Recommended Weight Distribution System for Forest River Rockwood Roo Travel Trailer  

Question:

Expert Reply:

We do carry many of the excellent Husky products but not their weight distribution hitches. We can still help you to select a suitable system for your Rockwood Roo. As a note, dry hitch weights for the various Roo models range from 458-lbs up to 678-lbs according to the Forest River website.

Selection of a weight distribution hitch needs to be based on two things: the actual measured tongue weight (TW) of the fully-loaded trailer (with all gear and supplies loaded just like when you hit the road); and the weight of anything in the rear of the tow vehicle that sits behind the rear axle, such as a loaded cooler or a generator.

These two figures together make up your total effective tongue weight and that becomes the basis for choosing the right system. You want to choose a system so that your total TW falls in the middle of its operating range. A system rated too high will deliver stiff and erratic handling; one rated too low will not give you the desired shift in TW to the tow vehicle's front axle.

WD systems are available with and without sway control built in. Systems with integrated sway control work better than those that rely on an add-on friction bar such as # 83660. You can choose this feature if you like by clicking on the appropriate filter on the page I have linked for you. You will also use the filters to choose your total TW figure and the type of brakes on your Roo - electric - as well as your hitch size.

Let's say you have a 2-inch hitch, a total TW of 950 - 1000-lbs and you want included sway prevention. In this case you can use one of the best systems on the market, the Reese Strait-Line # RP66084. This system allows you to back up the trailer and provides excellent ground clearance thanks to its trunnion-style bars that mount to the side of the hitch head, rather than to the bottom like round bar systems.

All you need to add is the hitch ball, either 2-inch # A-90 or 2-5/16-inch # 19286.

expert reply by: Adam R

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