Tow Equalizers

[morganaka]

Hello from Oregon:
I am looking at the Trailmanor mainly for easier towing and convenient storage.
The brochure mentions using equalizers for towing with most vehicles, but OK without equalizers for "heavy duty truck".
I do not like equalizers. Too much trouble.
Can I tow a 2720 safely without equalizers with any 1/2 ton rated truck, ie. Toyota Tundra or Chevy Silverado?
OffTopic: Bathroom setup was mentioned by a poster. Can this be done easily just for a quick pitstop?

Thanks for any info,
John Morgan

[rsalejandro]

We tow a 3023 with a 2005 Toyota Tacoma without any WDH or equalizers. IT tows just fine, I am sure a tundra would be fine!

[Leslie & Nick]

Hello from Oregon:

Can I tow a 2720 safely without equalizers with any 1/2 ton rated truck, ie. Toyota Tundra or Chevy Silverado?
OffTopic: Bathroom setup was mentioned by a poster. Can this be done easily just for a quick pitstop?

Thanks for any info,
John Morgan

We have a 2619 and tow with a 1/2 Ton, full sized Ford pickup with small V8 and have not had any problems ascending some pretty steep climbs in Tenn. We don't have a WDH. Don't think you'd have any trouble with a Tundra or Silverado.

IMHO, you'd be better off using bathrooms at a rest stop, or a fast food place, rather than trying to setup your TM while on the road. Though not particularly difficult to do, you'd first have to open both shells, set up the bathroom walls, then worry about dumping the toilet contents. The TM does not have a blackwater holding tank, thus if the toilet was empty, you would first have to recharge it with water and chemicals. Too much hassle in my book! :)

Nick

[Freedom]

We haven't tried using the bathroom while traveling. I'm sure it could be done, but it sounds like too much hassle to me. You would need to have the trailer pretty level - as in probably a parking lot or rest area - and if you're in a parking lot or rest area, there's probably a restroom very near. Now if you're in Mexico, you would probably rather use the TM. We made a trip to southern Mexico and only found two clean restrooms on the whole trip. The trailer we had then didn't have a bathroom, but my brother had a 5th wheel trailer which was very convenient at times!

[YWORRYDOG]

We tow our 2027 with a Silverado 5.7. We now use a WHD. It is true that it takes a little longer to hitch and unhitch, but the comfort of the ride, and stability is much improved. Just bringing the back of the truck up that 2” makes it well worth while, not to mention that the headlights shine where they should.

[Bob&Karen]

We don't use WDH either and have no problems towing our 3124KS with our Expedition. As far as the bathroom is concerned, we typically use rest areas because we usually have to take our 'boys' on a walk.

[idaho-steve]

The WDH hitch issue has been discussed quite a bit in lots of previous posts. Personally, I think that for the most part it comes down to a personal margin-of-safety issue--like wearing a seat belt, changing the batteries in the smoke detectors 1x/year, buying life insurance, etc. The TM is in fact very easy to tow so you can pretty easily do without a WDH. The question really is for that occasional emergency -- tire blowing on a steep downhill, sudden road debris, etc.

In my personal case, I had a few thousand miles towing without a WDH with no trouble at all. I finally decided after reading a lot of posts that a WDH was a good safety investment. Last November I had a small herd of deer run right in front of me on the interstate. I was able to swerve hard and miss two and run over the third. I DEFINITELY feel that the $350 or so had spent on the WDH was a sound investment in my case and in this instance. Perhaps I would have been OK without but I am pretty convinced that I saved far more than the price of the WDH that evening.

Regarding the pit stop idea, I'd definitely echo the comments about using a rest stop. If my TM is not level fore and aft, the shells can be rather heavy to pop up on the low side.

Enjoy your TM.

Steve

[PopBeavers]

I spoke with the TM facroty. They advised me to NOT put a weh on my TV. If the TV is sufficiently big enough then there is no value added with a wdh. The wdh is to increase towing capacity. With the TM being so light, the larger TVs do not need a wdh.

I have made a couple of "panic stops" and the hole thing stopped in a dead stright line. I have not yet made a panic stop in a turn.

The sag on my rear bumper when I attach the TM is about 3/4 inch. Tehrfore, it remains essentially level with and without the TM attached.

It depends a lot on the size of the TV.

With regard to opening the TM enroute. We never do that. I have a bunch of stuff on the floor and we never drive more than 3 hours to go camping.

Without the TM I have driven from San Jose to Albuquerque with only 2 stops in between. San Jose top Salt Lake city requires one stop on the way. If I had a bigger gas tank I could get it down to fewer stops. If you don;t like long trips in the car then you probably woldn't like riding with me.

I shoulda be a long haul driver.

[masterge]

I have a 2007 2720 and tow with a 2007 Chevy Avalanche. I had the same dilemna between using a WDH on not. It tows beutifully without complicating the process. Some folks will still tell you that you should have one, but as for me I will be towing without.

[Bill]

As always (sigh!), several of the above posts reflect a misunderstanding of the function of a WDH.

The purpose of a WDH is NOT to help you tow. It does nothing to increase the towing ability of your tow vehicle. To say that "I have no problems towing ..." is meaningless.

The purpose of a WDH is to preserve the handling characteristics of your tow vehicle. This is very definitely a safety issue.

Your tow vehicle was designed to operate with a certain amount of weight on the front wheels. If you remove 200 or 300 or 400 pounds of that weight from the front wheels, the handling characteristics will change. The steering geometry changes, and the front tires, now unweighted, have less of a grip on the road. If you are just chugging down a straight piece of road, this doesn't matter. But if you have to make a sudden emergency maneuver, it can matter more than anything else in the world at that moment.

