Do I Even Need the ETI Hitch?

[chesaka]

Hello: I have an E19 on order. My tow vehicle is a 2014 Toyota Tundra Limited with tow package and towing capacity of 10,500. Do I even need any of the hitches that ETI is offering now? If I don't need it, I'd rather spend the money on something else. But if I do need it for towing safety and comfort, I will get one. I have towed a small boat and trailer but first-time RV owner. Thank you for your thoughts.

[gbaglo]

A weight distribution hitch makes the tow and trailer act like a single unit, resulting in a more comfortable ride. Even if you can get by without it, you may find it's worth the effort involved to use it.

[Eggscape]

You can always try towing without it and add it at a later date.

Personally I just use a ball with my F150 and my 420lb tongue weight is no problem for the rear of the truck.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Eggscape

You can always try towing without it and add it at a later date.

Just take I5 from the border down to Seattle. You'll either call a chiropractor or a hitch shop.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by chesaka

Hello: I have an E19 on order. My tow vehicle is a 2014 Toyota Tundra Limited with tow package and towing capacity of 10,500. Do I even need any of the hitches that ETI is offering now? If I don't need it, I'd rather spend the money on something else. But if I do need it for towing safety and comfort, I will get one. I have towed a small boat and trailer but first-time RV owner. Thank you for your thoughts.

you need some kind of tow ball mount (often called a tow bar but thats actually something else, for towing a car). it can be a simple one, or a fancy one like a WDH, which as others said already, helps smooth out the ride, but involves a couple more steps at hitch/unhitch time, AND many/most are a heavy big bulky piece of steel to get on and off your truck when you are not using it. a simple ball mount can be left on, although I'll take it off unless I'm going to be using it again real soon.

said mount should be 2" to fit your reciever and have a 2" ball to fit the Escape, rated at least 6000 lbs (overkill).

I use this one with my F250 4x4, its the right height for that truck and the Escape to ride level, and its a little longer than a normal one, so my tailgate clears the jack handle.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007M308U/

I'm using this ball with it
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009T6EA2/

this wrench will let you get enough torque on the nut (I put the tow bar in the truck's reciever sideways, so I can put all my weight on the wrench, or lift up and use my legs for max torque.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MDGV0Y/
the alternative is a 1.5" 6-point 'impact' socket, and a large 1/2" breaker bar.

[pstyer]

Originally Posted by chesaka

Hello: I have an E19 on order. My tow vehicle is a 2014 Toyota Tundra Limited with tow package and towing capacity of 10,500. Do I even need any of the hitches that ETI is offering now? If I don't need it, I'd rather spend the money on something else. But if I do need it for towing safety and comfort, I will get one. I have towed a small boat and trailer but first-time RV owner. Thank you for your thoughts.

We started towing our E21 with a simple 2 inch ball mounted in the bumper. Our first tow vehicle was a 1/2 ton 2008 Chevy pickup. It towed fine without any sway . We did have problems with dolphining on our secondary roads and the squat in the back end. It actually pointed our headlights into oncoming traffic.

We purchased the Fastway e-2 94-00-0600 hitch
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
to improve the ride and it worked wonderfully. The added benefit was the tailgate would now open without interference with the electric jack.

When I upgraded to my F150, the new truck was so much taller, that I needed to drop the receiver. This four inch drop receiver,
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
was just the answer.

It doesn't hurt to start without the WDH and add it later. It may depend on how comfortable you are with setting up the hitch and how much time you have to make any adjustments.

Happy trails!

[cpaharley2008]

I do not use anything but the standard factory hitch on my Ram, no issues towing.

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by pstyer

We started towing our E21 with a simple 2 inch ball mounted in the bumper. Our first tow vehicle was a 1/2 ton 2008 Chevy pickup. It towed fine without any sway . We did have problems with dolphining on our secondary roads and the squat in the back end. It actually pointed our headlights into oncoming traffic.

We purchased the Fastway e-2 94-00-0600 hitch
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
to improve the ride and it worked wonderfully. The added benefit was the tailgate would now open without interference with the electric jack.

When I upgraded to my F150, the new truck was so much taller, that I needed to drop the receiver. This four inch drop receiver,
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
was just the answer.

It doesn't hurt to start without the WDH and add it later. It may depend on how comfortable you are with setting up the hitch and how much time you have to make any adjustments.

Happy trails!

Hi: pstyer... It's really hard to tow without a "Hitch"!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[cpaharley2008]

and after you get hitched there Alf, sometimes it takes a lawyer to get unhitched.......

[Oldtimer]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

and after you get hitched there Alf, sometimes it takes a lawyer to get unhitched.......

Yer so bad Jim ..... so glad yer back in the saddle n doing great hope too meet you some day on the big camping trail

David

[azjack]

One time I had to change drawers while towing, I remember that time and it was my fault but now I always use a WDH just in case. I'm now trying to figure how to put a WDH on my 5th wheel. It definitely improves the ride as well.
AZjack

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

and after you get hitched there Alf, sometimes it takes a lawyer to get unhitched.......

