Anti Sway or Weight Distribution Necessary?

kfvintx said:
I'm picking up an Airstream next week and will not be using a WDH or anti-sway..... at least until I get final setup (things packed in it and such) to go across scales and see if really needed. In addition to the comments you read here, I highly suggest you go watch videos from KYD (Keep Your Daydream) and 13 Adventures where they have tons of info that happens to be specific to Super Duty and Airstreams. You will notice neither use them for very specific reasons, especially the topic of FES (front end separation) that is thought to be partially result of use of WDH and stress placed on the frame. I know this goes against all conventional thoughts and wisdom of everyone that pulls RV's and just immediately thinks WDH is a must.
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I’ve watched a bunch of their FES specific videos. What’s specific to a SD and AS that they cover? I must have missed the points. KYD had an AirSafe and gave that up it seems. I also prefer 13 Adventures videos, the info is better IMO. But yeah, if they are pulling with no issues I’m feeling good about not doing it too. I think they both have airbags though.
 
Looks like Airstream recommends them.

Yesterday i set up my trailer with the new truck. 24 F250 Tremor and 25 Arctic Fox 22G, trailer weight about 7000# wet and 800# tongue weight.
I will say i was a bit surprised when setting up the Equalizer WDH, the procedure is to measure ground to front fender empty, then full tongue weight, then split the difference with you WDH. I only had a 1/4 inch difference between loaded and unloaded so pretty tough to split the difference. Did not get a chance to pull either way so guess more testing necessary. I was convinced I would use the WDH but now not so sure.
Previous truck 24 Raptor fun to drive no fun to tow, even with properly adjusted WDH.
 
You have hit on probably the 2nd or 3rd most debated RV towing topics after diesel vs gas and which brand truck to buy. :-)

You do not need a weight distribution hitch so start out without one. Drive it for a few trips and then decide if you want one. We have towed our 27' AS with a MY23 250 Platinum (not a Tremor) without a WD hitch for over 3K miles and have not run into any issues. We typically drive 65MPH on highways except for occasional passing.

We did have a MY22 Tremor and towed the AS for about half of the 5K miles and it was fine. I have read a few threads about folks installing a rear stabilizer bar on Tremors to tighten up the back end suspension a bit.

Your 350 is more than capable of pulling and stopping your trailer. Try it stock and take things slowly. Change things as you see fit as you go along.
 
I tow a 23' AS with no WD. I did add some Timbrens. The truck has trailer sway control.
 
Fouts said:
Yesterday i set up my trailer with the new truck. 24 F250 Tremor and 25 Arctic Fox 22G, trailer weight about 7000# wet and 800# tongue weight.
I will say i was a bit surprised when setting up the Equalizer WDH, the procedure is to measure ground to front fender empty, then full tongue weight, then split the difference with you WDH. I only had a 1/4 inch difference between loaded and unloaded so pretty tough to split the difference. Did not get a chance to pull either way so guess more testing necessary. I was convinced I would use the WDH but now not so sure.
Previous truck 24 Raptor fun to drive no fun to tow, even with properly adjusted WDH.
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I don't think that with only 800 lbs of tongue weight on a Super Duty truck you would want weight distribution at all, especially if it is a diesel. I think the reason that you only saw 1/4" of front lift is that you are balanced fine without any WD. You can plug your numbers into the spreadsheet that I published in post #39 and I a guessing it will indicate zero weight distribution recommended.
 
RCompton said:
We’re picking up a 30’ Airstream that can weight up to 9k. Any reason for weight distribution? I think having an anti sway hitch would possibly still be worthwhile.

What do y’all think?
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I think you are nuts to pull a trailer that heavy wo weight distribution. Antisway is nearly never needed with a properly loaded trailer.
 
In my experience with a 16BHS Wolf Pup, I sit level when hooked up with a standard setup. There are no sway issues under average conditions. The dry weight is listed at 3,500.

My family is planning an upgrade in a few years. I will definitely go with weight distribution on the next set-up. There's no reason not to.
 
I tow a Grand Design BH2400, a relatively small TT. I tried without the WDH and the front felt light. Since I transitioned from a half ton, I had the WDH already, so I installed it. The ride now is much better. With this lifted trucks you need a bigger drop in the hitch to keep the TT level.
 
I am not criticizing anyone for using a WDH and I have not ruled out getting one. I just have not experienced any issues yet.

