Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Question: Weight Distributing Trailer Hitches - Worth It?

I pull a 23'+ 4-place ATV trailer with my truck. Between that, and a fully loaded bed, there can be some significant weight being pulled. A friend of mine told me I should get one of these hitches to level out the truck and load better. I've pulled boats and trailers for quite some time, but have never owned one of these.

Do they work well? Are they worth the $$$? Any manufacturer recommendations?

Robert

I pull a 26' travel trailer, it is a lot more stable with an equalizer hitch. But I haven't used enough different brands to offer any advice re manufacturer.

It will eliminate tongue weight.

Yep, I have the Reese setup on mine for the 28' travel trailer, works GREAT.

Once you have one, you will never be without. The Reese hitch is the only one I have used, and am well satistied with it.

YES!!!

Somebody flipped a trailer with 18 horses in it yesterday. Only one had to be put down. (Good luck loading the others next time.) I don't know what the story is, but anything that improves stability is good.

18 horses is a major haul. That would be one big gooseneck.

I think 6 or 7 is a squeeze for a 20' stock trailer.

It wasn't. I think the news report got the number wrong, but it's what they reported. I saw pictures of the wreck and believe me it was a wreck. How they only lost one horse is a miracle.

BTW a couple of people weren't so lucky. DOS

Good thing I wasn't there.....

Oh yeah, 1 or a 12 horses in a wrecked trailer is a bad deal.

Gotta keep an eye on the floor too. Wood rots...

Do they have to be installed, or is it a "do-it-yourself" gig?

Funny, I thought of you at the time....

No they don't.

A weight distributing hitch does exactly that,it distributes SOME of the weight to the front of the tow rig.

If they eliminated the tongue weight,the trailer would be extremely dangerous to tow.

You need about 15% of the trailers weight as tongue weight. If you don't have that,you'll end up wadded up in the ditch.

It very easy to install. Takes a couple hours to get it fine tuned though.

What mooch said.

Yeah, it's sad to see those little hooves sticking through and trying to keep up.

Reese is good, from box to tuned in about an hour or so. Just remember to re-adjust when changing loads.

Thanks everybody! Looks like I'll have to head-out and pick up a Reese!

With a tandem axle trailer, do you need the add-on stabilizer bars? I don't have any problems with sway so I am assuming not.

They do cost a bit, but yes, they do work in both they redistribute the weight, and make the trailer more stable.

One caveat. A distrbution hitch makes the trailer hitch to truck hitch connection "stiffer", both up and down and side to side--especially up and down though. If towing offroad, or off pavement, things tend to "bind up" when going through dips or rough spots. The equailer hitch can literally bend the trailer tongue or truck hitch--maybe even the truck frame if the truck hitch is the strongest link. In a extreme case of a big dip,it can do the opposite of high center--lift the rear wheels of the truck off the ground in some cases.

They also make the ride in the trailer stiffer, and I have been told that it is rough on livestock--which I guess is why I've never seen one on a horse trailer.

But overall, I still would rather have an equalizer hitch.



Casey