Weight Distribution Hitch-What size to use ?

[Steve L.]

My sense is that given normal load/deflection spring characteristics, Reese seems to be going for negating the lightening of the load on the front due to tongue weight by adjusting the WDH to return the front height to “normal curb height” while letting the rear descend some due to tongue weight.

The tow would have a more nose up attitude than at curb weight. That would be “more nose up” not necessarily “nose up”. Many vehicles are slightly nose down at curb (particularly pick ups). Adding tongue weight would tend to level out these sort of vehicles but might not depress the rear enough to swing the vehicle all the way to “nose up”.

For those not familiar with the terms, “curb” weight is the weight of the empty vehicle. For the passive aggressive, “empty” implies standard features, fluids, spare tire, full tank of gas but no passenger/driver.

Returning to curb height for me implies returning to curb load, ignoring any static friction in the suspension.

[MC1]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

Can anyone explain to me the logic behind adding almost a hundred pounds so as to "redistribute" 200 pounds or so of tongue weight???? Francesca

The best way to experience the value of the WDH is to try one and experience it. The benefits are "felt".

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by Francesca Knowles

That may be the whole point, but it also puts weight back on the trailer -supposedly at the wheels but surely concentrated at the tongue rail.

And as long as we're on the subject:

Though perhaps not in this particular thread, I've seen posts from folks advocating w/d hitches for towing trailers as small or smaller than mine. (2,000 pounds loaded)

Can anyone explain to me the logic behind adding almost a hundred pounds so as to "redistribute" 200 pounds or so of tongue weight????

Francesca

A WD hitch re-distributes weight both to the steer axle and also back to the trailer axle(s). The percentage going forward to the steer axle vs what goes to the trailer axle depends on the distance to each. Example, on my Nissan and Funfinder combo, of the approx 500 pounds of tongue weight, I am moving approx 250-260 pounds forward to the steer axle and approx 120 pounds to the trailer axles. So we can see that all hitched up, I am also loading approx 120 pounds more onto the drive axle compared to the unloaded truck.

Regarding using WD hitch with a trailer of only 200 pounds of tongue weight, I would suggest to check with the manufacturer of the hitch before doing so. I have the 'old' version of the BlueOx swaypro. The instructions state the trailer must have a minimum of 350 pounds to use this hitch. The "new" version does not have that statement in the install instructions. I do not know what design change may have been made that might have effected that issue.

A guess would be that only 200 pounds of tongue weight on most vehicles that have enough rated tow capacity for the trailer weight, would not require a WD hitch. 200 pounds of tongue weight would be about right for a camper of approx 1500 pounds ready to roll (13%). A simple friction sway bar might be a good addition to a rig such as that. I could also imagine that on a setup such as that, airbags might be a good addition, especially if the rear suspension is rather soft, which is often the case for passenger type vehicles. Also, cars with independent rear suspension ( IRS ) can sometimes suffer geometry changes when they are squatting that likely would lead to rapid tire wear if run many miles in a squat attitude.

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Well, we can continue this thread later after I install my new Andersen w/d hitch ordered today. No bars, but chains instead.

Jim,
Keep us posted how this works for you. That is an interesting hitch, with a huge amount of controversy surrounding it. The thread regarding it over on the airstream forum is now over 100 pages long. Some folks love it. Some have had coupler failures, they claim may be caused by it due to the deign of how it loads the locking mechanism.

It has also been fairly well established that on trailers with a fairly high tongue weight, it cannot restore front axle loads adequately, but that on lighter trailers, it does a fine job of doing so.

Like I said, there is a lot of discussion surrounding it, so I'd love to hear your take on it. I would also like to see you post the scale weights of before and after with it and your tow vehicle, to see what it is really doing. Are you planning on setting it up with the FJ or the truck ?

thanks, george