WDH vs Anti-Sway

[travdes]

We have a Escape 21 on order, and our TV is a Kia Sorento (tow capacity is 5000lb). I've called two places to get quotes on brake controller and hitches. Trademasters quoted me 1500 for the Andersen Hitch+Brake, and Clearbrook Hitch quoted 880 for a Curt WDH hitch+Brake. The second place seemed to think the Anti-sway does virtually nothing if the WDH is tight enough and felt it was overkill. I'm a total newb when it comes to towing, so I figured I would ask the experts :-)

What would you get, and does the anti-sway make that much of a difference? Of note, I read a ton of bad reviews on the Andersen so I likely wouldn't go that route if I went with an anti-sway.

Thanks!

[gbaglo]

I think you're talking weight distribution hitch receiver ( ie. the part that attaches to the vehicle ). The WDH itself is separate.
It's been ten years, but I had a WDH receiver and brake controller installed on my RAV4 by an aftermarket installer ( Burnaby Hitch I think ). It's Hidden Hitch and cost $650 installed with brake controller and wiring. I had bought a Prodigy P2 brake controller from eTrailer for about $150 and got the Pro Series WDH itself from ETI for $350. ETI installed the WDH when I picked up the trailer.
So, it sounds like $880 for a hitch receiver and brake controller install is reasonable. You would add WDH from ETI. I don't have sway control, but I have a 17B, not a 21. My tow capacity is 3,500 / 350.

[travdes]

Apologies, I'm still not up on the lingo. We had the 2" hitch installed by kia a few years ago for our MTBs, at the time I didn't anticipate towing so I didn't get them to do the wiring. I assume from there I need some sort of WDH and/or anti-sway. Hopefully I wasn't confusing the hell out the stores and they were quoting me for the wrong gear

Is the receiver the bar with the hitch ball that goes into the hitch?

[gbaglo]

What you need to check is that the hitch receiver that KIA installed is "for weight distribution hitch". Toyota, for instance installs a 2" Class II, which isn't suitable for WDH. That's why I had an aftermarket install. You need Class III for WDH.
As for terms, the part bolted to the vehicle is the hitch receiver. The WDH is the hitch ( with the ball ).

[Chris & Patricia]

Originally Posted by travdes

Apologies, I'm still not up on the lingo. We had the 2" hitch installed by kia a few years ago for our MTBs, at the time I didn't anticipate towing so I didn't get them to do the wiring. I assume from there I need some sort of WDH and/or anti-sway. Hopefully I wasn't confusing the hell out the stores and they were quoting me for the wrong gear

Is the receiver the bar with the hitch ball that goes into the hitch?

The receiver is the square hole on the back of the vehicle, into which whatever you are using for towing is attached to. It could for instance be a bike rack say. Or your towing hitch which slides into the receiver. See pictures attached. We had ETI install the Pro-Trunnion WDH for $350 when we picked up our trailer.

[travdes]

Thanks for the thorough responses, now I won't go and confuse more sales people.

The hitch Kia put on has no visible branding, so I'll assume its crap and I'll likely need to replace it. I guess this could get expensive

[gbaglo]

Ten years ago, I paid about $1,200 for everything needed to tow my 17B.
The vehicle came with a tow prep package - larger radiator, larger alternator, transmission fluid cooler. You might want to ask KIA what your vehicle is equipped with.

[Chris & Patricia]

Originally Posted by travdes

Thanks for the thorough responses, now I won't go and confuse more sales people.

The hitch Kia put on has no visible branding, so I'll assume its crap and I'll likely need to replace it. I guess this could get expensive

Happy to be of help. Maybe what you should do is go to a decent hitch shop and get them to check out your hitch. Don't necessarily assume that what you have isn't good enough, except you will need a class 3 hitch. Also when you get the wiring done, make sure that they hook up the charging wire correctly. From my personal experience, U Haul is not the place to go. A decent hitch shop will also take care of that too.

[Iowa Dave]

When they run the charging wire make sure there’s fusing or a circuit breaker wired in and use a minimum #10 size wire. It’s best to run the wire through the vehicle as opposed to exposed under the tow where it’s subject to damage or corrosion. In my opinion. We have the Anderson hitch for the 21. It’s a little quirky to hook up in that it works best if the tow vehichle hooks up easiest backed straight in and at the same “stinger” height as the trailer when the trailer and tow are level. Variations are possible but can get you into a physics logic exercise before success is achieved. For me it always ends in success and later I smack my forehead with my open hand, proclaim myself a dumb ethnic heritage, and promise to remember what I did to make it hook up easily after fighting a bad angle or whatever. We had the Escape “pro Tow” on the 19 and it worked fine too. Several owners have the Easy 2 and like it real well too. It’s only money and that pales in importance when you get in a situation where the hitch is your primary control mechanism in a tight or dangerous situation. YMMV
Iowa Dave

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by travdes

The hitch Kia put on has no visible branding, so I'll assume its crap and I'll likely need to replace it. I guess this could get expensive

I would guess the opposite. If it is a Kia OEM accessory (not something that a Kia dealer had a local hitch shop put on), it will likely be rated for the full towing capacity of the vehicle and well designed to fit the vehicle. I would check with the dealership for what was actually installed.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Chris & Patricia

Maybe what you should do is go to a decent hitch shop and get them to check out your hitch.

Perhaps the challenge here would be finding a "decent" hitch shop. Perhaps I'm just cynical, but I would expect any business which does little other than selling towing equipment to declare the current receiver to be junk (regardless of what it actually is), and sell the most profitable replacement that they have in stock. So... who can you trust? Someone in your area with relevant experience who doesn't have a financial interest in what may be purchased for the vehicle would be desirable.

