3500 Dually towing a 30 Foot Classic… what hitch are you using?

[ROBERT CROSS]

Just Me?....I wouldn't use a hitch that depended on the weight distribution bars for sway control.

Bob
🇺🇸

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Just Me?....I wouldn't use a hitch that depended on the weight distribution bars for sway control.

Bob
����

You're not a fan of the Reese Dual Cam then, I assume?

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by richard5933

You're not a fan of the Reese Dual Cam than I assume?

Nope...PPP for me. TETO

Bob
🇺🇸

[sheriff1]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Nope...PPP for me. TETO



Bob

[emoji631]

[emoji106]

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by KCurtis

Front didn't raise any. The truck lowers the back via airbags to hook up the hitch. Once it senses the weight the fills the airbags to auto level the truck. Once that was done the front height was the same as before I hooked up the 25 footer. We'll see if the 30 Foot Classic results when I pick it up next week. I will take the bars just to be safe.

That is the same results a buddy gets with his DRW but he says moves less than 1/4" and between 0 and 20 off the from tires on the CAT scale.

[gypsydad]

So you belive that the airbags transfered the load back to the front axles? Not so...many youtubes on airbags ..yes they make the load look level, but they do not transfer weight. WDH transfers the weight off hitch back to front. Look it up.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

So you believe that the airbags transferred the load back to the front axles? Not so...many youtubes on airbags ..yes they make the load look level, but they do not transfer weight. WDH transfers the weight off hitch back to front. Look it up.

We be banging on the door of an empty room...bags do a pretty good job aesthetically, very little in the real WD safety world.

From an ano-na-mus wd hitch source.... a WDH will raise back of the tow vehicle, reducing some of the sag caused by the trailer’s tongue weight. But the way a WDH raises the rear of the truck is key – it uses torsion to shift a percentage of the tongue weight to the front axle of the tow vehicle.

This is the key difference between a WDH and airbags. Without shifting some of the tongue weight to the front axle, you‘re likely to have problems in a fast stop or emergency maneuver. When you brake hard, the weight of the trailer shifts forward and pushes down on the hitch ball harder than normal, which causes the truck to lose front wheel traction. When that happens, you can lose steering and braking capacity.
Bob
🇺🇸

[KCurtis]

I will be picking up my new 30 Foot Classic on the 10th. I plan on going to the CAT scales and see what the number are. I will post them here once I return home.

[Silvr_Bullet]

Originally Posted by KCurtis

I will be picking up my new 30 Foot Classic on the 10th. I plan on going to the CAT scales and see what the number are. I will post them here once I return home.

Congratulations on your new purchase. The cat scale is not going to change the wisdom for or against towing with the dually nor about the benefit of sway control.

[KCurtis]

Yep, I know. It will tell me the weight on each axle before and after I hook up though.

[Adiredneck]

Combination Equalizer and AirSafe hitches. The Equalizer for WS and sway, and the AirSafe to keep your 1 ton from beating the snot out of your Airstream and vice versa... I've used the combo 6 years, and not a drawer opened or pillow out of place...

[KCurtis]

Okay, I picked up my 30 Foot Classic on the 11th. Towed it from Gulfport Mississippi to Dallas with no sway bars. Had rain and winds up to 35 MPH along the way with 18 wheeler blowing by me as well. Zero sway issues. I drove at a mixture of 60 to 68 MPH depending on the road and conditions along the way. Once again just sharing my personal experience.

[JetstreamAS]

KCurtis-

Nice job! You can pull that Classic all day on the ball without anything else, but you can also use a GenY or an AirSafe (like was talked about earlier) and an Equalizer or something else as a WD/SC as well. We have towed very successfully with a one ton, single rear wheel just on the ball, and with and without a WD/SC hitch and a GenY combination at times as well.

Congratulations on the Classic!!!

[BGClassic]

Originally Posted by KCurtis

Okay, I picked up my 30 Foot Classic on the 11th. Towed it from Gulfport Mississippi to Dallas with no sway bars. Had rain and winds up to 35 MPH along the way with 18 wheeler blowing by me as well. Zero sway issues. I drove at a mixture of 60 to 68 MPH depending on the road and conditions along the way. Once again just sharing my personal experience.

KCurtis,

Congrats on your new Airstream! I know you've been waiting a long time. Thanks for the input on this hitch thread. My Propride was set up by the dealer, and I still had to change the stinger height to account for all the stuff in the bed of the truck.

Enjoy your new rig!

Bill

[KCurtis]

Thank you all! We are really excited about our new Classic. Going from our 2020 25 Foot Flying Cloud to the 2023 Classic is like going from driving an old VW Bug to a new Mercedes in comfort and technology. LOL We are so happy with it.

I am thinking I will go with this hitch option and then this option for mounting it on the Airstream. I really don't want to drill holes in the frame. That way we will be safe under those unexpected moments that may arise as we travel all across the country in the coming months.

[xrvr]

We used to tow with a one ton Cummins, single rear wheels, without Wd but with sway bars. Worked fine.

