I plan on towing my old 21' Road Ranger with my new 2500 DM. Can I get do it without using the equalizer bars? Don't know the tongue weight for sure but it must be somewhere in the 400 to 500 lb. range..maybe less. Sure would be nice not to deal with the heavy stuff. Thanks and Spool 'er Up

You can probably do it, but it might tow better with a WD hitch. An Equal-i-zer brand hitch of the correct rating for your trailer, for exampl, would take you about 1 minute longer to hook up than a naked ball. You would also get sway control, which can make life much more pleasant if the trailer turns out to be a bit twitchy.

TC

If you are just driving to the local dump a naked ball might be OK, but if you intend to go out on the highway consider a WD hitch. In my 35 years of towing I can alway tell a rig that does not have a WD hitch from a 1/2 mile behind them because of the sway of the trailer as they go down the road.
You will not agree with my comments until you either loose control of your trailer of see one with out WD on the side of the road with the side ripped out by a guard rail.

I agree with previous posts....

I have an Equal-i-zer brand hitch, and tow a 27 ft trailer. Purchased that brand after much research. Installs easily, and performance is excellent. Was driving across I-40 in Arizona this past fall, with 45MPH sustained winds from the south-- DUST STORM. Had to drive 50MPH because of dust and because I was being "pushed"... but even with the 45MPH side winds there was practically no sway (miniscule if that)-- I might have gone 65+ MPH without sway, but other conditions prevented that. Without the Equal-i-zer hitch (or comparable anti-sway & weight distribution hitch), I would have had to stop for a day or two and wait for the winds to die down, OR... been swaying ALL OVER THE ROAD.

If you are going to be driving for any length of time, at highway speeds, I'd definitely get an antisway/distributing hitch.

I plan on towing my old 21' Road Ranger with my new 2500 DM. Can I get do it without using the equalizer bars? Don't know the tongue weight for sure but it must be somewhere in the 400 to 500 lb. range..maybe less. Sure would be nice not to deal with the heavy stuff. Thanks and Spool 'er UpThe sway of the dog is relative to the size of his tail. Balance is reached when the dog can articulate it to maintain stability while maneuvering.

Weight distribution bars balance the tongue load over both axles of the tow vehicle, to increase stability. During braking, significantly more weight is being shifted to the ball, than what is measured while the vehicles are at rest. This "teeter-toter" affect can significantly increase your braking distance, and nullify steering while decelerating in a curve. Sway control (more accurately sway brake) becomes indispensible for control under adverse wind conditions, vehicle vortices of larger vehicles, or uneven road surfaces.

I agree the w.d. hitch is the way to go....I tow a 26' camper behind with 2-600 # atv's side by side on a rack in the bed. The w.d. hitch alone even without sway bars does improve sway and I find the ride much smoother with less bounce over the bumps as an added benefit.