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Originally Posted by furnacebrook
I believe what I am trying to find out is not a fantasy rating of the trailer components abilities under extreme instances but rather if the manufacturers are correct in putting lower rated components ( specifically the 5000lbs rated coupler) on a trailer rated for thousands of pounds more overall.
What would be the difference between the "towed load" and the "load directly placed onto the trailer"??
By your point of being limited to the lowest rated component ( which I happen to agree with) than it would be the wrong coupler for a 7000 GVW trailer? There seems to be a huge disparity in opinions here but I would rather err on the side of caution or am I reading your message wrong?
Thanks again for the input, Scott
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As much as the litigious society we live in is touted on TBN do you think it's likely that
ALL trailer manufacturers use the same components in their trailers, purposely overrate their capacity, and remain in business for decades?
If you've ever moved something like a boat on a trailer by hand you can visualize the difference between towed & actual load. If the boat weighed 1500 lbs you could neither lift it nor drag it directly across the ground. When on a trailer the leverage of the tongue length makes it possible to lift the front of the trailer, a portion of the boat's weight. The bearings & wheels carry most of the boats weight and overcome the friction of dragging the boat. The hitch sees the resultant weight, not the actual weight. Even in severe braking most of the boats weight is carried by the wheels. If you run into a wall the hitch will see the full weight of the boat plus the force generated by its velocity. Then the hitch will probably fail.
Over the road log trailers in NH can be registered for 50 ton. You won't find them fitted with tires rated for 12500 lbs because the tractor carries much of the load. I looked at a new 20T tagalong trailer last night. The load capacity of the tires is just under 16T. The designed rating is based on the assembly, not the weakest part. A failure of the weakest part usually comes from exceeding the design rating thru extraordinary circumstance, like hitting the wall. MikeD74T