Weight distribution hitch / sway control off pavement

[Rumline]

I'm planning on buying a quality travel trailer of some sort and plan on doing a lot of forest roads and dispersed camping, taking this thing places I maybe shouldn't, trying to get away from the crowds. For the size (weight) range I'm looking at, I will need a weight distribution hitch per my vehicle's owners manual. I've never towed anything that needed / had a WDH before.

My question is how do these things affect driving "off road"? Do they limit articulation? For example when you're cresting a hill and the tow vehicle is more or less flat and the trailer is still coming up the hill. Would I need to disable the weight distribution in that situation?

OK now same question for sway bars. I don't mean the kind built into some hitches, I mean one that's a component of the trailer suspension. Useful? Waste of money? A hinderance?

EDIT: I've since found out that sway bars need to be disconnected when traveling off pavement. Makes sense, probably same applies to WDH's as well.

 

[MOAK]

I may be in the minority here but I've over 45 years experience pulling trailers. From the small garden variety 1 and 2 axle livestock trailers, to 18 wheelers, to my current home built/modified expo trailer, I've pulled em all. I would not buy any kind of trailer that required a weight distribution hitch. I'm no expert, but it just seems to me that camper trailers in general are very poorly designed, otherwise weight distribution would not have to be corrected with a special hitch. When we pull livestock or utility trailers we load them properly so that the tongue weight is appropriate to the load. I've never used a weight distribution hitch with any livestock trailer. I must clarify, we were hauling show animals, sometimes 4 or 500 miles a day. 10-15% is the agreed recommendation for tongue weight. If that amount of tongue weight makes your vehicle sag, then you need either a different tow vehicle, or a beefed up rear suspension. Off pavement? Best to get your weights in order so you can remove it and allow articulation. Anti sway bars? No clue, but I'd assume the bushings wouldn't last long off pavement. Good day

 

[Rumline]

You might want to read this:
http://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/towing-liability-2-0-weight-distributing-hitches-still-needed

 

[80t0ylc]

Just from a "big picture" view point, it seems like you'd have a conflict of interests between WDH and Off Road use. The WDH distributes tongue load to the truck which eliminates most flexibility in the vertcal plane. For good off road performance, you need flexibility or movement at the hitch in all directions. I skimmed the link you provided in post #3 and didn't notice any warnings about off road use, but will re-read when I get the time.

 

[Rumline]

Indeed. No, the article doesn't mention anything about off road use. I have not been able to find anything online about WDH offroad. Maybe because it's so obvious that you shouldn't / can't use one off pavement. But what do I know.

So assuming that the WDH bars need to be disconnected off road, I guess it may reduce float of the rear wheels and may make the TV lighter on the front axle, potentially impacting traction / steering ability. Maybe just keep speeds down to avoid problems. (??)

Just to clarify, by "off road" in this thread I'm talking about rough but otherwise passable by stock 4WD forest roads, not rock crawling.

 

[MOguy]

I would never consider using a WDH off road. Hitches designed to be used off-road allow for a lot of movements in various directions so the trailer can tilt as I needs to. WDH do the exact opposite they reduce the amount of movement. I have used them in the past WDH and they serve a real purpose but it is basically sort of to combine the tow rig and trailer together at the hitch. For off road use I would not want that.

As far as sway bars, they tie one side of the axle together to the other to limit body role. When you have a vehicle with 4 wheels, one at each corner, as one wheel goes up another one reacts. With out a sway bar the opposing tire can move more freely, with a sway bar the opposing moves less. With a vehicle with 4 wheels you still have the other two tires keeping you stable. Off road (esp at slower speeds and rough terrain) you want the tires to move more freely and independently. On road and at higher speed you want the opposite. I don't know what purpose a sway bar serves on a trailer. On a trailer if one wheel goes up the trailer just tilts. When this happens your trailer needs to have a hitch that allows the trailer to tilt. A WDH would severely limit this in a BAD way.

 

[MOAK]

I read the entire article and many others just like it. Yes, they make a good point. However as the article stated, It is all about bragging rights for pick up manufacturers. Personally I wouldn't use one of those gizmos in an attempt to tow something that my vehicle probably shouldn't be towing. just going off pavement, ie standard forrest road, you should be fine. I stand by my premise though, that if you need load levelers to keep your front tires down, your tongue weight is too heavy. Just a question though.. Is your trailer over 5,000 lbs? Our livestock trailers, when loaded were up in the 6 to 7,000 lb range. As our show business grew dad eventually went with a gooseneck trailer as the weights became too much for the F-250 to handle back on the bumper hitch.

