YOU'RE DAMAGING YOUR RV! Learn why Weight Distribution can DESTROY your Travel Trailer!
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- čas přidán 30. 06. 2024
- #rv #towing #trucks
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The purpose of a weight distributing hitch isn't to eliminate squat, it's to redistribute a portion of the tongue weight from the rear axle of the tow vehicle to the front axle of the tow vehicle and trailer axles. Quit worrying about leveling the truck and/or trailer, and worry about the loads involved.
The rear of the truck will squat due to adding weight in the bed or tongue weight on the trailer. That's perfectly normal and precisely how springs work. Don't worry about that. Adjust the hitch based on the *loads* on the axles.
You're conflating the terms weight, force, energy, and pressure. It's a pet peeve of mine and doesn't help people understand what's involved. We're talking about forces as a result of weights, not energy or pressure.
yep. I felt that the video beat around the bush. Basically, a weight distribution hitch twists the A frame of the trailer vertically so that the front of the truck gets some of the load. Otherwise, because the hitch is behind the rear wheels of the truck, the front of the truck is lifted up (negative load) and the front tires have less control.
Your assessment of the various forces involved is well stated, and our trucks will have spring sag .working for a major transportation company people also forget how imperative it is to have a level trailer . These units are designed to be level to carry the specified weight and to prevent axle overloading and tire failure along with associated Handling problems like tail wag, etc.
My pet peeve too! Imagine the truck’s rear axle had no springs at all but was welded to the frame. The issues would be the same.
So as a newbie with a single axle trailer that is within the towing capacity of my Toyota Tacoma that has rear truck squat, should I invest in air suspension to help adjust the squat and just invest in sway bars instead? I'm looking for all the advice I can get.
@@muscleymancomics Sway bars just control sway. (Side to side movement). A weight distribution hitch actually transfers weight to the front wheels instead of removing weight from the front wheels. Air bags really don’t do much. They may make towing feel better with a firmer ride but you are still removing weight from the front axle.
It’s high time the frame manufacturers engineer and build these frames, bumper pull or 5th wheel, to the max instead of the minimum.
Then you'd have to buy a f450 for the smallest rv.. due to the weight.
@@nymustang5084 cargo trailers are built better and don’t weight that much more 😂.
our 2008 excel 37 foot weighs 14,500 with a max load 18700 pin weight is 2950you will need a serious truck
While I partially agree... is everyone ready for RVs that are 20-30% higher in weight and 40-60% higher in cost due to regulation?
@@sternsher to not fall apart? Yes!!!
Because of advice I've been getting from you. I don't put my weight distribution bars until I'm on level ground. My driveway is steep, and the departure angle could cause unnecessary stress. Some of our boondock sites also have dips and rises. So I will remove the bars before intering. I've mentioned this to some of our fellow boondockers, and they are surprised that they never thought of it. Driving into these sites, you're usually driving at lower speeds and don't need your bars for sway control. The only downside is finding a safe place to stop and remove my bars.
I like the idea of reinforcing the A frame at the point where the weight distribution attaches which is the fulcrum. Adding rear suspension enhancement to a to the rear of a mid size or half ton truck will decrease the amount of weight distribution necessary to keep the truck level. Timbren or Sumo springs as well as air bags make towing with a lighter duty truck much more pleasant. Adding Timbren springs to my Tacoma was the best thing I did to enhance towing.
Absolutely. I pulled a 35’ TT with our 3/4 ton truck for 3 years. The first two years I experimented with a few types of WD systems and never could get one dialed in. The last year or so I discovered the beauty of Timbren springs without any WD. Much more pleasant experience.
Content providers these days are moreless giving us what WE want to see or what a particular sponsor wants them to show us. We need to take a minute and appreciate people like yourself. Thank you for constantly educating your audience and maintaining a balanced channel JD. Love it!
Great educational video. Gonna save this one for future reference. Especially if looking at older units to haul. Thank you, most appreciated.
Another thing to mention is the force put on the frame when you cross a rough bridge as your tow vehicle is bouncing up and down! Imagine what the pounds of force would be then. A lot more than what pressure your putting on the frame originally. Manufactures are always cutting back on materials because the more materials the more cost of production. Stay with a RV manufacture that has a good reputation for good frames. Norco frames have been trouble free when compared to Lippert frames.
Which manufacturers use Norco frames? How do we find out this information?
Google Norco frames lol 😂
WDH is basically like adding wheelbarrow handles to the back of the tow vehicle. Then the A frame of the trailer holds these handles in place.
Exactly how I think of it!
And where the A-frame is welded to the main frame is like your lower spinal column which has a little more flexibility and ability when younger to handle some compressive loads.
Just another reason I love my 5th wheel RV and my gooseneck flat deck.
Reinforced my trailer A-frame. Using a 1 ton truck and WDH is in full use as it takes all twitchiness away. No issues at all after 5 years and 50000 miles of travel, including to Alaska and back twice.
Anyone else subscribed to big truck big Rv and big truck big travels? The second channel actually has a huge setup! Both good channels.
