

Equalizer are great hitches but there are cheaper versions that work equally as well. Husky centerline works on the same principle and costs a lot less. You can get a hitch from anywhere and any dealer can get any brand. The installation is not difficult if you can read. The dual cams are really good too but the installation on the new version require an odd sized bit and you have to drill into the frame. If by fully loaded you mean GVWR then you are probably fine on weight. Good rule of thumb is UVW or empty weight plus 1000-1200 lbs to get you close to what you will be towing unless you are talking toy haulers.

 

[BigDawgWill44]

I know you are on your way on the purchase, but that is a LOT of weight on an F150. I'd guess that when you are loaded up for a trip you will exceed at least one, if not several of your weight limits.

Sit down with paper and pencil and do the calculations, they are tedious, but I think you will be surprised.

I use a Reese dual cam and when properly adjusted it does its job well.

I have ran the numbers and we are well above 10% on all weight restrictions. The trailer dry weight is 5,200 lbs. 7,500 is max weight, we will never be close to this by the way.


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[Tod osier]

I have ran the numbers and we are well above 10% on all weight restrictions. The trailer dry weight is 5,200 lbs. 7,500 is max weight, we will never be close to this by the way.


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That is great you have penciled it out. Rear axle once you add propane and batteries to the tongue plus weight in the bed and cap is a common place to have a problem.

 

[swavescatter]

Spend some time on RV forums. That is a lot of trailer for the F150, but you can sort of make it work.

People focus on brochure numbers for max tow - those are BS and likely way higher than your exact truck. Tow ratings are listed as max for low-boy utility trailers carrying bricks over the axles, not 30' long, 12' high parachutes with water sloshing around.

I pulled a 30' (29' box, 34' total length) camper behind my 2017 F250 Powerstroke. Great combo, but when it was windy out I still had some white knuckle moments. I would not have wanted to pull that trailer (7500lb GVWR like yours) with my F150 (2018 2.7L with maxtow).

Consider your actual payload (sticker on driver's door jamb) and the tongue-weight of the wet and loaded camper (800-900lbs). Also weight of stuff in the bed and all occupants... My guess is you'll be pushing it. Even if not, the biggest issue will be sway. That's a massive sail attached to a light truck...

I'm now pulling a 37' total toyhauler. 13k lbs and upgraded to a longbed F350.

/Lecture

I would recommend the Equalizer out of the ones you listed. They'll all work similar. Andersen ultimate is light, but has purported reliability issues...

For my family I opted for a Propride hitch to combat sway. I upgraded my truck so now that's for sale, but that's a different story.

I've run and set up several different campers/trucks/hitches. Happy to give my opinion.

 

[Whaledriver]

I have used the Blue Ox and have had no problems. It definitely helps on windy days. If you are not going to be in the mountains the Ford should do well for you. As said above, be familiar with payload weights. That weight is usually exceeded before max tow weight. Most people could care less. Insurance and law enforcement do. Enjoy the trailer!

 

[MidGAHunter]

First thing I would do is upgrade to an F250 or downsize your camper. Then buy a hitch. That is a lot of camper for a 150. Don't take it anywhere but flat ground with that set up...

 

[Azone]

A friend of mine pulled his 30 footer with a half ton Chevy one time.....
He bought a 3/4 ton a month after that one time. Be very careful on weight in the bed and the amount of stuff that ends up in the trailer. I have a 28 foot trailer and I would never want to pull it with a half ton unless it was flat flat ground.

 

[MuleyFever]

I pull a 30' with an F250 and with some wind I am down right scared pulling that thing. I hate it and want to sell it. My wife , on the other hand, loves taking it out as she is sleeping in the passenger seat.

I use an Equalizer and it appears to do what it is supposed to.

Funny thing is when I bought the truck it was to pull a trailer. I told the dealer I was looking for a F250 for towing a toy hauler. I live at the base of the mountains too so they know the terrain. The guy tried to sell me a F150 telling me how it was rated to tow 10k. I said no, I want the 3/4 ton.

