2014 LC Brake Upgrade For Towing

[superdave74]

I picked up the trailer yesterday - the Redarc controller and stock trailer drum brakes worked fine. I have a fairly steep hill near my house and the brakes worked on the way down quite well - I also used engine braking.

On the highway I maxed out at 60 mph, but mostlhy kept it a bit slower as I’m new to this. There was fairly strong wind gusts but the sway bars on the hitch helped with keeping it stable. Straight and flat is easy, now I just have to work on my turning!

A couple of questions for you as I'll be towing a 31' Airstream with a dry weight of 5000 lbs and a hitch weight of 715 lbs. I'd seen the Redarc Tow Pro Elite on youtube videos and will be ordering it as well. Do you happen to know what the tongue weight of your trailer is and what brand of weight distributing hitch you decided on? I've seen Harbor Freight systems for less then $200 and ProPride ones for more then $2500. I've towed 6,000 lbs trailers before without a brake controller or elaborate hitches, but those were in full-sized SUVs (longer wheel base) and the trailer had surge brakes.

Thanks for any advice,
Dave

 

[INTP]

I am currently running the Powerstop Z36 pads and rotors on the front, and stock pads and rotors on the rear. I have about 50k miles on this setup. I regularly tow a 21' Boston Whaler on a double axle trailer with surge brakes. I have been pretty happy with them so far, they do require a bit more pedal effort.

Previously I had the TRD pads on stock rotors. These had the best feel, but were very dirty and my rotors didn't last long. Most of my driving is commuting in DC traffic, so I am pretty hard on the brakes.

 

[TeCKis300]

A couple of questions for you as I'll be towing a 31' Airstream with a dry weight of 5000 lbs and a hitch weight of 715 lbs. I'd seen the Redarc Tow Pro Elite on youtube videos and will be ordering it as well. Do you happen to know what the tongue weight of your trailer is and what brand of weight distributing hitch you decided on? I've seen Harbor Freight systems for less then $200 and ProPride ones for more then $2500. I've towed 6,000 lbs trailers before without a brake controller or elaborate hitches, but those were in full-sized SUVs (longer wheel base) and the trailer had surge brakes.

Thanks for any advice,
Dave

As you might know, I tow an AS 27FB that is 7700GVWR and ~1000k tongue. Sounds like you have an awesome vintage 31 that is lighter weight and more streamlined.

I've had great experience with my Equilizer WD hitch. I'm pretty active on the AS boards and there seems to be the following highly recommended hitches that are a derivative of the Equilizer. Keeping all the great easy setup and ease of use qualities, while addressing its overly stiff WD bars. Notably, look into the new Reese Steadi-Flex. Very similar to the Equilizer, but with tapered bars. Another great hitch is the Blue-Ox Sway Pro.

My opinion on the pivot point projection (PPP) is they are not necessary for the 200-series. It's very stable with a regular WD/AS hitch that is setup right. And we have mass to our benefit. PPP's are fussy to hitch up and use. And adds to the length of the rig unnecessarily. LT tires are a great upgrade for the LC for added stability.

 

[basis]

The tongue on mine is 690. I negotiated the best hitch / swaybar / distribution mount with the dealer. It’s a Reese V-5 rating from Michigan. While I never towed this without this hitch, the sway bars feel like it keeps the trailer in place, but I still noticed some sway as it was windy with a travel trailer. The weight distribution arms do seem to put some more weight on the front tires as it has a J shape when you install them.

 

[TeCKis300]

@basis, if I may...

One thing that can help dramatically is to keep the hitch ball as close to the rear bumper as possible. In the pic, the stinger seems to put the hitch ball at least 5" farther out than it needs to be. Every inch gives the trailer more leverage to induce sway.

It actually comes back to wheelbase. The critical dimension is actually the ratio between wheelbase vs rear overhang (rear axle to ball). With our relatively shorter wheelbase (112.2"), it's important to keep rear overhang as short as possible. Every inch shortened is about equivalent to increasing the wheelbase 2" (as our wheelbase is about 2x the rear overhang length). So shortening the stinger 5" would be like riding on a wheelbase that is 10" longer!

