What Weight Distribution and Sway Control do I need

[tbashin]

I have a 2018 F350 FX4 long bed crew cab XLT Premium 6.7 Diesel, 11,500 GVWR. I also pull cattle trailer, tractors, etc.
I am towing our 1976 31' Excella weighing in at 6076 with empty tanks and only kitchen supplies on board. I am guessing the most it will ever weigh loaded is 7500 lbs+-.
It has new axles and a 3" lift so it's higher than a normal AS you would see on the road.
Because of the trailer height, I want to make sure I have stability and sway control. I don't trust the truck's factory sway control for anything other than emergency situation help.
I have an Equal-I-Zer weight distribution hitch with (2) 1000 bars. I don't need the weight distribution on this truck to keep the front end planted. The trailer tongue weight barely lowers the rear of the truck a couple of inches to where it still sits slight higher in the back.
I just want to control sway and keep the trailer planted without applying too much force onto the trailer.

Questions:
1) Will my current WD hitch set up work as is?
2) If not what weight bars do I really need? 800? 600? 1200?
2) What sway control will work with the Equal-I-Zer and what rating would it need to be?
3) What else might I need to ask?

Thanks folks.

[dbj216]

I think you have everything you need to tow your 76 Sovereign 31' safely.

You mention the ride height of the trailer has been increased significantly, maybe with new axles. Good axles are important as your stiffly sprung truck will transfer some bumps back to the trailer. I tow with a F-350 and haven't had any problems.

So the first job is determining the ball height that will allow the hitched up trailer to follow the truck on the level to a slightly nose down attitude. Make that adjustment first.

You mention you have an equalizer hitch with 1000 pound bars. It's a good hitch. The equalizer bars rest on friction pads with a considerable down force that provides some sway control. You need to set the angle of your hitch head to load up the bars. I'd just follow the factory set up procedure even though your truck may not notice any weight distribution. But there will be some and that's what provides the sway control through the loaded bars. I think equalizer likes their bars parallel with the A frame member.

I had a bit of problems with my equalizer as I could not keep the bar mounts from moving. I ended up shimming the bar mounts to eliminate any clearance between the lower bolt and the frame rail. That solved my problem.

David

[Farmer Dan]

I have used Equalizer hitches on 3 different AS trailers. I towed an '89 25' Excella with the 600# / 6000# version. I used a 1,000# / 10,000# version for my '02 Classic w / slide and now use it for my '17 26U Flying Cloud. I am very happy with the performance of these hitches and the ride quality they provide. I agree with David on the assessment that you have everything you need to tow the 31' Excella. BTW, I tow with a '15 F150 SCrew and EcoBoost 3.5L engine

Dan