[gbaglo]

Trademasters in Chilliwack has many satisfied customers, from what I've read on this forum over the years.
First, you need to find out what hitch receiver KIA installed and if it is suitable for WDH.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by travdes

We have a Escape 21 on order, and our TV is a Kia Sorento (tow capacity is 5000lb).

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Ten years ago, I paid about $1,200 for everything needed to tow my 17B. The vehicle came with a tow prep package - larger radiator, larger alternator, transmission fluid cooler. You might want to ask KIA what your vehicle is equipped with.

I know this came up in another thread so apologize if I’m beating a dead horse. Good idea to double-check with Kia that you can actually tow 5,000# with your Sorento as it appears the vehicle must have the 3.3L V6 (sounds like you have it) AND the “trailer package”. Without the trailer package the same vehicle is rated for only 2000#.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Trademasters in Chilliwack has many satisfied customers, from what I've read on this forum over the years.

I'm sure they're good and certainly they have good reviews. Has anyone ever asked them if an existing receiver should be replaced? Chilliwack is only half an hour from Mission, so maybe it's worth a visit.

Originally Posted by gbaglo

First, you need to find out what hitch receiver KIA installed and if it is suitable for WDH.

I agree.

[arniesea]

Count me as a satisfied TradeMaster customer. My situation is different than the OP in that I had them install a goose-neck ball on my Tundra in order to use the Anderson Ultimate 5th wheel hitch. I noticed in my research that one needed to drop the muffler & Tailpipe to install the goose-neck bracket on the frame. Well when I bought my truck used it came with the most obnoxious glass-pack muffler that at times was so loud my wife and I could not converse in the cab.

So I brought a new stock muffler and tailpipe with me to trade master today. They replaced the old with the new for only 1 additional hour of labor even though it was not thier core business. They did a right fine job of it too!

I felt like thier customer service was equal to ETI. I dropped my truck off at 8:00 this morning, they called me at 1:00 pm with the job complete. I said I would be there in a 1/2 hour as I was walking from the hotel. They said “Oh, you don’t have to do that! We’ll come pick you up!” I greatfully took them up on the offer as it was raining pretty good!

All around good honest folks doing quality work.

[arniesea]

Originally Posted by travdes

... Of note, I read a ton of bad reviews on the Andersen so I likely wouldn't go that route if I went with an anti-sway.

Thanks!

I can speak to The Anderson WDH. It came with my 2013 19’ when I bought it used. It had been installed by ETI. It worked very well once I had it dialed in. The trick is to ensure that the right amount of threads are showing past the nut when it is hooked up. I had electrical tape around the socket marking how much to torque it down. And each side needs to match. It works very, very well when adjusted correctly. But hitching and un-hitching is time consuming.

So when the friction sleave wore out, I replaced it with a Fastaway E2 hitch. Now hitching up takes about 1/3 the time. But you know what? The ride was better with the Anderson! The Anderson not only controls sway side to side, it dampens motion up and down as well. This is really a welcome feature when the road has equally spaced Frost heaves that can set up a rhythmic bounce. Towing with the Anderson and it’s novel design felt a lot more solid than the E2.

So bottom line, if one is willing to take the time with an Anderson WDH, it is a solid choice. But I never missed it’s ride quality enough to go back to it. The E2 is so much easier to hook up.

[travdes]

Thanks, I'll give them a ring tomorrow and confirm what class hitch it is. To be clear though, I'm more concerned with finding a solution thats safe/durable and easy, cost is secondary at this point especially when you factor in the amount I'm paying for the trailer.

What do you think about what Clearbook hitch said regarding anti-sway not being needed with a WDH? Is that fair, or is he off his rocker?

I was originally looking at the E2, before I received the suggestions from Trademaster and Clearbrook. But there's so many choices ultimately I just want a solution that will feel safe, and ease the fear of towing a trailer.

[arniesea]

Originally Posted by travdes

What do you think about what Clearbook hitch said regarding anti-sway not being needed with a WDH? Is that fair, or is he off his rocker?

Escape Trailers are very stable (unless not properly loaded! All trailers should be loaded so more weight is forward of the axels. ~12% of the weight should be on the tongue.)

In my case I was using the Anderson and later the E2 primarily for their weight distribution function. The fact that both designs also incorporate anti-sway was a bonus.

Anti-sway functionality really comes into play when what you are towing is much heavier than what you are towing it with. (Again with proper loading) These trailers are light enough and well balanced to begin with that anti-sway functionality is not critical.

But why not get both? There are several WDH that have anti-sway already built in.

[travdes]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

I know this came up in another thread so apologize if I’m beating a dead horse. Good idea to double-check with Kia that you can actually tow 5,000# with your Sorento as it appears the vehicle must have the 3.3L V6 (sounds like you have it) AND the “trailer package”. Without the trailer package the same vehicle is rated for only 2000#.

I was told all the Kia Sorento V6 AWD's came with the Tow package in Canada. The sticker on the inside of my door has the GVWR at 5680lbs, and tow capacity of 5000lb

[gbaglo]

I don't have sway bars, just the Pro Series WDH. It's served me well for ten years. Three times I've had to make abrupt steering changes. Once I sensed a brief moment of sway, which promptly settled.

Maybe sway control would be even better, but I'll never know.

If it gives you comfort, why not get it? Anything that reduces stress is worth the money.