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weight distribution choice for a 7K dump trailer & factory F-150 hitch

12K views 26 replies 7 participants last post by  ssjfyr 
#1 · (Edited)
The factory tow hitch on our 2008 Ford F-150 needs weight distribution for TW > 500 lb. and/or towing > 5000 lb. With WD, it is rated for 1000 lb. TW & 10,000 lb. towed. We have stayed under the WD requirement limit with our 7k aluminum car hauler when moving our small tractors, but recently bought a 7K dual axle dump trailer & now want to add weight distribution to handle it's fully loaded weight potential. With an additional set of brackets, we can also increase the car hauler capacity.

Empty tongue weight on the dumper is 384 lb. & the unloaded weight is about 2200 lb. I want to accommodate a full load approaching 7000 lb. when moving gravel/top soil. I am looking at the Curt 17001 and Curt 17002 round bar weight distribution kits as a couple of economical (~ $210) possibilities. The 17001 has a tongue weight range of 600 - 800 lb w/8000 lb towed max, the 17002 has a tongue weight range of 800 - l000 lb. w/10,000 towed max (matching the factory hitch max WD limits).

I am leaning toward the 17002 as the top end TW seems more appropriate with the potential TW of 15% x 7000 lb being 1000 lb. I have not actually loaded the trailer to a max load & measured the TW (because that would be beyond the factory limits without WD) so I really don't know what it will be. I expect there will be numerous occasions when I am using the dump trailer with a tongue weight only modestly over the 500 lb. limit, i.e. in the 500 - 600 lb range, like when carrying lighter materials like cut timber, etc. but still need to have WD in place. Should I go for the higher limit, just in case, even though those times will be few & far between?

Nick
 
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#2 ·
Similar situation

I have a similar situation but haven't done the WD hitch yet. One thing to check is the allowable GVW of vehicle and towing. I actually run out of that before hitting a tongue weight limit on my 2006 Silverado. It's somewhat axle ratio dependent so you may not have the same issue.

Ultimately, I need a bigger truck. . .

Treefarmer
 
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#3 ·
I'd stick with the Curt 17001.

Here's my thinking:

Both your trailers are rated for 7K. The standard advice for WD hitches is to play a game of "The Price is Right". You want a hitch that comes as close to the weight rating of your trailer without going over.

If you start going over, the tongue weight on the actual tow hitch will be lighter than it should be. The idea of the WD hitch is to unload some of the trailer's tongue weight onto the axle of the tow vehicle. But you don't want to unload too much of it. If you go with a 10K WD hitch, you are unloading more tongue weight than you need or want to.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Personally, I think I may end up with a custom, low-side, 18' tandem axle dump trailer. Unlike cars, it doesn't cost too much extra to have a trailer custom-ordered. Then I can haul my tractor around in it, too.


On the actual topic of WD hitches, just take it easy towing those around, your F150 wasn't really designed for towing that kind of weight.
 
#6 ·
I have been posting a bit on this topic lately.

So you have a Class III hitch on the truck. One option that I don't know that you considered is upgrading the hitch on the truck. Just want to mention it first as it is an option.

Double check the application as I quickly looked it up.

https://www.curtmfg.com/part/14055

Here it is on Amazon for a price check on this option.

https://www.amazon.com/CURT-14055-Class-Trailer-Hitch/dp/B001NJDKT0

It will increase your carrying tongue weight to 1000# from 500# that you have now. With a WD hitch you can go to 1200#.

What it won't do is level out the truck. This is a nice option when you are just a little over the 500 and are not towing trailers where you want sway control. That is a bigger issue with an enclosed trailer or camper like what I tow. If you get too much sag you can always add air bags to level and you would be good. This is a great option when you have more than one trailer. This is because the hitch height may be different from one trailer to the next. Also you can't easily move the chain hangers from trailer to trailer. Well you can but it will get old real quick and you will buy at least another set of hangers.

The WD hitch option.

The nice thing about this is that your truck is older so I don't know where you are at in the how much longer do I keep it game. Going with the above option means you start over if you get a new truck. That is what is nice about the WD hitch option is it can follow you to a new vehicle. You still have the setup process but you don't have to reinvest.

