Need WDH part # that is compatible with 2720sl swing hitch

hoppe1 · 06-04-2013, 03:15 PM

Does anyone have a brand/part number for a weight distributing hitch that is compatible with the swing-away hitch on a new 2720SL? My tow vehicle will be a 2008 Honda Odyssey. I just bought the trailer and haven't gotten a hitch yet.
Thanks!

Redtail Cruiser · 06-04-2013, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoppe1

Does anyone have a brand/part number for a weight distributing hitch that is compatible with the swing-away hitch on a new 2720SL? My tow vehicle will be a 2008 Honda Odyssey. I just bought the trailer and haven't gotten a hitch yet.
Thanks!

I have a 2007 2720 with a swing tongue. I use a Reese model # 67509 WDH, it has a 800 lb tongue weight capacity. It works great; however I have a F150 as a TV, but Reese also sells the right hitch for your Odyssey. Good luck and welcome to the Trailmanor Forum. Have fun camping!

scrubjaysnest · 06-04-2013, 06:52 PM

Welcome to the group. We were never able to find one that was compatible with ours. I had to add an extension to one of the spring bars so it wouldn't interfere with the pivot point on the tongue. That problem was solved when we removed the swing tongue completely since it failed in several places.

hoppe1 · 06-05-2013, 09:18 AM

So far - the hitch installation dealer has told me that weight distribution hitches are not needed with a 3000 lb trailer. He said to try it without it. Is that even an option?

ThePair · 06-05-2013, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoppe1

So far - the hitch installation dealer has told me that weight distribution hitches are not needed with a 3000 lb trailer. He said to try it without it. Is that even an option?

Not an option for you. You're towing with an Oddy, 3500# weight limit for towing, and the hitch weight will exceed the specs without a WDH, guaranteed. Plus, your TM will weigh more than 3000#. Don't even think about it.

I tow with your "twin" (Toyota Sienna) so I know from whence I speak!

I will get you the specs off my WDH when I get home today, works great with a minivan and the swing-away hitch.

hoppe1 · 06-05-2013, 02:38 PM

Thanks very much for the helpful responses. I'm now being told by my dealer that the "only" hitch that will work with the 2012 2720SL with swing away hitch is the Equalizer Hitch, part #90-00-0600. They've gone ahead and ordered one, but I still don't know what to believe. This hitch is $750 vs. $300-$400 for others out there. It's incredible how much conflicting info there is out there on this topic. I live in NJ and I'm picking up the trailer in Virginia on Friday, so I don't have time to investigate further at this point.

06-05-2013, 02:48 PM

Not a safe option to not use a wdh. TMs are tongue heavy to keep from having the sway problems BUT in doing so they exceed the tongue weight of most class 3 hitches, which without a WDH is only 500 pounds but into the thousands with one. I have an F150 with the factory installed towing package and the tongue limit is 500 without a WDH. They hitch issue has nothing to do with the towed weight (3000) but tongue weight.
I wonder if your hitch installer has done any studying about this???

**Bill** · 06-05-2013, 07:29 PM

I'm sorry to hear that you are in this predicament. The problem may have to do with a dealer who wants to sell you a pricey hitch. Or it may actually have to do with the Ody - seems to me they ride rather low to the ground even without a load, and so you may need a special hitch receiver (not the WDH hitch itself) to deal with this.

However, I can assure you that the problem does NOT have to do with using a WDH on a TM with a swing away hitch (swing tongue). Hundreds of us on this board (including me) have a swing tongue and a WDH, and they co-exist without issues. Most of us (or at least many) have off-the-shelf WDHs from Reese, Draw-Tite, or Hidden Hitch. I don't know how many of those "hundreds" tow with an Ody, but certainly some.

In 12 years running this forum, I have heard of only two cases in which a particular WDH had a problem with a swing tongue. One was a specific Curt hitch with weird-length springbars. The other has been relayed to you earlier in this thread. In both cases, the problem was that the spingbar length was such that the springbar tips, and hence the lift hooks, ended up at the same location as the swing tongue hinges. If you are the third case, the solution would be to choose a hitch with longer or shorter springbars, but I understand that you don't have time for the required research.

I have no reservations about the Equalizer hitch. You will be pleased with it, except for the initial price. But since its springbars are the same length as any other common springbars, I think your dealer is tweaking you. I bet U-Haul could do a better job, but that is opinion speaking, not experience.

Bill