Toy hauler towing ?

Hey guys looking to buy a 28' work and play toy hauler. Now I've never towed anything this big and was curious if this sounds right. The guy I'm buying from says I will need an equalizer hitch to tow it. The trailers weight is 8600lb. And the tongue weight is 1200lb. My truck is an 08 f250 6.4 extended short bed. So do I need this special hitch? Thanks.

I tow one with my 7.3 without a special hitch that's about the same weight.

You should be fine. My open car trailer with my car is 7000 range with about the same pin weight.
The only thing I would think might help you is sway from a side wind.

I've got one of those ancient, inferior 7.3 trucks, and it's a rclb to boot. Drug our 26' TT up to dfw, then down to the coast, and back home (roughly 600 miles round trip), just hangin off the ball. No sway control, or weight distribution. It probably weighs about 7k-7500 loaded up (bedroom in the nose, with a slide), dropped the ass end of the truck about 2", and it pulled it at 75 straight as an arrow. Occasional side wind off a big truck, but nothing that two fingers on the wheel couldn't control. My old ccsb truck pulled my 24' and 32' enclosed car trailers without any aid all over. And it did not sway at all like my regular cab would want to.

If you have any experience towing, and a set between your legs, you will be okay. If you wanna be a girl, throw on all the weight distribution, sway control, etc for a "feel good", and roll. You won't need it.

The weight distribution hitch isn't just to make it ride better. The factory hitch isn't rated for as much weight with a standard hitch as it is with a weight distributing one.

Having worked in the trailer business for several years now, dont listen to all the "macho" guys and get a nice weight distribution hitch.... especially if you are packing your family around.... the people like the ones that posted above are the ones that are all big and tuff until some thing unexpected happens like a hitch mounting bolt snaps and sends that trailer down the the highway, killing someone.....

Weight distribution helps control the sway in bad wind or rutted road situations. It helps transfer some weight from the tail end of the truck to the front. That helps stress on certain parts like the receiver hitch and rear suspension plus it helps with rear end sag while towing. Lastly its just a strong hitch setup... you are very hard pressed to find a stinger that is rated for as much as most weight dist hitches (B&W is the on manuf i know of that does)....

Good luck in your venture, those Work and Plays are nice!! I dont deal with RV's (we only work with W&P because Cargo Mate makes them) but they look like a very nice unit!

If a hitch mount breaks, do you honestly think that a wd hitch that sits inside the receiver, will hold the trailer from going all over the highway potentially killing someone?? Honestly now. 1200lbs of tongue weight Isn't going to break a hitch off the frame, or hurt you, your family, motorists around you.

There's nobody being "macho" around here, and I know a wd hitch isn't for the "ride" or whatever somebody stated previously. I'm stating in the 100k miles I put towjng on my last truck, the only time I jung a bar was when I was emoty, in strong crosswinds. There are thousands of "what if " scenarios, but the fact of the matter is that there is no need for it for that trailer, or that tongue weight. But then again, I guess there are DRIVERS, and STEERING WHEEL HOLDERS in the 4 wheeler world as well.

Fwiw, I also pulled my car trailer with a 6" drop hitch that was rated at 20k lbs. I forget the tongue weight rating, but it was a solid chunk of steel, and weighed probably 20lbs.

blk99 said:

Having worked in the trailer business for several years now, dont listen to all the "macho" guys and get a nice weight distribution hitch.... especially if you are packing your family around.... the people like the ones that posted above are the ones that are all big and tuff until some thing unexpected happens like a hitch mounting bolt snaps and sends that trailer down the the highway, killing someone.....

Weight distribution helps control the sway in bad wind or rutted road situations. It helps transfer some weight from the tail end of the truck to the front. That helps stress on certain parts like the receiver hitch and rear suspension plus it helps with rear end sag while towing. Lastly its just a strong hitch setup... you are very hard pressed to find a stinger that is rated for as much as most weight dist hitches (B&W is the on manuf i know of that does)....

Good luck in your venture, those Work and Plays are nice!! I dont deal with RV's (we only work with W&P because Cargo Mate makes them) but they look like a very nice unit!

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If you have worked in the trailer business then you know the rule of thumb on tongue weight right?
7000*15%= 1050#. I like a little more tongue weight.
I mentioned that the weight dist hitch could help with a side wind but in my eyes WAY overkill for 1200# pin weight and 7000# trailer. The most I would put on one is a sway control. If these hitches cant take 7000# then Ford should redesign them.

Jason said:

If a hitch mount breaks, do you honestly think that a wd hitch that sits inside the receiver, will hold the trailer from going all over the highway potentially killing someone?? Honestly now. 1200lbs of tongue weight Isn't going to break a hitch off the frame, or hurt you, your family, motorists around you.

There's nobody being "macho" around here, and I know a wd hitch isn't for the "ride" or whatever somebody stated previously. I'm stating in the 100k miles I put towjng on my last truck, the only time I jung a bar was when I was emoty, in strong crosswinds. There are thousands of "what if " scenarios, but the fact of the matter is that there is no need for it for that trailer, or that tongue weight. But then again, I guess there are DRIVERS, and STEERING WHEEL HOLDERS in the 4 wheeler world as well.

