To use my weight distribution hitch or not?

[PhilY]

To those who disagreed with my analogy, let's take a look at it again. If a WD is to help load the front axle, this is done by lifting up on the back end of a vehicle that is squatting too much. I also agree that it will prevent bounce as it is like I said, someone lifting up on the arms of a wheel barrel. It's whole intent is to help the connection of the trailer to the vehicle remain as straight as possible...again like someone lifting up on the arms of a wheel barrel. If the vehicle to trailer is straight without a WD, a WD cannot lift up to pull it any straighter, as for bounce, it may do a little, but not as much because it's not as loaded as a trailer with too heavy a tongue.

 

[schmism]

To those who disagreed with my analogy, let's take a look at it again.

Your poor analogies clearly indicate you have no idea how WD hitches work.

With such a poor understanding of how they work, I suggest anyone reading your posts ignore your comments due to the amount of incorrect information in them.

 

[brown40]

Some fire in this one...

I have four great hammers, that do an excellent job pounding nails... I also have a nail gun. Given the choice, I'll take the gun: it's faster, easier on me, and doesn't make my thumb, wrist, elbow, or shoulder sore.

If you have the technology to do a job better, safer, easier... why not use it? An ounce of prevention in the case of towing anything is always the way to go, because you never know what you're going to be dealing with around the bend... bad drivers, road debris, 60 mph gusts, a blowout, harmonic pothole spacing...

You have the tool to minimize contingencies; it requires a little extra effort, and hopefully will have been a complete waste of time once you get to your destination, but the "IF's" have less room to enter the picture on the journey.

My .02 anyway. Things happen fast, and sway control and weight distribution minimize any loads ability to influence the towing vehicle, which every load does (payload included!).

 

[PhilY]

Your poor analogies clearly indicate you have no idea how WD hitches work.

With such a poor understanding of how they work, I suggest anyone reading your posts ignore your comments due to the amount of incorrect information in them.

Then, please shed some light on things and explain how a WD hitch works rather than just shooting an explanation down without any evidence to back it up. Also, please just note that I have nothing against WD hitches, I just want to make sure that everyone understands their use to realize the limited amount of good they can do if the tongue weight does not cause the back of the vehicle to sag.

 

[PhilY]

Some fire in this one...

I have four great hammers, that do an excellent job pounding nails... I also have a nail gun. Given the choice, I'll take the gun: it's faster, easier on me, and doesn't make my thumb, wrist, elbow, or shoulder sore.

If you have the technology to do a job better, safer, easier... why not use it? An ounce of prevention in the case of towing anything is always the way to go, because you never know what you're going to be dealing with around the bend... bad drivers, road debris, 60 mph gusts, a blowout, harmonic pothole spacing...

You have the tool to minimize contingencies; it requires a little extra effort, and hopefully will have been a complete waste of time once you get to your destination, but the "IF's" have less room to enter the picture on the journey.

My .02 anyway. Things happen fast, and sway control and weight distribution minimize any loads ability to influence the towing vehicle, which every load does (payload included!).

I totally agree that why not use it, never said any different. Just said that if the tongue isn't causing the vehicle to squat, then the WD isn't going to be able to do much...kinda like using a second paper cup on your hot coffee...won't keep the coffee contained any better, just keeps you from getting burned.

Edit...thought I should say for the safety sake of others that if a WD hitch is used on a vehicle with too little tongue weight and too much lift is created by pulling up on the arms of the WDH with the chains, then you can actually unload your rear end and cause loss of rear-wheel traction.

 

[jejeosborne]

I totally agree that why not use it, never said any different. Just said that if the tongue isn't causing the vehicle to squat, then the WD isn't going to be able to do much...kinda like using a second paper cup on your hot coffee...won't keep the coffee contained any better, just keeps you from getting burned.