The OP is aware of an well known issue where some Airstreams experience front end separation which has been associated with using a WDH. Airstream has attempted to address the issue on newer models and some retrofits but some owners are still having problems.

What about the built in sway control? We see countless trucks towing trailers without WDHs all of the time. Are RVs special due to their weight and wind profile? Boats are similar yet I don't recall seeing anyone towing a boat with a WDH.
 
RCompton said:
We’re picking up a 30’ Airstream that can weight up to 9k. Any reason for weight distribution? I think having an anti sway hitch would possibly still be worthwhile.

What do y’all think?
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Highly recommend using a hitch that does both anti-sway and WD. I also turned off the sway in the computer each time. Otherwise the systems fight each other and you will lose gas mileage and wear out your rear brakes. Let the hitch do the work and not the truck for your application. Pulled campers over twenty years like this. You can access the anti sway feature by scrolling through the menus for towing I believe. But it won't stay like that-you'll have to do it each time your turn the truck on and off.
 
Congratulations on your Airstream! Here’s what we do when we tow our 2017 Airstream 26U. The 26U is a very tongue heavy Airstream (1000 lbs+) and we tow with our 2022 6.7 Tremor with the HD tow package. The Airstream came with a Blue Ox WDH and I don’t see any reason to change it. Our general rule of thumb is, if we’re just using the back roads and not towing more than a hundred miles I don’t use the WDH bars but if we’re going to be traveling on the interstate and a longer distance I always use them. When I don’t use them the back of the truck squats about 2” and the steering feels very light but at slower speeds and back roads it’s fine for us. On the highway I use them but I don’t crank the chains to tight. I believe we’re using 1000 bars and they’re strong enough to level the truck and give me good control even passing big trucks or strong winds. There are so many different hitch types and opinions about them it will drive you crazy trying to pick one out, live by the KISS method and you won’t be disappointed.
On a different note if your Airstream a front bedroom there’s some concern about bending or even breaking the frame around the outside front storage compartment when using a WDH hitch. I think you can find more information on this on the Airstream forum.
 
shermanator2 said:
I think boats usually weigh less. Are there many boat/trailer combos that weigh over 10,000 lbs?
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Absolutely. In Florida it is not uncommon to see center consoles with twin or triples being towed on the highway. I can see a 28' center console with twin 300s, fuel, gear, trailer, etc exceeding 10K lbs.
 
Should we also be considering the weight of cargo on the truck?

I got to thinking about what additional insight I could contribute, and it occurred to me that my need isn’t just from tongue weight but also the 1500 lbs of people and cargo I have in the truck. I agree that I’d be much less likely to use WDH if it was *just* the trailer I was moving.
 
shermanator2 said:
When you say is squats 2", do you mean it is 2" lower in the back than without a trailer, or do you mean that the back is 2" lower than the front? (Carolina squat)
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Yep the back is about 2” lower than unloaded ride height and the front is about 1” higher when the trailer is connected without the WDH. When I use the WDH the truck sits just about the same as when the trailer isn’t connected. Sorry for the confusion.
 
Monoman said:
Absolutely. In Florida it is not uncommon to see center consoles with twin or triples being towed on the highway. I can see a 28' center console with twin 300s, fuel, gear, trailer, etc exceeding 10K lbs.
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I agree 100%! In Florida if you’re not towing a big Yellowfin center console with quad 450hp behind a F-450 Limited you’re considered poor! But seriously we towed our Ranger Tug 27 and on the trailer with fuel, water and supplies we weighed about 11k lbs. most of the bigger boats use an aluminum trailer and you can’t use a WDH or you’re going to bend the trailer frame. Our boat behind the Tremor towed much better than the Airstream even using the WDH because the boat trailer had a much longer tongue and somehow that made a big difference.
 
Never considered using a WD hitch or thought I needed one? Our TT is only 22 ‘ but has bumper weight of 900# and total weight, loaded, of 7700#. The truck when loaded with fuel, wifey, dog, tools etc weighs 9400#. Seems to work just fine towing but we only have 10-15k miles on this model.
Our 3 previous models were much larger 5th wheels.
After seeing all the comments in favor of a WD hitch I may look into it this winter when we head south.
 
Also a point to consider is the truck’s electronic anti-sway. My TT brakes were smelling burnt. So I went thru the towing options and disconnected it. I’ll report the outcome on the 26th.
 
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