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I did not say the WD hitch would stop it if the truck receiver broke.... i said it can help prevent said breaks from happening.....

So your telling me that the average dump person (not pointed at anyone, we all know its true) that lives in a salt road state and NEVER thinks to check stress points like a hitch, with a 2+ year old truck, couldn't have a corroded bolt snap with that 1200lbs hitting a bump? Your personal experience doesnt mean that it can't happen....

Your right.... steering wheel holders go until something breaks.... drivers have common sense and do things right the first time.





This was about a year ago.... a 97 F250 that was pulling a EMPTY 3 horse 100% aluminum horse trailer when it hit a pot hole... point is not that the WD would have saved it but that ANYYHING can happen.....

Jason said:

Fwiw, I also pulled my car trailer with a 6" drop hitch that was rated at 20k lbs. I forget the tongue weight rating, but it was a solid chunk of steel, and weighed probably 20lbs.

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I would be curious to see that, i have asked every supplier for something like that and no luck.

tbsimmons said:

If you have worked in the trailer business then you know the rule of thumb on tongue weight right?
7000*15%= 1050#. I like a little more tongue weight.
I mentioned that the weight dist hitch could help with a side wind but in my eyes WAY overkill for 1200# pin weight and 7000# trailer. The most I would put on one is a sway control. If these hitches cant take 7000# then Ford should redesign them.

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I admit, i passed by the 8,600 gvw in the OP's post... but you do realize that most every hitch known to man has a 10% tongue weight rating, correct? Hitch rating of 14k x .10 = 1,400lbs tongue weight rating..... i know as well as you do that they underrate everything but if you get in a wreck, they dont care about anything but the numbers....

I have read the 10% on aftermarket hitches. On the standard ones that come in the trucks I have only seen 10-15% of trailer weight to be on the tongue and don't exceed the GVRW of either or the GCWR.


Sent from the bat phone near a drilling rig.

The way the hitch looks to me is that something else was going on besides a pot hole unless the truck came to a stop.
Either way a weight distributing hitch would not have changed that one. It would have still pushed the hitch forward but most likely up instead of down.

What kind of piece of crap hitch is that? Have you seen the receivers on the 6.4s? Its held on by I believe 8 massive bolts, and it's heavy duty AF. That hitch looks like it belongs on a Prius, it should not have been on a 3/4 ton truck, I don't care what anyone says, those little ears and bolts weren't going to hold anything.

tbsimmons said:

The way the hitch looks to me is that something else was going on besides a pot hole unless the truck came to a stop.
Either way a weight distributing hitch would not have changed that one. It would have still pushed the hitch forward but most likely up instead of down.

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blk99 said:

the point is not that the WD would have saved it but that ANYYHING can happen.....

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08Monster said:

What kind of piece of crap hitch is that? Have you seen the receivers on the 6.4s? Its held on by I believe 8 massive bolts, and it's heavy duty AF. That hitch looks like it belongs on a Prius, it should not have been on a 3/4 ton truck, I don't care what anyone says, those little ears and bolts weren't going to hold anything.

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Again, my point was not how strong the hitch was nor was i comparing a stock 97 F250 hitch to a stock 08 hitch...... i said my point is anything can happen..... i was addressing someone elses statement that basically said, "your hitch will never break"....

The truck in question is 2008. Your scenario, while interesting, doesn't apply here. A 2008 hitch will never fail with that light of a load, thats still WELL under the rating on the hitch. Plus they are way underrated.

08Monster said:

The truck in question is 2008. Your scenario, while interesting, doesn't apply here. A 2008 hitch will never fail with that light of a load, thats still WELL under the rating on the hitch. Plus they are way underrated.

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blk99 said:

Again, my point was not how strong the hitch was nor was i comparing a stock 97 F250 hitch to a stock 08 hitch...... i said my point is anything can happen..... i was addressing someone elses statement that basically said, "your hitch will never break"....

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Dude.... seriously..... your frustrating the hell out of me.... PLEASE READ WHAT I SAID ABOVE....

His question was, is it safe. Yes its safe. If you don't think it is, you are a fu**ing idiot. Good bye.

Why would you not want to use the proper equipment for the job?

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

08Monster said:

His question was, is it safe. Yes its safe. If you don't think it is, you are a fu**ing idiot. Good bye.

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I never said it wasnt safe..... good bye to you too, your doing this thread justice but exiting yourself.

alwil said:

Why would you not want to use the proper equipment for the job?

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

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Who were you asking?

I would put a wd hitch they help distribute the weight to the front so your truck will always ride level and they also have sway control so if you get into a wind that tail won't wag the dog. Assuming the 8600 pounds is a dry weight once you pack it up you can be well over 10k depending on what's in the garage. I just find a wd hitch worth the extra 2 minutes to throw on.