As for the rating of the hitch should you opt to go WD hitch. The biggest difference between the ratings is the stiffness of the bars. I use a Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch. This is more for campers and are pretty expensive but they provide really good sway control for our camper. If I want to go from a 1000# rating to 1500# rating, I just swap out the bars. So that is an option for you. While you can go with a higher rating you don't really want to. In fact going too strong and you can cause damage to the trailer or the truck. If you are towing a trailer with 550# tongue weight with a WD hitch rated for 1500# with the bars locked down, you can easily damage the frame of the trailer or the truck. Things can't move like they should and you will start tweaking things.

One very popular brand is Equal-i-zer. I don't know that I would recommend something like that for your use. You didn't mention them but I am mentioning this because if you start looking at reviews you will see them and they will be rated pretty high and they are not too bad of a price point. A little more than a Curt but less than my Blue Ox. They are great hitches but the problem in your use case is your load is constantly changing. They are more designed for the campers where the weight is pretty consistent. It takes a lot of work to dial them in. Once done they are great but it isn't worth the work. Go with a chain based system like the Curt you are looking at or Draw-Tite is another brand. We had a Draw-Tite with our old camper. It was much smaller than our current one though.

I was helping another member here with numbers on his dump trailer. The problem he ran into is the A frame of the trailer is made from I Beams and he has a tool box welded on there so it was impossible to put the chain hangers on there. I recommended he have plates welded to the trailer and once the positioning of the chain hangers worked out, cut them so they fit the tongue and weld them on as well. There are a couple options that bolt on. For instance Blue Ox makes one but it can get expensive. For reference my hangers mount to the A Frame about 28" back from where the ball sits in the coupler. They will all be a little different but that gives you a ball park. The 28" is the middle of the hanger and the hangers are 6" or so long. So they take up space from about the 25-31" range back from the ball.

We are off camping over the weekend but let me know if you have any other questions and I can help out.
 
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#7 ·
For tongue weights the rule of thumb is 10-15% of the weight of the loaded trailer. With a camper I like being in the 13-15% range because it is hard to adjust the load. There are times (like this weekend) where we are camping somewhere that we can't dump the black and grey tanks. We have to drive about 7 miles to the county fair grounds that has a place to dump campers. Black and Grey tanks in travel trailers are almost always in the back of the camper. Having these tanks full means you are shedding a lot of tongue weight. If I ran it at 10% I could easily get in trouble and it isn't exactly easy to shift weight. Also with the tall sides you catch wind easier which adds to the concern.

With a car trailer or dump trailer is is easy to tell them to load the gravel toward the front. Every place I have gone with mine do that anyhow unless you have some new highs school kid running the machine. If you have a car or tractor, just loosen the straps and pull it a foot or so forward to add more tongue weight.

The biggest thing you are going to have to watch is what your cargo capacity is. The first thing most 1/2 ton trucks run out of is hitch capacity. Once you address that with a WD hitch or upgraded Class IV hitch. Then you run out of cargo capacity. If you have a topper or anything else that is aftermarket or dealer installed, that also eats into that cargo capacity. It is easy to run a heavy trailer and then fill the bed of the truck with all kinds of stuff. You are going to be way over the limits doing that.
 
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#8 · (Edited)
Thanks for the comments. One of the reasons I have been looking at the Curt line is because they offer an inexpensive bolt-on chain hook plate option (~$34). The dumper battery/pump box placement makes use of the regular tip-up chain hooks unlikely.

I mentioned the current hitch being a factory tow configuration because factory hitch replacement is not simple - the bumper mounts to the factory hitch so removing the hitch also removes the bumper.

Regarding the stiffer bar setup, wouldn't backing off a link or two on the chain reduce the degree of weight distribution enough to avoid potential damage or a jolting ride? My understanding (from videos & articles) is that I would be adjusting the hitch to have the truck rear "squat" a half inch or so lower than the unloaded height when the trailer is fully lowered onto the ball. If I don't see that deflection, I would need to modify the suspended chain link count (or hitch head adjustment) until I see it.

I am thinking I probably need to go with one that can accommodate the dump trailer worst case scenario, where I run into a 1000 lb. tongue weight (i.e. 15% of a 7K total).
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the comments. One of the reasons I have been looking at the Curt line is because they offer an inexpensive bolt-on chain hook plate option (~$34). The dumper battery/pump box placement makes use of the regular tip-up chain hooks unlikely.
That is the exact problem that the other member had. The one thing I don't get though is how do you hook a chain to a hook? I tried finding a video or something to show the process but couldn't find anything. With the flip up style or the cam style that Blue Ox uses, you still lift up on the back of the truck as much as you can to make it easier to flip up. Granted I am running close to 1000# of TW. It isn't a big deal because my camper has a power tongue jack. Even doing that it is still hard to flip up or rotate the cam mechanism. The hooks work I guess but maybe someone will chime in on how you actually hook the chains on there to do any good. :dunno: My experience is with campers. Maybe hook up stuff before the trailer is loaded.

