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Need hitch? |
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Tomcamper 
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Joined: 18 Dec 2011 Location: Saskatchewan Status: Offline Points: 140 |
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 Topic: Need hitch?Posted: 01 Jan 2012 at 4:25pm |
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Getting ready to have equalizer 2 hitch installed on rpod 177 which has sway bars included. One qwestion, if the ro
Rpod and tow vehicle always tow level when fully loaded, do I still need the WD hitch, and will it still distribute the weight forward. Thanks for wise advice. |
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Marwayne
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Joined: 18 Oct 2010 Location: Alberta Status: Offline Points: 218 |
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Posted: 01 Jan 2012 at 7:44pm |
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Welcome Tomcamper: I have the Equal-i-zer sway control hitch, 400 lb hitch weight, 4000 lb. trailer weight. This hitch is a combination WD and sway control, I love it. I also know that many people add a sway control bar on one side, with this hitch you dont need it. I have also heard that you have to disengage the sway control bar when you back up.
I purchased the hitch from Hitch Depot in Red Deer (www.hitchdepot.ca, Product id: 90-00-4000)
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If you want something done right, do it yourself!
2011 RP172, 2016 Tundra Limited 5.7 Litre |
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David and Danette
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Joined: 31 Mar 2009 Location: Fort Myers Status: Offline Points: 317 |
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Posted: 02 Jan 2012 at 4:27am |
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Tomcamper, welcome to the forum. We tow with a 2010 Jeep Liberty and without a weight distribution hitch the Liberty towed level. But we decided to still go with the Equalizer 4000 lb. WDH. It does make a positive difference in towing, less bouncing, and sway. We moved our spare tire to the front of the trailer, to add weight to the front. David and Danette
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SWFL 171
2010 Jeep Liberty |
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tpierce220
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Joined: 16 Jan 2011 Location: Oswego, IL Status: Offline Points: 249 |
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Posted: 02 Jan 2012 at 12:09pm |
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Minimally get a sway bar if you decide that you don't want to get an equalizer. You want something to keep the pod and your TV straight while you're driving. I've found that whenever I have the sway bar on that nothing moves all too much in the trailer, but the moment that I don't have it on, things will fall out of the cabinets or off the counters no matter how short the distance.
I have also found the assurance that if I have to slam on the brakes, which has happened more than once, that the trailer is not going to do anything weird.
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Adventures with ¡Podtástic!--Life in a Forest River RPod 182G with Tim and Louis and our two cats, Desi and Lucy. Check our website at http://podtastic.info for information on our journeys.
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Kenn
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Joined: 15 Jan 2010 Location: Fort Drum, NY Status: Offline Points: 612 |
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Posted: 02 Jan 2012 at 10:35pm |
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Depends on the vehicle you're towing with, wether or not a WDH or sway bar is needed. Having a sway bar or WDH on a full size truck or bigger is a waste.
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2010 RPOD 176 (Silly-POD), 2011 Forest River Stealth 2612, and 2014 Forest River XLR 380AMP |
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Marwayne
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Joined: 18 Oct 2010 Location: Alberta Status: Offline Points: 218 |
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Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 1:10am |
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Kenn I hate to disegree with you but. Our TV is a 6 litre silverado, when we bought our pod the experts at our dealership told me, big truck little trailer you wont need a WDH you wont even feel the trailer behind the truck. Bull. First trip 1000 km, the trailer didnt sway but it was bouncing up and down like a jojo, it may be OK with tandom axel but not with a single axel. After that trip I put on a WDH, difference night and day. I would not take our pod without the WDH anywhere.
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If you want something done right, do it yourself!
2011 RP172, 2016 Tundra Limited 5.7 Litre |
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Ratdog
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Joined: 11 Mar 2010 Location: Central Florida Status: Offline Points: 1175 |
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Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 7:59am |
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http://www.gatherlittlebylittle.com/2008/12/your-life-is-more-important-than-your-stuff/
Why not just spend the 100 bucks for a sway bar and know you're safe than take a chance? Or, if you haven't done everything you can do to prevent an accident with your trailer including having anti-sway installed, you can always call these guys: I do believe there are some setups of TV's and trailers where anti-sway may not offer much additional help in everyday driving. But, I also beleive that anti-sway equipment will help avoid an accident in an emergency maneuver and that's the primary reason I have one. -- Steve
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Steve, Anne, and Paige the Rat Terrier 2013 Lexus RX 450h Hybrid AWD 2011 RP-177 (aka: The Circus Wagon) |
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Kenn
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Joined: 15 Jan 2010 Location: Fort Drum, NY Status: Offline Points: 612 |
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Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 8:25am |
I also have a 1/2 ton truck and we've never used one. Our truck comes with an electronic sway control and is rated to tow 11000 lbs. We've towed well over 1K about 5X as much and no issues. Maybe that makes a difference? When we used the small SUV (3500 towing), we DID have a sway bar and that made a difference.
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2010 RPOD 176 (Silly-POD), 2011 Forest River Stealth 2612, and 2014 Forest River XLR 380AMP |
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marc515
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Joined: 06 Apr 2011 Status: Offline Points: 143 |
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Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 8:53am |
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Well, here's my 2 cents:
The rpod is about 2,700Lbs unloaded, and about 3,800 loaded. so everyone will be inbetween that range, with most likely, most of us pushing the 3,800Lb weight; stuff weighs, and we usually pack more than we think we do. So a vehicle with a 3,500Lb tow capacity looks like it will do the job. However, from what I've read, the towing capacity is computed with a 150Lb driver only, so every pound yoou add to the tow vehicle, decreases the towing capacity. So as you can see, if you add a 150Lb passenger, and 200Lbs of cargo in the TV, the towing capacity is reduced to 3,150Lbs. I believe these manufacturer's and their dealers are misleading the public to think almost any vehicle can tow these types of campers; of course we know most sales folks will say anything to make a sale. There are sites with charts you can plug in your TV, trailer, and cargo weights, and it will compute the safe towing capacities. We had a Mazda Tribute with the 3,500 LB tow package, and when I plugged in our numbers ( I weigh 180Lbs, wife is ??, our Lab is 90Lbs, and 200Lbs cargo in the TV) we were well over the safe towing capacity, so, we ended up with our Pathfinder which has a 6,000Lb towing capacity. We also use the E2 WDH. While many larger vehicles can get away without a WHD for a camper of this size, I think it's a safe thing to have for samller tow vehicles. I'm no expert, but the above is what I gleamed from a lot of research.
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Best Regards,.....Marc & Joan
And....Tucker (our yellow lab) 2011 Heartland MPG-181 2011 Nissan Pathfinder USMC 69-73 God Bless all our Men & Women in Uniform |
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tsunami
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Joined: 05 Oct 2009 Location: MINNESOTA Status: Offline Points: 426 |
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Posted: 03 Jan 2012 at 10:26am |
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I originally towed my Pod with a Jeep Liberty...without a WDH. The Pod bounced so badly that I would find cooking gear dumped on the floor. After installing the WDH, the two units felt like they were one unit. I traded in the Liberty for a Chevy PU. I put the torsion rods and sway bars in the truck and went camping. The truck barely responded to towing the Pod but the Pod bounced like mad. On the return trip, I inserted the rods and bars. The Pod was rock steady even on really bad roads. On inspection, the Pod's interior was in perfect order. Even a loose roll of paper towels was still laying where it had been left.
The truck has electronic sway-tow control, but with the WDH the double unit acts as if it were a single longer truck. I always use the WDH. |
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tsunami
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Marwayne wrote: