Best Heavy Duty Weight Distribution System For 2001 Ford F-350 Dually Towing a 10,000 Pound Trailer

Question:

My tow vehicle is a 2001 Ford F 350 diesel one ton with dual rear wheels. I recently purchased from you a Curt 15410 receiver rated at 17,000 WD TW / 2550 WD TW. My trailer is a Featherlite 4926 bumper pull with a 22 foot box. The trailer has two 7,000 axles with 16 inch rims and load range G tires. There is a locking aluminum battery box mounted on the frame rails just in front of the sheet aluminum body. The weight of the trailer and load will be just at 10,000 pounds. What is the best heavy duty ball mount weight distributing system that equals or is close to the rated capacity of my Curt 15410 receiver?

asked by: Richard R

Helpful Expert Reply:

To find the correct weight distribution system, you want to try and get the tongue weight of the trailer to as close to the middle of the systems capacity as possible. This is one of the few cases where bigger is not better as too heavy duty of a system can actually cause more issue than it will solve.

With that being said, the Curt TruTrack Weight Distribution System w/ Sway Control - Trunnion - 15,000 lbs GTW, 1,500 lbs TW # C17501 will have a max tongue weight capacity of 1,500 pounds and a minimum capacity of 1,000 pounds. With your trailer weighting 10,000 pounds loaded and the tongue weight of a trailer typically being 10% of the overall weight of the trailer, you are just getting to the minimum capacity of this system. You technically could use this system, but you will need to load the front of the trailer heavy and it will take some doing to get everything set properly.

However, the Reese Steadi-Flex Weight Distribution System w/ Sway Control - Trunnion - 14K GTW, 1.4K TW # RP66561 will have a maximum tongue weight capacity of 1,400 pounds and minimum of 700 pounds. This would put your tongue weight almost exactly in the middle of its range and will be recommended system for you.

With your battery box being mounted to the frame, it will most likely be the same place a system like either of these will attach, so you will want to measure to make sure they can be installed without issue. The Reese # RP66561 needs to have the brackets mounted between 27 and 32 inches from the center of the trailer's coupler and the Curt # C17501 needs to be 31 inches from the center of the coupler. If you have the space, either of these will be good system, but I prefer the Reese for your trailer.

expert reply by: Lazer S