I mentioned the current hitch being a factory tow configuration because factory hitch replacement is not simple - the bumper mounts to the factory hitch so removing the hitch also removes the bumper.
Fair enough, I just wanted to make sure you knew it was an option. There are pros and cons as I kind of mentioned. I replaced the hitch on my Avalanche years ago and it was 6-8 bolts and I had to change up how the trailer harness mounted. It wasn't a big deal. Our Yukon Denali has the hitch integrated into the frame and bumper. No upgrade option.

Regarding the stiffer bar setup, wouldn't backing off a link or two on the chain reduce the degree of weight distribution enough to avoid potential damage or a jolting ride? My understanding (from videos & articles) is that I would be adjusting the hitch to have the truck rear "squat" a half inch or so lower than the unloaded height when the trailer is fully lowered onto the ball. If I don't see that deflection, I would need to modify the suspended chain link count (or hitch head adjustment) until I see it.

I am thinking I probably need to go with one that can accommodate the dump trailer worst case scenario, where I run into a 1000 lb. tongue weight (i.e. 15% of a 7K total).
Yes and no. Trying to think of a good way of explaining this. You don't really look at the rear squat as much as the front fender measurement. The bars are there to shift weight back to the steering axle which in turn unloads the rear axle. Without it you would exceed the rear axle limits. Also most your braking effort is front and that one thing called steering which comes in handy every now and then... :laugh:

So a better way of looking at it is you want to measure from a point in your front fender with no load. Then hookup and load the trailer. You are adjusting your chain links to return your front fender measurement back to what it was before the load or within 0.5-0.75". You want to get it pretty close. If you had a 1 ton with a big heavy diesel engine it is less of a concern that some of the newer 1/2 ton trucks that have aluminum block V6 engines. They just don't have much nose weight. This gets back into I don't know how those chain hangers work. If you are trying to figure out how many chain links you are dropping it takes trial and error. You really need to be able to snap them up. Even it you went with the weakest spring bars (hitch rated for the least load) there is no way you would be able to just lift up on it and get it on one of those hooks. Maybe I am a girly man though. :munch: I am assuming you are talking of a chain hanger like this.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Curt/C17005.html

Now getting back to backing off a link to lessen the lift and using stronger bars. I would mainly caution you about going too overboard. The number of links is really spring preload. The rating of the bars determines the strength of the spring bar. Think of it like putting 1 ton springs on your 1/2 ton truck. It is going to ride like crap unless you have the weight behind it to allow the spring to flex. If you go too overboard it is pretty much like welding that trailer to the back of the truck where it can't flex up and down at all. This is where damage can come in as the frames are not designed to take that much load. I have seen where people bend the A frame on the trailer because they have a really small camper and picked up a 1500# rated WD hitch off Craigslist for cheap. They just knew they needed a WD hitch and didn't understand how to set them up or what the ratings mean. They just saw a good deal. Realistically going one size higher probably won't be an issue. Using the example of your dump trailer. Well empty you have under 500# so drive to the gravel pit with no bars. Then put the bars on when you get there and have them load the trailer for the trip home. That would be an example of how you could very easily get by with a WD hitch rated for 1000#. On the trip out there the spring bars would be way too heavy and cause an issue but you were not over the limits of the hitch anyhow so who cares. You are right you have a bit of fudge factor with chain system of being able to drop a link or two. This is what I do. This weekend when we go out we are dry camping. I have a generator that I mount to the A Frame. This adds tongue weight so I need another link. If we go somewhere with full hookups I don't need it so it isn't on the camper so I back off a link. This is why we went with the Blue Ox Sway Pro over the Equil-i-zer. It is a great hitch once dialed in but doesn't adjust to load changes as easily. You want to stay within reason though. Bottom line a bars with a rating that falls within the TW is going to provide a better ride. If you have to be outside of the box, it is probably better to go over but don't go way over. Your ride will suffer but if it is a short ride and your spring bars are one category higher rating than the load you have, you will be fine. I doubt you will break anything. I just wanted to point that out that it isn't recommended. You have some wiggle room with the links but they are not designed to offset all that much. Just fine tuning.

