Recommended Weight Distribution System for 2008 Chevrolet Silverado and 7500-lb Trailer  

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The way to select a weight distribution system is to measure your fully-loaded trailer's actual tongue weight, and add to that the weight of anything in the truck that sits behind the rear axle, such as a generator or loaded cooler. This gives you your total effective TW. This figure is important because you want to choose a system rated high enough to move some trailer tongue weight forward onto your front axle without being so stiff that it causes odd handling from the trailer. Your total effective TW figure should fall into the middle of the system's operating range.

Measuring tongue weight (TW) is easy with a scale like the etrailer # e99044 but there are also other ways to measure as outlined in the linked article. Once you know your total effective TW you can choose a weight distribution system, with or without built-in sway control.

Let's say you want sway prevention and your total effective TW is 900 to 1000-lbs. On the linked page you'll click on that TW figure to see suitable systems. For this TW I suggest the Reese Strait-Line system # RP66074 because it uses trunnion style bars that give better ground clearance and its sway control is self-adjusting.

All you need to add is an adjustable shank and hitch ball. For a shank with a wide range of rise and drop (to keep your trailer level) you can use # RP3215 and for a 2-5/16-inch hitch ball use # 19286.

You might want to refer to the linked help article as a starting point.

expert reply by: Adam R

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