Do You Need a WD Hitch if You have Air bags?

[AlaskaCub]

I am in the process of buying a 27' Jayco JayFlight travel trailer and they want to sell me a $600 set up with the WD hitch, I have the Air Bags already on the truck and have had 1000 lbs in the bed more than once and I can actually create excess rake with no trouble with not much air in the bags. So do I need it or not I guess is my question? If so , please explain. Thanks

[rainman500_0]

I would if i was going long trip, if you blow a bag you would want it. I bagged mine but i have not towed yet. I got my WD hitch online for under $300.00 and it is rated for 12000lbs. You might be okay without, you could try it and see. I also carry spare lug nuts and two spare tires. I like spares

[eddeeeee]

Yes, you should. You may have had 1000# in the bed, but it was probably distributed over the area of the bed, some of which is in front of the rear axle. A 600# tongue weight, a good estimate of what your trailer will have will apply all 600# on a point about 4' behind the rear axle. This will be a 4' lever for that 600# to act on. Jump up and down on your rear bumper and again in the middle of the bed. I bet your truck moves up and down a lot more when you are on the bumper, and you do not weigh 600#. The more your rear end bounces, the more unladen the front steering wheels lose weight and therefore control. Airbags will soften the bounce, but the lever is still acting and your now stiff rear axle is acting like the pivot point of a teeter-tauter. I'm sure I spelled that wrong. A Weight distributing hitch is more about safety and control than about helping the truck carry more weight.

[Marazzito]

Air bags will remove sag, but they wont transfer much weight to your front axle. This can be misleading because you can have a nice level stance but still have light steering. For a travel trailer the consensus seems to be that a WDH w/ Sway control is always a good investment. $600.00 seems a little steep, check out etrailer.com.

[Drum_Phil]

If you're looking at a WDH w/ sway control, you can purchase the Equal-i-zer Hitch from RV Wholesalers.com for $399.99 with no charge whatsoever for shipping-n-handling.

My local dealers couldn't even begin to come close to that price.

As info, RV Wholesalers is going through a major upgrade to their site right now, so you'll have to call in to them directly to confirm pricing, etc..

Also, they drop-ship from local suppliers, so the shipping time is VERY quick.

[tomhole]

Airbags do nothing except make the truck look level and add spring rate to the suspension.

When you hook a trailer up to the rear of the truck with 1,000 lbs of hitch weight, the truck rotates around the rear axle. The end result is the front axle is unloaded by 400 lbs and the rear axle is loaded by 1400 lbs. Seems odd, but I have scale chits to prove it. If you have airbags and air them up, the truck will now look level. But, the front axle will still be unloaded by about 400 lbs and the rear axle loaded to 1400 lbs. Although I will offer that the raising of the rear axle does slightly shift the center of gravity of the truck, this effect is marginal and insignificant.

So, if I had a choice between air bags and a WDH, the WDH wins hands down. It actually tranfers weight amongst all your axles. That 1,000 lbs of hitch weight will show up as 200 lbs on the front truck axles, 600 on the rear and 200 on the trailer axle(s) if it's set up properly.

That being said, I have both a WDH and airbags. The WDH distributes the weight. The air bags add spring rate to the rear because I like that better while towing. My airbags do not lift the rear end at all. My WDH is setup to return the rear axle to nearly level without any air in the bags.

If yer towing a 5er, everything changes. Airbags are good for leveling the truck and adding spring rate.

Tom

[Only Toyota for me]

Yes you do need one.

I wish you were closer to Utah, i'd sell you my used one for $200 which includes the brackets for the trailer.

[Songdog]

Originally Posted by tomhole

Airbags do nothing except make the truck look level and add spring rate to the suspension.

When you hook a trailer up to the rear of the truck with 1,000 lbs of hitch weight, the truck rotates around the rear axle. The end result is the front axle is unloaded by 400 lbs and the rear axle is loaded by 1400 lbs. Seems odd, but I have scale chits to prove it. If you have airbags and air them up, the truck will now look level. But, the front axle will still be unloaded by about 400 lbs and the rear axle loaded to 1400 lbs. Although I will offer that the raising of the rear axle does slightly shift the center of gravity of the truck, this effect is marginal and insignificant.

So, if I had a choice between air bags and a WDH, the WDH wins hands down. It actually tranfers weight amongst all your axles. That 1,000 lbs of hitch weight will show up as 200 lbs on the front truck axles, 600 on the rear and 200 on the trailer axle(s) if it's set up properly.

That being said, I have both a WDH and airbags. The WDH distributes the weight. The air bags add spring rate to the rear because I like that better while towing. My airbags do not lift the rear end at all. My WDH is setup to return the rear axle to nearly level without any air in the bags.

If yer towing a 5er, everything changes. Airbags are good for leveling the truck and adding spring rate.

Tom

So at what tongue weight do you recommend going to a WDH? I just bought a 3000# popup with sway control. I figured since the dealer didn't try to sell me an expensive hitch I probably don't need it. I haven't picked it up yet so I don't know how it pulls with just the sway control.

[Marazzito]

Originally Posted by Songdog

So at what tongue weight do you recommend going to a WDH? I just bought a 3000# popup with sway control. I figured since the dealer didn't try to sell me an expensive hitch I probably don't need it. I haven't picked it up yet so I don't know how it pulls with just the sway control.

It depends on tongue weight. With a 3,000 lb trailer you will probably be around 300 to 450 lbs, That shouldn't be an issue at all for your Tundra. If your steering feels light, you can always add a WDH later if you choose. With a popup sway should not be much of an issue either, especially with sway control.

[tomhole]

I wouldn't use a WDH on a 3,000 pup behind a new Tundra. Enjoy the tow.

I start thinking hard about a WDH at about 500 lbs hitch weight on a 1/2 ton.

Tom

[Songdog]

I towed the thing home (about a 1 hour drive) and it did great without a WDH. In fact, I kept forgetting it was back there. I will be adding airbags though because the weight of the trailer and my ARE cap were causing the rear to drop noticeably. By the time I add camping gear in the back, it would be even worse.

[steelpony5555]

The WD hitch will control or dampin the rocking horse effect sort of like a shock absorber and you will need the sway control anyways---don't try to do it half a$$ cause you'll be sorry later