Weight distrubition hitch with a 2dr tahoe

[V10nacuda]

Any experience using a weight distribution hitch on a 6in lifted 2 door tahoe?? Will be towing an 18ft trailer and about 5k cargo.

How much will it help with control?

 

[98slv]

Not sure about the hitches, but I like my rear hellwig sway bar. Helps it from sway and eases your mind about how crucial it is on loading things with a bumper pull trailer.

could only imagine the hitch would work much better.

 

[great white]

Well, that's not exactly an easy answer.

5000 lbs is within the rating for your Tahoe, so yeah: it can tow it.

But it's not the best setup the way you have it.

Problem is it's a short wheel base vehicle and it's lifted 6 inches. I'm willing to bet the tires are oversize as well. Your tow vehicle and trailer are going to be pretty close in weight and size too. Also not the best scenario.

To decide if you need a WD hitch I'll just talk about it for a bit here and then you can decide for yourself.

A WD hitch essentially uses geometry to "fool" the load into thinking you're towing more like a 5th wheel than a bumper pull. The weight bars and the hitch form a load point forward of the actual hitch itself. If done correctly, the lines from both load paths meet right at the rear axle. Just like a fifth wheel.

The main advantage of this is that it doesn't "unload" the front steering wheels like a pure bumper pull does. When you load a bumper pull, all the tongue load pushes down on the bumper. The rear axle become a pivot point and the front of the vehicle is levered off the ground. It doesn't come right off the ground, but it does remove weight from the front steering wheels. This makes you steering light and vague. This can be a real butt clencher as the vehicle can run wider in the turn that you expected or, in a worse case scenario, your steering becomes ineffective and your load pushes the tow vehicle straight ahead when you want to turn.

A lifted vehicle and soft tires makes these tendencies worse. It's the geometry that's the problem. Drop hitches help, but are not a cure.

Not all WD hitches are created equal either. Some just have weight bars, some have weight bars that add anti sway.

I run an "active anti-sway" WD hitch, but my trailer is 35 feet long and 9,000 lbs. I've never had the "white knuckle" experience of the trailer swaying and "waggin the dog".

I guess you have to ask yourself how stable you want it, how much you want to spend to get it that way, if you can shift your load around on the trailer, type of load, where you're towing, how far you're going, etc.

It's just not a simple answer if you need a WD hitch or not.

And we still haven't talked about tow vehicle brakes, transmission, cooling, gearing, trailer brakes, etc, etc, etc....

5,000 lbs isn't a huge load, but it's sure enough to get you in serious trouble if you're not aware of what you need to tow it safely.

 

[bigchevy93]

Any experience using a weight distribution hitch on a 6in lifted 2 door tahoe?? Will be towing an 18ft trailer and about 5k cargo.

How much will it help with control?

I personally towed a 19" t.t. adding up to 5500lbs with 6" lift half ton on 3/4 ton bags....... those things are worth their weight in gold and can be used for more than just towing, for bed loading of course!

They helped with front steering but will not help with sway, however, if you know how to drive, its alight. Anti Sway setup is optimal but you have to purchase the custom anti sway drop hitch because they others dont drop down far enough for a 6" lift