About Weight Distribution Hitches...pics etc.

Egon · Aug 12, 2007

I have had two different WDH as the first one broke an arm.

The first had washers and bolt for leveling the ball. The second had a two multisided plates that were rotated for levelling.

Redbug · Aug 12, 2007

Tony,

To answer your question...Yes.

You need to rotate your six sided shim washer to adjust WD head angle looking more towards the ground. Then, with your trailer jack cranked down on the ground supporting all the trailer weight, (and maybe more), attach the spring arm chains to your trailer tongue. Shorten the chains up! Then crank your trailer jack up...till it's off the ground. I'll bet your truck will be level! Your truck will then have a lot more weight transferred to the front of your truck.

You just have to play around with the WD head angle, and the number of chain links to take up...in that order.

Reg · Aug 12, 2007

Probably should have started the explanation with a clarification.
Weight Distributing Hitch is a misnomer, the weight doesn't get distributed at all, it stays right where it is.
Then lead into the explanation of a LOAD RE-distributing hitch...
(-:

Redbug · Aug 12, 2007

In reality that's true Reg...The weight is really the same pulling down on the truck's rear end. But what a WDH really is...a fulcrum. When weight causes the truck's end to sag, that puts more stress on the on the spring arms. The spring arms try to keep the truck/tongue/trailer in a horizontal line at equilibrium. With more weight added, the horizontal line becomes more like a V...looking at the truck/tongue/trailer combo. The spring arms in turn react by flexing to return the truck/tongue/trailer back to equilibrium...the straight line. The spring arms rotate the shank in the truck's reciever to make everything straight again. It used the weight against itself. Whew, that was a mouthful.

About fulcrums...here's a an interesting real life question...
A pulley is suspended in a tree. A rope goes through the pulley block and back down to the ground which is attached to a 100 pound weight. You lift the weight using the rope going through the pulley. How much force, (pounds), is exerted on the pulley in the tree to lift that weight?

Kendall69 · Aug 12, 2007

How much force, (pounds), is exerted on the pulley in the tree to lift that weight?

100 pounds

Skyco · Aug 13, 2007

I'll add that getting the right weight spring bars is crucial. They need to be matched somewhat to the trailer toungue weight. Unlike the head itself a higher rating isn't necessarily better. IOW if you have around 750 tongue weight get the 750 bars, if you have 1000 get the 1000 bars. Too stiff of bars and ride is tense, to weak and it is too bouncy. I have a toy hauler with very high tongue weight since all the RV stuff is up front. A buddy had a light weight trailer, we were camped together with both units and discovered his bars were much stouter than mine- we swapped and we are both much happier, it does make a difference

KentT · Aug 13, 2007

If I understand how they operate correctly (and I think I do), the weight actually does get distributed -- i.e. load is reduced on the back axle and transferred to the front axle.

To make this easier to visualize - picture a "hard connection" between the trailer and the truck's hitch -- no up or down movement is possible. The weight of the trailer tongue would be spread to both the front and rear axles of the truck. The rear axle would no longer be a fulcrum, but would be one of two "pressure points" instead.

If you don't think a WD hitch really distributes weight -- try adjusting one too tight and you can literally lift the back tires of the truck off the ground....

Egon · Aug 13, 2007

back tires of the truck off the ground

Years back there was an add for front wheel drive showing the back wheels off the ground!

That has been mentioned here before.

Redbug · Aug 13, 2007

Answer to fulcrum/pulley question...

How much force, (pounds), is exerted on the pulley in the tree to lift that weight?

Answer...200 pounds. The weight itself weighs 100 lbs, and you have to exert 100 lbs of force on the rope going over the pulley to lift the weight. Both sides total 200 lbs force on the pulley.