ediak

Hi there,

I saw numerous posts on these forums about weight distributing hitches. Unfortunately, I have no experience with them.

I'm looking at buying a boat and am not sure if I need a weight distributing hitch.

I thought distributing hitches were based on tongue weight, not trailer weight. According to my owners manual I need a WD hitch for anything over 3500lbs and according to Ford, tongue weight is 10-15% or 350-512lbs.

According to the manufacturer the boat+trailer weighs 4650lbs, with a tongue weight of approx. 325lbs. I have not hooked the boat up to see how much the rear springs are depressed. How is the need for a WD hitch determined?

Thanks.

gf

Welcome to THT!

You won't need a weight distributing hitch for under 5000 pounds on an Explorer. My wife's '02 Explorer V8 never had a problem with our 4000 pound boat/motor/trailer combo. I have not tried towing with her '06 Mountaineer V8.

On a boat trailer you generally want tongue weight of 5-7%, so you're looking at 350 pounds or so.

mike343

Welcome to the great world of confusing information.

There are almost no trailer boat rigs delivered with tongue weights over 7 percent of boat plus trailer weight.

The tow vehicle manufacturers say a range of 10-15 per cent because that's what is needed for flat-sided travel trailers and they don't think we are smart enough to know whether we are towing boats or travel trailers.

Trailer and brake actuator manufacturers generally say a min of 5 percent.

You need enough tongue weight to prevent swaying at speed. If that weight is less than the deadweight rating of the factory hitch you don't need a WD hitch unless you notice a lightness on the front tires/steering.

__________________
Mike

ediak

Thanks for the responses.