Edit...thought I should say for the safety sake of others that if a WD hitch is used on a vehicle with too little tongue weight and too much lift is created by pulling up on the arms of the WDH with the chains, then you can actually unload your rear end and cause loss of rear-wheel traction.

The reason I said false to your original comment is because you made a blanket statement saying if the load doesn't squat the rear of your truck, they aren't necessary. I gave the example of airbags preventing the squat but that does nothing with the physics and leverage that the tongue weight is doing to the tow vehicle. You pump up the airbags and the truck is now level but the the front tires of the tow vehicle are still being unloaded and the rear bolts attaching the hitch to the tow vehicle are still taking the entire load rather than being spread across the entire hitch. Theses two items are the major reason WD hitches are necessary. Having tongue weight applied 3-4 feet behind the rear axle has a lot of leverage thus the comments on engineering and physics. Having heavy springs on your truck doesn't help either of these problems either. Out of the two negative effects, the unloading of the front axle is probably the most important because the front brakes do a majority of the braking. Hopefully this helps people understand why they are NECESSARY.

 

[msmith1wa]

I agree with those that said weight distribution and sway control are not the same thing. The purpose of the weight distribution is to get some of the weight on the rear axle from having the trailer connection behind the axle back on to the front so there is enough weight on the front tires so you can steer and prevent overloading the rear. With some weight distribution set ups the weight distribution and sway control are combined. The OP states he has an Equal-i-zer brand hitch, this is one of the brands that integrates the two.

For a good explanation on how weight distribution see this thread on RV.net RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Towing: Weight Distribution (WD) Hitch --- How it Works

Also to the OP you state your trailer is rated for 12K but I notice it has 6 lug wheels/axles. To my knowledge 6 lug axles max out at 5200 lbs each total of 10400. Also if those are 15" wheels they highest rating I found when I was replacing tires for my home built trailer with 6 lug 15" wheels was 2540 lbs each total for 4 10160 lbs, 240 lbs less than the axles. To get a 12K on that trailer with these constraints you would have to have 1840 lbs of tongue weight, that is a lot of tongue weight. For that much tongue weight I would suspect you would need either a 3" receiver or a Torklift Super Hitch. I have the Torklift because i got a super deal on a used one and I felt the factory hitch on my 03 Chevy 2500HD was over rated, and the tongue weight on my toyhauler was also over rated especially with no cargo in the back along with some documented hitch failures on similar model trucks/SUVs.

My toyhauler RV and my flatbed 12K trailer's (8 lug wheels and 16" tires, also this is not the same trailer as the home built) gross weight ratings are based on the axle/tire ratings and ignore any weight on the tongue. When I was shopping for the flat bed I noticed that a lot of manufactures rate their trailers this way.

I always use my weight distribution hitch on my RV and most of the time on both of my flat beds because it makes them ride better even empty. When they are empty I do not put as much tension on the bars.

 

[PhilY]

Well...I pretty much agree with what you said...however, if the trailer is 3K lbs and it only has a tongue weight of 450lbs, I don't see how a WDH is going to do much. On my truck, a tongue weight of 1000-1500lbs is the point at which the use of a WDH is listed. In my case, I'd have to approach a trailer weight of over 6K lbs before even getting into WD hitch territory, as the tongue weight would still be under 1K lbs. For me, a 1K tongue weight, would cause my truck to sit level and the hitch would be about 2 inches down from its unloaded position. Now if you're talking about a larger trailer and the hitch point is down 4+ inches or so now to cause the headlights to point up, then the vehicle is squatting, as I would consider it.

This is why I mentioned that unless the vehicle is squatting, I don't see it necessary. At 2 inches down and the truck level, I consider it to just be properly loaded. If it is down more than than that, then it would no longer be level and squatting. This is where I would think a WDH would really be able to start doing what it is made to do. The WDH may still help with bouncing on lighter trailers, but I believe there is a bigger issue with people still cranking down on the WDH and losing rear-wheel traction or encountering increased sway. This would get them into more trouble than they would have been in, otherwise.

