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Everything I read suggests to not use a weight distribution hitch with the air suspension. I'm looking at a 5000 lb (loaded) off-road trailer, and it uses an articulating hitch (O365 something) everything I've read online suggest that is ok. It's only a 17' long trailer, 4960 GVM. This is the whole reason we went with the Defender (towing+off road without being a truck). don't want to be up around the 8k limit but figured 5k would be plenty.
anyone have an experience with the articulating hitches?
I have a slightly lighter off road trailer and an articulating hitch, but only have a Defender on order. I'm not making any accomodations for the fact my hitch articulates. I figure it will work fine with the Defender and I'll like it even more than I do on my current tow vehicle.
Did you have any specific concerns or questions about articulating hitches? For what it's worth, I've looked into several such hitches and don't recall ever seeing O365. Though there is a DO35.
My solution to the problem of not being able to open my back door when towing our trailer (NuCamp T@B400) was to modify the trailer. I think it is important to keep the hitch length (pin-to-ball) short (LR says 6.9" maximum) as this is a critical part of trailer stability. Also the reversing aid doesn't work right if you have a long hitch and the "red dot" is useless. My trailer modifications have gone through 2 phases, the first quite simple:
I replaced the stock front jack with "The Ultimate Jack", which is easily modified to be completely removable. That allowed the door to swing open a decent amount.
You simply re-install the jack when you want to camp:
The more adventurous modification was to replace the trailer hitch with a longer one to add a little more space:
and I modified the Ultimate Jack so that I could drive it with my cordless drill (that I use for stabilizers on the trailer anyway). This lets one detach the trailer even when parked at an angle with the jack snug against the spare tire.
In my situation, the hitch modification was a lot of work for not much gain and probably not worth it in retrospect. However, other trailers may have designs that lend themselves to extensions more easily.
My take-home message: Look at ways to modify your trailer rather than using a long hitch bar.
Bonus note: Using the air suspension to attach/detach the trailer doesn't work well at all. The vehicle moves forward/backward as it goes up and down so you cannot keep vehicle and trailer properly aligned, and this binds my trailer hitch. Very sad, as this would have been a neat trick.
Old thread, and would be interested in hearing how things are going with this trailer. Was surprised to see nobody mentioned tongue weight in all this and OP didn’t mention if he had measured it. Anything below 10% could be one factor in the sway. Even so, weight distribution hitch on a car which LR says it shouldn’t be used, hitch twice as long as recommended, and a trailer the size of my first house—hmmm, wonder how there could be sway?
I have a 2021 Defender with the towing package. I installed the red arc controller and it works great. My travel trailer is 26ft loaded weight of 5000lb and hitch weight right on target. I have a weight distribution hitch I used on my previous vehicles and have attempted to use it on the defender. It has worked….but not well. I’ve towed it to Tahoe and back and also to Bodega Bay and back. Each trip about 200 miles round trip. I’ve used the leaf spring type anti sway that are built into the hitch and I’ve gone with out them as well. Both set ups I’m getting too much sway. The hitch pin to the center of the ball is approx 12 inches which I know is about 5 inches too long from recommended. But in order to clear the spare tire from hitting my electric trailer Jack it’s necessary. Just looking to see what other set ups people are using? Power wise the defender is amazing had no problem climbing the 7000ft up to Tahoe. What’s limiting me on speed is feeling uncomfortable with how much sway I’m getting. Also vehicle and trailer are properly leveled when hooked up. I’ve read in another thread an owner towing a heavier trailer 75-80 mph and can’t imagine how? The best it’s felt is going up hill at 65 mph. Driving through windy areas I was limited to 50-55 mph but I’m pretty cautious. Any tips would be appreciated. Thank you! Set up.
Just FYI, manual says not to use a weight distribution hitch with the defender. AFAIK you just program all the details of your trailer into the tow app and it's supposed to adjust.
...anyone have an experience with the articulating hitches?
We picked our new off-road trailer late Oct this year - uses a McHitch. Easy breezy to connect up and fully articulating. I have some images from our trip to Ohio picking it up here that include hitch detail shots (no off-road images as yet as the setup is all literally brand new and snow camping here in CO doesn't sound appealing even with the trailer diesel heater). Hope the images are somewhat helpful.
I tow a 6000 lb trailer that has a tongue weight of around 850 lb which exceeds the LR spec. To compensate, I had the hitch strengthened. I chose to move my spare to the roof to get it out of the way of the jack and propane tanks - even if I moved the jack, the tanks would still get in the way. I also use a WD hitch with a shortened shank. I found the ride towing on the ball "spongy" whereas the WD hitch seems to dampen the ride. Hitch setup was a bit challenging since the air suspension is too damn smart. I ended up turning off the truck, and opening the door to "lock" the suspension in place as I set the torsion bars. So far, I'm pleased with the ride.
. Two months until we get the Defender hopefully
