[A/S] Re: Popping Rivets-ReVisited - now hitches

["Jerry Flanders" <jeflanders@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Then why don't we use equalizing hitches with horse trailers? Or cargo 
trailers? The cargo and horse  trailers I have seen at highway rest stops 
did not have equalizing hitches.

Could it be that the reason we use equalizing hitches on our travel 
trailers is mainly because in the early days of towing TTs, people were 
trying to adapt light-duty automobiles as tow vehicles? In the light-duty 
car situation, you would have difficulty controlling the CAR without  the 
proper hitch (the front end would be "light") , so the early users 
definitely needed them for safety reasons.   All we TT owners are told 
today is "you gotta have one", without regarding the tow vehicle. As far as 
I know, there is no highway statistical accident evidence favoring  their 
use, or any legal requirement for them based on trailer type. Maybe it is 
just a tradition.

I use one with my AS, but I am pretty sure that if I went to a cargo 
trailer dealer and paid for a setup to tow his (same 
size/weight/tongueweight) cargo trailer, he would probably not mention an 
equalizing type hitch for my big Dodge truck unless I requested it. 
(Anybody have any real experience with cargo trailer dealer recommended 
setup please speak up.)

In questions of this type, overkill is OK, and without the advice of a 
knowledgeable engineer, I would never go against conventional wisdom, but 
my gut feeling is that my with big properly equipped 1-ton Dodge pulling 
it, my AS would not know WHAT type of trailer it is.

If there is published evidence of any differences in accident rates with 
different hitches, I would like to see it. Until then, I tend to think we 
are just being sold another RV gadget (except for those folks still towing 
with the light-duty vehicles).

Jerry  4404 (currently preparing to tow several thousand miles on the WBCCI 
Golden Anniversary Caravan, using his properly configured Reese equalizing 
hitch)