2017 F250 and Equalizer Hitch

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by 4003

I too am worried that 10,000 pound bars are way too heavy for my 22 ft. Sport Bambi. The hitch was installed by the dealer for my Airstream. Does anyone know if I should be concerned?

Hi

If you do indeed have 10,000 pound bars on your 22', then you have the wrong parts. I only have a 1,000 pound setup on my 30'.

The bar weights are determined by the tongue weight of the trailer. That's where to start when figuring out what you should or should not have.

Bob

[4003]

My bars are 92-00-1000 (1000 pound maximum tongue weight, 10,000 pound maximum trailer weight). Will they cause damage to the trailer?

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by 4003

My bars are 92-00-1000 (1000 pound maximum tongue weight, 10,000 pound maximum trailer weight). Will they cause damage to the trailer?

Hi

When you weight your actual trailer, loaded the way you load it up, what are the numbers? What is your actual tongue weight? If it's in the 800 to 1,200 pound range, you have the correct bars for your trailer. If it's in the 400 to 600 pound range, those are the wrong bars.

What counts is tongue weight, not trailer weight.

If the tongue has 983 pounds on it, that weight is going to "damage" the frame of the trailer to some degree. In 50 years it will have worn out more than a trailer with 821 pounds on the tongue. That's completely independent of any bars. Toss in rust and road damage and who knows how long the frame will last.

Having the right bars and the right setup will give you the protection you are after in terms of sway and distribute the weight properly on your rig. Having the wrong setup ( CAT scale is the way to check it ) even with the right bars .... not so good. You likely will do more "damage" with a poorly setup rig (and a lot quicker) than with any specific this or that rated bar.

Yes, if you have a specific trailer from a specific year back a ways, people did see things they thought were related to this or that hitch. On the more modern stuff, that does not seem to be the case. People have seen issues from a *lot* of lash up's over the years. Being sure of what caused this or that is really tough.....

Bob

[4003]

Thanks, Bob. My trailer is a 22ft. Sport. It weighs about 3,600 pounds. I will never load it beyond 5,000lbs., because that is the limit for my TV. The tongue weight will never be more than 600lbs. Equalizer says that overkill is not a problem. I have not gotten a reply from my dealer or Airstream.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

*IS* the tongue weight on your actual trailer 600 pounds or is it a bit more? Have you actually weighted it on a loaded trailer or are you going by the data sheet? A lot of people find that the data sheet numbers are not what they get once they are all packed up.

Bob