Does the air suspension remove need for a weight distribution hitch?

[jastevenson]

I’m a towing newbie, but the times I did tow with my F150, it was recommended that I use a weight distribution hitch. The trailer weight around 5500 lb with everything inside.

If you have a Ram with the air suspension, do you still need a WDH? It was kind of a pain to connect and quite noisy as well.

Thanks!

 

[OldMarine]

YES! I have a limited w/air and I just did a 4700 mile road trip pulling a Jayco 23b Hybrid TT, (weight loaded around #5500-#6000.)..thanks GOD I had that WD hitch, (and sway bar). Hit the Iowa "derecho" storm of Aug 10th..(youtube that!!). 112mph winds...the trick is to follow a certain procedure when hooking it up: 1. back up truck close to trailer, go into settings,/suspension, and set it to 'tire jack mode'. 2. finish backing up and lower trailer onto WD hitch ball. 3. lock the ball and crank up the trailer til it pulls the truck with it up 3-4 inches. 4. NOW hook up the WD chains to their brackets,( should have slack & be easy to do, ). 5. now lower the trailer back down til the trailer and truck look pretty level, the chains will be nice and tight now. 6. start the truck back up, and turn the tire-jack mode off. At this point you will hear the suspension level itself out and you are good to go. Happy camping!

 

[Aseras]

If you need a WDH, you need one. The air suspension just gives you auto leveling and a much nicer ride with selective ride heights. Nothing else.

 

[bill-e]

Yes, and anti sway. There are a number of types of sway control. The cheap add on type which works well with a small, short trailers or the built in type like the Huskey Centerpoint. I've had both, I feel more confident with the built in.

Husky Centerpoint TS
Friction Bar

 

[Drewster]

If you need a WDH, you need one. The air suspension just gives you auto leveling and a much nicer ride with selective ride heights. Nothing else.

This. Air suspension of any kind just levels things out - it doesn't really change the distribution of weight. Weight distribution hitches will apply torque and actively put more weight toward the front of the truck.

 

[hoodac78]

Yes, and anti sway. There are a number of types of sway control. The cheap add on type which works well with a small, short trailers or the built in type like the Huskey Centerpoint. I've had both, I feel more confident with the built in.

Husky Centerpoint TS
Friction Bar

This 100% ^^^^^^^^^^^.....I just recently upgraded our hitch from a hand-me-down that we got when we bought the trailer. I should have NEVER towed our trailer with it in the first place. The tech who put the new one on told me he was scared when he took it off and that hitch "had no business towing that trailer". Lesson learned. Know your equipment, and make sure you have the right tools for the job. Don't skimp on the hitch....it'll make a huge difference in your towing experience. I bought an Equal-i-zer hitch and I wasn't even 20km down the road when I knew it was money well spent.....WDH and Anti-Sway all rolled into one. The experience was totally different from the garbage I had on there before. I'm very grateful it didnt take a serious mishap to realize my gear wasn't up to the job. Just my advice and feel free to take it for what its worth.

 

[George Bednar]

This 100% ^^^^^^^^^^^.....I just recently upgraded our hitch from a hand-me-down that we got when we bought the trailer. I should have NEVER towed our trailer with it in the first place. The tech who put the new one on told me he was scared when he took it off and that hitch "had no business towing that trailer". Lesson learned. Know your equipment, and make sure you have the right tools for the job. Don't skimp on the hitch....it'll make a huge difference in your towing experience. I bought an Equal-i-zer hitch and I wasn't even 20km down the road when I knew it was money well spent.....WDH and Anti-Sway all rolled into one. The experience was totally different from the garbage I had on there before. I'm very grateful it didnt take a serious mishap to realize my gear wasn't up to the job. Just my advice and feel free to take it for what its worth.

I agree with this 100%. I have the Equal-i-zer pulling a 7800# Zinger 280RB travel trailers and can't even see any sway at all while towing at 60mph. Hand down worth the $600 + cost. It is some what noisy when turning, but you get used to it really fast.

