"Why ask why" question.....distribution hitches...

[Franswa]

Ok, so a couple of weeks ago as I was "bushwacking" this idea/question came to me.....I was driving down this narrow logging road and I was thinking I should probably drop the BF in a wide spot and check on what was ahead, in case it got worse/narrower/steeper than what I was already on...I was starting to worry...

but the thought of unhooking the trailer, complete with taking the weight distribution bars off the TV made me press on longer than I should have.....

so my question is: Why are the bars set up the way they are? Wouldn't it make more sense/be more convenient if the bars were the other way around?? Imagine the vertical pieces permanently attached to the trailer and the chains secured to the hitch...

Unhooking the trailer, now that the bars don't have to be removed from the hitch (they would just stay with the trailer) would be half the job that it is now....a snap really...instead of unhooking and taking the bars off the hitch (always a bit of a fight) and then putting them away....you'd just jack up the trailer reach, taking the tension off, unhook the chains and just drive off...What's wrong with this story?

Am I crazy? Am I missing something?

[Ken C]

Wow, pretty area nice pic.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Franswa

so my question is: Why are the bars set up the way they are?
Am I missing something?

Think of the weight distribution spring arms as levers. Leverage uses a multiplier effect to lift a large amount of weight (The back of the tow vehicle) with a smaller amount of force (The pull force the chains exert on the tips of the spring arms). Even though the pressure needed to connect/disconnect the chains seems to be a lot, the pressure at the tow vehicle end of the lever is an order of magnitude greater. While the pressure at the chain end is inconvenient, the pressure at the hitch end is lethal.

[Gina D.]

if you have issue with removing the bars, there is a trick. Raise the trailer tongue (While still attached to the car, of course) until the bars swing on their own. simply detach the chains and pull the bars. EZPZ

By doing this, you have taken pressure of the spring and it is pretty much effortless to attach/detach them. I am 5ft 1, 101 lbs and can do both mine without even thinking about it. It takes just a couple minutes and no effort. Half the time I can raise the bracket by hand, no breaker bar.

[Franswa]

thinking on it, since the job of the WDH is to stop the hitch ball from going down under the weight....if I reversed the bars the chains would have to be secured a couple of feet ahead of the ball, putting that spot way under the TV.....major PIA and counterproductive...

not sure about the "lever" factor though....where's the fulcrum?

I would still like a quicker/easier way to deal with the bars....maybe my hitch is old...getting the bars off the hitch is always a bit of a fight it seems....(yeah, taking the chains off is a snap, that's no problem at all)...

Could have a set up where the bars would be threaded at the top, the sockets in the hitch would be drilled straight through....locknuts would secure the bars to the hitch and would stay there for the season... bars folded up against bumper when not being used, chains secured somehow to the bumper corners.......

all of this is because I wouldn't mind a quick easy way to "undo" the weight distribution thing...for a short spell....if I'm running in very rough terrain (sharp grade changes, trailer still headed downhill when the TV is starting on an uphill) the strain on the whole rig makes me cringe....you're basically taking the whole weight of the rig and putting it on only two axles very far apart.....can't be good....I guess I could just loosen off the chains as far as they'd go and leave everything in place....that would do it....might just start doing that... Cheers, F

[Glenn Baglo]

Looks like a solution in search of a problem.
I don't understand the issue with getting the bars off. Mine have tabs and fit into a slot. You have to swing the bar so the tab lines up with the slot and they just drop down and out.
Maybe a picture of yours?

[Ice-breaker]

Originally Posted by Franswa

Ok, so a couple of weeks ago as I was "bushwacking" this idea/question came to me.....I was driving down this narrow logging road and I was thinking I should probably drop the BF in a wide spot and check on what was ahead, in case it got worse/narrower/steeper than what I was already on...I was starting to worry...

but the thought of unhooking the trailer, complete with taking the weight distribution bars off the TV made me press on longer than I should have.....

so my question is: Why are the bars set up the way they are? Wouldn't it make more sense/be more convenient if the bars were the other way around?? Imagine the vertical pieces permanently attached to the trailer and the chains secured to the hitch...

Unhooking the trailer, now that the bars don't have to be removed from the hitch (they would just stay with the trailer) would be half the job that it is now....a snap really...instead of unhooking and taking the bars off the hitch (always a bit of a fight) and then putting them away....you'd just jack up the trailer reach, taking the tension off, unhook the chains and just drive off...What's wrong with this story?

Am I crazy? Am I missing something?

It is quite simple actually. In order for tension on the chains to reduce the weight on the rear wheels of your tow vehicle and increase the weight on your tows front wheels, there must be a rigid connection between your bars and your hitch, and the bars must be lifted upwards by the chains on the trailer side of your hitch.

[Gina D.]

Reese Light-Duty Weight Distribution System - A-Frame - 4,000 lbs GTW, 400 TW Reese Weight Distribution RP66069

I don't know what your weights are, but if it is that big of a deal, one of these will cut the work in half..and a little more. I used one of these with my 17ft Burro and was very pleased with it. Very easy.

[Karalyn]

I never have taken my bars out. It is heavy to unhitch but I think my bars are in there for life.

[SilverGhost]

Silly question. Why don't you just pull the stinger out of the hitch (relieve the tension first, of course)?

Jason

[Franswa]

hey, SilverGhost...that's not a bad idea....for just a quick "go look up the road" type of thing.....I'll have to give it a try. (maybe add a tapered end to the stinger, even, to facilitate re-hitching)