Weight Distribution for 2011 GMC Sierra 1500 & 7.6K 2018 Forest River RV Wildwood X-Lite 254RLXL

Question:

I own a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500 crew cab 4wd with a 5.3 and 6spd with 3.42 gears. Im looking at a New 2018 Forest River RV Wildwood X-Lite 254RLXL and am curious if this would be the appropriate hitch system as I want to be sure too keep sway to the absolute minimum.

asked by: Joe M

Helpful Expert Reply:

I checked the specs for the 2018 Forest River RV Wildwood X-Lite 254RLXL (nice trailer) and found that it has a dry tongue weight of 685 pounds. That is 11.2 percent of the dry trailer weight of 6,063 pounds. When loaded to the maximum the gross trailer weight is 7,685 pounds so at 11.2 percent that would put the tongue weight in the neighbor hood of 860 pounds.

This is important because to choose a weight distribution system you will need to go by the total tongue weight of the set up. This is calculated by taking the tongue weight of the trailer, when loaded and ready to tow, and adding to that the weight of anything loaded behind the rear axle of the tow vehicle.

So the trailer itself has a potential tongue weight range of 685 to 860 pounds. The Reese Strait-Line system # RP66083 is rated for 400 to 800 pounds tongue weight. What I recommend is the next step up, # RP66084. This version is rated for 600 to 1,200 pounds so it covers the whole tongue weight range of the trailer plus has a little additional capacity to account for weight behind the rear axle in the truck bed.

This system includes dual-cam sway control which is one of the most effect sway control systems available on the market. It does require some fine-tuning so that it is at its most effective but once you have it dialed in you'll wonder how you ever towed without it!

The only other part you will need is a compatible ball, # 19286. I have included some links on determining tongue weight and weight distribution for you.