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Friction in brackets and in head works to prevent and correct trailer sway. Chainless brackets with automotive-style friction pads hold spring bars firmly in place to help keep trailer in line with your tow vehicle. Adjustable shank included.
Features:
Specs:
| Included w/ System | Required - Sold Separately | Optional Add-Ons |
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Create a stable ride for your tow vehicle and trailer with a weight distribution hitch. Adding spring bars to your towing system applies leverage, which transfers the load that is pushing down on the rear of your vehicle to all the axles on both your tow vehicle and your trailer, resulting in an even distribution of weight throughout. The result is a smooth, level ride, as well as the ability to tow the maximum capacity of your hitch.
The tongue weight rating is the most important factor in determining which size weight distribution system you should use. If the bars of the system you choose are rated too high for your setup, they will create a rigid ride, which can result in a bouncing trailer. If, on the other hand, the bars are not rated high enough, the system will be unable to properly distribute the weight, rendering it virtually useless.
To determine the proper weight rating for a weight distribution system, you must first determine your trailer's tongue weight. Then add to that the weight of the cargo behind the rear axle of your tow vehicle. These two measurements make up the tongue weight rating for a weight distribution system.
Integrated Dependent Sway Control
The Steadi-Flex weight distribution system works to stop trailer sway before it begins. This is achieved in 2 ways. First, the system head is designed to firmly hold the spring bars in place to provide tight resistance and help ensure that your trailer tracks behind your vehicle. Second, the spring bar brackets that mount on your trailer's frame produce friction with the bars whenever any side-to-side motion occurs. This keeps the bars from moving, also helping to hold your trailer in a straight line.
System Head with Steel-on-Steel Friction
The head of the Steadi-Flex system firmly holds the spring bars in place at the hitch point. This tight hold helps to keep the bars from moving, which in turn helps to ensure that the trailer is held firmly in place behind your vehicle. If any sway or side-to-side movement does occur, the spring bars will move only slightly inside of the system's head. This steel-on-steel contact produces frictional resistance to limit further side-to-side motion of the bars, limiting the motion of your trailer in the process. The Steadi-Flex head is wider than most weight distribution heads. This design allows for greater surface area for the spring bars to move against. This makes it easier to produce the friction that resists sway.
Sway Control Brackets with Automotive-Grade Friction Material
The spring bars attach to the trailer frame with fixed, sturdy steel brackets. They sit on top of the brackets instead of being suspended by chains like the bars that are on traditional weight distribution systems. Chain suspensions typically allow a good deal of side-to-side play in the system. Because the Steadi-Flex has brackets in place of chains, that unwanted movement of the spring bars is eliminated. This helps to keep your trailer in line behind your vehicle. In addition, these brackets create friction to limit any side-to-side movement that may occur. When each spring bar on the Steadi-Flex system moves within the bracket, it rubs along the surface of the bracket, creating friction. This resistance limits the movement of the spring bar, thus preventing further side-to-side movement of the trailer.
Most systems with sway control brackets use bare steel brackets to create friction with the steel bars. Steel-on-steel friction typically causes a much louder ride, and it can result in wear and tear on the brackets themselves. The Steadi-Flex brackets, on the other hand, are lined with automotive-grade friction material. This material is more abrasive than bare steel, which allows more friction to build up faster and easier. The long-lasting friction material also reduces the banging noise created by the bars hitting the inside of the steel brackets. This provides a quieter ride while towing.
Fast, Easy Installation
The Steadi-Flex system is easy to install and set up. On the trailer side, simply clamp the spring bar brackets around your trailer's frame. Then prepare your vehicle by sliding the included shank into your 2" x 2" hitch receiver, and bolt on the head. The system head can be easily adjusted to achieve the proper angle and optimum leverage for your specific setup. No drilling is required to install this weight distribution system.