The principle of the pivot point projecting hitches is to virtually reduce the rear overhang length. So it's a good thing to optimize if you're looking for better towing performance.

 

[basis]

Thats good advise thanks - what brand / rating stinger are you using?

 

[superdave74]

As you might know, I tow an AS 27FB that is 7700GVWR and ~1000k tongue. Sounds like you have an awesome vintage 31 that is lighter weight and more streamlined.

I've had great experience with my Equilizer WD hitch. I'm pretty active on the AS boards and there seems to be the following highly recommended hitches that are a derivative of the Equilizer. Keeping all the great easy setup and ease of use qualities, while addressing its overly stiff WD bars. Notably, look into the new Reese Steadi-Flex. Very similar to the Equilizer, but with tapered bars. Another great hitch is the Blue-Ox Sway Pro.

My opinion on the pivot point projection (PPP) is they are not necessary for the 200-series. It's very stable with a regular WD/AS hitch that is setup right. And we have mass to our benefit. PPP's are fussy to hitch up and use. And adds to the length of the rig unnecessarily. LT tires are a great upgrade for the LC for added stability.

As you might know, I tow an AS 27FB that is 7700GVWR and ~1000k tongue. Sounds like you have an awesome vintage 31 that is lighter weight and more streamlined.

I've had great experience with my Equilizer WD hitch. I'm pretty active on the AS boards and there seems to be the following highly recommended hitches that are a derivative of the Equilizer. Keeping all the great easy setup and ease of use qualities, while addressing its overly stiff WD bars. Notably, look into the new Reese Steadi-Flex. Very similar to the Equilizer, but with tapered bars. Another great hitch is the Blue-Ox Sway Pro.

My opinion on the pivot point projection (PPP) is they are not necessary for the 200-series. It's very stable with a regular WD/AS hitch that is setup right. And we have mass to our benefit. PPP's are fussy to hitch up and use. And adds to the length of the rig unnecessarily. LT tires are a great upgrade for the LC for added stability.

Thank you for the hitch suggestions and also bringing up the other variable, tires. My 2013 LC currently currently has LT 275/70R18 Goodyear Duratrac Tires with a max load of 3305 at 60 PSI and a load range E. Any suggestions there?

 

[TeCKis300]

Thats good advise thanks - what brand / rating stinger are you using?

I have the standard stinger that came with my Equilizer hitch. I lifted my trailer rather than opt for a stinger with more drop. Stingers are all typically longer than necessary for hitch compatibility. So generally requires aftermarket modification to optimize. Most any machine shop should be able to handle this. I fortunately have some tools, but my band saw took ~1hr with a worn blade to do the deed. A chop saw or angle grinder and some time could probably do it too. A fresh 5/8" titanium bit and drill press makes quick work of the hole. Just absolutely need to make sure the hole is straight and square.

Thank you for the hitch suggestions and also bringing up the other variable, tires. My 2013 LC currently currently has LT 275/70R18 Goodyear Duratrac Tires with a max load of 3305 at 60 PSI and a load range E. Any suggestions there?

Your tires are perfect. Load E not so much for the additional load capacity, but stiff sidewalls. I generally go 6 psi over the load pressure that @gaijin would quote you, for added stability. Part of the reason I retained 20" wheels on my LX, was also for the added sidewall stability for towing. Generally, soft suspension, tires, and extra sidewall are not ideal for towing, but can be adjusted to make work.

 

[gaijin]

Thank you for the hitch suggestions and also bringing up the other variable, tires. My 2013 LC currently currently has LT 275/70R18 Goodyear Duratrac Tires with a max load of 3305 at 60 PSI and a load range E. Any suggestions there?

Current production Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac LT275/70R18Q Load Range E (Product Codes 312012142 and 312065027) tires, have a Max Load of 3640 lbs @80psi. Are your tires an older model?

HTH