If you go with those chain hangers that I mentioned above I would be interested in seeing how they work. I don't know how you get them hooked up or more importantly unhooked. Maybe with weaker spring bars they would work but I don't know that I would use them with 1000# TW. The amount of preload needed is going to be a bear. That is why I mentioned them to the other member when we had this discussion but I had the same warnings. For him he has the same issue with the box but I think he has a little bit of a lip. If the top of the I beam is 2" maybe there was 1" to work with so I think he is going to use the flip up style and cut off the part that hooks over the top of the A Frame but leave as much of a lip as possible. So they look like an upside down L. Then once positioning is worked out, weld a plate to the I beam and weld the flip up chain hangers to that. It should work fine.

Hope this helps.
 
#10 ·
Oh and while I mentioned a link to Amazon before. I am really happy with Etrailer.com. They are great to work with. I just posted that for the hitch to get an idea of the price if you replaced the hitch on the truck as the MSRP on Curt was going to be higher than that on Amazon or ETrailer.

I bought my Blue Ox from Etrailer and it turns out it was out of stock. I ordered it on a Sunday afternoon. I got an email that evening that they didn't have it and they were drop shipping it direct from Blue Ox. I was shocked to get a response so quick late on a weekend. I didn't even ask for rush shipping or anything.
 
#11 ·
Yeah, I've done business with eTrailer in the past and have no complaints. Regarding the hookup, all the media (manuals + videos) just reference jacking up enough to allow placement of the desired link on the hook - using a block under the jack foot if needed for enough height. Personally, I think an alternative (or supplement) might be use of an inexpensive (<$20) small scissor jack placed under the bar end to get enough slack on the chain to hookup. It should make for less stress on the vehicle/hitch/trailer linkage than excessive lifting. Not sure if stability during the lift would be an issue or not.

I am thinking that I can go with the 800-1000 lb. version to start. If things are still too rough riding after adjusting for lower intermediate tongue weights (>500 but <800) I can pick up a set of replacement bars for the 600-800 lb. version. The same head is used for both kits & replacement bars at eTrailer are about $105 for the two bar set.
 
#12 ·
That is the process with the flip up style and the cam style. Hook up the trailer and jack it up in the air lifting the back of the truck with it. You are not jacking the truck all the way off the ground but just unloading the suspension. If the trailer is empty it wouldn't be hard but I think it would be tough by hand to lift it enough to get much tension on the bars when you lower it back down. I guess try it. I have only had the flip up style on my Draw-tite and the cam style with my current camper with the Blue Ox. The kit you are looking at comes with the flip up style that can be modified and welded on if need be. The chain hangers you are looking at were not very much. $25-30 I think so not like you have a lot tied up in something that may or may not work out well for you. I just know it exists but never have tried them.

As for trying to jack up the spring bars. That sounds dangerous. The Curt bars are round aren't they? I can see them slipping really easy. While it is more money, it would be safer to add a power jack to the front of your trailer. I assume you have 12V battery in it for the dump function or are pulling from the truck. If it were me that is what I would do. I want to say you can find them for around $100. If they were $300-400 that might be a bit steep for something not used a lot but around $100-150 isn't bad to save on wear and tear of your body.

The Blue Ox is the same where the head and everything is the same. If I want more spring pressure I can just order up replacement bars. That is pretty common. Like I said, if >500 just run the hitch with no bars. You are not over the Class III rating. The bars you are looking at are 800-1000 that isn't that much over the rating. It would be more of an issue if you picked up 1200-1500 bars because it is a deal somewhere. You could check Craig's List. Lots of people are getting new campers this time of year so they may pop up on there.
 
#13 ·
Went ahead & pulled the trigger. Ended up ordering the Curt 17002 package, 800-1000 lb tongue weight & 10K towed plus a set of replacement bars for tongue weights between 600 & 800 lb. I also ordered some bolt-on chain hooks, a 17/32" drill (to install the chain hooks) a convert-a-ball set for 2" & 2 5/16" balls plus a 1 1/4" -> 1" bushing. I'm using a portion of the final settlement from the VW diesel recall (just did phase 2), so I figured to get everything in one shot. Full package was still under $400.

It will be nice to be able to use the PJ dump trailer at full capacity. I'll also take a look at maybe setting up some chain hooks on the aluma car hauler for a bit more capacity there as well.

