2016 Airstream Sport and WD hitch

[boocanoe]

I have just bought a 2016 Sport and am planning to tow with a 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe. The Santa Fe is rated to tow 5000 lbs with a tongue weight rating of 500 lbs. I weighed the Sport and it weighs 3320 lbs loaded (water, propane tanks food in refrigerator,etc.)The tongue weight of the Sport is 420 lbs loaded. If I were to use a WD hitch that would add another roughly 100 lbs to the tongue weight which would exceed the 500 lbs the car is rated for. Is this a concern or does the WD hitch mitigate the problem of tongue weight? Thanks for your help.
Bill

[PKI]

There are WDHs that weigh less than 100#s. The Blue Ox Sway Pro is about 80#s. Check out the others. Note, that shipping weight is usually a bit higher that actual weight.

Note, that sway control is thought by many to be as important as WD.

How you load your TV and coach will help tune the axle and tongue loads. You want to keep gear loaded as close to the coach axle as possible and in front of the tow vehicle rear axle to optimize the load out.

You might consider reducing water load. It's possible to travel with only enough water to support the toilet functions on the road and add water when you get to the destination. Some folks move the spare tire to a central location.

A WDH does not reduce tongue weight. A WDH moves the weight from the rear TV axle to the front TV axle and some to the coach axle.

Some folks move on to a truck with more capacity. Some folks adjust their travel style to utilize their existing tow vehicle. The RV world is a series of compromises. Welcome to the fun.

Do not believe what you read without personal validation. You did well to weigh the coach loaded. That was a great first step. There is a lot of related information in similar hitch and TV threads.

Good luck with your research. Pat

Edit - The AS specification is 3634# with no water or gear. The tongue weight unloaded is 393#s. So, either the factory has incorrect info or your weights are slightly off. In any case, I would double check the data. Pat

[NorCal Matt]

Hi and welcome Bill!

We towed our last Airstream with a Honda Pilot. It was a 16'sport as well. When we moved up to an F150, I stopped using the WD hitch. It did well, but I would not have considered doing so with the Pilot. You can certainly tell the difference as it puts more weight back on your front axle.