 

[AzBravo1]

Another vote for the equalizer

 

[swavescatter]

I pull a 30' with an F250 and with some wind I am down right scared pulling that thing. I hate it and want to sell it. My wife , on the other hand, loves taking it out as she is sleeping in the passenger seat.

I use an Equalizer and it appears to do what it is supposed to.

Funny thing is when I bought the truck it was to pull a trailer. I told the dealer I was looking for a F250 for towing a toy hauler. I live at the base of the mountains too so they know the terrain. The guy tried to sell me a F150 telling me how it was rated to tow 10k. I said no, I want the 3/4 ton.

You should consider a Hensley style hitch. Crazy how it makes your travel trailer feel like a 5th wheel. Totally locks the traler and truck together.

I upgraded to a huge toyhauler that was just way too much for my F250 shortbed. Got rid of the WDH and installed a Propride which solved ALL sway issues. The downside to those hitches is that they don't like to articulate much when off-road boondocking on rough terrain. So, I went out and got a longbed F350 and trying out the weigh safe true tow.

Standard WDH hitches are much better in the rough BLM where I camp 99% of the time, but even with my bigger truck I simply have to slow it down and pay much more attention to tongue weight/loading.

If you camp in milder/flatter stuff, a hensley style hitch will honestly solve all your sway issues. They run over $3k, but that's a lot cheaper than buying a new truck (ask me how I know...)

 

[MuleyFever]

You should consider a Hensley style hitch. Crazy how it makes your travel trailer feel like a 5th wheel. Totally locks the traler and truck together.

I upgraded to a huge toyhauler that was just way too much for my F250 shortbed. Got rid of the WDH and installed a Propride which solved ALL sway issues. The downside to those hitches is that they don't like to articulate much when off-road boondocking on rough terrain. So, I went out and got a longbed F350 and trying out the weigh safe true tow.

Standard WDH hitches are much better in the rough BLM where I camp 99% of the time, but even with my bigger truck I simply have to slow it down and pay much more attention to tongue weight/loading.

If you camp in milder/flatter stuff, a hensley style hitch will honestly solve all your sway issues. They run over $3k, but that's a lot cheaper than buying a new truck (ask me how I know...)

That looks like the ticket for a big bumper pull. Im buying a 5th wheel before I dump that kinda money on a hitch though. If my wife wants to keep doing this trailer camping thing I will get a 5th wheel.

 

[Wapiti1]

The Hensley or Pro-Pride is sweet if you never have to hookup outside of a flat parking lot. Any angle between the truck and trailer, and they can be a PITA. My dad had one that came with a trailer and got rid of it after the first year due to issues getting it hooked up off grid camping.

We use Curt or Reese flat bar hitches with chain connections. No issues over 20 years of towing 21-28 foot trailers with half tons. Sway has never been an issue, but we pay attention to trailer loading. Don't put a rack on the back, load it with 500+ lbs of stuff and expect the trailer to behave after you unbalanced it. The L-bracket hitches provide better sway control than the chain connections.

I like progressive spring overload shocks. My dad went to air bags and likes them. One of the two is a requirement for long range towing.

Jeremy

 

[Corey Paulsen (teamkabob)]

I’m happy with my equalizer hitch. If you look you can find the used on market place or Facebook groups.

I pull a 30' with an F250 and with some wind I am down right scared pulling that thing. I hate it and want to sell it. My wife , on the other hand, loves taking it out as she is sleeping in the passenger seat.

I use an Equalizer and it appears to do what it is supposed to.

Funny thing is when I bought the truck it was to pull a trailer. I told the dealer I was looking for a F250 for towing a toy hauler. I live at the base of the mountains too so they know the terrain. The guy tried to sell me a F150 telling me how it was rated to tow 10k. I said no, I want the 3/4 ton.

How fast are the winds and guest are you taking? I wonder if you have to much or not enough tongue weight. That will cause the it to fish tail in wind. My last trailer I forgot to drain my fresh water tank and couldn’t figure out why it’s moving all over the place. At 8lbs a gallon that a lot of weight going to the back. Probably not your problem but just letting others know.

 

[swavescatter]

I’m happy with my equalizer hitch. If you look you can find the used on market place or Facebook groups.

