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Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum

Posted By: gregsdart

Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/25/17 02:31 AM

I just acquired a 2015 Itasca Suncruiser 37f, and need to upgrade the hitch from a 3 to a 4 or better. I also need to install a brake controller.
The race trailer is a year 2000 Haulmark Edge, 28 ft enclosed. Total loaded trailer weight should be 9,000 lbs loaded.
What is a good hitch receiver and brake controller?
Posted By: pittsburghracer

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/25/17 02:44 AM

You may want to consider getting a Trailer Toad to save wear and tear on your motorhome
Posted By: amxautox

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/25/17 02:47 AM

http://www.trailertoad.com/
Posted By: Dragula

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/25/17 02:53 AM

Best I have used....

http://www.tekonsha.com/products/brake-c...1s6vqgsUyhEAAA1

Posted By: DragDart360

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/25/17 02:59 AM

I also use a P3, Works great.

I took my motor home to a local trailer dealer and had the hitch reinforced
to handle the tongue weight of my 24' EDGE
Posted By: Cab_Burge

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/25/17 05:56 AM

Buy the best brand and load weight kit you can get and look at a load leveler kit add on also up twocents
I think mine is a Load Leveler brand, maybe it's a Eazy Lift brand confused, on that with no sway dampener either.
I tow my 24 ft. Pace Shadow that weighed right at 8650 Lbs. on both axles with around 750 lbs on the back of my 2006 Ram 3500 4WHd four door long box single wheel pick up for many miles with that set up with no issues up
Posted By: earlymopar

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/25/17 03:08 PM

I have a new, in the box Tekonsha P-3 I would make you a good deal on. We bought it for an SUV we ended up selling before we installed a hitch and related pieces. PM me here if interested.

- EM
Posted By: MR_P_BODY

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/25/17 03:32 PM

Number one thing.. set your trailer up so its
level and weigh the tongue and get the height
but that should be 19" to the top of the ball
that way you can get the proper hitch height
and get a set of lift bars that match your
set up.. I've been using the Prodigy controller
but a older one on a 43' trailer it stops great
wave
Posted By: 340Cuda

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/25/17 03:45 PM

Leave it to us at Moparts to give you advise you did not ask for but I think the Trailer Toad is an excellent idea.

It appears there is a lot of overhang behind the rear axle and while the factory hitch is rated at 5,000 lbs, that may be really all the rear frame of the coach is rated for also.

Good Luck!

Bill
Posted By: MR_P_BODY

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/25/17 04:25 PM

Originally Posted By 340Cuda
Leave it to us at Moparts to give you advise you did not ask for but I think the Trailer Toad is an excellent idea.

It appears there is a lot of overhang behind the rear axle and while the factory hitch is rated at 5,000 lbs, that may be really all the rear frame of the coach is rated for also.

Good Luck!

Bill


I use to stiffen up frames and do the hitches
for about 4 year and did hitches at Chrysler
and the add on parts are out there.. some parts
might have to be made up.. my lift coupler is
rated at 10k
wave
Posted By: pittsburghracer

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/25/17 04:39 PM

On my third motorhome and I have lots of friends that tow with motorhomes. They are completely different that any other vehicles out there that we use to tow with and some are very weak in the rear. If not beefed up or a Trailer Toad used it can and will be destroyed towing close to 10,000 pounds. No all, but most
Posted By: geo.

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/25/17 04:56 PM

I don't know on what chassis your Itasca is built.
Crawl under the back and take a look at the frame.
Many(most?) motorhomes have frame extensions welded on.
Some drop down to much smaller tubing or channel than the original frame.
I guess the mfg. is assuming you're only flat-towing a small car.
My Xplorer Xcursion has the same size channel welded to the Ram3500 frame.
And then they welded a truss underneath!
And an X brace between the rails.
I'd accept nothing less for a 9000lb load.
Posted By: gregsdart

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/26/17 12:44 AM

The chassis is a Ford v 10 F53, 26,000 gvwr, 30,000 combined weight. Not sure what the coach weighs. The wheelbase is 248", coach length is 37,6" I will have to crawl under there and see what the frame is like, although with a 30,000 combined weight rating, it ought to be pretty stout. I am guessing a lot of guys tow with vehicles that don't have a high enough combined rating? My previous rig, I bet I was over by a lot.
Thanks for all the input, asked for or not.
Posted By: gregsdart

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/30/17 06:40 PM

I checked on a few things, and here is what I found. The same chassis has two or three different GCWR, or total mh and trailer weight combined. It is an F53 Ford, and mine is 30,000 GCWR. There is another 2015 Itasca Suncruiser model coach that is less than a foot longer than mine and has a 32,000 GCWR. I checked, and the frame and brakes are the same. That leads me to believe the extension on the frame for the higher rated coach is made better/stronger. The extension on mine is about half the size of the original frame, and the shop I found to do the class 4 hitch does a good job of strengthening the frame back to the new receiver so it can take the stress and load. It ain't going to be cheap, but good work isn't. I had forgotten about this shop; the last hitch they did for me was in 1977! Thanks again.
I plan on using the Techonsha 3, I already have a Reese equalizer with 1200 pound bars, and my trailer is about 9200 loaded. If I did a lot of fast, up and down hill towing, I would worry about the tongue weight. But I don't, racing two to four times a year now, 115 miles away, 60 mph top speed on good, pretty flat roads.
Posted By: Hemi_Joel

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/30/17 06:54 PM

Greg, that old rule of thumb about having 10% of the trailer weight on the tongue is not necessary in a situation like this. I have been Towing in a similar fashion, but with about 300 lb of tongue weight. It tows beautifully, and never sways. I'm not even using the torsion bars anymore and not using a sway control. These long race trailers with dual axles and the majority of the weight centered over the axles are very stable. 300 lb of tongue weight is so much easier on the hitch and the chassis then 900 lbs.
Posted By: gregsdart

Re: Best hitch receiver and brake controller? Class 4 minimum - 09/30/17 11:22 PM

Thanks, Joel!
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