The sensation of your trailer’s again finish bouncing or swaying uncontrollably is likely one of the scariest issues an RV proprietor can expertise. Fortunately, lowering that bouncing and swaying is precisely what the CURT TruTrack™ weight distribution system is designed for. Not solely that, however it additionally ranges your whole setup—out of your tow automobile’s entrance bumper to your RV’s rear bumper—to ship safer, extra environment friendly towing.
Whether or not you’re a brand new RV proprietor or have lately upgraded and want a brand new weight distribution hitch, let’s discover if the CURT TruTrack™ 4P hitch is best for you.
Do You Want a Weight Distribution Hitch?
Merely put, a weight distribution hitch is advisable in case your trailer’s loaded weight is greater than half of your tow automobile’s weight. Let’s say you’re towing with a Chevy Silverado 2500HD with a curb weight of roughly 7,500 kilos. Whereas your towing capability is probably going north of 14,000 kilos, you’ll desire a weight distribution hitch in case your trailer’s loaded weight exceeds roughly 3,750 kilos.
That’s the essential system for figuring out whether or not a weight distribution system will profit you, however how do you select one which works on your particular trailer and tow automobile?
Should you’re unfamiliar, start with our weight distribution hitch shopping for information to know the choice standards. Then, come again and discover out if this CURT TruTrack™ 4P hitch meets your standards!
Who Is This CURT TruTrack™ Hitch For?
This specific CURT TruTrack™ 4P weight distribution system (Mannequin #17500) is designed for the next trailers specs:
- Gross Trailer Weight: 8,000 to 10,000 kilos
- Tongue Weight: 800 to 1,000 kilos
As a reminder, gross trailer weight is a mix of your trailer’s unloaded automobile weight (UVW) and its cargo weight. Cargo weight can embody—however isn’t essentially restricted to—liquid weight in holding tanks, meals, kitchen necessities, tenting tools, clothes, and different private belongings.
All RVers ought to guarantee their trailer’s gross weight doesn’t exceed its gross automobile weight ranking (GVWR), as specified by the producer. Should you’re contemplating this CURT 17500 TruTrack™ weight distribution hitch with sway management, your ultimate gross trailer weight and tongue weight measurements should not exceed the scores above for security causes.
Advantages of the CURT TruTrack™ Weight Distribution System
So, why would you select this CURT weight distribution system? Listed here are the numerous advantages of this technique:
- Adjustable Shank. It comes with a 12” adjustable shank that means that you can set up it to suit the extent of your tow automobile and trailer. You should utilize this as a drop hitch or raised hitch, relying in your setup and measurements.
- Simple Tilt Adjustment. The shank head is designed to be tilted to a number of settings to facilitate set up. As soon as put in, the lean adjustment is straightforward with the included spacers, as long as the spring bars are now not beneath rigidity.
- A number of Spring Bar Settings. This additional ensures compatibility and ease of set up for each slim and A-frame journey trailers.
- Heavy-Responsibility, Body-Mounted Brackets. These brackets substitute conventional spring bar chains, utilizing friction to withstand lateral and vertical motion and ship improved trailer alignment.
- Distinctive Spring and Cam System. As you tow, this technique actively harnesses strain to forestall trailer sway after which relaxes to make sure smoother turning.
Moreover, CURT designed this technique with interlocking nuts and preset holes for tilt adjustment. That makes this one of many simpler weight distribution techniques to put in at house, which we’ll get into subsequent!
CURT TruTrack™ 17500 Set up Directions
Should you’ve chosen CURT’s TruTrack™ 4P weight distribution system on your towing setup, right here’s the essential set up course of when you’ve decided your best spring bar width and adjusted the cam blocks. CURT’s written TruTrack™ 17500 set up directions will help you with these steps.
Listed here are the essential TruTrack™ hitch set up steps:
Step 1: Take Measurements for Goal Peak
Decide your tow automobile’s goal uncoupled hitch ball top. This can differ for all automobiles and requires three primary measurements: your trailer’s coupler top when degree and the distances from the bottom to your tow automobile’s entrance and rear bumpers, respectively.
Start by leveling your RV and parking your tow automobile in entrance of it. It’s greatest to make use of a degree floor for this set up. Along with your trailer and tow automobile in place, report the next distance measurements:
- From the bottom to the highest of the trailer coupler
- From the bottom to the underside of the entrance bumper
- From the bottom to the underside of the rear bumper
Technician Tip: You may also measure from the bottom to the underside of the entrance and rear wheel wells and use these distances as substitutes for #2 and #3 above.
Your hitch ball’s goal uncoupled top needs to be greater than your unloaded ground-to-trailer coupler measurement (#1 above). This accounts for sag when your trailer’s tongue weight is loaded.
To find out your goal uncoupled hitch ball top, add ⅛” to your unloaded ground-to-trailer coupler measurement for each 100 kilos of trailer tongue weight.
