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View Poll Results: Should I continue to tow without a WDH?
You are totally good to go, dude. 0 0%
Sounds ok, but continue to monitor closely. 3 12.50%
Border line, sounds iffy. 7 29.17%
No way, no how. You are playing with fire. 14 58.33%
Voters: 24. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 05-29-2009, 09:32 PM   #1
teamgentile
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Question Looking for the Board's blessing, no WDH...

Have completed a single 350 mile trip with our new 2720 TM (reported specs: tongue weight= 346 lbs, dry weight of 2742 lbs). TV is a 2005 Pathfinder, 600 lb tongue weight and 6000 lb tow weight capacities. SUV is rear wheel drive. Rear tire wells appeared to deflect about 1-1/2" upon loading. The mechanics at the RV dealership were split on the need for a WDH. We made it back home safe and sound and didn't detect sway or bouncing (outside of hitting highway bumps at 70 mph). From the little I could read with the Trailmanor and Pathfinder manuals, it looks as if rear-wheel drive is beneficial and I don't need a WDH till I hit the 500/5000 lb plateau, respectively. Am I OK to go without a WDH?
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Old 05-30-2009, 12:16 AM   #2
freein05
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We have a 2619 and our TV is a Honda Ridgeline. I towed two times without WDH and then put one on. I feel it is safer towing with the WDH. After towing with the WDH I would not tow a TM with my Ridgeline without one. If I had a full size 3/4 ton truck or maybe a full size 1/2 ton truck I would feel differently. I think the Ridgeline hitch weight is 500 or 600 lbs rated towing capacity is 5,000lbs. It is primarily front wheel drive. The dry weight of a 2619 is 2673lbs. I have estimated by using known factors IE weight of water, and propane etc that the towing weight is close to 3,500lbs. That would be when I am boondocking and the 40 gal water tank is full, water heater full, and toilet is full, plus all other items. The tonuge is in the 400 to 500lbs range.

The weight when you start filling up your TM increases fast.
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Old 05-30-2009, 06:41 AM   #3
Mr. Adventure
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The WDH keeps you from unloading your front wheels (100% of steering, 60% of braking is there), and it keeps you from overloading your rear axle, too (what the tongue weight takes off the front axle gets added to your rear axle if you don't use a WDH).

Rear wheel drive has nothing to do with steering or stopping, which are decreased in direct proportion to the weight that's been shifted aft. And the other problem is that at 70mph, you don't have a lot of time to figure it out.
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Old 05-30-2009, 07:32 AM   #4
Bill
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My opinion only ...

Don't let the vehicle's tow rating fool you. And don't let the "dry weight" numbers on the TM fool you, either.

My Explorer is "rated" to tow 6800 pounds. Does that mean I don't need a WDH? Well, I made one trip without one several years ago, and I'll never do it again. The rig didn't run wild or swerve all over the road or threaten to throw me off the road - nothing nearly that dramatic. But it just didn't feel right, and I wasn't confident of my ability to control the rig in an emergency situation (and I've experienced a few since then).

As Mr. Adventure pointed out, putting weight on the hitch increases the load on the rear suspension. If you have a rugged suspension, this might not be a big deal. But more to the point, it takes weight off the front wheels. If you take a couple hundred pounds off the front wheels, you've done a number of things. First, you've aimed the headlights up in the air - other drivers are not going to like you at all, and you won't be able to see as well at night. Second, you've decreased the ability to steer and stop the vehicle. Again as Mr Adventure pointed out, all of the steering and probably 2/3 of the braking is done by the front wheels. Decreasing them doesn't seem like a smart thing to do, especially since you have just added two tons of steel behind the vehicle and are expecting the vehicle to control those tons, even in an unexpected emergency maneuver. Third, you've changed the front end geometry (meaning the direction and alignment of the front tires as they sit on the ground), and the way the front suspension operates. The design engineers didn't design it to operate properly with weight removed, so you will have decided that you are smarter than the automotive design engineers.

So my answer would be, why skip a WDH? It costs a bit, sure, but a couple hundred bucks is cheap compared to the vehicle or the trailer. And it takes a few extra seconds to hook up - but if you are in that much a hurry, you probably aren't really enjoying camping anyway.

You will find a few people on this board who tow without a WDH, and there are 1 or 2 or 3 who legitimately don't need a WDH for a TM. But if you are looking for "the blessing of the board", I doubt that you will find it.

Again, just my opinion and experience.

Bill
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Old 05-30-2009, 09:28 AM   #5
Scott O
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Way better to error on the side of caution If there is ANY chance that you are lessening weight on your TV's front end, then you need a WDH. Measure ground to top of wheel well fender front and back without the TM attached. Then do it with the TM attached. If the back goes down and the front goes up, visit the store!
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Old 05-30-2009, 09:56 AM   #6
mcgyver210
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We towed our 2008 3023 home without a WDH & it did ok but we did notice the weight pushing our front end up which also caused the headlights to shine up which is very bad IMO. So I bought a WDH that also came with a Sway bar & it is much better. I know the sway bar isn't technically needed but I use it for extra safety since I have it.

I didn't know much about the different ones so I purchased based off of the Brand Manufacture answering my questions with satisfactory answers & warranty. I have since found everyone has an opinion on which one works best who would have thought buying a WDH would be such a chore LOL ROFL


My opinion is WDH is a small investment for the benefits.
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Old 05-30-2009, 05:20 PM   #7
coulter
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I towed my 3023 about 650 miles home after purchase without a WDH with an 04 Ford Explorer, it seemed to tow pretty well, however I wanted to err on the side of safety so I went to a hitch shop to have one added, and they said it was totally not necessary... well this cost them money, so I went home and thought it over some more

I just couldn't get past the idea that one was really needed, so I finally made an appointment and had an Equalizer installed. Even though I hadn't really noticed any problems towing before installation the drive home was an amazing improvement, it just tows much smoother, like it's not back there at all with that Equalizer hitch on.

So now I know I am towing with as safe a set up as possible considering my tow vehicle, and the trailer tows so smoothly that I feel it must be less stress on the TV and trailer.

I would not hesitate to recommend a WDH to anyone towing a trailer, and we really like the Equalizer, it's well made, and easy to use.
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Old 05-30-2009, 05:54 PM   #8
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I presume you posted this thread because you think there's a possibility you need a WDH but don't want to spend the $$ if it's not absolutely necessary. To echo the above comments, a $250 WDH (Robin brand from CampingWorld) seems trivial after buying a $25k+ TM, even if it does nothing but give you some extra piece of mind. And it would seem like you're getting more that that anyway, so to me, it's a no-brainer. Get one.

If, after using it for a year, you're convinced it's worthless, sell it.

Dave
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Old 05-30-2009, 07:41 PM   #9
teamgentile
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Default No it wasn't the $$$ that was holding me back.

It was the perceived hassle. I had never seen one installed but all the arms and chains and beefy receiver looked like a complicated mess. But after I saw a WDH install on youtube today, I see that really it is no big deal. Also, TM likes to show pictures with a small SUV with no WDH so I figured why would my somewhat beefy Pathfinder need one. Appreciate all the feedback.
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Old 05-30-2009, 07:55 PM   #10
mcgyver210
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I installed ours my self don't worry it is easy. I don't even need a cheater bar because I use the electric jack to bring the the bar in place then I just lower the trailer down & it is ready to roll.
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