WDH, drop hitch, or articulating hitch?

[max31man]

Power Wagon brethren,

Looking for a little bit of advice. I just put a deposit down on a small travel trailer (Ember Overland 190MDB, I came very close to putting a deposit down on an Opus OP4 but the Mrs. wanted the extra space, shower, and bathroom...) and I need to decide on a way forward for a hitch. It comes in at approximately 4400 lbs dry, 5500 lbs GVWR, with a dry tongue weight of 580 lbs so I'm estimating about 725 lbs fully loaded.

Our primary usage will likely be weekend boondocking around Colorado in national forest and BLM lands, nothing too crazy.

The owner's manual recommends a weight distribution hitch for anything above 5000 lbs, but it doesn't differentiate between the Power Wagon and standard 2500 and obviously the Power Wagon is a bit softer. Clearly the smart play would be to go with a WDH. What I'd really want to go with is an articulating hitch though since the quality of forest service roads will be hit or miss and a WDH probably doesn't do so well with any articulation. I guess I could just remove round/trunnion bars when the going gets rough; would this be a simple process?

I don't have a regular drop hitch already, otherwise I'd test it out to see how she handles the load before deciding a way forward. So basically my options are:

1. Get a regular drop hitch since every good truck owner should have a general purpose hitch. See how it goes and decide on the proper hitch for my use case later.
2. Get a WDH and remove the bars as necessary.
3. Throw caution to the wind and go straight to an articulating hitch.

I did try searching but did not see much applicable to a Power Wagon towing well within its limits. Thanks in advance.

 

[elephantrider]

I'm fresh in the rv game, so keep that in mind. as well as, the only other bumper pull I have is a 20' car hauler. errthang else i touch has a neck. I was a bit concerned with the 38' big boody rv I just bought. it's going to a permanent site, so i didn't want to invest in any other hitch, other than the 7" b&w drop that I have. in any case, I picked it up today in ft. worth, and then back to my house near austin. I put 80lbs in the airlift bags, made sure it was all level, and sent it. zero issues. it was a bit windy today, and the truck actually controlled the trailer fantastic. all the way down ih35 was very comfy at speed. if I towed it more often, I'd likely invest as extra insurance, but can be done without.

that was long winded, and remember, this is the internet.

 

[max31man]

I'm fresh in the rv game, so keep that in mind. as well as, the only other bumper pull I have is a 20' car hauler. errthang else i touch has a neck. I was a bit concerned with the 38' big boody rv I just bought. it's going to a permanent site, so i didn't want to invest in any other hitch, other than the 7" b&w drop that I have. in any case, I picked it up today in ft. worth, and then back to my house near austin. I put 80lbs in the airlift bags, made sure it was all level, and sent it. zero issues. it was a bit windy today, and the truck actually controlled the trailer fantastic. all the way down ih35 was very comfy at speed. if I towed it more often, I'd likely invest as extra insurance, but can be done without.

that was long winded, and remember, this is the internet.

That sounds like a mammoth rig! Glad it went well. Thanks for the tip.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Send it with a good drop hitch you wont need a WDH for that little guy

 

[elephantrider]

I thought it was going to be bigger, honestly. doesn't feel huge when towing so yours should be nothing at all.

now, I have it in my 75ft driveway and it does seem sizeable

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

I thought it was going to be bigger, honestly. doesn't feel huge when towing so yours should be nothing at all.

now, I have it in my 75ft driveway and it does seem sizeable

Yea its funny how little they can look some times like this 40ft park model it does not look 40 ft especially when the truck is 22ft long

 

[Blythkd1]

40ft park model behind a SRW truck? I took one from the Midwest to NW WA state a few years ago behind a dually and I told my dispatcher, never again. I'll take 15k 5ers all day long but no more 12k 40 foot bumper pulls.

But back to the OP, I second the motion on not worrying about a WDH for 5500#. I admit I'm not a WDH guy but even if I was, I wouldn't worry about it in your situation. I bet you feel plenty stable with that truck and that camper. So give it a shot and then if you think you'd like to have a WDH, no problem adding one.

 

[Etoimos]

Skip the WDH since you plan to drive forest roads. You will get no articulation with it at all and it will be a pain to mess with on less than level ground. I'd also skip the articulating hitch with that size of a trailer. You are not going to be taking it anywhere what will require the extra articulation. If you had a smaller, more nimble trailer I'd recommend the Max Coupler. It is pretty amazing at what it can do with a smaller trailer...