 

[JJRamTX]

I’m a towing newbie, but the times I did tow with my F150, it was recommended that I use a weight distribution hitch. The trailer weight around 5500 lb with everything inside.

If you have a Ram with the air suspension, do you still need a WDH? It was kind of a pain to connect and quite noisy as well.

Thanks!

Part of the answer depends on what you are towing and how heavy it is. Anything in the over 5000Lb travel trailer or something that is prone to catching wind you should get one. Boats generally don't require one and most flatbed type trailers don't. However by getting one your towing experience will be better with everything you tow.

 

[Turin]

Hit the Iowa "derecho" storm of Aug 10th.

You were towing during that? That must have been utterly terrifying! I was at home and thought the negative pressure on the leeward side of the house was going to rip the windows out.

 

[Turin]

Yes, and anti sway. There are a number of types of sway control. The cheap add on type which works well with a small, short trailers or the built in type like the Huskey Centerpoint. I've had both, I feel more confident with the built in.

A couple of other types:

• Andersen hitches use a friction sleeve on a rotating ball shaft. It think it would work well on a flatbed or moderately sized enclosed trailer but I didn't like it on my TT — too much surface area.
• Projection hitches (Hensley Arrow or ProPride 3P) are the gold standard for sway control but you'll pay a premium for it.

 

[hoodac78]

A couple of other types:

• Andersen hitches use a friction sleeve on a rotating ball shaft. It think it would work well on a flatbed or moderately sized enclosed trailer but I didn't like it on my TT — too much surface area.
• Projection hitches (Hensley Arrow or ProPride 3P) are the gold standard for sway control but you'll pay a premium for it.

Maybe someone with more knowledge than I can comment on the Andersen hitch, but I had done some reading and it was said that the Andersen was a good hitch if the trailer you had was over 8000lbs as anything lighter would have trouble getting enough weight distribution to the front of the truck. This was the reason I ended up not going with that particular brand.
The projection hitches are great if you have the money to do it, but be aware that they are very heavy and can quickly eat into your available payload.

 

[Turin]

Maybe someone with more knowledge than I can comment on the Andersen hitch, but I had done some reading and it was said that the Andersen was a good hitch if the trailer you had was over 8000lbs as anything lighter would have trouble getting enough weight distribution to the front of the truck. This was the reason I ended up not going with that particular brand.
The projection hitches are great if you have the money to do it, but be aware that they are very heavy and can quickly eat into your available payload.

I had an Andersen. I don't see how a lighter trailer would create problems with weight distribution, but its sway control is dependent on tongue weight: more weight = more friction = more sway control. The problem with the Andersen IMO is that travel trailers have massive surface area for their weight, so you don't get enough resistance. That said, I had zero issues with my trailer (32' total, 7800 lbs. loaded) up to 55 MPH. Above that speed it depended on wind and traffic. I never had any actual sway but the trailer would push the back of the truck around making driving unpleasant and tiring.

Projection hitches don't impact payload as much as you'd think from looking at their weight. They extend the length of the trailer by a few inches; the change in leverage reduces the tongue weight slightly, offsetting the heavier hitch. I switched to a ProPride 3P and with WD engaged I'm sitting at 11.8% hitch weight based on CAT scale passes. I don't know how to tease out how much of that is due to the hitch, but my payload is right where I want/expect it to be. The truck and trailer move together, and towing is much more relaxed.

 

[hoodac78]

I had an Andersen. I don't see how a lighter trailer would create problems with weight distribution, but its sway control is dependent on tongue weight: more weight = more friction = more sway control. The problem with the Andersen IMO is that travel trailers have massive surface area for their weight, so you don't get enough resistance. That said, I had zero issues with my trailer (32' total, 7800 lbs. loaded) up to 55 MPH. Above that speed it depended on wind and traffic. I never had any actual sway but the trailer would push the back of the truck around making driving unpleasant and tiring.