JD, proper setup of weight distribution hitches paramount. They should level the trailer then back the tow vehicle up to the hitch. Then adjust the height of the ball to match the trailer hitch. This will help eliminate some of the down force.
All great tips. I find it amusing that you use your 240bhle as a spare living room in your yard 😆 I use it as our summertime park camper with the wife and son. We have a half ton Lariat, pull it up and down the East coast in the summer. Easier to pull something with payload wiggle room 👌 My rule of thumb. Stay under 85% of your paylaod and towing capacity respectively. If you're pushing it and uncomfortable. Get a smaller trailer or a bigger truck. I'm not here to critique others. I know how the the weights and measurements guys can be a pain in the balls.
Side note, I enjoy your Class A reviews with guest appearances from Matt. Thanks JD.
Great video and much appreciated. I’ve never felt safe using weight distribution on my 30 foot travel trailer but I do use an anti sway bar. I pull it with an F450 and with generators, extra water, air compressor, and floor jacks in the back of the truck was always worried that going over a bump that it would just crack the A frame at an in opportune time when it transferred weight onto the a frame via the WD hitch.
Luckily you have an F450 and don’t need anti sway bars or a weight distribution hitch
Never ever thought about the physics of where and how the weight distribution worked. Thanks for the info. I run a aluminium toy hauler with a heavy can am inside. I definitely going to take a link out of the chain on my weight distribution. I think I may be putting too much pressure on my frame. Great info to have . I should be more in tune with my set up. Thank for the info.
One thing that was not mentioned in this video, and a LOT of folks, and I mean a LOT over load their trailers and tow vehicles. You can have the best WDH out there, but things will bend and break eventually if the trailer/tow vehicle are over loaded. If you have to crank the crap out of the WDH to get things close to level, you are over loaded and/or unbalanced on your load. 1/2 ton pickups don't have a lot of payload capacity, and once you load up the family, hook up the trailer, you are going to be close to its limits because even the tongue weight is added to your tow vehicle payload.
A 4000lb trailer will typically have about 400lbs of tongue weight. Add a 4 people fam and you can easily be approaching another 400-500 lbs, add bikes, add fuel and so on. Doesn't take long.
Manage your weight, keep it all within the limits placarded on your trailer and tow vehicle, size the WDH accordingly (you can go too big and break things) and use some common sense.... you shouldn't have any issues.
You are spot on about this topic.
The WD Hitch creates a triangular platform that resists side-side roll on the trailer. This is great for resistance to wind, sway etc. So you need some load on the L-brackets to make that work. For rear suspension drop, using airbags to set ride height, provided the truck axles are ~ evenly loaded, there's your optimal towing setup. Trailer length doesn't necessarily have high hitch weight.
JD, Marc and Trish@ KYD just had this very experience, ( NEW SEASON 2024 ) while driving through NM or TX they found that they couldn't open the battery door on the A-frame. Marc disconnected the WD even though it was very windy didn't seem to cause any sway. Marc said he will do a follow-up next week.
Great topic. To bad rv dealers don’t educate potential customers on the risk of towing large travel trailers with typical half ton trucks.
They do the opposite. They'll tell you a half ton will pull this no problem.
I always went with the absolute minimum amount of WD that I needed.
I also wasn't trying to level my truck, I have airbags for that, I simply enjoyed the feeling of the truck and trailer moving together.
I've moved on to a 5'er and sometimes miss how smooth my TT was when it was set up just right.
Another great video! It just seems like the RVers that need this info the most don’t watch videos like yours. It’s so common to see, especially toy haulers, with truck and trailer way down at their connection spot. On this trip while stopped and having lunch in our trailer, we watched a 1500 Ram truck pulling at least a 30 foot toy hauler trailer, not a 5th wheel, as he had to disconnect his truck, Jack up his trailer in the front, to make it able to get the loading ramp low enough to load his Harley trike into the trailer. Very heavy trike loaded and connected to his truck again and I’m certain the truck would have been very light in front end steering the front was so high up and the rear of the truck and the trailer hitch were so low down. Add to it a full truck of 4 adults and several ice chests in the truck bed he loaded with bags of ice and water, sodas and beer from the market. We were amazed!
Keep Your Day Dream is just experiencing the impact of to much weight distribution. Check out there last video.
Just watched this weeks KYD video and interesting that they took off the weight distribution bars on the new airstream. I am interested to see how both you and them talk about this
Awesome video and information. Everything you said makes perfect sense.
Simplified.. Picture a wheel barrel...with the handles being the arms of the weight
distribution hitch. When put under tension they have a lifting affect essentially transfer-
ing weight off the rear of the tow vehicle and transferring that weight to the steer axle
Thanks BTBR. This is extremely helpful.
As an owner of a 34 ft toyhauler greywolf owner, who used to tow with a 1/2 ton but moved up to a 250 and this really helped me understand how my hitch is working better on my trailer with the different trucks. Keep this up!
some things I did is to sorta equalize the weight load. we do have multiple storage on our 28 1/2 foot trailer. When it gets too heavy on front I shift some of the weight at the back since there’s aome storage space underneath the bunk bed. The RV was preset with tge new WDH from the dealer but as soon we start filling it up I adjusted it once then that’s it!. For a half ton owner (Tundra) I think I lean towards the “safety” side by staying between 20ft to less than 29ft max. Anything over that like a 32 would leave you with a trailer with more stress on the front A-frame.
