I Have a Surveyor Legend 202RBLE Travel Trailer, 5,000LBS Dry, What Should My WDH be Rated for?

Updated 05/01/2025 | Published 04/28/2025

Products Featured in This Question

Fastway e2 Weight Distribution w/ Sway Control - Trunnion - 4,500 lbs GTW, 450 lbs TW

(116)

$541.33

Fastway e2 Weight Distribution w/ 2-Point Sway Control - Trunnion - 8,000 lbs GTW, 800 lbs TW

(170)

$565.01

Question:

We have a Surveyor Legend 202RBLE Travel Trailer. The dry weight is just under 5,000 lb with a max cargo carrying capacity of about 2150 lb. This is a tandem axle TT w/3500 lb rated axle. We currently have a Fastway E2 WD w/Sway Control part 92-00-0450 that was installed by the dealer back in 2021. The manual specs indicate 4500 lb GTW with 450 lb TW. The WD bars indicate it is for the above part number. Is this the correct rated hitch or the load above or did the dealer mess this up?

asked by: Dan G

Expert Reply:

Hello Dan,

Wow, that is a really nice camper, Congrats!

I’m going to go ahead and say the dealer messed that up. Camper dealers are great at selling campers, but unfortunately, that’s often where their expertise ends.

When choosing the right Weight Distribution Hitch, it’s most important to match it as closely as possible to your trailer's tongue weight, rather than the overall trailer weight. Tongue weight typically falls between 10–15% of the total trailer weight. So, let’s say you’re fully loaded at around 7,000 pounds and on the lighter end of tongue weight, that would put you at about 700 pounds. In that case, the 450-pound spring bars on your Fastway e2 Weight Distribution w/ Sway Control - Trunnion - 4,500 lbs GTW, 450 lbs TW # FA92-00-0450 won’t be sufficient.

After reviewing the picture that you sent and reaching out to Fastway you cannot just swap out the spring bars, you will need a whole new system. The Fastway e2 Weight Distribution w/ 2-Point Sway Control - Trunnion - 8,000 lbs GTW, 800 lbs TW # FA92-00-0800 will put you right in that sweet spot of your loaded tongue weight.

expert reply by: Kate F

Dan G.

4/30/2025

Thank you

Kate F.

4/30/2025

@DanG My pleasure Dan! If you ever have any questions in the future, you know where to find us. -Safe Travels

Dan G.

4/30/2025

Replacement bars are an issue. The 800# bars won't fit due to increase from 1" square to 1-1/8" square bar. We also have the old style head that uses a pin with cotter pin. It sounds like I would have to replace the head as well.

Kate F.

4/30/2025

@DanG Can you respond back to the email that you receive with some pictures of what you have? I would like to see if I can match the bars up.

Kate F.

5/1/2025

@DanG I heard back from Fastway, this was their response: Thanks for reaching out. Looking at the picture it looks like the customer has the e2 4.5 Trunnion hitch. That hitch is different then all our other e2 trunnion hitches. The customer just can’t change the bars to get a higher rated hitch. If they had the 6K Trunnion then the could just get the 8K Trunnion bars. The 4.5 has a small shank, hitch head, brackets and arms. The customer is going to need to buy a completely new e2 Trunnion hitch to get an 8K rated hitch. Here is the part number they will need to order. Fastway e2 Weight Distribution w/ 2-Point Sway Control - Trunnion - 8,000 lbs GTW, 800 lbs TW # FA92-00-0800. Sorry that you are not able to swap the bars out. By using the right rated system you will see a huge difference!

Dan G.

5/1/2025

@KateF Do you know if the brackets on the trailer would be require to be replaced? I realize an entire setup would likely be less expensive than piecing this together, but why take the old brackets off if those would work.