[XBoT]

Well, i found a hitch locally and asked the guy what the ratings were and he told me 10,000lb and 800 tongue weight, which is almost exactly what i need. My trailer is a 26' enclosed which weighs 3000 dry according to the sticker, my cars that i'll be trailering are anywhere from 3000-3800lb.

Stupid me didnt look at the hitch when i picked it up, i took his word for it and he had the hitch upside down with the sticker down so i didnt think about checking it. It turns out it's actually a 12,000lb and 1000-1200lb tongue weight.

Tried the hitch today, and it wont go low enough for me to even use the weight distributing. On the lowest setting, the trailer is sitting 1/2" higher in the front then in the back of the trailer but the truck sagged down quite a bit (mind you, it still trailers it fine but i bought this to level it out and fix the swaying).

My question is, will this hitch still be ok? I know your suppost to be as close to the weight/tongue weight of what your pulling but will this be fine? My next question is, can you buy hitches that have a couple more notches lower? To my knowledge ive never seen them.. but havent really searched too hard yet either as i didnt think i needed one.

 

[prick62]

Will be fine, just go buy an adjustable stinger. I use a 10" drop upside down for my lowered rig! They run 100-150 bucks and that should do it!

 

[XBoT]

Yikes, at that price i might as well sell it then buy new. Now if i buy a new one from thehitchstore.com or something and specify my truck, will they supply me with a lower hitch?

Edit: Just looked up the bar, this is what it is.

Total Height Adjustment: 6-3/4"
Length: 13"
Rise: 6"
Drop: 1-1/4"
GTW / TW: 15,000 / 1,500

 

[prick62]

Your gonna have to measure to find out which one you need, It will probably be a 6" or 8" drop. You can always by longer so you can adjust for other trailers. Try a trailer dealer around your house, last time I went to mine they saw my trailer was sitting too high in the front and gave me a free 6" drop. I was just running an extra hitch I had to get registration on my trailer and had a good one at home for that trailer!

 

[prick62]

Yikes, at that price i might as well sell it then buy new. Now if i buy a new one from thehitchstore.com or something and specify my truck, will they supply me with a lower hitch?

Edit: Just looked up the bar.. i can see why it wouldnt work...

Total Height Adjustment: 6-3/4"
Length: 13"
Rise: 6"
Drop: 1-1/4"
GTW / TW: 15,000 / 1,500

It looks like your stinger is upside down! Unbolt it and flip it! You will have one hole above the reciever and like 5 holes below. This will let you drop your trailer to the height you need!

 

[XBoT]

It looks like your stinger is upside down! Unbolt it and flip it! You will have one hole above the reciever and like 5 holes below. This will let you drop your trailer to the height you need!

Yeah i did that already, still doesnt go down far enough, i need another notch or 2

 

[prick62]

Looks like your gonna be buying a 8" or 10" drop now! You could always ask some friends or try trading yours on Craigslist!

 

[XBoT]

Looks like your gonna be buying a 8" or 10" drop now! You could always ask some friends or try trading yours on Craigslist!

I guess so haha, thanks for the info.

 

[XBoT]

Have been looking up some hitches.. just to confirm, this should work for me right?

Weight Distributing Shank, 11" Draw-Tite Accessories and Parts 3344

 

[Len Todd]

If you have the right setup the truck and trailer will be level. A WD Hitch should help level the truck as well as the trailer. To really tell what is going on you need to get on a scale and measure axle weights. You could move the level of the hitch up and down till heck freezes over and still not wind up with the right distribution (e.g. over load rear or front axles or tires). Why is the rear of the truck sagging with only 800 pounds on it?

 

[XBoT]

I raised the front to almost level with the back (about 1/2" lower in front) so im assuming thats why its sagging. I just dont like the way its sitting.. and my trailer was swaying last year with my dads truck. It's a '07 Duramax RCLB 3500HD Non-Dually, not sure if my truck sways with the trailer but im going to assume it is as i havent pulled it very far yet, just to test my brake controller.

 

[Len Todd]

If you are getting sway w/o it being windy, typically that is because the trailer does not have enough weight on the hitch. You need at least 10% of the trailer's weight on the hitch. When calculating the hitch weight, do not forget any stuff that adds to the trailers load.

Also a WD hitch is really not designed to address sway. It is designed to shift trailer weight to the front axle of truck. Some WD's incorporate anti-sway capability. But, WD stands for Weight Distribution. What Manufacturer and model hitch are you talking about?

 

[XBoT]

when i load my car, i would like to bring it forward more but its not possible because i have cabinets in the front. If i go more forward, i wont have room to tighten my straps. I'm thinking my truck might not sway as much as the other truck but i wont know till i take it on the highway.

I bought it on kijiji and it's a Reese WD hitch, it came with the friction sway control unit.

 

[Len Todd]

I got pretty much the same hitch. But if you want to get rid of that sway, it is best to start with at least 10% of the trailer's weight on the hitch. Otherwise you could loose control on a turn, if she starts swappin' on you. Maybe you might want to load some extra weight in the front or consider moving the axles back a bit.

 

[XBoT]

Well, i know moving the axles isnt going to happen haha. I guess what i might be able to do is put another set of hooks in front of the cabinets if there is a beam there to bolt them onto. Should be able to bring the car up further.

Is there a way to see how much tongue weight there really is?