No Weight Distribution Required?

[Razzman]

I just saw from a trailer forum that the Weigh Safe heavy weight hitch is no longer available. If this is true it is possible that all the issues I had were not isolated and they decided to redesign the hitch to eliminate the problems.

Nope still available. WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION HITCHES – TRUE TOW HEAVYWEIGHT GEN 1

 

[Red Rider]

It also says on their website that they are sunseting the Gen 1 which means they are abandoning the design in favor of a totally different design which in looking at the pictures, should fix most of the issues I had.

 

[Razzman]

It also says on their website that they are sunseting the Gen 1 which means they are abandoning the design in favor of a totally different design which in looking at the pictures, should fix most of the issues I had.

States it will be similar to the middleweight design

 

[daemonic3]

Ah, first I'm learning of the Gen2 design. Definitely looks like the middle-weight, which means one of the favorite things pointed out in most reviews - that you can drop tailgate without hitting the jack - will no longer apply. I think that makes hensley/propride back to being the only hitch long enough for most tailgates to drop.

I do love my middleweight so far, but only have 2 trips logged in 1.5 months.

 

[whitexc]

I ran an extended shank on my 2.5 Bulletproof hitch with their WD adapter and it worked great on our 30’ TT using the fastway setup. I was able to drop the tailgate while hitched…the goal. Yes it changes the WD but once installed and dialed in it towed great. Should have kept that trailer. Also didn’t break the bank.


Sent from me

 

[Razzman]

I'm able to drop the tailgate with my Equalizer e4 14K, clears by about 3"

 

[daemonic3]

I'm able to drop the tailgate with my Equalizer e4 14K, clears by about 3"

Curious what trailer you have? Equalizer and weighsafe middleweight have about the same distance from the shank securing pinhole to ball. On the Wandering Weekends youtube channel where he reviewed 11 hitches, all but the weighsafe heavy and propride couldn't clear the jack, on a Grand Design Imagine TT (which is what I had before my Alliance Delta).

I know not every TT has the jack in same spot, and some can be rotated 90 degrees to get out of the way, so I'd love to know!

 

[Razzman]

Curious what trailer you have? Equalizer and weighsafe middleweight have about the same distance from the shank securing pinhole to ball. On the Wandering Weekends youtube channel where he reviewed 11 hitches, all but the weighsafe heavy and propride couldn't clear the jack, on a Grand Design Imagine TT (which is what I had before my Alliance Delta).

I know not every TT has the jack in same spot, and some can be rotated 90 degrees to get out of the way, so I'd love to know!

It's a Northwood Nash

 

[daemonic3]

It's a Northwood Nash

Interesting! It looks like you're lucky to have the head of the jack so tall (several inches above the propane) and recessed back from the ball. I found a pic of an Alliance Delta and the bastion jack on it is low and is only a few inches back from the ball. So my tailgate hits it. Also a pic of an Imagine and the jack head is low and only a little back from the ball.

With the Bastion head on my Delta it looks like I could benefit a lot from a 90 degree rotation, but I am going to wait until my 3500 arrives before seeing how the tailgate lines up. Maybe I'll be lucky

 

[Razzman]

Interesting! It looks like you're lucky to have the head of the jack so tall (several inches above the propane) and recessed back from the ball. I found a pic of an Alliance Delta and the bastion jack on it is low and is only a few inches back from the ball. So my tailgate hits it. Also a pic of an Imagine and the jack head is low and only a little back from the ball.

With the Bastion head on my Delta it looks like I could benefit a lot from a 90 degree rotation, but I am going to wait until my 3500 arrives before seeing how the tailgate lines up. Maybe I'll be lucky

You could benefit by a longer shank tongue possibly. And switch to a taller jack such as the Barker Manufacturing VIP3000 like mine has.

 

[jsalbre]

On a number of jacks you can also rotate the head 90° and get clearance for the tailgate that way.

 

[Christofo]

I just saw from a trailer forum that the Weigh Safe heavy weight hitch is no longer available. If this is true it is possible that all the issues I had were not isolated and they decided to redesign the hitch to eliminate the problems.

Where were the issues you had? The gen2 is available for pre-order: https://www.weigh-safe.com/product/true-tow-weight-distribution-hitch/

I am trying to decide between the new gen2 or an Anderson WDH. My trailer is 36ft total length and ~ 11,000lbs.

 

[Red Rider]

Where were the issues you had? The gen2 is available for pre-order: https://www.weigh-safe.com/product/true-tow-weight-distribution-hitch/

I am trying to decide between the new gen2 or an Anderson WDH. My trailer is 36ft total length and ~ 11,000lbs.

The issues I had were numerous and had mostly to do with bolts shearing, poor assembly from factory (loose bolts) and the thrust bearings in the assembly that adjusts the distribution load breaking during adjustments. The last item was more of a design defect that while disappointing, did not rise to the level of being dangerous. The bolt issues were however very concerning and could have been catastrophic if not discovered. From what I can see on their web site, Weigh Safe seems to have addressed most if not all of the potential failure issue with their new hitch….based on my failure points. That is a step in the right direction and kudos for being pro-active.

As for the Anderson, based upon my experiences, I would not recommend the hitch for your application….especially if you expect a decent amount of weight transfer. During my conversations with their engineers, they even admitted that the hitch is probably not the best solution for a long heavy trailer with a good amount of tongue weight (I was pulling a 38 ft 9,000 lb trailer with about 1,100 lb tongue weight). Their solution to “just keep tightening the chains” was not that effective and looked to put a huge amount of stress on the trailer frame (but then that is just my opinion).

Good luck on your selection of hitch.