Head Tilt Adjustment
The head of the Steadi-Flex can be easily adjusted for the best possible angle for your towing setup. Adjusting the head lets you fine-tune the system's leverage so that you can get the best distribution of weight possible. Traditional head tilt adjustment methods require that the head be disassembled so that stackable washers inside the head can be either removed or added on. But with the Steadi-Flex, there are external, toothed washers on either side of the head that make it easy to change the tilt. Simply position the head in one of the preset angles based on your hitch's tongue weight, then bolt it in place, tightening the washers as you do so. Once the head is sitting at the correct angle, tighten the internal adjustment bolt to secure the platform in place.
Tapered Spring Bars
The spring bars of the Steadi-Flex system slide into the weight distribution head for quick, easy installation. With a tapered design and hot rolled steel construction, these bars offer superior flex to evenly distribute the weight between your tow vehicle and your trailer.
The bars easily pin into place inside the system head - no need to torque or re-torque any trunnion bolts to adjust the tension. With fewer parts to manage, installing and maintaining the Steadi-Flex is simple.
Adjustable, Clamp-On Brackets
The spring bar brackets simply clamp around your trailer's frame - no drilling required. These brackets are designed to be positioned 27" to 32" back from your coupler and they can fit a wide range of frame sizes and can even be used on a trailer with a bottom-mounted coupler.
While other brackets use L-pins to secure the spring bars in place on the brackets, the hinged Steadi-Flex brackets close completely around the spring bars. As a result, you can have greater piece of mind knowing that the spring bars are secure, all without the hassle of using and possibly losing L-pins and any extra hardware.
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Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (227 Customer Reviews)
Friction in brackets and in head works to prevent and correct trailer sway. Chainless brackets with automotive-style friction pads hold spring bars firmly in place to help keep trailer in line with your tow vehicle. Adjustable shank included.
For the most part this has been an easy WD system to live with. I tow a 25' travel trailer with a '12 Ram 1500 and it tracks straight even in strong cross winds. I was also suprised at how turning radius doesn't seem to be affected with it attached. My only complaint is how the covers for the ends of the weight distribution bars are secured. The little pins are placed so far to the end that a small movement in the cover allows them to be completely ineffective at securing the cover. This is important because these covers keep the WD bars from slipping off their resistance pads. Thankfuly so far I haven't had a cover slip or bounce open allowing the bar to release its tension after slipping off the pad. I can't imagine that would end well at highway speeds. I've traveled about 5,000 miles with this hitch and so far so good. Hopefully it stays that way. Lastly if these were designed this way on purpose, it would have been nice to have had a note about it in the manual to ease ones concerns.
I bought this hitch about a year ago to pull our 17' horse trailer behind our 2001 Chevy Tahoe. A scale showed that the trailer (4000 lbs empty) with one horse in the front stall had about 1000 lbs of tongue weight, which was more than our stock Tahoe could balance.
This hitch was a pain to set up and dial in the first time, in part because the trailer didn't have open channels on the tongue. I had to cut holes in the tongue's sheet metal cover to allow clearance for the hitch's brackets. I had to crank the hitch up as far as it would go, which leveled out the trailer pretty well, but still left the Tahoe squatting more than I'd like. I ended up having to get air bags for the Tahoe to completely level it out.
Now that I've got the hang of it and it's all adjusted, this isn't hard to hook up. It only takes a few minutes longer than a normal trailer. The anti-sway feature seems to be doing its job. It is a little noisy when turning, but I only notice it when I'm backing up slowly.
Overall, I'm happy with this hitch, and I'd recommend it to a friend. I suspect any other weight distributing hitch would have had the same complications.
Works great! Fairly straightforward installation and easy to use. We use this on our F250 pulling a 31ft travel trailer weighing about 8500 fully loaded. No issues so far after a year.
Great Service!!! Great Products!!!, I called and told Steve at E Trailer that I needed a Reese Weight Distribution Hitch Asap. Steve sent me an email several hours later saying it’s on its way, I had the hitch in two days. Fast shipping , and great customer service, Thanks E Trailer for taking care of your customers.