[KCurtis]

Okay, I just wanted to update this thread since we are coming up on a year since I picked up my 30 Foot Classic.

I've been towing on the ball only from Texas to California and Seattle and from Texas to Bar Harbor, Maine and zero issues thus far. I towed through Wyoming with 70 MPH wind too. I just had to slow down to 50 MPH in order to travel safely down the road that day. Meanwhile, people towing 5th Wheels and Boxes were all pulled over on the side of the highway as I drove right past them.

My wife was driving a few months ago and she passed an 18 Wheeler too fast when the wind was blowing pretty hard that day. The trailer started slightly swaying and I told her to step on the gas now. This straightened it right out quickly. This lesson has taught us to not pass 18 Wheelers too fast when the wind is blowing. Otherwise, passing at normal speeds when the wind isn't blowing hard we have been fine.

I did try using one of the anti-sway bars that you place on the ball on the truck hitch and one on the trailer frame on my trip from the Balloon Fiesta to Jackson Center a few days ago. When we turned of the highway to head to the campground the turn was a bit to sharp for it I guess and it separated and bent the bar when it hit the ground. I just threw it away. That day I didn't notice any difference with it on either. We had 20-25 MPH winds along that 6 hour trip that day. Since I can't mount the ball any closer (I have a bolt-on ball) without drilling holes for it in the Airstream frame I am done with it.

This makes departing camp sites so much quicker because all we have to do is lower the Airstream on the ball and double check the air in the bag on the Shocker Hitch and we are ready to depart.

I can at times feel the trailer trying to sway, but those 4 wheels on the ground stop it quickly. The Shocker Hitch does a great job of keeping my truck from beating my Airstream too much too. I've been pleased with it so far.

This is my personal experience so far.

[4RXLA]

With a dually you should have little to no sway problems and it appears you aren’t. Those extra two tires make a difference.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by KCurtis

Okay, I just wanted to update this thread since we are coming up on a year since I picked up my 30 Foot Classic.

I've been towing on the ball only from Texas to California and Seattle and from Texas to Bar Harbor, Maine and zero issues thus far. I towed through Wyoming with 70 MPH wind too. I just had to slow down to 50 MPH in order to travel safely down the road that day. Meanwhile, people towing 5th Wheels and Boxes were all pulled over on the side of the highway as I drove right past them.

My wife was driving a few months ago and she passed an 18 Wheeler too fast when the wind was blowing pretty hard that day. The trailer started slightly swaying and I told her to step on the gas now. This straightened it right out quickly. This lesson has taught us to not pass 18 Wheelers too fast when the wind is blowing. Otherwise, passing at normal speeds when the wind isn't blowing hard we have been fine.

I did try using one of the anti-sway bars that you place on the ball on the truck hitch and one on the trailer frame on my trip from the Balloon Fiesta to Jackson Center a few days ago. When we turned of the highway to head to the campground the turn was a bit to sharp for it I guess and it separated and bent the bar when it hit the ground. I just threw it away. That day I didn't notice any difference with it on either. We had 20-25 MPH winds along that 6 hour trip that day. Since I can't mount the ball any closer (I have a bolt-on ball) without drilling holes for it in the Airstream frame I am done with it.

This makes departing camp sites so much quicker because all we have to do is lower the Airstream on the ball and double check the air in the bag on the Shocker Hitch and we are ready to depart.

I can at times feel the trailer trying to sway, but those 4 wheels on the ground stop it quickly. The Shocker Hitch does a great job of keeping my truck from beating my Airstream too much too. I've been pleased with it so far.

This is my personal experience so far.

You folks keep thinking your dully or big truck towing a large AS without the help/need for a WDH and Sway Control down the highway at 70+mph is fine, because you didn't feel any sway...until you did feel sway? Many of us who use WDH with anti sway bars would disagree. Guess I would ask aside from "hitching up and unhitching", what have you got to loose using WDH with antisway? Like a seat belt; not needed unless something happens and it saved your life, right?

[Andy543]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

You folks keep thinking your dully or big truck towing a large AS without the help/need for a WDH and Sway Control down the highway at 70+mph is fine, because you didn't feel any sway...until you did feel sway? Many of us who use WDH with anti sway bars would disagree. Guess I would ask aside from "hitching up and unhitching", what have you got to loose using WDH with antisway? Like a seat belt; not needed unless something happens and it saved your life, right?

Weight distribution hitches diminish the resistance of the tow vehicle to oversteer, whereby, if you want to go around a sharp turn, the trailer wants to go straight. Oversteer is dangerous because it can lead to your rig jackknifing. Jackknifing typically occurs without warning and once it starts you can't get out of it.

Trailer sway is more of a comfort issue. It is controllable and gives you ample warning that something is wrong (low tongue weight, tire pressures, speed too high, tow vehicle too small). WD/sway control hitches mask the fact that something may be wrong, so I don't recommend them.

The only way to ensure safety and stability is to have a tow vehicle properly sized for the trailer.