Looking at getting a new TT. I currently have a Drawtite 1,000/10,000lb round bar WD hitch with DC for sway control. The new TT has a manufacturer listed tongue weight of around 650lbs and a manufacturer listed dry weight of around 6,400lbs. The GVWR is 8,000lbs. The salesman mentioned moving up to a 1,200/12,000lb hitch. While the dry weight suggests my current hitch should be sufficient, the GVWR says I could over load my current hitch. We do two, week long trips a year with a possibility for more. One of these trips is dry camping. Naturally we are loaded up pretty good for those trips. Those are my concern moreso than holiday and long weekend trips where packingis light.
I would wait on any decision about the hitch untill the trailer is loaded, weigh the tongue and see what the number is and go from there. Untill then, you are only guessing and if you go out and buy a heavier hitch now, you may find out later you just wasted your money. If you do end up needing a new hitch, there will still be plenty of them available to buy at that time.
GVWR = 8000#. Desired tongue weight target = 13%. So IMO perfect WD hitch is 1,040#. Yours is 1,000# for an error of 4%. If it was mine, I'd keep the 1000# hitch.
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Lovely German Shepherd.
1999 Mercedes ML320 TV
2003 Wanderer 187TB Toybox (3620# UVW, 4800# loaded) Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories. I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
Agree, buy the trailer, load it up and get it weighed. Then you;ll have the info to make a good decision with ni substantial risk in the meantime. I think you would be hard pressed to get that TW to 1200 lbs.
Our listed tongue weight dry was in the same range as yours - around 650#'s.
FULLY loaded - and that's with adding a very heavy all latex mattress up front on the queen bed and the heavy tool bag with all the wrenches and what not up fronts and being at 13% of our loaded weight our tongue weight is 850#'s (includes 1 battery and 2 full 30lb. propane tanks). We also have the huge storage area under the queen bed and connects with the pass through storage up front.
Though we pack semi-light - there are 4 of us so we do have a lot of stuff.
So...given that information and with the weights being similar - I think at this point i'd wait, load up the TT for a trip and weigh the tongue (or get a Sherline Tongue Weight Scale - that's what we use to keep track if we change anything).
I'd be willing to bet you'll be fine with your current 1000/10,000# setup.
Thanks everyone! Is pretty much what I thought. Dealer we spoke to today thought 1,000lb was fine as well. Reason I asked was I am looking to upgrade to an Equal-i-zer and was asking to get it thrown in with the purchase. SO far the dealer has hit our price point and helped us with ideas to sell our unit.
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