How to Determine the Best Weight Distribution System for a 2007 GMC Yukon Denali and Fun Finder
Updated 04/25/2014 | Published 04/24/2014
Question:
Hi, I am new to RVing. Purchasing a 24foot Fun Finder F-233RBS and will be puling it with a 2007 Yukon Denali AWD, 6.2 Liter. I have a towing button. Wondering what kind of hitch I need to pull this down the road comfortably w/o white knuckling. Just a weight distribution or WD w/sway control? I believe this is a light weight trailer and the research Ive done has left me more confused. I live in Washington State and will be taking this thru mountain passes. Family of 4, me 190lbs, wife 130lbs, 1 year old 23 lbs and 12 year old 95 lbs., trailer to be loaded with normal items, nothing over the top heavy. Also, people on blogs mention getting the hitch set up correctly, who should I trust to do this? Is this something that needs to be set up each time I tow or just once? Can I do this myself? Finally, how do I know what size hitch/ball/tongue I need? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated!!
asked by: Brad
Expert Reply:
When choosing a weight distribution system you will need to go by the total tongue weight of the set up. This is calculated by taking the tongue weight of the trailer, when loaded and ready to tow, and adding to that the weight of anything loaded behind the rear axle of the tow vehicle.
Sway control is a good idea and will help keep the trailer riding straight behind your 2007 GMC Yukon Denali. I recommend dual-cam sway control because it forces the trailer to ride in a straight line behind the tow vehicle. Other systems work to stop sway after it starts and/or have to be removed in inclement weather.
With every system, you will always need to do a little fine tuning unless everything about the vehicle, trailer, and weights never changes.
For the initial installation an RV dealer that has a service center is a good place to have it installed. After that I would urge you to get as much experience with the system as you can. Soon it will become easy to make the little adjusts needed to tow everything level.
To determine the correct shank to use you will need to take some measurements. You can follow the ball mount article I have linked that shows how to measure. There are systems that come with a shank and others that do not so you would need to add one to those systems. Because vehicles and trailers come in all different heights, there is no one shank that fits all applications so measuring is key to get the right shank.
The coupler on the trailer will indicate which size ball it needs. Once you know the ball size and can determine a good estimate of the total tongue weight I can make a more specific recommendation. I have included some other links on determining tongue weight and weight distribution for you.
