Recommended Weight Distribution for 2014 Ford Expedition Towing 24-Foot Enclosed Car Hauler Trailer

Question:

I am trying to decide on the right hitch. I am pulling a 24ft enclosed car trailer, around 4500lbs, and around a 4000lb car within the trailer. It is a spread axle, reducing tongue weight a little. I am pulling it with a 2014 Expedition with the heavy duty towing package rated at 9200lbs. I would like a hitch that levels and prevents/reduces trailer sway. I have looked at several of your products and videos but would REALLY appreciate you opinion/recommendation. Thank you!

asked by: Don N

Expert Reply:

The key to selecting the right weight distribution (WD) and sway control system is to know your trailer's fully-loaded tongue weight (TW). We offer a dedicated scale # e99044 to make this easier but other methods are shown in the linked article. To this actual measured tongue weight, you'll add the weight of anything in the tow vehicle that sits behind the rear axle, say a full toolbox, loaded cooler or generator. With this total effective TW known you can select a system, one that will be stiff enough to transfer some trailer TW forward to the Expedition's front axle, but without being so stiff that it creates odd handling from the trailer. You'll also want to take a look at your hitch's safety sticker to confirm it is rated for use with WD systems. This will be specified on the sticker along with the resulting TW and gross trailer weight capacities.

Ideally your TW will fall right in the middle of the operating range of the system you choose. You can use the linked page to view system rated for this TW. You can click on the filters to select your hitch size, type of trailer brakes, etc. Let's say your total effective TW comes in at 1300-lbs (about 15-percent of the loaded trailer's total 8500-lb weight).

A great choice is the Reese Strait-Line system # RP66130 which is rated for a TW range of 800- to 1,500-lbs. All you need to add is a shank like # RP54970 and a hitch ball like 2-5/16-inch # C40086.
This system prevents sway from starting, rather than trying to stop it once it happens, and the trunnion style bars offer excellent ground clearance as compared to typical round bar systems. Our installers consider this to be among the best systems on the market.

expert reply by: Adam R