Projection hitches don't impact payload as much as you'd think from looking at their weight. They extend the length of the trailer by a few inches; the change in leverage reduces the tongue weight slightly, offsetting the heavier hitch. I switched to a ProPride 3P and with WD engaged I'm sitting at 11.8% hitch weight based on CAT scale passes. I don't know how to tease out how much of that is due to the hitch, but my payload is right where I want/expect it to be. The truck and trailer move together, and towing is much more relaxed.

So much good information on these forums from knowledgeable people. Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[Drewster]

I never had any actual sway but the trailer would push the back of the truck around making driving unpleasant and tiring.

That sounds like the definition of trailer sway

 

[OldMarine]

You were towing during that? That must have been utterly terrifying! I was at home and thought the negative pressure on the leeward side of the house was going to rip the windows out.

we were towing as it was just starting to hit..we had just left the Iowa I-80 "world's largest truck stop".. heading west. Sky was clear, except we could see a dark cloud bank to the west...started driving, got maybe 20 miles, and the sky was darker than night, just happened to be a rest area right up ahead. so i pull in thinking, "I'll take the sway bar off so I can drive in rain"..got out of the truck, started to fiddle with the hitch, and then ALL-HELL broke loose...wife yells " Get in the truck"!!...sat there for 1.5 hours while trees snapped all around us, semi's got blown over, and I swear i thought my travel trailer was going to lift off and take me with it!...no power anywhere for quite a distance. Almost ran out of gas....quite an experience.

 

[cj7]

I’m a towing newbie, but the times I did tow with my F150, it was recommended that I use a weight distribution hitch. The trailer weight around 5500 lb with everything inside.

If you have a Ram with the air suspension, do you still need a WDH? It was kind of a pain to connect and quite noisy as well.

Thanks!

Simple answer is no, the air suspension does not obviate the need for the weight distributng hitch.

I have 1500 w/air, and on my 6700# Mesa Ridge travel trailer (29’’ hitch to spare) a EZ Lift Recurve R6 weight dist hitch, w/anti-sway. It works well. Other than being heavy, it’s easy to hook up, quiet, and robust.

 

[George Bednar]

we were towing as it was just starting to hit..we had just left the Iowa I-80 "world's largest truck stop".. heading west. Sky was clear, except we could see a dark cloud bank to the west...started driving, got maybe 20 miles, and the sky was darker than night, just happened to be a rest area right up ahead. so i pull in thinking, "I'll take the sway bar off so I can drive in rain"..got out of the truck, started to fiddle with the hitch, and then ALL-HELL broke loose...wife yells " Get in the truck"!!...sat there for 1.5 hours while trees snapped all around us, semi's got blown over, and I swear i thought my travel trailer was going to lift off and take me with it!...no power anywhere for quite a distance. Almost ran out of gas....quite an experience.

I am not judging, rather just asking a question. Why would you remove the sway bar to drive in the rain?

 

[bill-e]

I am not judging, rather just asking a question. Why would you remove the sway bar to drive in the rain?

If you actually read your sway bar instructions they say not to use them in the rain. I assume because the tire traction isn't as good in the rain. Some hitches actually have an On/Off for the sway.

That being said, I always use my bars in the rain.

 

[George Bednar]

If you actually read your sway bar instructions they say not to use them in the rain. I assume because the tire traction isn't as good in the rain. Some hitches actually have an On/Off for the sway.

That being said, I always use my bars in the rain.

I read my manual for the equalizer WDH. I will double check, but I do not recall seeing that in the manual.

 

[Turin]

That sounds like the definition of trailer sway

Naw, nothing so severe. My TT is on the larger end of what you can pull with a half-ton; lateral forces at the hitch create enough of a yaw moment on the truck that you have to counter steer and unless you get provide just the right amount of input it can feel a little like you're slithering down the road. The stock P-rated tires don't help, either. In other words: nothing threatening control/safety, but enough to make towing tiring and stressful, and induce car sickness if you're susceptible to that sort of thing.