To WD or Not.... Sport 16

[slowmover]

The need for a WDH is determined by TT tongue weight. "Ball mass" as the Aussies refer to it.

Your Ford Truck Owners Manual will have a section on this topic, and it should be studied.

Robert Cross has the right plan: weigh it.

1] Truck alone (full fuel + driver + any passengers/payload as for a campiing trip)

2] (Optional) Trailer same: Full fresh water, propane and payload for a trip. Trailer axle on one weigh scale pad and tongue jack on another

3] Truck & trailer combined so that each axle is on a separate pad.

The weight "removed" from the truck front axle is the question, not just trailer TW.

You may be close . . but I would consider it more important, at the beginning, to have ideal tow vehicle tire pressures. And take it for a long drive to see how it feels when being passed by 18-wheelers, etc.

Anti-sway, as mentioned above, may be of some benefit.

With numbers one can get better not just more advice.

.

[mefly2]

With the investment you have in the truck and a new AS, the additional expense of a WD hitch is a small price to pay for the additional safety of the sway control AND you will likely at some point move up trailer-wise and most assuredly will benefit from the WD / sway control afforded to a larger mass behind your TV.

[RickDavis]

A WD hitch will do much to smooth out the pitching you get on expansion joint and cupped freeway slabs. You probably would be safe enough with out it, but it will feel much better with WD and lightweight bars

[mandolindave]

My daughter insists on it. Once I waiting for flat surface to hook up my weight distribution bars. We porpoised after every seam in the road.
Also, I feel safer that the weight is back on the wheels that steer, and I don't worry as much about the trailer tongue popping off oh the hitch ball.
However, I do sometimes take off my bars for better traction, when I am trying to get off of wet grass, or a muddy campsite.

[interstateflyer]

Just do it.....

[slowmover]

WD is likely not required with under 350-lbs of TW. Maybe not with even 500.

Anti-sway is a different question.

[Navy76]

Congratulations on your new Sport 16. My wife and I have a 2013 and we have ahad a blast in it over the past 6 months. My TV is a Toyota Highlander and I use an Equal-I-er hitch. This is my first experience towing and with the Equal-i-zer the TV and Bambi feel rock solid and maneuver with ease. At low speed the growling noise as you turn and maneuver will be unsettling at first. Have a blast

[bc_seattle]

Dblackb - what's the post script?
In your same situation.
Have driven the 16' no WD or sway, no problem. However tongue weight is the issue. Especially since I'm considering switching to a two battery system which will add more tongue weight.
Thanks!
BC

[Rjpuckett]

I have a 2008 16' International and a 2013 F150 5.0 L Supercrew. I am using EZ Lite hitch with WD bars at 1,000 lbs. I have read multiple post talking about using 500, 600 lbs bars. Can someone please explain to me why using less heavier bars is good or bad?

[xrvr]

Less heavy bars equal smoother ride for the trailer. Jim

[Airrogant]

Originally Posted by bc_seattle

Have driven the 16' no WD or sway, no problem. However tongue weight is the issue.

I already have a tongue weight issue even without my desired dual-battery system. So I bought a WD hitch. I believe that the addition of the WD system helps reduce some of the tongue weight that my hitch feels. I also believe that under certain conditions the hitch will provide improved safety, improving my odds of keeping the vehicles on the road.

I've only logged about 5 hours of towing time. Approximately half of that was w/o the WD hitch, and the other half was with an Equalizer-brand hitch installed by my nearest dealer. I didn't really notice any difference other than there was less "clunking" over bumps and potholes with the WD hitch. I guess it would be fair to say that I'm not overwhelmed by the difference in normal driving conditions. Nevertheless, the system does provide me with more piece of mind.

At least that's how I justify blowing all that cash on the WD hitch.

[Rjpuckett]

Normal driving conditions are not what motivated me to get the weight distributed correctly. It was the full blown freeway stop I had to make from 55 mph when I was coming up to a freeway entrance ramp on a freeway and I was blocked by a car on my left and the car coming on in front of me was not even thinking about what was in the lane he wanted to merge into. I never felt that the AS wasn't going any place other than where my truck was going.

[ridensmile]

Hi Deb,

Here is my experience. My wife and I bought a 2014 16"er last year. The dealership insisted that we do a Centerline WD/AS hitch. Driving it back to Utah with our Honda Pilot was not terrible, but the tail was wagging the dog. We then tried the Andersen hitch and it was better....but the tail was still wagging the dog. Finally, we just purchased a nice regular ball and alloy mount and have towed with it ever since. The Bambi tows like a dream in all conditions and in the 1 emergency situation where we had to avoid road debris - we were able to swerve with no problem. I talked to the people at Husky, the Andersen people and Can-Am RV in Canada....all great sources. They all said to look at your setup and see what it requires. We had our suspension spring rate increased in the rear and thats really it. Good luck with your decision and enjoy your Airstream.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Deb.

The answer is real easy.

Opinions don't hold up in court.

Facts are the only thing that matters in court.

The state of the art of towing travel trailers says that a load equalizing hitch should be used.

If you do not use one, AND for any reason you lose control of the trailer and injure anyone, you will not have a prayer for any excuses, in any court in the US.

Andy

[Breezin']

Someone asked for a postscript... so here is my individual situation as of now. I've towed "Breezin'" 2119 miles so far. All of that has been with a standard ball and a friction sway bar. I've been up the Blue Ridge and down some 8% grades, some state roads, lots of interstate, up to the Smokies. I've had one emergency stop... someone dropped a crate off the back of a truck in front of me going 60 on the interstate! It has handled beautifully so far in all those situations. I had one bridge crossing coming out of Jacksonville that caused me to take it very slow when winds were gusting 30-40mph but the trailer didn't sway, the wind was buffeting the truck as much as the trailer. The tongue weight is well within what the truck specs are and the sway bar has served well so far. It's just me and the dog and I travel pretty light in terms of what I pack. And I pay close attention to payload and where I put things in the truck.

All that being said, I just added a second battery on the trailer this week so I'm going to hunt for a CAT scale near me and have everything weighed to be sure I'm still okay. I'm certainly not an expert and this is just my experience. My airstream dealer still insists I don't need W/D and they certainly could have sold and installed one for me but I want to be sure.

[Airrogant]

Originally Posted by Dblackb

I just added a second battery on the trailer this week so I'm going to hunt for a CAT scale near me and have everything weighed to be sure I'm still okay.

Please consider posting the results of your weigh-in with us as I would love to use them for comparison purposes. Also I would love to see some pics of your second battery install if you have time to post them. I would really like to do this mod. too. Would you consider starting a new thread to tell us all about it?

I just read a post that said that according to AS Corporate the tongue weight of our trailers should never exceed 15% of the GVWR. For my 16' trailer that means I'm limited to 525 lbs. There is NO way that I could add another battery to the tongue of my trailer and stay under that limit. If you purchased the appearance package, the rock guards, and/or the electric jack, you could be getting close to that limit without even adding the weight of the 2nd battery.

[xrvr]

Sway control is critical in my opinion. wD not so much, depends on the tow vehicle and trailer set up. Light weight trailer on heavy duty truck not exceeding tounge weight rating, no WD necessary, but I believe sway control is. If you have the money and are concerned, get a WD hitch with sway built in. Cannot hurt and you will have peace of mind. Jim