A simple guideline I use for myself when hitching up a trailer is to just make sure the hitch is always down about 2 inches from it's unloaded position. In doing this, I have never had a light front/rear end or any sway issues related to too little tongue weight.

 

[jejeosborne]

Well...I pretty much agree with what you said...however, if the trailer is 3K lbs and it only has a tongue weight of 450lbs, I don't see how a WDH is going to do much. On my truck, a tongue weight of 1000-1500lbs is the point at which the use of a WDH is listed. In my case, I'd have to approach a trailer weight of over 6K lbs before even getting into WD hitch territory, as the tongue weight would still be under 1K lbs. For me, a 1K tongue weight, would cause my truck to sit level and the hitch would be about 2 inches down from its unloaded position. Now if you're talking about a larger trailer and the hitch point is down 4+ inches or so now to cause the headlights to point up, then the vehicle is squatting, as I would consider it.

This is why I mentioned that unless the vehicle is squatting, I don't see it necessary. At 2 inches down and the truck level, I consider it to just be properly loaded. If it is down more than than that, then it would no longer be level and squatting. This is where I would think a WDH would really be able to start doing what it is made to do. The WDH may still help with bouncing on lighter trailers, but I believe there is a bigger issue with people still cranking down on the WDH and losing rear-wheel traction or encountering increased sway. This would get them into more trouble than they would have been in, otherwise.

A simple guideline I use for myself when hitching up a trailer is to just make sure the hitch is always down about 2 inches from it's unloaded position. In doing this, I have never had a light front/rear end or any sway issues related to too little tongue weight.

Oh my, where to begin?

May I ask what your tow vehicle is? Maybe I can help you with specifics pertaining to your vehicle. It alarms me that you don't know if your WD requirement is 1000 or 1500 lbs. This is something you should know if you use your truck to tow anything substantial.

Your guidelines and reasoning are flawed. Your truck is not sitting level if the rear squats any amount. Did you read my previous post and just totally discount it? Of course your front end was lightened, we are talking bumper pulls aren't we?

You seem worried someone would use a WD improperly with a light trailer thinking WD hitches are a safety hazard? The safety hazard is people who think they don't need one with a measly 1000 lb tongue weight or because their truck only squatted 2 inches.

Now forgive me is your tow vehicle is something greater than a one ton (3500) class truck. That said, ALL trucks would benefit using a WD hitch with 1000 lb tongue weights as the safety of everyone.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
Also to the OP you state your trailer is rated for 12K but I notice it has 6 lug wheels/axles. To my knowledge 6 lug axles max out at 5200 lbs each total of 10400. Also if those are 15" wheels they highest rating I found when I was replacing tires for my home built trailer with 6 lug 15" wheels was 2540 lbs each total for 4 10160 lbs, 240 lbs less than the axles. To get a 12K on that trailer with these constraints you would have to have 1840 lbs of tongue weight, that is a lot of tongue weight.<snip>

Thanks for your comments.

The trailer as in my sig is a Hudson rated at 12,000 GVWR HSE Deluxe - 5 Ton Capacity Fender Equipment Trailer. I don't rate the trailers, I take their word. And I'm not planning on trying to run it with a 10K payload. This thread was about running it with LESS than a 2K payload.

I'm running Greenball Towmasters load range E, 2,830lbs @ for a total of 11,320 lbs, Costco sells them. Greenball Tires - Towmaster

My truck is a dually as in my sig with an upgraded payload capacity of 11,500 lbs rated to tow 12,500. I think my "cargo capacity" is about 3,500 lbs or 3,800lbs so I can drop a load in the bed.

Again, thanks for your comments but I see little in your discussion pertaining to running WD with a light load. I thought that somewhere I had read recommendations AGAINST using an Equal-i-zer when running a light load (4,000 lbs INCLUDING the trailer). Especially since I'll have a minimum load in the truck and bed and it sets butt high.