I went to state trailer in redwood on my way home and got the battery box. They had trojan t105s ($195) and an interstate 6v deep cycle extreme ($190) something or other. I'm not going to justify that kind of money on this trailer from 2007. I went from there to the WVC Costco and got the two 6v gc2's. If I don't like them I'll go a different route down the road.
All things Camp Trailer
- Thread starter Rot Box
- Start date
At what point do you need a weight distribution hitch? The hitch weight is listed as 495 lbs and the gross vehicle weight is 5000 lbs. I'll be towing it with my 5.3l 2018 GMC Sierra.
My dad had a friction sway bar hitch thing he used but wants to keep that for his new trailer. There was a 6k equalizer hitch on KSL I was looking at for $350 but it sold.
My dad had a friction sway bar hitch thing he used but wants to keep that for his new trailer. There was a 6k equalizer hitch on KSL I was looking at for $350 but it sold.
I can’t answer your question on the distribution hitch. I’ve never had to use one, but I have used those little scrubber style sway control hitches like this one from Harbor freight I just welded the little arm on my hitch and the other end on the trailer. it’s just a brake pad that you tighten up, and a good job of controlling sway in my experience .
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
Weight distributing and sway control are two different ways to add stability.
A WD hitch will essentially add weight to your front axle when a substantial amount of tongue weight has decreased your front axle weight. This makes the TOW vehicle more stable.
A sway control device like the one @J-mobzz shared reduces trailer sway only.
They both work, they just do different things. If your truck squats substantially when tongue weight is applied, you’ll want the WD hitch.
A WD hitch will essentially add weight to your front axle when a substantial amount of tongue weight has decreased your front axle weight. This makes the TOW vehicle more stable.
A sway control device like the one @J-mobzz shared reduces trailer sway only.
They both work, they just do different things. If your truck squats substantially when tongue weight is applied, you’ll want the WD hitch.
- Location
- Bountiful, land of rocks
Last edited:
- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
We used one with our camp trailer and I loved having it, we towed in some insane winds and while it was stressful, the truck and trailer were predictable.
Is the WD hitch adding the weight to the front axle of the truck or the trailer?
My dad's 2010 tundra squatted pretty bad with the trailer load and I encouraged him to add air bags which made a huge difference. I didn't notice any real squat in my truck when I towed it home. I'll have to look at it some more though to figure out what to do.
Thanks for that explanation.
My dad's 2010 tundra squatted pretty bad with the trailer load and I encouraged him to add air bags which made a huge difference. I didn't notice any real squat in my truck when I towed it home. I'll have to look at it some more though to figure out what to do.
Thanks for that explanation.
Truck. It just makes it basically impossible for it to sag. You essentially set the loaded height.
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
WD adds weight to the front axle of the truck. Tongue weight has a cantilever effect on your front suspension, which can reduce steering effectiveness. An extreme example is your truck popping a wheelie.
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
It’s still possible, it just depends on how soft your rear suspension is and how heavy the tongue is. Even if it does sag some, it should be less sag with a WD hitch, but more importantly it keeps more weight on your front axle suspension.
Pike2350
Registered User
- Location
- Salt Lake City
Not that it matters....maybe more semantics. But I always thought a WD hitch helped lower the tongue weight by pushing adjusting the weight to the rear wheel and the trailer. S. This reduction of weight has the affect of not lightening the front axle as much...but really weight is adjusted to the trailer a little more.
- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
The tongue weight is still the same. The weight is adjusted forward along the frame of the tow vehicle. Where and how much weight depends on a lot of variables.
A WD hitch essentially fights the cantilever effect of tongue weight on a receiver hitch. The longer the distance between your hitch ball and the center of your tow vehicles rear axle, the greater the cantilevered effect can be. This is not to be confused with “Pin weight” on a gooseneck or 5th wheel hitch. There is very little to no cantilever on those style hitches.
Last edited:
- Location
- The Village of Kay
As I understand weight distributing hitches they transfer weight to the front axle of the Tow vehicle and some to the rear axle of the trailer to help spread the load onto all axles.
My vehicles all reccomend using a WD hitch on any trailer over 5k lbs.
My vehicles all reccomend using a WD hitch on any trailer over 5k lbs.
Corban_White
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Payson, AZ
+ one more for solar. I have installed it on several trailers. Even one 100w panel and a charge controller from amazon will be amazing. I wouldn't put more than 200w unless you are going really big with the batteries or always parked in the shade. Usually the easiest way to get the wires in is through the fridge vent. Something like this will probably have everything you need (except the roof sealant/dicor) for just over $100.
Regarding the WD hitch, it removes weight from the rear axle of the truck and distributes it to the front axle of the truck and the trailer axles. To decide if you need one, just measure the fender height at the front of the truck with and without the trailer hooked up. If it is more than 1-2 inches higher with the trailer attached I would get one.
Regarding the WD hitch, it removes weight from the rear axle of the truck and distributes it to the front axle of the truck and the trailer axles. To decide if you need one, just measure the fender height at the front of the truck with and without the trailer hooked up. If it is more than 1-2 inches higher with the trailer attached I would get one.
ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
Thanks for the link!
- Location
- Stinkwater
For what it's worth, lithium batteries are getting stupid cheap. When my deep cycle aux in the truck died last year I went to lifepo4 instead of buying another deep cycle AGM, and I have zero complaints. It's lighter, smaller, and discharges deeper.
So I have a question for those of you running solar. Does anyone else use any other form of charging? I currently have a 60 amp DC DC charger hooked up to 200 amp hours of lifepo 4 lithium batteries. Currently thinking of adding a couple hundred Watts of solar panels on top. But I have room to run up to 450 Watts of panels if I decide it’s worth it.
My lithium set up can handle 50 A of charging per battery So in theory, I should be able to add a solar controller on top of my DC to DC charger without having to worry about sending too much amperage to the batteries. But I would rather error on the side of caution.
I’m thinking about just running like a 60 amp relay and wiring the solar panels in on a normal closed circuit and then when I turn the ignition switch on, it would disconnect the solar panels from the solar controller allowing just the DC to DC charger to do the charging.
Does anyone see a reason why this wouldn’t work? it seems like some of the solar controllers are a bit picky about how you wire them up, but it looks like as long as I disconnect the panels from the controller not the batteries it shouldn’t matter.
At 450 W divided by 12 V that’s 37 A plus the 60 from the charger would put me right at the 100amp limit. I realize the panels will never see full efficiency and that’s probably not a realistic number. But I do think I would be more comfortable, disconnecting the solar while the vehicles running just to prevent any potential problems.
My lithium set up can handle 50 A of charging per battery So in theory, I should be able to add a solar controller on top of my DC to DC charger without having to worry about sending too much amperage to the batteries. But I would rather error on the side of caution.
I’m thinking about just running like a 60 amp relay and wiring the solar panels in on a normal closed circuit and then when I turn the ignition switch on, it would disconnect the solar panels from the solar controller allowing just the DC to DC charger to do the charging.
Does anyone see a reason why this wouldn’t work? it seems like some of the solar controllers are a bit picky about how you wire them up, but it looks like as long as I disconnect the panels from the controller not the batteries it shouldn’t matter.
At 450 W divided by 12 V that’s 37 A plus the 60 from the charger would put me right at the 100amp limit. I realize the panels will never see full efficiency and that’s probably not a realistic number. But I do think I would be more comfortable, disconnecting the solar while the vehicles running just to prevent any potential problems.