Nick
 
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#14 ·
FWIW, I had posted my situation as a question on the eTrailer site & got a response this morning. They basically said of the two Curt versions I mentioned, that the heavier one would be preferable to the lighter so as to cover the worst case scenario - but recommended another brand & model that would cover a 600 - 1200 lb. tongue weight range (Reese RP61009). It was a bit more expensive than the Curt, roughly $40 more than my purchase total for the Curt 800-1000 lb kit + a set of 600-800 lb. replacement bars for lighter loads.
 
#15 ·
What can go wrong, will

Was supposed to get the hitch kit yesterday, but FEDEX managed to drop it off somewhere other than our house - claimed delivered with signature @ 8:31 AM. Problem is, we were home at the time & no truck ever came by & "signature" was CINYHIA (cinthia?). Notified both FEDEX & vendor of error, but nothing back from either yet (FEDEX says it takes 24 - 48 hours to contact a driver ???!!!!). Box is almost 3 feet long & weighs over 80 lb. so it seems unlikely to be inadvertantly dropped off with other items.
 
#16 ·
I opted for the buy back about 2 years ago now. I had 90K on the car that I bought new so it was a good run and I had been kicking around the idea of getting something new right before the news broke. Glad I rode it out to buy back.

That sucks on the messed up delivery. Hope it gets worked out.
 
#17 ·
Finally got the 800-1000 lb. hitch kit in on Thursday. I have the hitch assembled, but not torqued yet (waiting on some sockets) & that let me get the attachment points for the bolt on hooks on the PJ dump trailer. The directions said to set a ball height relative to having the trailer tongue level, but I choose to base ball height on the height which had the tandem axle equalizers sitting level/parallel to ground. I'm using a convert-a-ball ball set with 2" & 2 5/16" balls. The shank is rated at 10,000 lb, like the WD set.





The tip-up hooks that came with the kit will find a home on the Aluma car hauler. This is a temporary placement, I may need to move the solar panel a bit for the final placement, but that seems unlikely based on the measurements I've made. To date I have stayed below the 500/5000 lb limits, but might as well have the capacity to handle higher weights if needed in the future. I'll finish finalizing the placement after getting in the 600-800 lb replacement bars monday.

 
#18 ·
I would like to get a WDH for my new 5x10 Load Trail 7,000 lb dump trailer. There are times I will be right near the 7,000 lb limit. I am having a hard time finding a hitch that will work with my trailer, since the A frame portion not only has the tool box with the battery and pump in, but the frame is a 6 inch I beam (4 inches across the top) which rules out the clamp style hitches since they can only work to a 2.5 inch maximum and only on a tube frame I think? To top it all off the spare tire is in the way (but can be moved). I will try to post a picture.
 
#20 ·
I wonder if a plate could be welded to the outside of the I beam and the hook welded/bolted like nikdfish used?
 
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#21 ·
I was helping another member out with this same issue.

Yes have a plate welded to the I-beam. As for the chain hooks you can use the style that is just a hook but I don't get how you are supposed to get the chain on there and back off. I guess if the trailer is empty you can hook up the trailer to the truck then use the tongue jack to lift the truck as much as you can and then hook it up. Then lower it back down. If it were me I would look into a power tongue jack like we have on our camper. Though if you don't use it that much it might be fine.

If it were me I would take the flip up style chain hangers, they are designed to saddle the A Frame. I would cut them so rather than look like an upside down J they would look like an upside down L. Leave as much material you can on the top of the A Frame and weld it in place once you figure out where they need to go on the plates. It would me much easier to hook up and take the chains off that way. Besides then you can use the chain hooks that will come with your WD Hitch rather than buy the other style. I don't recall that they are all that expensive if you wanted them because you maybe have two trailers like nikdfish
 
#22 ·
Thanks for the reply. I just found a Curt Tru Track system that is the style that bolts the clamps together, and it says it works on trailer frames that are maximum 6" high and 4" wide. I wonder if it is meant for a tube frame or would it work on an I beam (ie would tightening the bolts bend the clamp or are they bolted at the top and bottom of the I beam and it wouldn't bend the clamp?).

It uses the lever style spring bar and so there are no chains, so it might be the most "convenient" system to use?
 