Tommy
7/12/2020
Used the hitch for a year now and still going strong!!!
After a month of looking and reading responses, watching various videos and talking with users; I decided on the RP66560. My situation is: 2012 Chevy 2500 ext cab 4wd with 6.5' bed. I followed the directions which were easy to understand and all parts fit perfectly. I am towing a 30' full width 9500 lb travel trailer with two slide outs. Following directions I was able to complete application with no change with front or rear measurement. A key note - use real bearing grease on the WD bars not just spray grease; not enough lubricant. Also, look at the set back before you buy to ensure you can use it. For some assurance I bought a 25k 1" rise hitch ball. I pulled the trailer with a good 20-30mph cross wind with no sway at all. There was zero bucking over bumps or movement on uneven roads. Easy to back up with no issues. When I was done with towing I had it unhitched in 3 minutes. This WD hitch far exceeded my expectations.
This unit is Awesome! Made a huge difference in my Weight Distribution and was VERY easy to install! I have no SAG either, leveled out TV and Trailer. I had also purchased Air Bags, which have just made the ride smoother! I did make the mistake of not leveling my pads to the sway bars the first time around and this thing was noisy! Once I watched the Reese online install video, I found I need to level the pads to my bars. Once I did that, the noise pretty much stopped. I only hear them at low speeds going into sharp turns. Worth the $$.
this was the best thing i did!!!! it With my 2008 ran 1500 it pulls my flagstaff Super-Lite 26 FS with no movement at all from Gilbert Sc To Versailles Mo. and back And Gilbert Sc to South Branch Mi. Thank you-all very much HAPPY CAMPER
Jimmie R
Provides great stabilization, I have never felt a bit of sway. Bars need to be lubricated every time where they rub on the head or they make a ton of noise when making low speed turns. Also have had to tighten the pads on the frame multiple times they seem to loosen up. Other than that I’ve been very happy with the system.
Vince
3/26/2019
Still need to tighten pads a lot. Only uses rear pads and that pad has crumbled quite a bit. Used a heavier duty grease on the bars where they move on the head and it seems to cut down the noise and having to do it every time.
Product looks great. However we mistakenly bought too large of a weight distributer and won’t be able to use it. Completely our fault as the website provides plenty of tools to help us locate the correct size (it was a gift for my husband and I had the wrong specs). Only complaint is the boxes and instructions were pretty mangled and some of the parts looked like they had been installed and returned as they were bent. otherwise super fast shipping and everything looks heavy duty and well made. If we had a bigger rv it would be perfect. Our tongue weight is lower (around 550-600) and based on what we read that was going to cause a bouncy stiff ride. We have a Toyota tacoma and a Starcraft autumn ridge 17rd.
Sierra K.
1/10/2022
Customer Service will reach out to you. I recommend this system as it is more suited for your needs, but still has the Sway Control feature: item # FA92-00-0800.
Helpful Links
ettrailer recommended this hitch for my Silverado 1500 HD. It exceeds the trucks capacity, so it provides a level of confidence that I was looking for. The height adjustment, along with ball angle adjustment allow the tuning flexibility needed to get a perfect set-up. I use these adjustments in conjunction with an etrailer tongue weight scale. After a very bad experience with the wrong hitch & tongue weight set-up, my rig is now dialed in and absolutely no sway, level towing is the result. The load distribution feature really plants the truck.
Actually, I have had the product for more than 3 years. It Reese Stedi Flex has done everything promised and has done it well. Two things to note though; 1) The truck side fixtures are heavy and 2) the hitch is noisy while traveling and low speed maneuvering. It squawks and groans alot. But again, the system works fine for me.
After one year and 20 k miles towing all over the country with a 8k trailer I’m very pleased..
One pro and con I blew a tire in New Mexico and didn’t even notice a thing I guess this is good and bad.. Bad that I didn’t notice even a shutter in towing and good that it remained perfectly straight.
Only change would be to have a much bigger pen and pen hole for the flip over bracket that holds bar to the pads..
