This is a follow-up to a thread below that started out about braided wire harnesses. Thought that this topic deserves some more discussion, as most of us pull trailers.We have about a dozen trailers up to max load weight of 14,000 lbs, and have used many brands and styles of hitches. I have pulled a 27 ft travel trailer for about 25 years to three of the far corners of the 48 states. So I speak from experience. Yes the gooseneck/5th wheel setup gives a very good stable ride, but with some disadvantages. With a box style cargo trailer or travel trailer, a significant amount of air is pushed by the elevated section over the hitch. Trucks are rated for max trailer weight, but little consideration is given to amount of air being pushed. This cost my brother a new automatic transmission in his Ford diesel the first time he pulled his new cargo trailer from Phoenix to San Francisco. Air resistance is very difficult to determine or calculate, but does increase with the square (or maybe the cube) of the speed. The data from the trailer manufacturers is just about non-existant, so most people just hook up and either find out their truck can handle it, or it ruins the motor or tranny, and they are into a costly situation. The other disadvantage of this style hitch is the need for pulling only with a truck. This may limit the "people space" needed for a comfortable trip with family (kids). The greatest advantage of this type of setup is the hitch may be rated up to 25,000 lbs (but nobody's pickup is rated for that much trailer anyway). A disadvantage to this setup is that the trailer "cuts the corner" tracking considerably over from where the truck just went as you go around a sharp 90* turn. This cost above brother 2 new tires, an axle, and some body work on his new trailer on the 2nd trip (San Fran to Denver). But he is learning! The second major type of hitch system is the equalizer type system...many different brands. They all take some of the trailer tongue weight and distribute it forward to the tow vehicle's front axle, and some back to the trailer axles. The amount of weight shift is usually adjustable, and may need to be changed for unusually rough roads or icy or muddy conditions. The tighter the spring bars, the less traction the rear wheels have. With most brands of this type of hitch, there is no sway control, unless additional hardware is used to achieve sway control. Sway control is extremely important, especially with boxy type trailers. Wind shedding off the side of a passing semi can set a travel or van trailer into a fatal whip. The longer the trailer, the more tendancy for the whip to occur, and the greater the distance from the rear axle of the tow vehicle to the hitch ball, the greater the the chance of whip. I will not pull trailers with a 15 passenger van, as the axle to ball distance is too great. I have used the major brands of weight distribution hitches, and have found the Equal-izer brand to be superior. It controls sway without any extra devices, and is priced reasonably compared to the others. It fits into the standard class 4 receiver with a 2" shank, which is what most people have on their tow vehicle. The 3rd type of hitch is the standard ball type with no weight distribution and no sway control. Most trailers are pulled with this system because people don't know any better, and it is the cheapest. But safe it is NOT. Most folks started out with a simple ball hitch and a small 2 wheel trailer, maybe a small boat trailer. OK, it can do that job, but when the trailer weight gets close to or over the tow vehicle weight, a much better hitching system is needed (weight distribution type). Also to remember, most states require trailers over 3,000 lbs to have brakes. Many different systems are in use, but electric brakes are probably most common. The tow vehicle must be fitted with an electric brake controller located near the driver so that it can be manually activated. Most importantly, activating the electric trailer brakes will usually stop a trailer from swaying or whipping from side to side if that has already begun. If that type of whip motion has begun, hold the steering wheel tight (white knuckles!) and do not try to steer out of the whip....you will lose it or roll it over. While holding the steering wheel straight ahead, activate the elect trailer brakes ONLY. Hit the switch hard, you'll get only one chance. DO NOT USE the tow vehicle brakes, as the trailer will whip harder, jack-knife and cause truck and trailer to crash. As the tractor show season and camping seasons are about to begin, think safety with those trailers. Be sure to check the lights and brakes, as they often malfunction after a long winter of rest. Usually the problems involve corrosion or rust. Hope to see some of you at the shows! Paul in MN
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