# Question about weight distribution hitches



## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

So this truck I'm probably buying comes with a factory-installed weight-distribution hitch. It also tells me, on the specs, that the truck can haul 5k pounds dead weight or 12k pounds with a weight distribution hitch. But when it says it can haul 12k pounds with the weight distribution hitch, that doesn't mean me just attaching the trailer to the ball that would be attached the truck's hitch -- it means me using an actual weight distribution hitch attachment that has the two bars, right?

I'm a little lost in terminology right now. The weight distribution hitch, is it that thing that's welded to the truck, or is it that thing that has bars that connects the truck and the trailer?


----------



## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

I think you are confusing sway bar and weight distribution. Built in weight distribution can help control sway and is usually part of the tow package that is built in. Sway bars are added to prevent the trailer from swaying sid to side.


----------



## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

See, I was thinking that before, but when I search for weight distribution hitches, this is what comes up, e.g. It's all those bar things. I thought they were sway bars too, but they are what shows up when I search weight distribution hitches.


----------



## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

Those don't look like any hitch I ever saw!


----------



## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

OK I see what that is. Your trailer already has that, plus a receiver.


----------



## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

ACinATX said:


> See, I was thinking that before, but when I search for weight distribution hitches, this is what comes up, e.g. It's all those bar things. I thought they were sway bars too, but they are what shows up when I search weight distribution hitches.
> 
> View attachment 1113885


Sway bars are entirely different. Our new truck has electronic sway damping built in. If your truck is so equipped you do not want to add sway bars. Weight distribution yes.


----------



## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

This is an add-on sway bar. It is attached with mini hitch balls, one on the trailer tongue, one on the truck. It has nothing to do with the bars on the weight distribution hitch and can be used in addition to the weight distribution hitch. Sway Control - Left

An article about the difference: Difference Between Weight Distribution & Sway Control


----------



## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

dogpatch said:


> Sway bars are entirely different. Our new truck has electronic sway damping built in. If your truck is so equipped you do not want to add sway bars.


OK that's interesting. Yes this truck has electronic sway damping as well. So is it the case that I don't then NEED sway bars, or will sway bars actually be harmful?

I will bring this up when I go to the trailer hitch place. The guy at the dealership was useless. He was like, "this is a truck. Look, it has a backup camera. And towing stuff"


----------



## dogpatch (Dec 26, 2017)

ACinATX said:


> OK that's interesting. Yes this truck has electronic sway damping as well. So is it the case that I don't then NEED sway bars, or will sway bars actually be harmful?
> 
> I will bring this up when I go to the trailer hitch place. The guy at the dealership was useless. He was like, "this is a truck. Look, it has a backup camera. And towing stuff"


I'm really out of my element here, but when we were kitting the truck out to tow, some piece of equipment said specifically that if the truck is equipped with sway damping, the sway bar should NOT be used. It may have been in the box containing a sway bar we have on hand and were intending to install. I would contact a truck dealer for the brand that you have or are getting. Or hopefully you'll get some sound advice from the people at the hitch place! Also perhaps there's something in the truck's owner's manual. Ours has a comprehensive section on towing.

We jumped from a 1985 Ford F250 to a 2021 Dodge 1500 and the towing technology in the new truck is mind boggling. We've towed the same 1990 4 horse stock trailer with that old truck since the trailer was new and never needed a sway bar. At the trail heads, I hardly even see weight distributing hitches, which is beyond me. When we bought the add-on sway bar for the old truck, we were using it on a 32 ft travel trailer that NEEDED it, but the horse trailer, never. There is definitely a lot to know, it's not like hooking up that old last century truck!


----------



## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

Ditto @dogpatch . I’ve been towing stock 4 Horse trailers since 1971 or ‘72 and I have never needed sway bars - I also never pulled those stock trailers with anything less than 3/4 ton truck. I’ve towed up in the mountains, on narrow winding roads and on the interstate riding rocking chair between two semis at 75 MPH without any sway issues.

In similar vein to dogpatch, DH has always raced. He never pulled his race car trailer with anything less than a one ton dually AND the all-important sway bars in this instance.

My hitch was custom made for my first truck and very little modification was needed to weld it to the second truck —- that it is still on — without sway bars. I pulled my horses thru New Mexico when their wind flags were flapping at Mach 80. All I did was slow down to the speed limit and I never had one bit of an issue. Sway was not the issue, flipping over on my side was

I‘m not at all sure I would like all this new computerized garbage that does not allow the driver to think for themselves. And when those little chips stop working , so does the vehicle—— hopefully not along a desolate stretch of road with a trailer full of horses


----------



## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

This is a good description (my bold):

What Is the Difference Between Trailer Weight Distribution & Sway Control
When it comes to bumper pull hitches weight distribution is not the same as sway control but the two features often go hand in hand.

*Many weight distribution hitches will have built-in sway control but a stand alone sway control bar cannot distribute weight.*

In this article, I’m going to go into detail about what each term means and what kind of hitch you should get for your bumper pull trailer or RV travel trailer.

From this site. They do go into more info.








Difference Between Weight Distribution & Sway Control


Weight distribution and sway control are important when it comes to towing a bumper pull trailer safely. Here's everything you need to know about them.




thecampingnerd.com





I realize it is from a camping/RV site.


----------