The sole purpose of a WDH is to put that weight back on the front wheels.

Heavy vehicles, like an Expedition, have so much weight on the front wheels that the removal of a couple hundred pounds has very little effect, so no WDH is needed. Long wheelbase vehicles, like a long-bed crew-cab pickup, have so much lever arm (the front wheels are so far from the back wheels) that the hitch load doesn't remove much weight from the front. Again, no DH is required. In both cases, handling won't suffer from lack of a WDH. But lighter shorter vehicles can have a serious problem.

In my opinion, saying "a WDH is too much trouble" is like saying "tightening the lug nuts is too much trouble". It may seem so now - but eventually you may very well kill someone. That is not a risk I care to take - or encourage.

Bill

[Speckul8r]

As per usual, Bill seems to be right on the mark. Smaller lighter vehicles should use a WDH if for no other reason the handling carachteristics (sp?). My wife's Jimmy (tow rated at 5000#) towed the 2720 just fine but seems a bit light in the front. The WDH solved that problem. The GMC Sierra is a heavy 4x4 and doesn't need it. The rear bumper drop is minor and the handling difference is not noticable.
As far as killing someone goes, that someone could be YOU!!!!

[lnussbau]

I have a 2007 2720 and tow with a 2007 Chevy Avalanche. I had the same dilemna between using a WDH on not. It tows beutifully without complicating the process. Some folks will still tell you that you should have one, but as for me I will be towing without.

I towed my 2720SL without a WDH the first few times, and while it towed OK, the rear end of my TV sagged quite a bit.

So I got a WDH, and not only does the TV ride level now, but the ride comfort while towing is considerably improved -- the road imperfections (especially resonant waviness in the road) aren't nearly as disturbing as before. It's hard to describe how much difference it makes just in comfort, but it is considerable.

Granted that your Avalanche is a longer, heavier vehicle, and you may not see quite the difference that I did.

[shunter917]

We tow a 3023 with an Expedition and I still use a WDH. The increased handling and stability is worth the extra few minutes of hitch/unhitch.

[Alrhall]

The problem with WDH's is that the vehicles that need them most, with a TM, can't get them. WHAT Did I Say??
The effect of tongue load is most noticeable with 3500 lb hitches. But I could not find a WDH for my 1 1/4" receiver. My answer, load leveling Air Shocks. The handling improvement is obvious. The rear comes up, the front goes down and steering gets better. If I could just solve my air leak problem life would be even better.

[Denny_A]

.....snip....My answer, load leveling Air Shocks. The handling improvement is obvious. The rear comes up, the front goes down and steering gets better. If I could just solve my air leak problem life would be even better.That seems to be counter-intuitive. The tongue weight acts on the hitch. The moment about the rear axle creates an up force (unloading) at the front axle.

Air shocks will prevent settling of the rear axle, but can not counter the up force on the front axle. The front axle must(it's physics) experience some decreased steering ability. Air shocks, it seems, are good for creating an illusion of increased steering control.

Just sayin'....

Denny_A

[Bill]

Al -

You're right - some vehicles won't/can't accept a weight-distributing hitch. This is due to the vehicle construction, rather than a problem of the manufacturer not making a WDH available. We've had quite a bit of discussion about it on this board. A search using the keyword "unibody" or the keyword "frame" ought to bring up a lot of it.

I can't speak to your Volvo specifically, but according to the Draw-Tite web site (a major hitch manufacturer):

"Class I hitches are weight carrying (WC) hitches rated up to 2000 lbs. gross trailer weight (GTW) with a maximum trailer tongue weight (TW) of 200 lbs. A Class I hitch usually has a 1-1/4" square receiver opening."

If you find that are towing a 2720SL with a Class I hitch, you may find yourself in serious trouble.

Draw-Tite will sell you an aftermarket Class II receiver, rated for 3500 pounds trailer weight and 300 pounds tongue weight (no, not 350 pounds). Sadly, the tongue weight of a 2720SL, loaded and ready for the road, is quite a bit more than 300 pounds. You really should weigh your TM. My 2720SL runs 550 pounds of tongue weight - I posted the specifics here.

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3144

Regarding your specific vehicle, was your hitch an aftermarket unit, or a Volvo OEM product? If it came from the Volvo factory, what does your owner's manual say about the hitch ratings?

Bill

[Alrhall]

The hitch is rated Class II as is the car 3500/350. I travel alone and don't load down the back of the station wagon. I am trading passenger weight for trailer tongue weight. I know a WDH would be better but what I have is what I tow with. Most of my travel is from job to job in Florida. I bought a TM specifically so I would not have to give up my super reliable Volvos. This one has about 300,000 miles on it(I don't know for sure previous owners set it back). And yes I can definitely feel a difference in the steering with the shocks inflated. I am having no problems with breaking, uneven roads or wind. I was pleasantly surprised how much better it tows than the U-Haul I moved my daughter to school with.

[Bill]

I understand your position, Al, but as you travel, it will be important to remember that you are travelling with a hitch weight nearly double the Volvo's rating. As Denny_A pointed out above, air shocks don't do ANYTHING to change that fact - the hitch weight is still on the Volvo's rear end/rear suspension, and the front wheels are still unweighted. The air shocks will make your headlights point in the right direction - that's all. Let us know how it works out.

Bill

[Alrhall]

Thanx Bill
First chance I get I'll get on some scales and find out what my axel loads are. I am 660 miles from home and the tow up here (Charlotte NC area) from Florida went well. Of course I turned off overdrive and slowed down some for the hills.
I don't recomend this setup for the casual driver.