Blue Ox SwayPro vs TrackPro: Best Weight Distribution Hitch?
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- čas přidán 4. 04. 2021
- In this video, we put a Blue Ox SwayPro and a Blue Ox TrackPro to the CAT scale test. I’ll compare both Blue Ox weight distribution hitches to a conventional hitch. This is the Blue Ox SwayPro vs. TrackPro vs. conventional hitch. Which is the best weight distribution hitch for travel trailers?
I’ll weigh my rig at a CAT Scale with a conventional hitch, Sway Pro, and a Track Pro. I wanted to see if my rig exceeds my front or rear GAWR. It turns out, with the conventional hitch, I exceed my rear GAWR and my truck’s GVWR. The weight distribution hitches help, and it is interesting to see how much.
If you found this video helpful, check out our website and blog post where we cover even more questions about the Blue Ox SwayPro:
gotogethergofar.com/blue-ox-s...
And some more info here:
gotogethergofar.com/weight-di...
gotogethergofar.com/blue-ox-s...
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There are even more RV gear suggestions on our website: gotogethergofar.com/recommend...
Specific Links For This Video:
1. Blue Ox SwayPro: amzn.to/3eanPmx
2. Blue Ox TrackPro: amzn.to/3qkPhAt
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Other Recommended Gear:
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Travel Trailer Towing:
1. Blue Ox SwayPro: amzn.to/3eanPmx
2. Blue Ox TrackPro: amzn.to/3qkPhAt
3. Roadmaster Active Suspension: amzn.to/3sUOibK
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Please support Go Together, Go Far, by subscribing. Subscribing will help improve our content and continue the journey our family is on. Be sure to check gotogethergofar.com/weight-distribution-hitch-with-sway-control/ for more info on some great weight distribution hitches. We also have a ton of other content on there that you may like as well. Thanks for taking the time to watch our videos!
Very informative and eye opening video. Thank you for taking the time to put this together! I am a newbie to pulling a travel trailer, but learning to keep my family, and the people around me safe thanks to videos like this. Much appreciated!
Thanks!
Thanks and excellent comparison. You have some of the best videos for explaining stuff on CZcams. I also liked the way you justified getting a bigger truck!
Wow, thank you Paul! I appreciate that.
I don't have any experience with Blue Ox hitches, but I feel like you could have easily gotten to the proper weight distribution with the SwayPro by taking up one more link on the chains. I'm from NKY - hope to see you around some day.
Thanks for all the video(s) pertaining to the Blue Ox WDHs. I found them extremely informative and helpful. I’ve just purchased my first travel trailer (Nash 23D) and I’m doing my research/data gathering before break-up. I just purchased the Trac Pro using your link and was graciously surprised by the steep discount. Thank you! 👌 The savings was nearly enough to cover the cost of air bags I purchased for my truck (‘19 Tundra). Definitely looking forward to the summer. Cheers from North Pole, Alaska! 🎅🏻☃️🎄🇺🇸
Very helpful information! I bought a camper yesterday and it came with the trackpro, so I'm very happy!
It should work great for you. Mine is awesome. Happy camping!
Wow! What a breakdown, that is super interesting!!
Thanks!
Thank you for your information on the hitches, & the fact that you're pulling a Salem 30KQBSS. We are looking forward to purchasing a 2021 Forest River SALEM 273QBXL, sister to your rig. I have a 2018 RAM 1500 w/ the HEMI, & 8450lb Max tow. Besides the adding of Air Bags, Sumo Springs, your info on the Blue OX bars are exactly what I was looking for. Thank you again. Safe Travels & God Bless!!
Honestly the biggest thing to think of is the truck's cargo capacity. Most modern half ton trucks can "tow" plenty. But that isn't the full picture. Cargo capacity, stopping power, etc. Are really important too. While I'm within my limits with the Track Pro, and it handles better that ever, I am considering moving up to an F250 or more.
Wow impressive video. Very informative thanks!
