jcramin
Memphis, TN
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Joined: 10/21/2003
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My trailer which is 30 feet from tongue to bumper was picked up by a driver to take it back to the factory in Cali. They picked it up at my house in Memphis TN. The driver had a Ford Dully F250 with a bullydog programmer and did not hook up any sway or weight dist bars and he was towing at 1700 miles. He said he never uses them and has never had a problem. His present truck is 17 months old with 250,000 miles on it towing trailers.
2007 Weekend Warrior FS2500
2005 Dodge Ram 2500 QC 4X4 HEMI
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MFinCA
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
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Joined: 06/09/2004
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I've towed my TT a short distance (about 5 miles) to the RV dealer without the WD bars. The rear of my 'Burb goes down maybe 1/2" when I put the TT on the ball.
I always install them for any other trip, along with the sway control.
MFinCA
2004 Homestead Settler 255RS
1999 Chevrolet Suburban 2500
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whitetruck
Boulder City Nevada
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Joined: 12/01/2003
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We also tow with a 3500 and we do not use a WD hitch. When we had a 1500 we did. Our travel trailer has a hitch weight of about 250 lbs.
When we tow our Wander and there is no sway. We tow at all times (almost) 55 to 60 MPH. both the tt or the 5er. We get the best MPG at this speed and it also seems to contribute to no stress towing.
bob and jackie
2007 Jayco 341 5th wheel 4 slides 14000 lbs gvwr
2002 Wanderer 192 HTT
2004.5 Red QC CTD 11500 GVWR 3500 dually LB AUTO 3.73 325/600 Prodigy brake controller magnaflow
1999 Chrysler LHS
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mkirsch
Rochester, NY
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Joined: 04/09/2004
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WD bars serve two purposes:
1. Distributes the tongue weight of the trailer more evenly across the rig.
2. Returns weight to the front wheels.
Your truck is a see-saw over the rear axle. Push down on the hitch hard enough, and the front wheels of the truck will come off the ground. That's what the trailer is trying to do.
A trailer will ALWAYS lift the front end of ANY truck. How much depends on how heavy the trailer is on the rear of the truck.
Lift enough weight off the front, and the front tires won't have enough traction to steer the truck properly. It may feel fine under normal conditions, but in a quick maneuver, it will skid a little (or a lot!).
How much weight can be lifted off the front of a truck, and still have enough traction to maneuver, will depend on the truck. A 4500-series truck is VERY heavy on the front, and removing 200 pounds or so doesn't make much difference in handling. On something smaller like an F150, 200 pounds is a large amount of weight, and the truck will probably have steering issues.
Your F350 may or may not be okay without the bars. It's heavy but not quite as heavy as the 4500-series truck you saw. Try it, but take the bars with you just in case you don't like the feeling.
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2008Wildcat
PA
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Joined: 11/20/2007
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First off, if the guy is delivering a brand new trailer to a dealership, or customer, why would he use a WD hitch??
Unless a customer has ordered it and had it installed beforehand, do you think the dealers want holes in their brand new trailers??
These guys deliver new trailers and can't be putting holes in frames to mount WD items and sway bars.
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Kennedycamper
Algoa, Texas
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Joined: 05/24/2006
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I used mine because it felt more stabil when towing. I didn't need it as my old TT was only 4500 lbs, and I have a 2500 Dodge; however, It towed better with them.
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NCHornet1
Mt. Airy, NC.
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Joined: 05/17/2003
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Hot shot haulers don't use them because they have no idea what type of sway control the TT has. There are to many brands of hitches out there for them to carry one of each so they choose not to use anything. Does this mean you should do the same? NO!!! Look at my TV, it is made for hauling, yes I have towed my TT with no sway bars when it was new and the dealer didn't have the right U bolts,it did just fine, no sag at all, would I make a practice out of this? Heck No!!!
NCH
2000 Ford F350 4X4 PSD,CC, DRW
4:10's, BTM Muffler, Isspro Gauges,
Coolant Filter,CCV Mod
FTVB , Ford AIS
6.0 Cooler,SCT2 W/DP's 40 tow & 80 econo,Zoodad mod
2005 Keystone Hornet 30BHSS
Reese Dual Cam
Family of 4 saved by Grace!!!
MY TRUCK
OUR TRAILER
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manganos
Dinwiddie, VA
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Joined: 01/31/2006
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I towed a 30' Jayco with a 2500 Dodge diesel. Programmer/injectors,upgraded turbo the whole nine yards. Not once did I use a WD hitch or sway control. It pulled straight and actually leveled the truck out when I hooked up. With that being said now I have a 2006 GMC Sierra VortecMax (LQ9) package. Tow package, 6.0L, adjustable suspension etc.. Yesterday I bought a WD hitch to tow my new Jayco 28BHS. I was all over the place with it on the first trip. Hopefully this cures the problem.
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mkirsch
Rochester, NY
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Joined: 04/09/2004
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NCHornet1 wrote:Hot shot haulers don't use them because they have no idea what type of sway control the TT has.
They are also professional drivers, and have oversized trucks for the job.
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DaveRobin
Fayetteville, NC
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Joined: 08/30/2006
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I've been following this topic with great interest.
Since transferring our Equal-i-zer WDH to the 1 ton from a 1/2 ton,
there is very little if any sag.
Have pulled the set up approx 300 miles since installing and it pulls great. However that there is no weight transfer to the 1 ton as there was with the 1/2 ton.
So my question is, to still get the benefit of sway control on the Equal-i-zer, does there need to be tension on the bars?
Any other recommendations?
2001 Chev Silverado 3500 8.1L DRW
2008 Rockwood 8296SS w/atrium slide
Equalizer WDH
Tekonsha Voyager Brake Controller
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