Recommended Parts for Towing a Starcraft Antigua Trailer with a 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer  

Question:

Expert Reply:

The weight distribution you were looking at, part # RP66541, will carry over to a new F-150. You may need to get a different height shank or adjust head angle or spring bar tension, but everything else will be able to be used.

Does the owner manual state the vehicle has different capacities with a weight distribution system? Some vehicles have two ratings listed in their owner manual. If the manual states different figures for weight distribution, please write back and let me know.

If the 5500/900 pound figures are the only capacities listed or are the capacities for Weight Distribution, then the Reese would be a good fit. However, with a trailer that long, I would strongly urge you to select a weight distribution with sway control.

I will assume the 5500 pounds as the max figure you will be carrying. Your trailer, dry, has a tongue weight of 541 pounds, which means the tongue weight is 16 percent of trailer weight. The recommendation is no more than 15 percent of gross trailer weight. If you were to load your trailer to the max allowed by the Trailblazer, your tongue weight should be no more than 825 pounds. In this case, I would use Reese Strait-Line kit, part # RP66073 that comes with a sway control system and has a tongue weight range of 400-800 pounds. So you would need to be sure to load the trailer so that the tongue weight stays under 800 pounds.

To make the best recommendation for a weight distribution, I would really need to know the loaded weight and loaded tongue weight of the trailer.

As far as a transmission cooler, part # D13503 from Derale would be a good size for both of the vehicles in question. You would need to acquire new mounting hardware if you wanted to change the coolers over when you switch vehicles, but it will probably be less time consuming to order a new kit when you get the F-150. Measure the space in font of the Trailblazer radiator and make sure you have room to fit this cooler. The overall dimensions of the cooler are 11 inches wide and 8-3/4 inches tall and 7/8 inches thick.

As far as the brake controller, does the Trailblazer have a factory 7-Way or 4-Way trailer connector?

expert reply by: Patrick B

0

Ryan

7/27/2010

The owner manual only states 5500lbs max trailer weight and 400lbs tongue weight or 900lbs tongue weight when using weight distribution. But nowhere else does it list anything more than 5500lbs towing capacity with or without weight distribution in the manual (it only has an asterisk that says maximum when properly configured, which I took to mean w/weight distribution). The actual hitch itself has a sticker that says 4300/400lbs with no weight dist, and 7300/912lbs w/weight distribution, but then also says See Owners Manual. I definitely want weight distribution with sway control. Yes, for now, the maximum I would load my trailer will be 5500lbs. I dont have the trailer yet, so I dont know what the exact loaded and tongue weight are yet. Yes, it has a 7 way for electronic brakes. One more question: I see the p/n:66077 says I need a shank and ball. Should I get p/n: 66087 which includes the shank? Or do I need different shank?

Patrick B.

7/28/2010

Perfect, since the hitch is rated higher than the vehicle we do not have to worry about it, we just have to follow the vehicle weight ratings which are 5,500 pounds GTW and 900 pounds tongue with weight distribution. With that in mind, part # RP66087 would be the right weight distribution kit with the included shank. That shank should work fine, but depending on the height of the F-150, you may need to get a different one then. I must have scrolled too fast yesterday and missed it. Just make sure that with that kit your trailer does not exceed 5500 pounds and that your tongue weight does not exceed 800 pounds. You can control the tongue weight fairly easy just by shifting where things are loaded in the trailer. It should not be hard to keep your tongue weight under 800 pounds with a 5,500 pound gross load. If that 7-Way is the factory installed connector, you will have a convenient bundle of wires to splice a brake controller to. I have added a link below to an FAQ that has the color code. I would recommend the Tekonsha Prodigy P2, part # 90885. It is a straight-forward and easy to use controller that you would be able to easily swap over to the F-150 with a new brake controller harness.