Lol, thanks Jamie. I appreciate it!
I just installed it and used it on our GD 297BQ (33’) towed by our new 2021 Ford Expedition with a HD tow pkg. worked flawlessly!!!! No sway, no bounce, nothing. We did have some high winds that were buffeting us the whole way but it really did the job. Will never go back now.
We never expected to use this because we have a fully equipped f150 but no issues. 10 hours of towing through mountains, wind, rain, Semi’s wind, all but snow and ice. Thanks for the videos!!!!
We are also towing with a 2021 Ford EX with the HD tow package and are looking at the same weight trailer as the GD. Which hitch did you do with?
@@csmiley4273 I did a Sway Pro and absolutely love it. I have not tried the others but I have no need to because even though I have a long trailer I really am experiencing no adverse effects. I saw all of the various reviews and shootouts, all the way up to the most expensive, $3000 plus, system and between those and my neighbors with RVs, and others that I know, I committed to the SwayPro. One of the videos I watched here touted the Sway Pro initially then they moved over to the track pro. It’s totally fine because I still respect the author, but when I called Sway Pro support and asked them why would somebody move to TrackPro, they replied they didn’t know because it’s a friction-based anti-sway system and when he gets wet it lessens capabilities.
I did have a moment initially where I felt a little sway so I simply follow the instructions, and added more tension to the bars and it took it right out.
In our local camping I have to traverse a 7% grade in both directions up and down and I have no issues. I hope that helps. You can’t go wrong with a SwayPro.
@@csmiley4273 oh, and I have added an air ride suspension from Firestone just in case. It doesn’t help with the sway but if I load the bed down it helps the ride for the humans inside the cab.
If I had to do it again I think I would choose the roadmaster active suspension system over the airbags. If and when my airbags finally pop I’ll replace them with the roadmaster active suspension units. About $500 or so. Very impressive control.
great info many thanks.
This is the video I’ve been looking for. A wealth of knowledge. I have a 2020 f150, same GVWR as you and my trailer dry weight is 6000lbs, hitch weight 600lbs. It sounds like I should be good with the track pro. Thanks for making the video!!
Thanks Nick! I'm glad it helped!
I noticed the “Castrucci -Milford” license plate frame in another one of your videos. I’m in West Chester. My wife says I’m the only person who obsesses over weights and towing within a 100 miles. Now I can call her a liar. Lol.
LOL! That's hilarious. Now you have proof that you're not the only one.
Great video
Great video! Question. Do you think any adjustments can be made to either of the Blue Ox Hitches to transfer more weight to the front? I am using a different type of WDH that is more like the Track Pro but have wanted to get the sway pro as is seems to limit the grinding noise when turning.
I think you can try using 10 or 11 links on the SwayPro. It would have the effect of pulling up a little harder on the "wheelbarrow ." That would put even more pressure on the front axel.
Good job
First, we went from an F-150 to a F-250 for the exact reason you are concerned about you GVWR. We were within 50lb. Now we are nowhere near that.
Second, you could have tried changing the chain position on the Sway Pro to move more weight to the front. Blue Ox suggested that with the F-150 and we put about 85 pounds back onto the front for better handling. As for towing with the F-250, the recommended 9 link works perfectly.
Also rather than using Cat Scale, we used Smart Weigh, which gives you weights on each tire, axle, GVWR, GCVW, maximum height, and recommendations to correct. For use, the passenger side of the trailer was about 165 lbs heavier than the driver side. Kitchen, furnace and water heater are on the passenger side. We corrected by moving my tool box to the driver side, as well as rearranging the rest of basement storage. That got us within 30 lb of balance between the passenger and driver sides. Also we found the trailer is 3 inches taller than the OEM spec (we made no changes that would have affected height). Knowing the fact we are taller can make a difference in clearances while traveling.
Smart Weigh is available at two Escapee's Club sites (FL and TX) is available to anyone. Costs are reasonable ($45 for our truck and travel trailer) and well worth the information you gain. We carry a copy of the results in case we have an issue with the weight police.