#23 · (Edited)
The problem you might run into with that style is that it is designed to sandwich the A Frame. I can't tell from your photo but will the tool/battery box interfere with this style mount? I can't say for certain where those chain hangers need to be. You need to hook up the trailer and you want the hanger positioned so it holds the chain as close to vertical as possible. On my Blue Ox WD hitch this is back about 28" from the center of the ball in the coupler. I would assume it is going to be around that distance. It depends on how long the Curt bars are really. The point being is if you only have 12" from the center of the ball to the start of the tool box along the arm of the A Frame (it is probably more than that) then there is no way it will work, if it is 30" you might get by.

Of course I guess you could weld on a plate as discussed and bolt the hook half to the plate. I guess that would work, I just would prefer using a modified version of the saddle style so you have part of it along the top of the A Frame since that is the direction the tension is pulling on the trailer. If those chain hangers are mounted back near that label on the trailer you could have a couple inches over the top of the A Frame without interfering with the tool/battery box. You would just have to take off the hook part that is supposed to hang over to the inside of the A Frame.

That is what I would do personally but I guess it could work the other way. I would imagine the saddle would be stronger though.
 
#24 ·
I wonder if you will have any issues with where your spare tire is mounted as well?
 
#25 ·
Yes, good point about the saddle style and having the top of the I beam take the weight/downward force. I'm not sure if I have enough room to leverage the chain though since the tool box may be in the way?

I will have to measure the distance from the ball to where the clamp/saddle will go.

The tool box is only attached along the top of the I beam, there is about a half inch or so space between the bottom portion of the I beam and the tool box, so I could likely just cut out a small portion of the top of the tool box mount and slide the bracket (if I used that style an not the saddle style) through the cutout.

If bending the clamp is a concern, maybe I could use one of the unused holes in the clamp and put some square tube between the "hollow" of the I beam and the clamp and put a bolt thorough it to hold it in place?
 
#26 ·
Yes, good point about the saddle style and having the top of the I beam take the weight/downward force. I'm not sure if I have enough room to leverage the chain though since the tool box may be in the way?
Yeah, I am not sure if the tool box would be in the way. I don't think the bar would pass much beyond the top of the A Frame as tightening it. I use a different style WD hitch as we have been using a Blue OX Sway Pro for a while. They are pretty expensive though. I don't know that I would buy one if it was only for a dump trailer. It is nice with a camper though where it has tall side walls to catch wind and it is hard to shift the load to better stabilize a trailer.

I will have to measure the distance from the ball to where the clamp/saddle will go.

The tool box is only attached along the top of the I beam, there is about a half inch or so space between the bottom portion of the I beam and the tool box, so I could likely just cut out a small portion of the top of the tool box mount and slide the bracket (if I used that style an not the saddle style) through the cutout.

If bending the clamp is a concern, maybe I could use one of the unused holes in the clamp and put some square tube between the "hollow" of the I beam and the clamp and put a bolt thorough it to hold it in place?
That is kind of how they work in some applications. Many campers have a C channel type A Frame but the flat part is on the outside. With this style A Frame, the back side of the saddle hangers have a threaded hole. A bolt goes though this and you keep cranking it until it tightens up agains the inside of the C.

I guess it is up to you if you want to cut into your tool box. It is kind of hard to do another solution short of welding a plat or using square tubing like you mentioned to fill the I Beam.

There isn't a perfect solution for this, you just have to kind of figure out what works best for you and what your are comfortable with. I never understood why they build so many of these trailers with I Beam A Frames but I suspect they don't expect people to pull them with 1/2 ton trucks. As you get into 3/4 or 1 ton trucks they often come with Class IV hitches which can take 1000# tongue weights without a WD hitch. Many 1/2 ton trucks will only come with a Class III but Class IV hitches are available. I was talking with a buddy the other day when I saw him towing his camper which is about the same size as ours without bars. He stores his camper at our place and when he pulls it to his house he won't bother with bars but uses them on longer trips. He got thinking about this and looked up the specs on his hitch and it came from the factory with a Class IV. It is a newer Ram (2015 or 16 maybe) but a 1/2 ton. I saw surprised to see a hitch with that rating from the factory. Maybe it was part of some special towing package. Between that hitch and factory air suspension, that makes for a pretty good truck in a 1/2 ton class for towing a camper or even a dump trailer like you have.
 
#27 ·
Thanks Sennister, I will be calling the trailer store Monday morning now that I have some basic knowledge and I have an idea of what I need/am looking for. :bigthumb:
 
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