 

[MOguy]

I found this posting where people talk about damage and other issues using WDH in off road conditions.

https://thumpertalk.com/forums/topic/962899-equalizer-hitch-question/

 

[Rumline]

Personally I wouldn't use one of those gizmos in an attempt to tow something that my vehicle probably shouldn't be towing.

You have a point, and when I shop for vehicles in the future I will be reading owners' manuals before accepting tow capacity. But it is what it is; at this point I'm not buying a new truck. I don't have a trailer yet, but the two I was looking at will have loaded weights between 5000 and 6000 lbs.

I found this posting where people talk about damage and other issues using WDH in off road conditions.

https://thumpertalk.com/forums/topic/962899-equalizer-hitch-question/

Perfect, thank you.

 

[MOguy]

Does your truck even have the right hitch mount? Sounds like a stupid question even if it is the factor hitch mount it might be the wrong one . I do purchasing for the organization I work for. One of my purchase involved purchase hitches for some heavier for bumper trailers.

None of the trucks we purchased had issues but it seem that although manufactures have made their pickups more capable of hauling heavier loads they neglected to install the appropriate hitch mounts.

These are some examples that turned up in a quick google search.

https://gm.oemdtc.com/6130/27620-incorrect-trailer-hitch-2015-2016-chevrolet-colorado-gmc-canyon

https://gm.oemdtc.com/6121/15809-tr...ures-2014-2015-chevrolet-silverado-gmc-sierra

https://www.uscaraccidents.com/dodge-ram-recall-nhtsa-campaign-00v107000/

 

[andytruck]

Wow, I was looking for feedback from people using WD off road in light conditons and found some bad info here.
Guys can tow trailers all their life and still not have answers that are right.
Also, anti-sway, when talking about hitches, is nto that same as the anti-sway bar on your truck's front end. If someone confuses that then pass it by.

To address the original question. A WD hitch will be fine on a lot of forest service roads. You do not want to use it on rough roads with dips that bend the angle between truck and trailer.
The bending (hitch drops low) puts maximum force on the WD springs, which puts force on the trailer frame where they are mounted, and could break something, or bend it. There are different weight springs out there so some are more forgiving than others.
Now, this could happen in an odd parking lot drainage dip also, or a big driveway bump.
The trailer should handle left to right movement within reason just fine, but again, rough roads with extreme angles will be too much.
I have gone through some big rain ruts and heard no complaints from the WD hitch.

I use it on gravel roads, but if it gets rough, then I take the springs off. With it on I have had the rear tires spin out because the weight was so unloaded on the rear truck tires - situation where there was a little dip involved. So, you can see traction will be affected.

I have used WD hitch with a 3/4 ton truck with air bags towing an 800 lb trailer.
WD hitch will smooth out the ride considerably and make for more comfortable travel, less bobbing (the dolphin) and keep sway in check.
When you hit those bumps over bridges or uneven pavement the WD hitch keep the trailer from bouncing so much too.

WD hitch will help keep the rear of the truck from sagging also. This helps for headlight patterns and general handling.

When off road the truck's handling is not an issue, since you will be moving slower and the things that matter at speed just will not matter when crawling (other than headlights). No biggie to drive without WD hitch when off road.

 

[Louisd75]

I have used WD hitch with a 3/4 ton truck with air bags towing an 800 lb trailer.

A WD hitch seems like overkill if you're towing an 800lb trailer with a 3/4 ton truck

 

[CampStewart]

WD hitch can be amazing on the road. I can't think of anything much worse than using one off road. If you need one to properly balance your vehicle and trailer than you need to upgrade the tow rig, get a lighter trailer, or stay on road. I don't know why this is difficult to comprehend.

 

[billiebob]

For what you want to do, look into a high clearance goose neck.

WDH when you watch one getting coupled, obviously needs a level road. The 2 bars are sprung only a few inches, articulate that off road and it will fall apart.

What is your tow vehicle? How much will your trailer weigh? How many seats do you need?
How many people? How many toys, gear, etc.

But I think it is unanimous, you don't want a weight distribution hitch.


edit, who revived a 3 year old thread !!! Just start a new one.

 

[Louisd75]

edit, who revived a 3 year old thread !!! Just start a new one.

Yes! That way we can yell at them for not using the search function ?