 

[max31man]

Skip the WDH since you plan to drive forest roads. You will get no articulation with it at all and it will be a pain to mess with on less than level ground. I'd also skip the articulating hitch with that size of a trailer. You are not going to be taking it anywhere what will require the extra articulation. If you had a smaller, more nimble trailer I'd recommend the Max Coupler. It is pretty amazing at what it can do with a smaller trailer...

View attachment 33723

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Now that's some trailer flex!

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

40ft park model behind a SRW truck? I took one from the Midwest to NW WA state a few years ago behind a dually and I told my dispatcher, never again. I'll take 15k 5ers all day long but no more 12k 40 foot bumper pulls.

But back to the OP, I second the motion on not worrying about a WDH for 5500#. I admit I'm not a WDH guy but even if I was, I wouldn't worry about it in your situation. I bet you feel plenty stable with that truck and that camper. So give it a shot and then if you think you'd like to have a WDH, no problem adding one.

I have never had any issue running park models this one was 1625 dry tongue weight… my 2500 handles these trailers rather well so i dont see a point in even using my 01 dually anymore

 

[Poolmonkey]

I pull a lifted 1970 4k single axle with a standard drop hitch and two friction sway control bars. An articulating hitch wouldn't pull it anywhere that a regular ball won't without flipping the thing.
I loosen the bars before getting seriously twisted or off camber to prevent damaging them. Getting into my duck camp is pretty radical, most trucks alone have trouble doing it without spinning tires in some sections...the trailer is leaned scarily, take it about 1mph through those so it can't get any momentum while dropping wheels. A truck without at least one locker won't get it done slowly and under control, hence the PW.

My Pop won't pull his slightly larger trailer in there, but he does pull it places most wouldn't. He has distribution bars and removes them before hitting the dirt. The slower speeds there negate the need for them.

 

[max31man]

I pull a lifted 1970 4k single axle with a standard drop hitch and two friction sway control bars. An articulating hitch wouldn't pull it anywhere that a regular ball won't without flipping the thing.
I loosen the bars before getting seriously twisted or off camber to prevent damaging them. Getting into my duck camp is pretty radical, most trucks alone have trouble doing it without spinning tires in some sections...the trailer is leaned scarily, take it about 1mph through those so it can't get any momentum while dropping wheels. A truck without at least one locker won't get it done slowly and under control, hence the PW.

My Pop won't pull his slightly larger trailer in there, but he does pull it places most wouldn't. He has distribution bars and removes them before hitting the dirt. The slower speeds there negate the need for them.

Thanks. This sounds about as extreme as I'd consider going, if even that.

 

[max31man]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I feel comfortable now. Best fit in my case definitely sounds like it's a standard adjustable drop hitch and going from there. I think I'm going to go with the B&W Tow and Stow.

 

[Dingo]

How much drop on the hitch for stock PW?

 

[max31man]

How much drop on the hitch for stock PW?

I looked into this a lot today and settled on the 8.5 in drop. Should be good for stock and I think it'll still be good when I inevitably go to 35's. Plus my trailer has an adjustable coupler so I have a lot of wiggle room to play with.

 

[Iowagon]

How much drop on the hitch for stock PW?

I use a 9" drop.

 

[Redfour5]

Interesting. I'm just looking at the same thing for the same reasons. I recommend going to etrailer.com to do research. You can ask this question on there and they will answer within a day. You might need to figure out if you are going with a WDH or NOT.

I do have a larger 28 foot travel trailer and will run around 6700 to 7K total weight but my hitch will be in the same range as yours. I do the National Forest Roads sometimes for 20 plus miles so got the Road Armor Suspension for the trailer AND am looking at an articulating hitch. I'm also using a WDH a Fastway E2. I'd likely go with a WDH but then again, I historically towed with a 1500. They do make trailers behave much better though. Much better.

After all my research, it comes down to Curt and GenY hitches for any articulation. GenY for the weights you are describing is about it IF, repeat IF you also want to do a WDH and an articulating "cushioned" hitch. This unit is it... https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Gen-Y-Hitch/325-GH-1102.html It costs a fortune so I am reconsidering...

