Selecting Weight Distribution/Sway Control Hitch for Travel Trailer with 300-Lbs Tongue Weight

Question:

I am looking at your product # C17345 - Im a little confused - does a weight distribution kit also prevent Sway? Or are they 2 different products. I am pulling a camper with a weight of about 2500#s the tongue weight is roughly 300#s. Tow vehicle is a 2011 Ford Explorer with a tow capacity of 5000#s. The suspension is a little soft, as it is not on a truck chassis. When the camper is hooked up - the tow vehicle squats about 2 - 3. My hitch has a 2inch but the camper does not ride perfectly level - I now understand that it should be level. When pulling on interstate camper wants to sway at about 55 mph. Will this product solve these problems?

asked by: Larry D

Expert Reply:

A trailer weight distribution hitch can include sway control, sway prevention, or neither. The Curt system # C17052 does not address sway. Simple friction-style anti-sway bars like # 83660 are also available as stand-alone products or they can added to a WD system but their performance does not compare to integrated setups that do both.

The most effective sway solution comes from using a weight distribution system that incorporates built-in sway prevention, such as one of the Equal-I-zer systems like # EQ37060ET. This type of setup provides not only weight-leveling but also sway prevention that will stop your trailer from swaying once you've reached interstate highway driving speeds.

Choose your system based on the trailer's fully-loaded tongue weight (TW), with all gear and supplies loaded. To this weight add the weight of any cargo in the truck bed that sits behind the rear axle, say a generator or a bog loaded cooler. This weight needs to be added to the trailer's own TW, which you can measure accurately with scale # e99044.

Pick out a system whose operating range is such that your total TW falls in the middle of its weight range. For instance, system # EQ37060ET works over a range of 200- to 600-lbs of TW, so it would be perfect for a 300-to-400-lb TW. This comes complete with a shank and a 2-inch hitch ball.

You can refer to the linked article and review video for more information.