Would definitely purchase another..
I travel once a year across the US and many trips elsewhere during the year. So I can say after towing through the highest elevations in our country that this product is solid..
To add even my wife and kids can put this system on without difficulty..
Mark
2/6/2022
Great and easy to use hitch that I’ve put 30k on so far without issues…
One year later and I am still extremely pleased with the quality and overall performance of this system. The installation instructions were clear and concise which made set up a breeze. The Reese sway control system works so well you sometimes forget you are towing a trailer. Selecting the right sized system is key so be sure to determine your exact tongue weight.
Jeff H.
8/20/2019
Still working and performing flawlessly.
Hitch does a solid job of minimizing sway and distributing weight off back of vehicle. I feel 100% safe while pulling out travel trailer. I would mention that this hitch does creak and groan with turning, which I didn’t think it would.
Milton
7/13/2021
Hitch is still doing a solid job after one year! I have set it up to a new vehicle for out 30’ travel trailer and it still creaks some, but is great a distributing weight and preventing swaying! Still happy w this purchase!!
I appreciate the high level of service and attention to detail they have given me as a customer because it is far above what I've seen from other online retailers.
We recently purchased a truck and travel trailer so I've been outfitting each vehicle w/ parts from etrailer and will continue to do so because of their great service, recommendation of products and prices. As a former Purchasing Manager, I price shop everything and etrailer is always the best.
You will not be disappointed with etrailer!
Kevin P.
1/22/2020
Great! I talked my friend into purchasing the same unit and I even catch myself checking out others hitches as we drive past them swaying away.
Well I can’t tell yo what I think because I havnt been able to put it together
The box showed up a little bear up but I expected that, but when took out all the parts all I has wAs the head unit for the ball, the sway bars and the two trailer brackets…it was missing ALL the parts to put it together!
I’ve been working with customer service however I was miss g so many parts that they needed to email me an Installation manual to inventory what I am missing…I have been working with customer service the past couple of weeks and still no resolution…I have really disappointed so far that’s why I’m leaving a 1 star…will amend once I get the parts and to close this is a matter of urgency because I have to take a cross country trip mid May
Thank you
Jenny N.
3/22/2022
I will have our Customer Service team reach out to you.
My experience with the RP66560 Steadi-flex was not what I expected. Following the setup instructions the sway control was satisfactory, but the hitch caused significant bounce. I also did not like the weight as I have a bad back. I sold the hitch for half of what I paid and purchased an Andersen No-sway. I tow a 35 ft. Rockwood tt with a Ram 3500 dually.
Heather A.
10/11/2017
When your setup is bouncy that is an indicator that the weight distribution system WDS is rated too high for your setup. In order to choose the correct WDS for your setup, figure out the loaded tongue weight. This is the tongue weight of the trailer when it is all loaded with cargo and ready to be towed. You should also include the weight of anything you may have behind the rear axle of the tow vehicle. The loaded tongue weight of your setup needs to be in the middle of the range of tongue weights the WDS supports.
Helpful Links
This system was fairly easy to install, the instructions could have been a little better but overall it was fine. I pull a 32' video game trailer with an 04 Sierra 2500hd and this system relieved about an inch of squat. I could probably adjust it to help more but I am pretty happy with how it sits now. The main reason I bought it was actually for sway control and on that front it works wonderfully. The only downsides to this rig is that 1 it is noisy. Not when driving down the interstate or anything. But when making tight turns in neighborhoods or parking lots etc. It isn't a huge deal most weight distribution/sway systems make some noise, so it's whatever.
2: the break pad type things wore down badly when I first installed it because my trailer tongue had a rubberized coating on it that allowed the brackets to move some. So having a part that will need to be replaced is something to consider. Also the small pins that keep the "doors" closed on it are easy to bend up, especially if the bars have a bit of side pressure on them. I strongly recommend going to lowes or somewhere and buying yourself some spares.