For instance, let’s say your unloaded ground-to-trailer measurement is 16”, and your trailer’s tongue weight is 800 kilos. 800/100 = 8; 8 x ⅛” = 1”; your best goal uncoupled hitch ball top is 16” + 1” or 17”.
Step 2: Set up the Shank and Hitch Head
The next move is inserting the shank into your tow automobile’s hitch receiver and securing it with the offered hitch pin and clip. You are able to do so inverted or upright, however your aim is to decide on the place that means that you can set up the hitch head as near the goal uncoupled top as potential.
Technician Tip: The inverted shank place is extra generally used on automobiles with excessive floor clearance. If used on this place, verify to keep up enough floor clearance earlier than towing.
You’ll be able to then set up the hitch head utilizing the preset holes, which let you place it as shut as potential to your uncoupled goal top. Use the offered spacers to set the hitch head’s preliminary tilt. You’ll discover a number of spacer positions, however CURT recommends tilting the top again towards your tow automobile and utilizing the preset holes closest to you through the preliminary setup—referring to this as spacer Place 1.
For this set up, be conscious to make use of the bigger of the 2 ¾” hex bolts within the higher preset gap. Lastly, tighten the hex bolts sufficient to carry the spacers into the hitch head, however don’t absolutely torque them to the producer’s specification but.
Step 3: Set up the Spring Bars, Brackets, and L-Helps
Insert the spring bars into the spring bar sockets prolonged again from the hitch head. Safe them utilizing the included wire lock pins and clips. Then, increase your trailer coupler, rigorously reverse your tow automobile, and join your trailer to the hitch ball. Utilizing a spotter for this step makes life rather a lot simpler!
Making certain the hitch latch is closed and secured, use the tongue jack to boost the trailer coupler roughly three inches. Placing a few of the tongue weight on the jack will enable you safe the spring bars to the brackets when the time comes.
However earlier than doing that, you’ll want to put in the help brackets. The steps are pretty easy: mark the situation, set the bracket {hardware} in place, and tighten to safe the brackets. Nonetheless, there are some nuances.
Use the marks on the highest of the spring bars to mark your bracket areas. A paint pen is a good instrument for making these marks in your trailer’s body. Hint the marks on the spring bars as much as the corresponding location on the trailer body.
Then, compile your bracket {hardware}. Every will encompass two vast channel brackets, a slim channel bracket, and the advisable carriage bolts and nuts. The outside a part of the bracket will embody a large channel put in over a slim channel bracket, and the inside half would be the remaining vast channel bracket.
Place a single carriage bolt by the highest gap of all three help brackets and loosely safe a nut on the top. Based mostly in your marks, dangle the bracket in its meant location after which slide an L-support between the vast channel and slim channel exterior brackets. Safe it with a second carriage bolt and nut situated as near the trailer’s body as potential.
Technician Tip: When the trailer is lifted 3” with the tongue jack, the L-support top needs to be set as shut as potential to the spring bar top.
Lastly, tighten each nuts securing the carriage bolts to the producer’s specification (25 lb-ft), and repeat this course of to put in the second bracket on the opposite facet of the body.
Step 4: Rigidity the Spring Bars
These steps full many of the set up, however a pivotal ultimate level stays earlier than you’ll be able to retract your tongue jack and tow your trailer. It’s essential to set the spring bars on the L-supports and safe them in place.
Discover the package’s included raise bar and place it beneath one of many spring bars. The small hook on the top of the bar needs to be inserted into the opening within the horizontal piece of the L-support. This can mean you can raise the spring bar and place it onto the L-support, the place you’ll be able to safe it with the included clip and cotter pin.
Step 5: Closing Checks and Torque to Spec
You’ll then must decrease your tongue jack to verify your tow automobile’s top. When adjusted correctly, your automobile ought to settle evenly (entrance to again). If the entrance settles extra (aka – is decrease) than the rear, you could must decrease the L-supports to scale back the load on the spring bars. The spring bars needs to be almost horizontal when your helps are within the appropriate place. Equally, for those who can’t degree your automobile utilizing Place 1, you could want to extend the hitch head tilt place in order that extra rigidity will be utilized to the bars.
Technician Tip: You MUST take away the cotter pins and use the bar raise deal with to take away rigidity from the spring bars earlier than adjusting the L-support top or the hitch head tilt!
Whenever you’re happy with the L-support top and hitch head tilt and your tow automobile is degree, tighten the ¾” hex bolts and nuts holding the spacers into the hitch head to the producer’s specification (200 lb-ft). A failure to finish this important ultimate step may end up in full hitch system failure!
We hope this helps you resolve if that is the best weight distribution hitch on your towing setup. Listed here are a number of extra sources for secure towing:
What questions do you’ve about this CURT weight distribution system? Tell us within the feedback beneath.