Any side by side WHD comparisons

[seaeagle2]

My current trailer is a 18', 4500 loaded weight, I using a ez lift with 600 lb bars and a single friction sway bar we had to have a trailer hitch shop install it since it's only a 2" ball and the dealer only carries 2 5/8 stuff. ( works great the dealer suggested we try it without WHD and sway before spending any money but we just did it) We have 2 footitis, and I'm overwhelmed with the choices for a bigger, heavier trailer. Reese cam lock, Camco recurve R6, blue ox, equilizer, there doesn't seem to be much side by side actual use comparisons, mostly some rankings based on someone reading the descriptions. (the "best value is an ez lift with a friction sway bar)

[prichardson]

Actually it was as my test model was of the typical TT shape. At the time my interest was the affect of frontal shape and I did not do any tests including more aerodynamic backs shapes.

[atreis]

That's interesting about the offset wind effect, and makes some sense. (Large offset-frontal area, with no upward slope to help the wind go up and over.)

Did you also include drag from the inevitable flat back? I have to laugh at the very nice aerodynamic-looking fronts on some trailers with perfectly flat backs. Nothing sucks like a vacuum.

[prichardson]

Re: pullin2's comments about his V shaped front. A while back I did some wind tunnel tests on the affect of various frontal shapes and an interesting thing showed up. The V configuration had the lowest drag when the airflow was from dead ahead but the highest when airflow was at an angle from ahead.

[Airstreamer67]

The guy who told you the "best value is an ez lift with a friction sway bar" was right.

Now, if your new trailer is longer than about 26 feet, add a second friction sway bar to the other side of your hitch for about 50 bucks.

This is the classic set-up that has been serving the towing public for 50 years or more because it is the best value, and it gets the job done unless, of course, an improper tow vehicle for the trailer, or the trailer has faults. Before any hitch is used on either of these scenarios, these problems should be fixed.

[bartlettj]

pullin2 wrote:
I have used three different hitches on the same truck/trailer combo, so I can give you a side-by-side I think. All the hitches performed their weight distributing function just fine, but varied a lot in their ability to control sway.

In order (from worst to best):

1. Equa-lizer. This is what the dealer supplied, and it did very little to handle sway. Big trucks and wind gusts made for a lot of white-knuckle travel. A lot of folks swear by this type, but I didn't like it. I actually moved it to my boat trailer and it worked much better (more on this below).

2. Regular trunnion bar and chain setup, with friction sway control. I tried this version and it had a better ride than the Equalizer, and after adding a second sway controller it handled sway a little better. I still didn't like it when being passed by semis on the highway.

3. Hensley Arrow. Yep -- I've downed the Koolaid and joined the cult. The absolute best hitch I've ever had. Period. End of story. This one solved all the sway problems and is as easy as the Equalizer to hook up.

More about sway. I'm pulling a V-nose Windjammer (35 feet) and I believe there may be something unique to that shape that makes them more susceptible to sway and wind effects. Or maybe it's just some weird emergent effects based on my particular truck/trailer combo. I have a really big (30') boat, and the Equalizer works great for it.

I think a lot of the flat front trailers actually provide a little bit of down force on the tongue (if towed slightly nose down) at speed because there is always some slope to deflect air up and over the trailer. V noses do not have this. You might try towing nose down a bit more.

[atreis]

Best: Hensley Arrow (for smaller trailers, the Arrow Cub costs less and is a little lighter), or ProPride (no smaller option). On the Hensley, the stinger is relatively lightweight (~20-25 lbs). The ProPride adjustable stinger is heavier.

I also had good luck with the Equilizer, but found the stinger to be VERY heavy, and it's famously noisy.

I didn't care much for the Anderson, except for the weight and lack of noise. It's definitely the lightest option, but it just didn't work that well for me.

As far as truly independent side-by-side reviews of the different hitches and how well they work on a variety of tow vehicles and trailers - there isn't such a thing. It'd be great if there were.

[myredracer]

How much longer and heavier are you planning to go? Are you going to be pushing the limits of the F150?

I originally chose the Reese dual cam WDH because of it's cam arms and pro-active self-centering design. It's an excellent WDH and I love it. It is more effort to install and set up tho. Because I love it so much and works so well, it's the one you should get too... 🙂

If you're going much longer & heavier, the greater sidewall area and additional weight will make it necessary to pay more attention to the other factors affecting sway - tire pressure in TV & TT, having TT level to slightly nose down, selecting correct spring bar rating, etc.

Unfortunately there is no road test out there comparing the various WDHs using the same TV & TT combo and test instruments like an accelerometer. Most recommend the one they use and that has worked for them rather than going on a scientific/engineering basis.

[pullin2]

I have used three different hitches on the same truck/trailer combo, so I can give you a side-by-side I think. All the hitches performed their weight distributing function just fine, but varied a lot in their ability to control sway.

In order (from worst to best):

1. Equa-lizer. This is what the dealer supplied, and it did very little to handle sway. Big trucks and wind gusts made for a lot of white-knuckle travel. A lot of folks swear by this type, but I didn't like it. I actually moved it to my boat trailer and it worked much better (more on this below).

2. Regular trunnion bar and chain setup, with friction sway control. I tried this version and it had a better ride than the Equalizer, and after adding a second sway controller it handled sway a little better. I still didn't like it when being passed by semis on the highway.

3. Hensley Arrow. Yep -- I've downed the Koolaid and joined the cult. The absolute best hitch I've ever had. Period. End of story. This one solved all the sway problems and is as easy as the Equalizer to hook up.

More about sway. I'm pulling a V-nose Windjammer (35 feet) and I believe there may be something unique to that shape that makes them more susceptible to sway and wind effects. Or maybe it's just some weird emergent effects based on my particular truck/trailer combo. I have a really big (30') boat, and the Equalizer works great for it.

[downtheroad]

You absolutely can't go wrong with any of the following...(I've had them all)

Reece Dual Cam
Equal-i-zer 4 point
Blue Ox SwayPro.

The key is all in how well it is set up and dialed in..best of done with a loaded trailer.