The Reese Steadi-flex was shipped to me in a timely manner and the product was in good shape upon arrival. The instructions were clear and there were no surprises. Leave some time to dial in your trailer load, tongue weight, measuring the wheel wells etc. I had my adult sons help out and made it a family project. Finding a large torque wrench was our biggest hurdle.
The hitch performed well in traffic and 30 mph winds at highway speeds with no problems.
We put on just over 5,000 miles towing our 30 ft. toy hauler around this season. I really like the easy hook up and removal. It does make some noise on small town turns and in campgrounds but most do. I have been very happy with this hitch and would recommend this set up if it fits your truck and trailer.
I purchased a new RV camper (dry weight around 6,300lbs) in March 2018. I decided to change from my Equalizer brand weight distribution hitch to a Reese Steadi-Flex. After a year of owning it, I would say I prefer the Reese Steadi-Flex over the Equalizer. I thought it was much easier to install initially. The adjusting to get the camper level was much easier with the Reese hitch. After the initial hook-up, they are about the same to connect to the camper. While fairly similar, I think the Reese offers a little better sway control, but that is tough to tell for sure.
I bought this hitch to tow our family's Coachmen Catalina 22FBS with an early 2000s Ford Expedition. Prior to this hitch we just had a ball and friction sway bar. Rightly so, it is night and day difference between the two. My wife and I both take turns towing and the sway bar never really made either of us comfortable due to bucking and sway next to other large vehicles on the highway. With this hitch there is no more bucking and very little sway. What sway there is corrects/dampens itself very quickly. On smooth or gentle hills The two vehicles feel like one and you don't really notice the trailer when towing. I was hesitant about spending the money on this hitch which is why we tried the sway bar first, but now that I have it I absolutely love this hitch and we're both extremely happy to have made the switch.
I still have some learning and adjusting to do to get the tow vehicle at the right angle which is something that I think is a bit of a pain to zero in, but I can't really say it's related to the hitch and is more my issue of figuring it out.
I'm assuming when I bought this hitch in early 2016 it was new because etrailer was one of the few places I found that was selling this hitch. The price at the time was much cheaper than anywhere else online or locally and the shipping was decent. I live within two hours of the etrailer facility so I can't really provide feedback for shipping long distances.
I've never used any other type of weight distribution hitch so I can't speak of comparisons, but I found this to be easy to understand the installation instructions and the use instructions too.
I installed this on my 2011 Jayco 32BHDS hooked to a 2011 GMC Sierra 3500HD single rear wheel. I’m in love with this set up. It has superior sway and bounce control compared to the other style that uses the L shaped weight distribution bars with separate sway control. My only complaint is that this hitch is excessively noisy when making tight turns through the campground or turning at intersections. If the noise exists at highway speeds, it is not even noticeable. I still gave this hitch a 5 star rating though, because it does a perfect job of weight distribution and sway control, and the noise doesn’t have anything to do with that part. It does what it promises. The noise is acceptable due to the great performance.
First time using etrailer. Ordered hitch and was delivered in 2 days. Very quick.
Box was opened and re closed prior to getting to my home. All the large parts were in the box but the small parts, nuts, bolts, washers and pins were missing for assembly. Contacted etrailer and their customer service jumped right on it.
Kudos to Ahren J at Etrailer for the quick fix.
They got the vendor to overnight the missing parts. Used the hitch for the first time pulling a 32 foot travel trailer from NC to Indy. Lots of hills and moderate rain all weekend. Great hitch with weight dist/anti sway. Best hitch I have used.
Very nice hitch-towing a 30ft Airstream no sway and easy load leveling! Don’t make the leveling bars too tight or it’ll chip the friction pads!
This product works great. It is easy to setup and hookup my trailer. My only issue with it is that it is incredibly noisy. I know that is typical for weight distribution hitches, but this is definitely exceptionally noisy. It does a wonderful job of spreading the load and reducing sway, so it is a price I am willing to pay.
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Allen K.
7/23/2018
The hitch is still performing well, but the bar covers continue to concern me.