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Old 03-19-2011, 10:03 AM   #1
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1974 31' Excella 500
chatahoochee , Florida
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WD hitch size for me to buy -- 600? 800?

my airstream is a 74 excella 500, and i am pulling with a full size chevy blazer..i would like to buy a reese dual cam WD hitch.tommarro..and unfortunately the place selling them doesnt seem to have any working knowlege on the subject but the price is nice,,,I like reading past threads for advice and info but viewing computer images for more than a few minutes gives me a lasting headache,,so hopefully you can help me which one to choose 600 800 or 1200,,for my application,,sorry i dont know the hitch weight,and the formulas for choosing size,,,the tag on front of camper says GVW 7100,,,but is that the most the camper can hold,,,not the weight of the trailer? so comments and advision on purchase would be welcomed
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Old 03-19-2011, 10:50 AM   #2
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If I remember correctly the tongue weight is like 650 lbs.
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Old 03-19-2011, 10:51 AM   #3
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Your trailer empty weighs something close to 5000 lbs. Weight on trailer tongue will be somewhere from 500 to 600 lbs. The Blazer is a half-ton vehicle, and is relatively short as well; it may be somewhat marginal for a 31' 5000-7000 lb trailer. The full size Blazer was made for a number of years with a variety of different tow capacities, so you'll need to look that up. Some Blazers were rated to tow 7000 lbs,
others 5000 lbs. Note that a class III hitch is limited to 500 lbs tongue weight and 5000 lbs trailer weight unless a weight distributing hitch is used.

The selection of which bar to choose really has more to do with how much weight you need to transfer forward, and how stiff your TV suspension might be.... you want the lightest bars that will do the job, since that will minimize shock on the Airstream.

My _guess_ is that you'll probably find the 800 lb bars adequate to the task, but that's a guess.

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Old 03-19-2011, 10:55 AM   #4
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Info service.airstream.com/files/library/f4ab6e15e9172111.pdf
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Old 03-19-2011, 11:14 AM   #5
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thanks for information.. so a 800lb is what ill get,,,as far as blazer as a towing truck ,im not sure,,, the shorter wheelbase might be a concern,,,power is fine,,,installed a 5 speed manual..and sligtly heavier springs,,,i might buy a firestone airbag system when i buy WD hitch,,,i towed trailer a distance before and it seemed to do reasonably fine,,no WD hitch,,,but last time i towed it i had sway when a semi passed......i had different tires,,bf goodrich 35 tall....so.those tires are softer and rated low , taller tires made hitch point to high to,,,,thanks for the advice
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Old 03-19-2011, 12:17 PM   #6
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1973 31' Excella 500
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johnnybravo, I have a '73, 31 ft. excella. All of my research on these threads and elsewhere have lead me to the conclusion that 800# bars are right for my trailer. I'm towing with a Ram 1500 full bed so have a little longer wheel base. I'm also getting the Reese dual cam strait line.
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