How fast are the winds and guest are you taking? I wonder if you have to much or not enough tongue weight. That will cause the it to fish tail in wind. My last trailer I forgot to drain my fresh water tank and couldn’t figure out why it’s moving all over the place. At 8lbs a gallon that a lot of weight going to the back. Probably not your problem but just letting others know.

Out here in NM (like everywhere I suppose) we have 75mph speed limits, and it's not uncommon for wind gusts of 40+ mph to hit suddenly. Also, many of our two lane roads are 70mph and you pass 18 wheelers that slam you with some wind pretty good.

I have tongue weight scales to make sure I'm properly loaded, but when coming back from a trip your heavy front freshwater tank load does shift backwards a bit.

Again - I had a heavy F250 that was able to control a big 30' camper with a standard WDH. But it could get dicey at times in weather...

Moving up to a 13k, 37' toyhauler I did NOT have enough truck anymore, and the Propride was my bandaid. It works, flat out. As pointed out above, when off-road things get annoying. Manageable, but annoying to deal with. I chose to upgrade my truck and downgrade my hitch.

Now I have over 2,000lbs of hitch capacity and 4k lbs payload. Longer wheelbase really helps with towing stability too.

Sorry for the sidetrack, but this is all to say that my diesel (heavy!) F250 was the right size for that 30' camper. Any modern truck will be able to pull that camper, but if your camper weighs more than your tow vehicle, you're gonna need some bandaids (like a hensley style hitch, or just take it real slow, or just be OK endangering others' lives...)

 

[2five7]

I am getting a travel trailer soon and need to decide which weight distribution/anti-sway hitch I should get. The dealer I am buying the trailer from installs Equalizer, Blue Ox, And Reese. The trailer is 30’ and fully loaded weighs 7,500 lbs. My tow vehicle is an F-150. Do any of you guys have a suggestion? Thank you.


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Is that 30" of box, or 30' total? I pulled a 30' box (34' overall) with my 2014 F150 a couple times, it was a white knuckle experience if there was any wind, and any time a big rig passed. It had nothing to do with the trailers weight, it was all about the fact that it was a bumper pull. A trailer that long has so much leverage because of the hitch style, those WDH hitches can only do so much at mitigating that. Previous to that trailer, we had a 24' box (28' overall) and it was a pleasure to pull.

I sold the 30' trailer after trip #2, and bought a shorter, heavier 5th wheel and never looked back.

Either get a way bigger truck, or a smaller trailer.

 

[BigDawgWill44]

Is that 30" of box, or 30' total? I pulled a 30' box (34' overall) with my 2014 F150 a couple times, it was a white knuckle experience if there was any wind, and any time a big rig passed. It had nothing to do with the trailers weight, it was all about the fact that it was a bumper pull. A trailer that long has so much leverage because of the hitch style, those WDH hitches can only do so much at mitigating that. Previous to that trailer, we had a 24' box (28' overall) and it was a pleasure to pull.

I sold the 30' trailer after trip #2, and bought a shorter, heavier 5th wheel and never looked back.

Either get a way bigger truck, or a smaller trailer.

I actually measured everything with a tape measure, the box is 25’ long and bumper to coupler is 28’11”. This also matches what the specs are listed on the manufactures website.


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[wapitibob]

I have a new F-150 that's supposed to pull like 12,000 pounds. I'm pulling a newer Nash 17K that weighs 4500 empty with no fancy hitch (22' oal). Hunting partner has pretty much the same thing with an equalizer hitch.

Both of these rigs feel like their on ice; they'll pull it with the 3.5 Eco but it's nothing like pulling with a real 3/4 ton. The truck is gonna dance going down the road.

 

[Elk97]

Blue Ox is a great hitch, I have a lot of miles on ours and very happy with it. I have an F150, tow package (not the max tow), 5.0L. Tow a Nash 17k, loaded heavy and when hunting the bed of the truck is loaded too. No problem, very steady on mountain roads (western WA to Bozeman, MT several times each year) and I'm very particular about how a truck handles when towing. Follow the instructions and make the measurements to set the Blue Ox up properly and you should be OK with the 150.