Great information! Thank you!
If u changes the chain position on the sway pro doesn't it push more weight forward? So u can get a better weight ratio front and rear. I have the sway pro and it helped me have confidence with my towing I tow with a excursion right ag it's limit and without the sway pro I had a hard time towing but with the wd it made it easy
Great video. Blue Ox advertises the Sway Pro as having sway PREVENTION and Track Pro as sway CONTROL. How are the 2 hitches on the freeway or in the wind?
Excellent question that I was hoping would be answered. 😢
How loud is the trackpro compared to the equalizer? Thank you for the excellent video.
I can't say for sure as I'm not sure how loud the Equalizer is. I can say that the TrackPro is pretty noisy though. It is much louder than the SwayPro by comparison.
Great video! I dig that hat btw! Heck I just use a haulmaster hitch from harbor freight. Not sure how effective it is though
I’d recommend not using something like that from harbor freight , when your 70 mph highway speeds and a truck passes it takes seconds seconds for something catastrophic to happen and can kill someone , spend a little money when it comes to this please
@@sticrzy123 so I actually ended up buying beefier chains for the wd bars and bought a gen-y shank for the wd hitch. Made a huge difference and pulled very well. We now have a fifth wheel so no longer need the wd hitch obviously. Night and day difference with fifth wheel
Good video
Thanks!
Do you have the weight of the two hitches? The Track Pro looks as if it weighs less than the Sway Pro? Thanks for the video.
Good question. The SwayPro actually weighs a little less. 75lbs vs 95lbs. I have some more info here: gotogethergofar.com/weight-distribution-hitch-with-sway-control/
Since the SwayPro is so simple to change the settings by going up a link or down, did you maybe go to the 10th link to take more weight off the rear axle? I’m currently in the 9th link and considering going to the 10th. Great and informative video
In a different video I made some adjustments to my SwayPro. Somebody else suggested using the 10th link. I think that makes a lot of sense if you want that SwayPro to be little tighter.
@@GoTogetherGoFar great video. We love our SwayPro
Great video. What is the hitch weight of your trailer? My new TT say 600 lbs. but I would think I would need to weight it with full propane tanks.
899 lbs per the specs.
My Imagine 2600rb sticker says 500 plus. I went to the cat scale and un hitched my trailer. Put the tongue on the middle pad. The back tandems on the last pad. Last my truck on the front pad. My tongue was 1040 lbs the tandems were 5860. Thats about 15% on the tongue. Point is? Do not trust the sticker. 🙂
@@elzipperooo Thanks, the is some good information
@@johndoddato2662 The sticker is the weight as it left the factory. The only time it is accurate is probably when you brought it home from the dealer. Once you start putting everything in the camper to go camping that number will go up quite a bit. That weight will be a hit on the payload which is the other number to watch which wasn't really discussed in the video. The best way to watch that is to weight the truck once without the camper while it is full of fuel and simulated passengers and driver.
Good video! Thanks. Question: I have the 2016 FX4 lariat with a heavy duty tow package and my manuals and everything say that my max load is 12,000 pounds because I have the super crew cab and eco-boost. Is your truck similar? Why is your capacity 7000 pounds?
Great question! So it looks like the specs on our trucks are pretty similar but we have to make sure we are talking about the same thing. I think some of the terms get interchanged. So your max TOW capacity is 12,000 pounds. That is the max you should be pulling with your truck. The 7000-pound number is the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating), which is the max load the truck can weigh. This includes the truck itself, fuel, me, my wife and kids, anything in the bed, and the weight that the trailer puts on the hitch. You need to think about both numbers and how they affect each other. Your trailer's hitch weight is generally the load amount the trailer puts on the truck's GVWR. it will vary depending on how you load the trailer and such. If it matters, from my research, I've found that most modern half-ton trucks will run over their max GVWR before they run over their max TOW capacity. Weight distribution hitches help, but so would moving up to a 3/4 ton truck. Hope this helps!