Now IF you do NOT go with a WDH Curt has some solutions like this for a few bucks less. https://www.etrailer.com/Drop-Hitch/CURT/C83WR.html

Irrespective, I'd determine if you are going to go with a WDH or not around the articulating hitch question. As far as WDH goes, Equalizer is a good choice or the Fastway E2 imho. There are lots of opinions out there. They are both made by the same company is my understanding. The difference between them is that the Equalizer has better anti sway because it has four points of "friction" helping to control motion. For a trailer of the size you are talking about, that isn't key. The Fastway is a very similar design but with only two points of friction so a bit less sway control but more than enough for a trailer like you described AND a 2500 pulling it. I also HATE chains so the bar approach is superior imho...AND you can back up with an E2/Equalizer whereas, you can entertain the other campers with chains...
Like I said, I came from a 1500, and my size trailer on a very windy day could have a few moments of the trailer attempting to drive the truck. But it was the 3.21 gearing that made me look at a 2500...

 

[max31man]

Interesting. I'm just looking at the same thing for the same reasons. I recommend going to etrailer.com to do research. You can ask this question on there and they will answer within a day. You might need to figure out if you are going with a WDH or NOT.

I do have a larger 28 foot travel trailer and will run around 6700 to 7K total weight but my hitch will be in the same range as yours. I do the National Forest Roads sometimes for 20 plus miles so got the Road Armor Suspension for the trailer AND am looking at an articulating hitch. I'm also using a WDH a Fastway E2. I'd likely go with a WDH but then again, I historically towed with a 1500. They do make trailers behave much better though. Much better.

After all my research, it comes down to Curt and GenY hitches for any articulation. GenY for the weights you are describing is about it IF, repeat IF you also want to do a WDH and an articulating "cushioned" hitch. This unit is it... https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Gen-Y-Hitch/325-GH-1102.html It costs a fortune so I am reconsidering...

Now IF you do NOT go with a WDH Curt has some solutions like this for a few bucks less. https://www.etrailer.com/Drop-Hitch/CURT/C83WR.html

Irrespective, I'd determine if you are going to go with a WDH or not around the articulating hitch question. As far as WDH goes, Equalizer is a good choice or the Fastway E2 imho. There are lots of opinions out there. They are both made by the same company is my understanding. The difference between them is that the Equalizer has better anti sway because it has four points of "friction" helping to control motion. For a trailer of the size you are talking about, that isn't key. The Fastway is a very similar design but with only two points of friction so a bit less sway control but more than enough for a trailer like you described AND a 2500 pulling it. I also HATE chains so the bar approach is superior imho...AND you can back up with an E2/Equalizer whereas, you can entertain the other campers with chains...
Like I said, I came from a 1500, and my size trailer on a very windy day could have a few moments of the trailer attempting to drive the truck. But it was the 3.21 gearing that made me look at a 2500...

I hadn't come across those Curt shock absorbing hitches; intriguing!

 

[Poolmonkey]

Interesting. I'm just looking at the same thing for the same reasons. I recommend going to etrailer.com to do research. You can ask this question on there and they will answer within a day. You might need to figure out if you are going with a WDH or NOT.

I do have a larger 28 foot travel trailer and will run around 6700 to 7K total weight but my hitch will be in the same range as yours. I do the National Forest Roads sometimes for 20 plus miles so got the Road Armor Suspension for the trailer AND am looking at an articulating hitch. I'm also using a WDH a Fastway E2. I'd likely go with a WDH but then again, I historically towed with a 1500. They do make trailers behave much better though. Much better.

After all my research, it comes down to Curt and GenY hitches for any articulation. GenY for the weights you are describing is about it IF, repeat IF you also want to do a WDH and an articulating "cushioned" hitch. This unit is it... https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Gen-Y-Hitch/325-GH-1102.html It costs a fortune so I am reconsidering...

Now IF you do NOT go with a WDH Curt has some solutions like this for a few bucks less. https://www.etrailer.com/Drop-Hitch/CURT/C83WR.html

Irrespective, I'd determine if you are going to go with a WDH or not around the articulating hitch question. As far as WDH goes, Equalizer is a good choice or the Fastway E2 imho. There are lots of opinions out there. They are both made by the same company is my understanding. The difference between them is that the Equalizer has better anti sway because it has four points of "friction" helping to control motion. For a trailer of the size you are talking about, that isn't key. The Fastway is a very similar design but with only two points of friction so a bit less sway control but more than enough for a trailer like you described AND a 2500 pulling it. I also HATE chains so the bar approach is superior imho...AND you can back up with an E2/Equalizer whereas, you can entertain the other campers with chains...
Like I said, I came from a 1500, and my size trailer on a very windy day could have a few moments of the trailer attempting to drive the truck. But it was the 3.21 gearing that made me look at a 2500...

...if mine were any larger there would be distribution bars on it, probably should have them anyway.
He is talking about more tongue weight than I have and mine was just about the limit for the Raptor and approaching it on the PW imo.