Product Comparison
Weight Distribution Hitches: What Makes True Tow Different from Others?
The True Tow, the myth, the legend.
You’ve all heard tha-
Wait, wait, wait.
Let’s back up for a minute. Aren’t there multiple weight distribution hitches out there? Don’t they all serve the same purpose?
Yes, and in a way, yes. Common names for this type of hitch include sway control hitches, equalizer hitch, weight distribution hitch, stabilizer hitch, or anti-sway hitch. Ours is called the True Tow Weight Distribution Hitch, of which we are confident is one of the best. But why choose the True Tow Weight Distribution Hitch? What makes it different from others?
We can answer those questions for you. You may have heard of the Equal-i-zer hitch, of which we will compare ours with to show what makes the True Tow different yet so great. So let’s take a look at what some of those differences are between our True Tow Weight Distribution Hitch and the Equalizer hitch, shall we?
True Tow vs. Equalizer Hitch
TRUE TOW
- 4 Anti-Friction Areas
- Truly distributes tongue weight
- Can go in reverse
- Made of steel
- Has powder coating finish with a zinc undercoating for added protection
- Maximum tongue weight: 2,000lbs
- Maximum trailer weight: 20,000lbs
- 2-5/16” tow ball always included
- Easy tow ball installation
- Easy height adjustment
- Built-In Gauge measures tongue weight and distributed tongue weight (DTW)
- Live adjustment system
- Extended sleek design
- Weigh Safe App includes Owner’s Manual and saves personal towing information.
- Ability to convert to a normal adjustable ball mount with the True Tow Standard Ball Mount Adapter Kit
EQUAL-I-ZER
- 4-Point Sway Control
- Helps distributes tongue weight
- Can go in reverse
- Made of steel
- Maximum tongue weight: 1,400lbs
- Maximum trailer weight: 14,000lbs
- Tow ball sometimes included
- Tow ball is more difficult to install
- Height adjustment requires specific tools; harder to adjust
- Harder to adjust the angle of the head component (undoing bolts, add spacers, etc.)
Now that you know some of the differences between the two, we can pick up from where we started.
THE TRUE TOW, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND.
You’ve all heard that the True Tow Weight Distribution Hitch can truly distribute weight and provide an exceptional towing experience. Here’s why:
BUILT-IN GAUGE
This built-in gauge allows you to measure your tongue weight to make sure you have between 10-15% of your GTW, and measures your distributed tongue weight (which is the resultant force of a true distribution system). The built-in scale is critical and beneficial to setting up a true weight distribution and for towing safely, as you’ll know exactly how much tongue weight and distributed tongue weight you have.
COMPARISON:
Since the Equalizer does not have a built-in gauge, it can be hard to know exactly how much tongue weight or distributed tongue weight you have. Knowing these two weights can make a huge difference in performance, weight distribution, sway control, and most importantly, safety.
LIVE ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM
Once you have inputted your information into the True Tow App, it will output a DTW or Distributed Tongue Weight. Once you know what your true distributed tongue weight should be and you’ve assembled the spring arms, you will use the Lift Arm to adjust the lead screw to reach that targeted DTW, AKA: the Live Adjustment System.
This Live Adjustment System allows you to manually adjust your distributed tongue weight in order to give you a safe towing experience. Is it as simple as that? Yes, it is.
COMPARISON: If you are using an Equalizer hitch, you won’t have much ability to change the distributed tongue weight on-the-go. It’s going to require more tools and time in order to do so, compared to the True Tow.
ANTI-SWAY PROPERTIES
There are four anti-friction areas that help reduce sway: where the two spring arms make contact with the head assembly and where they make contact with your trailer frame. This four area sway control helps keep your weight distributed evenly, while keeping you straight as you tow to help prevent sway.
COMPARISON: You also don’t need to worry about it being loud while you tow. In a comparison video recently made by Wandering Weekends, they compare the noise between the True Tow and the Equal-i-zer. Per their testing, the True Tow provided a much quieter ride compared to the Equalizer.
EXTENDED SLEEK DESIGN
Nobody wants to be restrained from using their tailgate or liftgate! One great benefit of the extended sleek design is being able to lower your tailgate without it bumping into anything. It also allows you to use your lift gate on most suburbans and SUVs.
The extended sleek design also helps lower the force required to adjust the lead screw, which makes it easier for you to adjust! Did we mention it looks good too? Just imagine it behind your towing vehicle…
COMPARISON: A common ‘con’ to the Equalizer hitch is that it doesn’t allow the the tower to use their tailgate since the tow ball/trailer sit closer to the towing vehicle.
EASY HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT
Depending on which truck and trailer you are using, you can adjust the height of the head assembly along the draw bar to get a level towing system. This will help you safely tow and truly distribute the weight. With 1” increments on the draw bar, the True Tow gives you up to 8” of drop or up to 9” of rise.
There are no specific tools needed to adjust the height. Simply unlock your dual pin key lock on the head assembly to raise or lower to the desired height.
COMPARISON: Adjusting the height on the Equalizer is not as easy, as it will require more tools, torquing, etc. to adjust.
WEIGH SAFE APP
One of the most important tools in this setup is our Weigh Safe App. In this app, you will input your vehicle and trailer measurements in order to calculate the distributed tongue weight. The DTW Calculator tool helps you set up the highly accurate distributed system by outputting a DTW that the built-in gauge on the hitch will read when distributed correctly.
If you tow different trailers or with different vehicles, you can save separate profiles for different applications. Simply click on the towing profile that you will be using for that day! The App includes the Owner’s Manual and saves your towing information so that you will always have it on hand.
COMPARISON: Does the Equalizer have an app? No. Does it have a DTW calculator tool? Also no. Need we say more?
EASY INSTALLATION
With the features mentioned above, it’ll typically take you about 30 minutes to set up your True Tow Weight Distribution Hitch. The installation process is user friendly, interactive and quick with the Weigh Safe App and Owner’s Manual. We even tested and recorded how long it took to set up the True Tow vs the Equal-i-zer. Check out the video to the left or click here.
If you’d like to see how the True Tow compares to multiple brands, check out Wandering Weekends’ video HITCH BATTLE 2021 /// Testing 6 Different Weight Distribution/Anti Sway Hitches for 100’s of Miles.