@@GoTogetherGoFar Maybe I misunderstood. I thought you said your max tow wt was 7000 pounds and it doesn’t sound like that’s what you said.
In essence, when I’m coming down the highway at full load I should be not more than 19,000 pounds total weight correct or do I subtract by 7000 vehicle weight from my 12,000 to wait? Dizzying.
@@mr.peabody3509 Ha, it's about to get even more dizzying... You need to check your truck's GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating). This is the max weight of the fully-loaded truck and trailer together, and it is typically less than just adding the two. For example, my F150's Max tow is 12,700 pounds and GVWR is 7000 pounds. But per the specs for my F150, my GCWR is 18,200 pounds, which is about 1500 pounds less than just adding the two up.
@@GoTogetherGoFar whew! You’re right, all these numbers to consider. I know that my trailer should not exceed 10,000 pounds ever based on our family needs. My truck, if I could lose a few pounds, should never exceed 8000 pounds, So theoretically I should be safe. However, I will check those numbers. Thanks for the great info!
@@GoTogetherGoFar By the way, I ended up calling blueox with my vehicle specs, to include my fire stone airbags I installed, and they gave me the 1000 model SwayPro. Well, not actually “gave”, but recommended.
You probably answered this in previous videos, but what year and engine does your F150 have, I have the Blue ox sway pro with 2019 F150 2.7 turbo. enjoy your videos
2019 F150 with the Eco Boost. Max tow package as well.
@@GoTogetherGoFar I'm read that the Max towing would be 9000lbs and you show max is around 7000lbs. I have not weight my rig but dry is 4800 and state around 2000 extra. which i'm pretty sure I haven't added. On one trip I did add water to the fresh tank, around 400 lbs and we climbed and came back down 7000 feet with no issues. But watching this makes me a little concerned
My truck's gross vehicle capacity is 7000 lbs. With my options, my tow capacity is over 12,000 lbs. I'm finding that tow capacity just isn't an issue for most of us. The issue is cargo capacity, or max load. My truck's is just over 1700lbs. That includes you, your family, gear in the truck, and your trailer's hitch weight. That is what I feel like I'm pushing the limits on. That help?
@@GoTogetherGoFar Yes it does, Thanks
I just bought a grand design rv with the blueox tracpro hitch. I do like it but it took 300 lbs off of my steer tires and I'm trying to find a video that says how to adjust the hitch to get those 300 lbs back on my steer tires. Any thoughts?
Hi Dennis. I'm assuming when you say steer tires, you're referring to your front truck tires. If so, I'm not really sure how that would happen. That hitch is specifically designed to do the opposite of that. Is it something else you're referring to? Maybe I'm just misunderstanding.
@@GoTogetherGoFar Thanks for reply. Yes I was referring to the front tires. FYI: For future reference, I spoke with Blue OX today. They said I needed to adjust the L bracket up one hole. When I went to look at the bracket, it was in the bottom 2 holes.
@@truckerslife_dividend_investor Got it. That makes sense. That should put more lift on the hitch and increase the shift in weight to the front.
You really should have done another pass through the scales with just the truck. This would have given you a target weight for the front wheels to be at with TT & WDH.
Good idea. Next time...
Yea, just the truck alone would have shown a lot of information for towing. Good video and good info also.
Great video! What tongue weight rating hitch did you have for each. The sway pro and trac pro?
For my SwayPro, I had the 1000lb spring bars. For the TrackPro, I had the 1300lb bars.
@@GoTogetherGoFar Thank You!
@@GoTogetherGoFar that explains why the trackpro moved more weight to the front.
I certainly think that is a factor. When I installed my brackets on the trailer's tongue, I had to install them pretty far forward. Maybe too far. But that means I am connected at the "thicker" end of the spring bar, so they are not very springy. I'm thinking that plays a role too. I also think I could retest the SwayPro on the 10th chain link instead of the 9th. I think that may adjust it as well. It is like a never ending learning process...
