Oliver Towing Setup Guide

[topgun2]

HERE is a new video from Oliver featuring Aaron Wolters.

Bill

[Mike and Carol]

He doesn’t use an Andersen hitch on his Tundra?

[DanielBoondock]

I found towing and the setup easy. With the Anderson for me simply adjusting via the bolts to slack or tighten the chains far easier and faster than the 'lift the truck' method. 

The only puzzling thing is weight distribution. I don't see how this is providing any. The Oliver techs put 5 threads on it and recommended that the chains be slightly slack with a bit of play. This isn't distributing any weight, at that point it's just a receiver on the ball with sway control. If the truck inclines up relative to the trailer then that should add some tension and WD, but otherwise no. 

What's the thinking here?

[CRM]

4 minutes ago, DanielBoondock said:

The only puzzling thing is weight distribution. I don't see how this is providing any. The Oliver techs put 5 threads on it and recommended that the chains be slightly slack with a bit of play. This isn't distributing any weight, at that point it's just a receiver on the ball with sway control. If the truck inclines up relative to the trailer then that should add some tension and WD, but otherwise no. 

What's the thinking here?

Chains have to be tensioned to distribute weight, and I don't think you'll have any sway control either without the tension. 

[DanielBoondock]

22 minutes ago, CRM said:

Chains have to be tensioned to distribute weight, and I don't think you'll have any sway control either without the tension. 

The sway control comes from the resistance from the inner plastic hub that the ball rides in. So as long as the chains are 'engaged', meaning little play (not slack), than if the trailer fishtails that resistance will mitigate it I believe. So I do think the sway is always active. For my rig I think it's a non issue. The truck weighs more than the trailer, has rear steering (the rear wheels steer for a fantastically tight turning circle) and sway control. That means they'll use that rear steering to counteract any sway. But the Ollie doesn't serve up any sway I can tell so it's all moot AFAIK. 

The tension rod systems provide WD because the bars are always tensioned. But without tensioned chains, no WD. It's a two axis system - yaw control is provided by the ball insert friction. WD is provided by a negative pitch force which is nonexistant here, if you know what I mean. 

Edited Saturday at 04:00 PM by DanielBoondock

[jd1923]

Beef up the leaf springs on the Oliver and ditch the Andersen ASAP 😎 (given a 2500+ series truck). Yes, as Chris noted, only with proper tension is it a WDH. And if OTT is still installing Dexter 1750 LB springs, the hulls waddle like a duck! 🤣

Edited Saturday at 05:26 PM by jd1923

[topgun2]

There are numerous videos on YouTube showing how to setup the Andersen Weight Distribution hitch - like THIS ONE FROM ANDERSEN.

Bill

[ScottyGS]

On 4/18/2026 at 1:24 PM, jd1923 said:

Beef up the leaf springs on the Oliver and ditch the Andersen ASAP 😎 (given a 2500+ series truck). Yes, as Chris noted, only with proper tension is it a WDH. And if OTT is still installing Dexter 1750 LB springs, the hulls waddle like a duck! 🤣

Yes.... Given a 3/4 ton truck ditch the Anderson.  Have to mention for folks using a 1/2 ton that you need to read your manual very carefully.  Most half tons will require a WDH if the trailer weight is over 5k lbs.   Hopefully no one finds themselves on the wrong end of a lawyer trying to take their house, but if you do... you'll be glad you had the WDH installed.  

Quack Quack!    Oh no.. wait... I got the Alcan springs.  

Scotty 

[Galway Girl]

Usually the 1/2 Ton Trucks are limited by the 'dead weight" or weight carrying capability. 
The receiver unit on the truck you have should have a sticker like this one (from a 2018 F150) either on the actual receiver hitch or on the door frame.

 

Notice that on this unit the max  Tongue weight capacity is 500LB.  
(Weight carrying the case where you don't have a WDH and is essentially the dead weight from the trailer tongue down on the ball.)

An Elite II tongue wt when loaded is easily above this 500lbs, and requires a weight distribution hitch to be safe and legal.  

In this F150 case, once a weight distribution hitch is applied, the F150 can then handle up to 1220 Lbs of direct tongue weight. 

The towing guides for most vehicles state the method for determining how much adjustment is needed from the WDH.  

Most have you:
1) Measure the unloaded truck's front wheel well height through the center of the front wheel.  
2) Measure the wheel well height after loading the unit and attaching the trailer.  
In most cases the amount of weight distribution needed is set to bring the front end back down by at least 1/2 of the total difference in those two measured heights.  

Example:  Unloaded measures 37"   Loaded measures 41" (4' total rise).  
Apply enough WDH force to lower that front measurement by least 2" ....or 39" when loaded.  
Each manufacturers towing guide states specifics by vehicle make and model.

CS

 

 

[DanielBoondock]

Well I was originally making the point that WD only comes from properly tensioned chains. My question is why do OTT techs install and recommend taut chains. 

At any rate there are also new options in trucks. My Sierra EV is interesting, despite the very heavy battery giving a total truck weight of 9k (which is a benefit as the truck weighs more than the trailer), but it still has a tongue max of 1k, and a payload capacity of over 1700 lbs. GM requires a WD hitch over 7k lbs and recommends it below that. So technically I don’t need WD, and as the truck has 785 HP and 885 ft-lb of electric torque it has full towing authority. 

On the leaf springs, we were discussing this on another thread. In my first 4k of towing I didn’t see an ounce of roll bounce, and little porpoising. Perhaps that’ll change as they age, or maybe not, but I’m still curious about these differences. 

[jd1923]

6 hours ago, ScottyGS said:

Quack Quack!    Oh no.. wait... I got the Alcan springs.

You're cracking me up, Scotty! 🤣

I swear when we had the OEM suspension, every time I stopped for fuel the top of the Oliver would pendulum 1-2 FT left and right, again and again.

BTW, our shocks are under-engineered too. I've been looking for a stronger substitute but so far the specs are not lining up. The Bulldogs are likely somewhat better, but not heavier in rebound specs.

[rideadeuce]

First, every tow vehicle and load is different and everyone should be conservative and safe. Personally, I have been towing an 2018 Oliver Elite II without a WD system from day one (February 2018) with an 2016 Tundra and it has performed flawlessly. I did upgrade the TV brakes and rear leaf springs when I lifted the vehicle for even better performance. Alcan leaf springs for the OEII. I post just to say every truck is different and I am sure every lawyer will look at it differently.  I enjoy towing with my 2016 5.7L Tundra keeping it simple, robust and safe. My only snafu was the undersized OEM coupler breaking coming up I-75 (upgraded to 12k). Whatever you are using; check the hitch, coupler, tires, wheels, load, WDS, etc. every time you head out onto the road. If you notice porpoising or tail wagging, etc. something is wrong i.e. Overloaded in the rear, tire pressure issue. DO you have trouble getting the TV and TT to sit level? If your vehicle manufacturer calls for it or if you experience towing issues as previously mentioned, maybe you need a WDS or to redistribute the load or a sway bar or upgraded suspension components, brakes, etc. 

I love this forum and all the information and smarter, more experienced people than I, but I don’t think it is necessary to be told you cannot do something. Cheers to everyone out there and be safe. Hopefully this adds to and does not confuse the conversation. 

Best, M

 

Key 2016 Tundra Towing Details:

Max Tongue Weight (Weight Distribution): Typically 1,200 lbs.

Max Tongue Weight (Dead Weight): Typically limited to 600 lbs.

Max Towing Capacity: Up to ~10,000+ lbs (5.7L V8), depending on configuration.

Class IV Hitch: The standard integrated hitch receiver on the Tundra is rated to handle the high capacity.