Weight distribution/anti-sway bars

When in doubt, get a WD hitch. Unless you are pulling an Rpod with an HD truck, still get a WD hitch. Any time there is any doubt get a WD hitch. You may be able to pull your trailer just fine under optimal conditions. It's the out of the ordinary situations where you will be glad to have the WD hitch. You will want it when being passed by a triple trailer, driving a rough or winding road, strong winds, snow ice, that a-hole that cut you off, etc. During all of these situations you will be happy you spent the extra money for the WD hitch. Compared to the price of replacing your trailer, tow vehicle or both, a WD hitch is cheap insurance.
 
14,000 lb. trailer weight behind a Ford F150 is just asking for trouble.
Totally agree. Just stating what the towing guide says. I didn't like the performance of our 2003 F150 with a 7000# trailer. But I realize newer trucks have much more towing capability vs our old one.
 
I'm towing an 8,500 lb Imagine 2670MK with a Silverado 3500 duramax and using an Equal-i-zer 14,000 WD hitch. Some say that is overkill. The way that trailer is designed, the majority of the stuff packed into it is at the front which greatly increases the tongue weight. Other owners have reported loaded tongue weights well over 1,000 lbs. All I know is that I've never had an issue with sway or bounce, so I'm happy with it. Again, cheap insurance.
 
There are basically two types . The first is the original WD with an add on friction bar. The patent is long expired and many brands sell them.
The weight distribution is adjusted seperatly from the sway control, which can be tightened or loosened without changing the WD.
They are great for beginers as one can miss the setup by a mile and still have the sway control functioning.

Then there are the integreated sway control hitches. Most of them rely on tounge weight for sway control function to work properly. These NEED to be setup right! Miss the setup, and you lose both the WD, and sway control functions.

For that reason, they are better for experienced users.
And this probably a reason that dealers usually send their customers down the road the original friction bar hitch

And that is the reason I recommend them as well. They are inexpesive and easy to sell when you are ready to move up to an integreated SC hitch.
Trust me on this. I started towing before the internet was invented. Info, good and bad was not so easy to get back then.
I DID have an uncontrolable sway event. I was lucky in that there were no other vehicles around, as I needed all of the road . It came on suddenly with no warning...It will make an atheist get religous real quick.
Just purchased a 2025 Imagine XLS, 28 ft, 7,000 lbs, and towed with a 2020 Ford F-150 6 cylinder. First, is a weight distribution/anti-sway system necessary and second, what are the better manufacturers to consider. Moved up from an 18 ft pop-up so wish to be safe and secure!
I have the Equal-I-Zer WD and have been very pleased. We bought a 2016 Reflection TT and transferred it to our 2020 Imagine TT. With the 2016 Chevy Z71 2500HD, it seems there's no TT behind me. Low fuel mileage is the only constant reminder. Earlier, a guy said to watch YT video and make SURE it is set up RIGHT. There's no better advice. None of THE WDHs are worth a cuss if it's not set up right. When I picked up the Reflection, the dealer didn't set it up right. Even though it pulled fine, the TT was not level (I was new and didn't know what I didn't know). There was too much tongue weight on the hitch which eventually blew a pinion gear gasket. Proper setup would have avoided that $650 repair. The Imagine dealer saw the problem and made the adjustment and all is well.
 
I have never heard that bit about loosening the arms for a driveway If this is true, I have been doing it wrong since 1992 with no ill effects.
This is good, as it just isn't practicle when traveling...When one needs fuel, and the station has a sharp incline..... What do you do? stop traffic to adjust the WD? Pass that station up, and hope you can make it to the next one? Pass it up, try to find a good place to park the rig, adjust the WD, then try to double back ? Many lashups limit the u turns one can do.....etc.
Here is one of the best explanations I've seen on the concept:
. That's my point about the B&W hitch. If the sharp change in incline is something you're concerned about, the idea that you can pause and turn a knob to release the tension is a fantastic way to deal with it.
 
I use the Pro Pride P3. It truly is amazing. It is expensive, but what is safety worth to you? It probably is the best one out there and their customer service is amazing.
 
Here is one of the best explanations I've seen on the concept:
. That's my point about the B&W hitch. If the sharp change in incline is something you're concerned about, the idea that you can pause and turn a knob to release the tension is a fantastic way to deal with it.
My first new TT a 2001 Fleetwood Wilderness owners manual stated how heavy the WD bars could be based on how tall the TT frame was. I forget the numbers, but basically too heavy a bar for the TT will prevent it from flexing when it needs to. The pic of the TT with the bent frame has a very
light frame.
Quite a few TT owners are cheapskates and buy too heavy a bar intially, so they can use the same hitch on their future TTs. I have seen this mentioned countless times on forums.
I have always sized my hitches for the TT I had.
I have never adjusted it for any incline or off road
conditions....And I have been in some pretty sketchy ones. Over 250,000 miles towing TTs without a problem.... As I said before: It's just not practical to be adjusting it on the road.
Fortunantly, if one sizes their hitch correctly, it is not an issue
 
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I've always used Equal-i-zer style hitches and have been satisfied with them. For our current Imagine XLS 22MLE I decided to go with the Weigh Safe hitch. It is an Equal-i-zer style hitch with built-in scale so I can adjust the hitch for different trip loads. It is on the higher side cost wise but has worked well for us.
 
I have a Hensley Arrow with 1400 pound bars. It does a very good job on sway control and weight distribution. I don't find it the easiest to dial in. After a couple of thousand miles of towing with it attached to a 2500 RL and behind a Ram 1500 LTD Ecodiesel, I have it pretty much set up perfectly. Hensley was patient and helpful in helping me dial it in. But, it is heavy. Once it is dialed in it is straight as an arrow towing, literally no sway and handles very well even in windy conditions. There is the "Hensley Bump" when stopping which is weird but normal for the hitch (ProPride too as I understand).

I was going to try the B&W but we are going to purchase a fifth wheel in a few months. If anyone thinks they'll want a Hensley Arrow in a few months, I'll be selling ours.
 
My first new TT a 2001 Fleetwood Wilderness owners manual stated how heavy the WD bars could be based on how tall the TT frame was. I forget the numbers, but basically too heavy a bar for the TT will prevent it from flexing when it needs to. The pic of the TT with the bent frame has a very
light frame.
Quite a few TT owners are cheapskates and buy too heavy a bar intially, so they can use the same hitch on their future TTs. I have seen this mentioned countless times on forums.
I have always sized my hitches for the TT I had.
I have never adjusted it for any incline or off road
conditions....And I have been in some pretty sketchy ones. Over 250,000 miles towing TTs without a problem.... As I said before: It's just not practical to be adjusting it on the road.
Fortunantly, if one sizes their hitch correctly, it is not an issue
Nice explanation. I haven't heard that point made before. Thanks for posting that.
 

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