Sufficient hitch?

[StayAwayJoe]

Hi All,

In a couple of weeks my wife and I will head down to look at purchasing our first Airstream which we plan on living in full time when we sell our house next year. The trip is about 1400 miles, about 700 of which will be hauling the trailer for the first time...

Its a 1973 Argosy 22' and I will be towing it with my 2003 Ford F-150 SuperCrew (Thats a 5.4L V8 Triton). As far as I can find, the Argosy has a GVWR of 5800 lbs and tongue weight of 560 lbs. I should mention that the trailer has been renovated so the weight might be different then the stock numbers.

I want to be as ready as I can be to tow it home, and beyond, so I am looking at getting a Reese Steadi-Flex hitch. The max weight seems good, at 6000 lbs but I am unsure as to the tongue weight of 600 lbs... I feel like that is cutting it too close. But then I am new to considering tongue weight since I have never towed anything larger than a utility trailer.

Does the tongue weight fluctuate enough for me to be concerned about the hitch failing? I assume it can be altered by how much cargo I put fore or aft of the axle...?

The next hitch size up seems to be an 800 lb tongue weight (The Reese SC) and I fear that this would be too much and offer a stiff and inefficient ride.

Am I over-thinking this? Should I just get the Steadi-Flex since the numbers almost match up?

Thank you for any help.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

You are over thinking this. Go with the heavier set of bars. Most people run in the 800 to 1000 pound bar range on "normal" AS trailers and hitches. All the hitches adjust to match things up.

Bob

[AnnArborBob]

I would go with a WD hitch that can handle tongue weight in the 800 to 1,000 lbs range. All these hitches are adjustable so even if you are a little bit on the low side of the range it's an easy fix. It's easier to go lower than the hitch's rating than it is to go higher. The "stiffness" you are concerned about will be pretty much the same for a properly adjusted hitch regardless of whether it's rated for 600 or 800 lbs so that's not going to matter a lot.

[StayAwayJoe]

Thanks Bobs!

Very helpful info. I took your advice.

[HiJoeSilver]

I would go with the 600 lb bars, 800 would be max. If you go to 1000 you end up with stiffer bars meaning a rougher ride for the trailer. It would be ok to have 600 lb bars with 650 lb tongue weight, you end up with a softer tide on the trailer but can't transfer as much weight back to the front wheels meaning the trailer may be flat but the tow vehicle maybbe ever do slightly higher in the front. The spring bars don't support the trailer weight, the ball and hitch do. The spring bars simply try to rotate the stinger putting more weight back on the front tv wheels.