Load Equalizer Hitch…Interesting Findings Grey Wolf 19RR

Last year I bought a Forest River Grey Wolf 19RR toy hauler.

Hitch Weight 574 lbs
Gross Weight 7574 lbs
Dry Weight 4142 lbs
Cargo Weight 3432 lbs

I ‘m towing it with a 2500 Dodge diesel that was previously set up to carry a 2200# Truck Camper. The truck has air bags, Big Wig sway bar, Rancho 9000 shocks, E-Range tires. All last year I towed without a LE hitch. And I never put a motorcycle in the TH.

The truck and trailer combination was fantastic. Three thousand miles and No issues what so ever. Towed great.

I had a few extra $$ around Christmas time so I ordered a Fast Way, Trunnion type load equalizing hitch from Amazon

Fastway 92-00-0800 Trunnion Weight Distribution Hitch

http://www.amazon.com/Fastway-92-00-0800-Trunnion-Weight-Distribution/dp/B0071L4BAG?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

I hadn’t had time to install it until yesterday.

My driveway and where I park the trailer are not close to level, so I hooked up the trailer and went to the local high school parking lot which is near new and beautifully flat.

With tools in hand I installed the hitch on the truck and the trunnion carriers on the trailer.

I also recently bought a trailer tongue scale from Amazon that measures up to 2000#

Draw-Tite 5780 Trailer Tongue Weight Scale

http://www.amazon.com/Draw-Tite-5780-Trailer-Tongue-Weight/dp/B003CSNXRO/ref=sr_1_4?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1460986519&sr=1-4&keywords=trailer+tongue+weight+scale

 

So, some measurements.

(As you can see, I’m right at the limit of the hitch that I bought. Simply going by the spec sheet for the 19RR, I ordered a hitch with 800# trunnion bars. I should have ordered the 1000# version. Beats me why my numbers differ so much from Forest Rivers….)

Trailer tongue weight, garage empty, no water, no black/grey contents. Two full 20# propane on tongue, two group 31 batteries on tongue…..850# (interesting that the spec sheet says 574# !!)

Trailer tongue weight, Suzuki DL650 motorcycle 450#, no water, no black/grey contents. Two full 20# propane on tongue, two group 31 batteries on tongue…..825# (75% of the bike is behind the rear axle of the trailer )

Height of truck’s front wheel well lip..no trailer…..39.5″

Height of truck’s front wheel well lip with trailer, no motorcycle, no LE hitch….40″

Height of truck’s front wheel well lip with LE hitch….39″

As you can see, without water in the trailer, and nothing in the bed, no occupants in the truck….I really didn’t need a LE hitch to equalize the weight distribution. ( 46g of water, 383#,  sits just about 100% over the axles so I don’t think it will do much to these numbers. We’ll see!)

It will be fun to rerun these numbers with 400# of humans, 500# +/- stuff in the bed of the truck, 200# +/- of food etc in the trailer, full water tank and see what we get.

Last year, fully loaded I didn’t notice any “squat” of the truck, and this was with only 20# of air in the bags.

But I’ll tell you, yesterday, simply driving around with the bike in the trailer and the LE hitch engaged, the whole system felt much smoother. No rattling of the hitch, seemed to take bumps MUCH better. A much smoother ride overall. Even though I might have not needed the LE hitch, it did make for a much nicer ride.

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2 comments on “Load Equalizer Hitch…Interesting Findings Grey Wolf 19RR”

  1. Tom Boles Reply

    Hi Roy-

    I saw your post to mine about wearing out hitch receivers, your signature and thought I’d follow the URL and here I am. Very interesting data on your rig. Have you ever actually weighed the trailer on a CAT scale? I am very curious about my trailer and what the actual tongue weight is along with the weight transfer with the hitch all chained up. The yellow label says my dry is #7919 and cargo is #1566…

    I have to say the clamp you pointed out seems more suited to a bike carrier or a cargo carrier than a fully-loaded TT. Those devices are subject to a fair amount of movement side to side and up/down and so I can imagine clunking, noise and such audible in the tow vehicle, but I don’t think I ever “hear” anything when I tow. can you say more about what you experience?

    Thanks!

    • Roy Bertalotto

      Hi Tom,
      Thanks for visiting my web page. I hope you enjoyed the trip! Every trailer I tow, with a LE hitch or not, makes noise as the shank moves around in the receiver. With this device there is zero movement do no noise. I’ve been using these for years with trailers up to 13,000# and no issues. It simply keeps everything nice and tight so it can’t beat itself to death. Hope this helps!

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