Hello all, long time watcher first time poster.

Just picked up a new(er) CRD and need some recommendations for a trailer hitch. I will be towing a 2 place full enclosed snowmobile trailer, that will have a maximum VGCW of 5000 lbs. I will be using the trailer to go into and out of the mountains in the seattle area.

I have looked around at a bunch of different models, but would like to know which ones you guys recommend.

Also, the trailer will have dual axels, do you think it is important to have electric brakes on both axles, or just one?

Thanks for the help and I love my new ride.

I have a dual axle trailer I pull my cars with and it stops fine with only a single axle with brakes.

I bought the Class III Heavy duty hitch from E-trailer.com awesome set up.

_________________
Ryan
2006 Ford F-250 PSD CC FX4
**GONE**
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD
SAMCO Hoses//GDE Tune//PML Trans Pan//TransGo HD Shift Kit//MBRP Exhaust

1986 2R Mustang SVO

Reese Dual Cam, or Hensley Arrow. New Hensley Arrows are about $3200. Used are around $1900 on EBAY. I found one for $800 on Craigslist.

Wobbly

I have a Hensley hitch on order, along with a 26' Rockwood 2605 travel trailer. It should be interesting. From what I've read, the short overhang of the Liberty should help offset the limitations of its very short wheelbase to some degree.

- Chris

wowza, that is pretty expensive

The rating for the hensley is 14,000 lbs. Isn't that system overkill for a 5,000 lb GVWR max trailer?

I am trying to learn a lot about these systems and such. It has been a little difficult, since most of my towing has been with parents F350, and F800 dump trucks. It seems things get more complicated when towing with smaller vehicles.

Anyone have any experience with the Reese Dual Cam systems???

Thanks for your thoughts.

It's not really about the load capacity. The reason the Hensley is useful is it prevents sway. This is crucial in a short wheelbase application like the Liberty.

I think we are only going with 700lb bars for the hitch, which means that the tongue weight is limited to 700lbs. Any class 3 hitch for the Jeep will allow the maximum 5000lb limit to be reached. It's a question of whether it will drive safely once you're moving at highway speed.

By the way - you are absolutely right about things getting more complicated with smaller vehicles. With my buddy's duallie, we'd just go down to the rental shop and throw 8000lbs of trailer and tractor onto the back, and it would tow like a dream. With my 1/2 ton 2005 Tundra, even towing 4000lbs requires load distribution and sway control and trailer brakes and all sorts of fun things. The smaller your tow vehicle, the more (and better) stuff you need.

- Chris

well, I did some checking and it doesn't look like there is enough room to mount this system on a v-nose enclosed snowmobile trailer.

Back to the drawing board I guess.

Hi DDI,

I sent you a PM with more information. How long is your enclosed trailer? The Hensley installation is somewhat involved. They are also expensive, because they have a patent on the system and can dictate the price. However, they work exceptionally well and you are buying nearly 200lbs of high-quality hitch hardware. (They are heavy!) Basically, you only need a Hensley if the combination of weight plus length is enough to overcome a traditional sway reduction hitch. If the weight isn't too heavy and the length isn't bad, you could use a Equal-i-zer (good) or Reese dual-cam (better). Our trailer is 26' and will be just under 5000lbs, so a Hensley is my only choice to keep things safe.

The difference between a Hensley and the other hitches is that the Hensley projects the pivot point forward to prevent sway in the first place. Basically, it makes the pivot geometry act more like a fifth wheel where the pivot point is at the rear axle, rather than at the hitch ball. Hensleys work especially well on the Liberty because there is so little rear overhang, and the forward projection of the pivot point gives a very good mechanical advantage.

Hitches like the Equal-i-zer and Reese DC reduce sway through the use of friction bars or force-production cams. Sway can get initiated, but the hitches are designed to suppress it from going into oscillation.

One thing I like about the Hensley is that hitching and unhitching is very simple. All the major hitch hardware stays mounted on the trailer tongue; you simply back the tow vehicle up so the stinger goes into a coupler in your receiver. This is nice because you don't need to install/uninstall weight bars, get grease on your clothing, etc. like with a conventional weight distribution hitch.

If you want to learn more about it, here is a link to the manual:

http://www.hensleymfg.com/Documents/Hen ... medres.pdf

Hensley Arrow hitches command a high price on Ebay, so you can always recoup your money if you sell the trailer or upgrade your tow vehicle in the future.

- Chris

I purchased (financed) a Hensley with my camper on a co-workers recommendation. With my setup, its all about length and moment arm. I have a 26', 3900# travel trailer that is significantly larger but not heavier then the CRD. It wiggles & shakes going down the freeway @ 65, but the Hensley isolates me from most of that.

_________________
2005 CRD Limited Flame Red w/ Renegade rock rails & light bar, AirLift 1000. 225/75R16 MT/R's on cheap black steel wheels, dual MOPAR subwoofers, Ipod kit & seat covers, Samco hoses - totaled and gone. 2008 WK Laredo 3.0L diesel - AirLift 1000, wife won't let me mess with it much. 2013 JK Sahara on order.

thanks for all the help. While the hensley is the best, it looks like it won't fit on a V-nose enclosed snowmobile trailer.

The trailer that I am looking at is 19ft long total length. It looks like most travel type trailers, incorperate areas for anti-sway and weight distribution systems to mount. Unfortunately, these systems are not available on most v-nose trailers.

Thanks again for the help. Keep on truckin

Hi DDI,

In that case, I hope there is room on the tongue for the various mounting brackets needed for other sway-control hitches. Good luck and let us know what you find out.

- Chris

Hitching and unhitching a Hensley is simple IF you follow the instructions exactly. If the angles of the towbar and the hitch head aren't fairly close, hitching is pretty frustrating. Adjusting the hitch head angle to match the towbar angle is actually quite simple, after you have done it once. I could have save myself some embarassment by slowly reading the manual before I tried brute force.

Agreed. I didn't read the manual until three years after I bought it. The good news is that it only took me two years to come up with exatly the same process as in the manual!

_________________
2005 CRD Limited Flame Red w/ Renegade rock rails & light bar, AirLift 1000. 225/75R16 MT/R's on cheap black steel wheels, dual MOPAR subwoofers, Ipod kit & seat covers, Samco hoses - totaled and gone. 2008 WK Laredo 3.0L diesel - AirLift 1000, wife won't let me mess with it much. 2013 JK Sahara on order.

well after all of my research, it seems that the best hitch that I would be able to get to work is the equal-i-zer. The reese or drawtite wd systems will work, but will require the use of a friction bar system, where as the equal-i-zer will fit without problems.

Thanks for all of the help. RV.net was also a very good resource too.

Later