hitch question

[Craig]

I still don't know much about hitches, etc. But I am one step closer to being able to tow my A/S! I just bought a mint 1994 GMC Suburban K2500 7.4l with 38k miles!

Here's my question. Since I don't have the Suburban and A/S "together" yet, I was hoping someone out there with the same configuration could tell me what type of hitch setup I need (ie, drop length, weight capacity), so that I could start shopping for the setup now.

Anyone have something for sale???

Thanks,

Craig

[59toaster]

Well I'll take a stab at this. Most people with burbs of your vintage with 4x4 say they need a 12 inch drop draw bar.
Now what you use for hitch set up is a very debated topic. Personnaly I have the AS but not the Burb yet but I have one I'm very interested in and it's a 88 with 71k and proably 60k of that was with a AS behind it. I decided to go with a Reese Dual cam on mine. THe friction style sway controls are sometimes tempermental and I just didn't want the hassle.

The undisputed top of the line is the Hensley arrow but it's $2500. Little out of my budget.
You next question will be brake controllers...Again there is debate but most feel either the Prodigy or the Jordan are the best.

Hit the towing section of the forums and there is tons of available information on htiches and controlers.

[Craig]

The Suburban came set up with a Tekonsha Sentinel brake controller, so I'm going with that. For now anyway...

[Craig]

Also, I've been shopping online and don't see draw bars with 12" drops advertised???

[59toaster]

Originally posted by Craig
The Suburban came set up with a Tekonsha Sentinel brake controller, so I'm going with that. For now anyway...

Here is a company that does internet sale. but you should be able to find local.
http://www.hitches-forless.com/WD/wd_shanks.htm
Now 12 inches is sort of misleading. The drop section would be 12 inches long but because of the hight of the hitch head the ball dor would be less..

[59toaster]

Just so happend that the person who mentioned the drop just had the picture show up.
http://www.airstreamphotos.com/photo...php?photo=2079

[overlander64]

Greeting Craig!

Congratulations on the 1994 Suburban find. Your Suburban has less than half the miles of my '99 (currently at 103,500). Since your 1994 is in the same family line as my '99 which is also a K2500 series; I am fairly certain that you will need approximately the same drop that I am using (assuming that your Suburban has the stock tire/wheel combination).

The Reese Drop Bar that I am using is a R54917. It is almost 1" too high for my Minuet 6.0 Metre which would prefer a height of 18"; but I believe that your '78 Airstream likely calls for a height of 18.5" which should make this draw bar quite workable for your situation -- especially if you get a ball mount with a flat area where the ball mounts rather than the raised section that my 1978 period ball mount has - - results in an addtional .5" rise that I don't need. The photo below is of the mount installed on my Suburban:



Good luck with your hitch set-up.

Kevin

[Craig]

Kevin,

Thanks for your response. I think the terminology being used is what's confusing me. I looked up the hitch you mentioned on the Reese website and it says that model has a 6" drop. Why do you call it a 12"?

Craig

[overlander64]

Greetings Craig!

The reason that I have always referred to the bar as a 12" drop is based on the measurement of the bar from the top of the bar to its lowest point - - it will only actually drop the ball height between 5" and 6" depending upon the style of ball mount and the actual design of the ball utilized in the hitch setup.

Kevin

[overlander64]

Greetings Craig!

The reason that I have always referred to the bar as a 12" drop is based on the measurement of the bar from the top of the bar to its lowest point - - it will only actually drop the ball height between 5" and 6" depending upon the style of ball mount and the actual design of the ball utilized in the hitch setup.

Kevin

[Craig]

Ahhhhh. OK. So the bar is 12", but the drop is only 6". Are you happy with your drop bar? What do you use for your weight distribution?

So if I am understanding all of this correctly, I need to shop for:
1) an adjustable hitch draw bar (w/6" drop)
2) hitch ball
3) weight distribution system

Thanks, Kevin!

Craig

[59toaster]

Originally posted by Craig
Ahhhhh. OK. So the bar is 12", but the drop is only 6". Are you happy with your drop bar? What do you use for your weight distribution?

So if I am understanding all of this correctly, I need to shop for:
1) an adjustable hitch draw bar (w/6" drop)
2) hitch ball
3) weight distribution system

Thanks, Kevin!

Craig

4) Anti sway device.

You could go with either a Dual cam set up or a friction sway. Most people find the dual cam is more effective but the recomended tounge weigh is 400+ pounds.

Your distribution system is tuned to the tounge weight so you need to find that out before you purches the spring bars. Our 59 Caravanner is somewhere around 550lb and we are going to run 750lb bars.

[Craig]

I was just going to go w/ 1,000lb bars. I don't have a way to actually meaure the tongue weight, but thought the 1,000lb bars should be safe. All I found in my manaul is that the tongue weight should be 10-15% of the total TT weight, but no more than 1,000 lbs. And my Excella, fully loaded, had a max weight of 8,500lbs.

Could someone out there with an Excella 500 of tell me what they use?

Thanks!

Craig

[wb13798]

hello
i had a 78 excella 500 and i towed it with a 97 suburban. i had a eazy lift hitch and used the friction sway control and never had a problem but once when i didnt tighten the sway control . other than that i put a lot of miles on the excella and sub. i still have the drop bar i offered it to a member some time ago and never heard from him again. its for sale at a reasonable price. if interested send me a email. lol
al

[wb13798]

my tongue weight was 750 lbs.

[overlander64]

Greetings Craig!

RE: Satisfaction with Reese Drop Draw Bar

The bar performs flawlessly, in fact I have two - - one for my Overlander that requires a 2" ball and a second with 2 5/16" ball for my Argosy Minuet. The greatest draw back is that the base of the draw bar is low enough that it will drag when departing driveways with steep approach/departure angles. It wouldn't be such a problem, but I typically leave my ball mount in the receiver throughout the season as it is heavy enough to aggravate an old shoulder injury. My experience with the K2500 Suburban and this draw bar is that it takes careful shopping to get a ball mount that will allow a ball height less than 19" - - I did finally find one that I always use with my Overlander that puts the ball height at exactly 18". I haven't had the time to source one for my Minuet that will get its height back at the 18" level.

I think that you are likely on the right track with your weight distribution bars. The Reese technician who assisted me in fine tuning the hitch adjustments for my Overlander condemned my 500 pound bars as too light (they had developed a noticeable bend or belly), and sold me a set of 750 pound bars that I have been using since that time. The trailer weighs very nearly 6,000 pounds loaded for a trip to the WBCCI International Rally with a tongue weight of about 725 pounds.

My recommendation would be to consider the Reese Dual Cam Sway control. I have used this system with my Overlander since 1995 and it is far less trouble than the friction sway control that I had on my Nomad - - the Dual Cam system doesn't need to be adjusted for changing road or weather conditions as do the friction devices (at least the ones that I have owned). In fact, since I was able to get confirmation from Reese that the Dual Cam system is indeed suitable for a small trailer so long as it has at least 400 pounds on the tongue, I ordered a setup for my Minuet as well. I ordered the Dual Cam system from Ace Fogdall RVs new web-based store and received the package in 48 hours.

Good luck with your setup. It sounds like you are on track for a great towing combination!

Kevin