What is easier to setup and unhook the sway pro or the track pro?
Right now, I think the TrackPro is a little easier. When jack the truck/hitch up to allow the spring bars to fit into the clamps, the spring bars just slide right in. I don't need to use the wrench they provide. That makes it a little easier. That said, I think both are pretty easy.
Sway Pro is so much better though there is absolutely NO popping and when doing tight turns and you don’t need to unhook when backing up super easy just use a big bar to wrench it down , and you can crank it down more to move the weight he probably didn’t have it set high enough in the chain lengths
Great breakdown! I see the TrackPro seemed to transfer weight a bit better, how did it feel as far as sway compared with the SwayPro?
I didn't notice much difference at slower speeds. 50 mph and below. But I jumped on the highway after filming and noticed a big difference. The truck and the trailer just seemed more "locked together."
@@GoTogetherGoFar is that with the TrackPro that it felt more locked together?
Correct. The TrackPro felt more locked together.
@@GoTogetherGoFar good to hear. I was originally going with a SwayPro for my setup, but the dealer recommended going TrackPro. I haven’t heard much about them so just wanted to see what your experience was. Thanks for your insight!
I'm glad it helped!
Is the sway pro head different than the track pro head?
Yeah they are a little different.
I'm curious to see if the trackpro controlled trailer sway better than the swaypro..
I didn't notice much difference at speeds below highway speeds. After filming, I drove home on the highway. I think the TrackPro felt more stable. I think the SwayPro could be tightened up by going to the 10th chain link.
@@GoTogetherGoFar i wondered the same. I'm wondering between the Blue ox sway pro, track pro, equalizer 4 pt and the curt true track or whatever its called. 😄 Seems like those 4 are the best rated. I want to stop the sway asap.
Hi Eric. My experience has been with the SwayPro and the TrackPro. I've used the SwayPro for years and linked it. So far, the TrackPro seems as good or better, but I'll have much more experience with it this season. I haven't used the other two but I also investigated them. Generally, I think all four are fairly equivalent, but there are other considerations. I have an article I wrote on my site that may help you make a decision. There are a handful of other things to at least think about when deciding.
gotogethergofar.com/weight-distribution-hitch-with-sway-control/
@@GoTogetherGoFar i just picked up a used 12 k 4 pt equalizer from FB. 375$ I feel good about it. 🙂
Good deal. It should work well for you.
That “missing weight” is transferred to your trailer axle.
Which do you prefer?
I think I like the TrackPro better.
can't you just up the WDH pressure on the one you have?
Maybe. Some folks have suggested moving to the 10th or 11th link on the SwayPro. But I'll tell you, now that I have been using the TrackPro for a couple months, I really like the way it tows. I am finding it to me much more stable that the SwayPro.
@@GoTogetherGoFar I just got a weigh safe WDH and it's really nice and easy to adjust the pressure. I've towed 3 times with it and I'm still trying to zero it in.
If you only had one choice… sway or track pro?
Now that I've used the TrackPro more, I like it better. So TrackPro.
@@GoTogetherGoFar ok, thank you
That seemed to be the general consensus so I ordered one from Blue Ox today
Enjoy your channel
Thanks
Anybody else getting more and more confused by all the different weight distribution hitch videos? 1 video says the one with the chains just distributes the weight and doesn't do much for sway.. then another video says friction control hitches prevent sway and distribute the weight 🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
Then other videos say other things.. man I'm confused
Dry Weight (6,943 lbs.) Payload Capacity (2,756 lbs.) Hitch Weight (899 lbs.) your dry weight is 6943 ARE YOU SURE THOSE WEIGHTS ARE CORRECT LOL.. You went way way way to big on your trailer lol. Thanks for showing us though. I call this the TIM THE TOOL MAN TAYLOR COMPLEX. lolol Im going to buy a trailer thats 3900lb dry and hitch 430 and have a 2016 tundra 5.7 and second guessing it LOLOLOL. Good video though BRO