Hi: cpaharley2008... I've acted as a legal beagle at a campground unhitching before. Watched the neighbouring camper pound away at his hitch then finally walked over and suggested he pull the cotter pin and hitch pin and get in his truck and pull forward. I watched the hitch & ball fall out then went back to reading my book!!! I do easy really well. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

Originally Posted by chesaka

Hello: I have an E19 on order. My tow vehicle is a 2014 Toyota Tundra Limited with tow package and towing capacity of 10,500. Do I even need any of the hitches that ETI is offering now? If I don't need it, I'd rather spend the money on something else. But if I do need it for towing safety and comfort, I will get one. I have towed a small boat and trailer but first-time RV owner. Thank you for your thoughts.

You will get all kind of options on this. Be your own judge on this. I almost got the fast way hitch for my 19. I decided to wait and see if i need it. Picked it up with my Tacoma with out it. I now have no plans to get one.I am within my weight limits and I don't think I need one.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by chesaka

Hello: I have an E19 on order. My tow vehicle is a 2014 Toyota Tundra Limited with tow package and towing capacity of 10,500. Do I even need any of the hitches that ETI is offering now? If I don't need it, I'd rather spend the money on something else. But if I do need it for towing safety and comfort, I will get one. I have towed a small boat and trailer but first-time RV owner. Thank you for your thoughts.

Your tow vehicle is rated to tow twice the maximum weight of an Escape 19. Most likely you do not need a weight distributing hitch or sway bars.

Tandem axle trailers are not particularly prone to sway to begin with.

If your trailer feels 'squirrely' you're going to fast. Simply slowing down 5 or 10 mph can make all the difference between a comfortable drive and a OMG white knuckle one.

Something that I wonder, is if sway bars actually hide a problem? Do they allow you to push further than you should? When you do notice a problem when equipped with sway bars, is it only after it's too late to correct it?

When towing my previous trailer with my Sprinter van, it would start to feel 'squirrely' at 70 mph or above. Slowing down to 65 it towed comfortably with no issues even in gusty cross winds. Because, I was able to feel the 'squirrelyness' I knew to slow down. This was out west where the speed limits were as high as 80 mph.

[salmo7000]

As long as your truck doesn't squat much with the trailer hitched to it, you probably don't need a WDH, although having one may well smooth your ride out. I have one on my 2017 Colorado and love it, but my friend with a 2018 Tundra tows his 19 without one. His truck squats maybe an inch.

But if it's much more than that, your headlights will be elevated and will blind oncoming traffic. Lots of folks where I live tow with their trucks totally squatted... so much so they have to put their fog lights on to see the road surface, so the rest of us are blinded by both their headlights and their fog lights. Really, it's almost worse than if they were running with their brights on all the time.

The good thing about a WDH is it can be easily added later, if you decide it's needed.

[John in Santa Cruz]

in addition to squat, the big thing the WDH can solve is 'porpoising', where your truck pitches up/down when the trailer goes over a bump. my tacoma did this a lot til I airbagged it, my f250 doesn't do it at all.the sta

[fudge_brownie]

I started out towing with an Andersen WDH and was annoyed with the process of hitching. Jack it up, jack it down, jack it up . . . You get the idea. Dropped the WDH after a year and never looked back. Well that is not quite correct. I had to look back because a known problem with the Andersen is premature wearing inside the coupler. After replacing the original coupler with a Bulldog all is fine. If your vehicle is rated to twice the weight of your trailer it is probably not necessary to use a WDH, unless you have sag or want piece of mind because everyone tells you that it is necessary to have a WDH.

[CLL]

Originally Posted by chesaka

Hello: I have an E19 on order. My tow vehicle is a 2014 Toyota Tundra Limited with tow package and towing capacity of 10,500. Do I even need any of the hitches that ETI is offering now? If I don't need it, I'd rather spend the money on something else. But if I do need it for towing safety and comfort, I will get one. I have towed a small boat and trailer but first-time RV owner. Thank you for your thoughts.

Towing is more complicated than the brochure saying your truck can tow a million pounds.

Here is a good description of how to calculate what your truck can really tow. I was surprised to find out the actual tow capacity of our new f150, despite it having a “tow capacity” of 10,000+ lbs.

It pays to do the calculations, because you give your insurance company an out if you have a problem from incorrect towing. There are many factors in safe towing, and a wdh can contribute to towing safety. Cheers

https://www.curtmfg.com/towing-capacity

[chesaka]

thankyou for your thoughtful and thorough replies!

[Ops]

Originally Posted by chesaka

Hello: I have an E19 on order. My tow vehicle is a 2014 Toyota Tundra Limited with tow package and towing capacity of 10,500. Do I even need any of the hitches that ETI is offering now?

I have a 2015 Tundra Crewmax and a 21NE, so our combined tug & trailer capacities are quite similar.

I've also lived, worked and travelled in our North West and Yukon territories as well as southern Alaska. I've towed equipment that was roughly the same weight as our 21NE with 2 previous F150s and the Tundra.

Bottom line, I would not go back to just a ball hitch for towing anything of comparable weight to our rig. I researched various WDH, and chose the E2 Fastway that ETI makes available. Like yourself, I am (was?) a first time RV owner and wondered exactly what you are attempting to decide.

A WDH helps level your vehicle to the trailer, returns steering response, reduces porpoising, reduces sway and on northern roads, those last three improvements are significant...particularly when passing semi's on washboard gravel roads.

A short trip of under 10 minutes...a ball hitch alone can work.
A supposed vacation trip of several hours to weeks...a WDH is a worthwhile expenditure IMHO...both in safety and driver comfort.