When I bought our new 30 Foot Airstream I bought a dually in order to keep from using a weight distribution hitch I used on our previous trailer using a 1/2 ton pulling a 25 foot Airstream. I was always over payload with this setup too. I decided I'd had enough of this setup. After towing it 50K miles all across the country without any issues I am glad I went this direction.
Solid information. Similar things happen with 5th wheel toy haulers that they overload them and all the weight is in the back of the 5th wheel. Then they wonder why the frame cracks at the hitch.
My RV dealer installed a 10,000# WDH to my 3000# trailer before I really understood what they were all about. About a year into using it, I hit a bump in the road and the a-frame bent. Thankfully I wasn’t stranded and could get the trailer home. I had the bent frame repaired by an RV repair shop then tossed the WDH to the side. I never really needed it to begin with. Lesson learned.
I enjoy my shockerhitch with my e4 weight distribution hitch. Wife use to get car sick, not anymore. Been using this for years, no problems. People need to go to a very level flat area and work it right. Your call outs of: could be, maybe, possibly, etc - is just that... but I get it.
Mark on Keep Your Daydream in this weeks video with their first tow of new Airstream found that weight distribution caused front storage door to bind because of that frame flex. Because they have an F250 they pulled off the bars and no more binding.
Watched the episode; looks to be an Airstream model only problem bc of their A frame. But, airbags, sumo springs, or Bilstein 5100 shocks to level the TV is the first step before weight distribution. Mind that your TVs hitch is even rated for the tongue weight that you're loading on it.
I agree with you. We use and engineered hitch. Pro pride p3 . The hole experience with this setup is way different. Then an curt or blue ox or any other bar system. The other thing is I am over trucked for camper because of your videos. Including the travel trailer I saw on your channel and bought it.
Some people really think they need to have the truck not squat. 1/2 ton trucks are designed to ride better than 3/4 trucks. A couple inches of squat is not the end of the world. I set mine up to sit level with the front end and have the trailer sit level with the truck. I have a 5k trailer for my 150. It tows fine without a wd hitch. I use one since it helps with sway. My equalizer hitch has sway built in to the design. I feel like this is ideal for my combination
We have a 2005 Sunnybrook travel trailer. Dry weight is around 7500 lbs. GVWR is around 9800 lbs. The entire chassis on this travel trailer is 100% Box steel. The tongue is 2x6 rectangular tube steel, the full length of the chassis is double stacked 2x6 tube steel. The main reason we still have this RV is that you can not find a comparable unit on the market today. Fully boxed steel frame chassis and 100% aluminum frame roof and walls. Full fiberglass end caps front and rear. Thank you, but I’ll keep my old one. Engineers now are so obsessed with weight, they’re sacrificing what matters.
What a great video. I surely appreciate this info.
Very informative video. Thank you.
I use my distribution hitch for anti sway. It is soposed to do both. Yes I have a 35' camper and a 2500 Suburban. I do not have a lot of tension, just enough for the anti sway. With the kitche in front bedroom in back super slide and a bed slide. And a wife with a lot of clothing. Somtimes it is rear heavy. Thats what the hitch is to be used for. Truck squatting should have springs, or air bags to correct.
One of the biggest concerns, especially if your really applying lots of force to the bars, is when you drive into a sharp uphill approach into a gas station, parking lot etc, those forces are even more insane to the extreme. My biggest fear is ferry ramps going on and off the ferry, they are extreme and you often don't have the opportunity before and after getting on and off the ferry to loosen up the bars so you can reduce the stress. I use my bar tension mildly, but the ferry access always makes me cringe.
KYD took theirs off last week because it was causing the frame to flex and their tongue box wouldnt open. Also seems to be a potential cause of the Airstream frame separation.
I saw that too.
The trailer should have been built to withstand a weight distribution hitch
@@donhaas8547 I agree. Why don’t manufacturers build them with WD in mind.
@@donhaas8547 ,they have been trying, HAHAHA, for 4 decades.
I'm not sure they build them with adding toilet paper inside them in mind.
Enjoy your videos. On this one specifically you should have also added the advantages of improving the truck suspension to work with and compliment the weight distribution system so sag prevention is not solely the responsibility of the weight distribution bars putting more pressure on the tongue frame. Again. Great info. Great videos. But the entire truck trailer system should all harmonize for the proper balance. JDL
Dont forget about A-frame failure back in the early 2000's with Weekend Warrior which turned into a lawsuit and recall. I think alot of RV manufactures learned from that scenario and improved the A-frames.
Add an adjustable air suspension system to the truck and the sag problem is solved. I did this on my truck and it makes setting up the Weight Distribution system simple.
interesting points. I have towed 6,000 to 7,500 lbs travel trailers with 1/2 ton trucks for over 20 years and never had any such issues however, I have always used WDH units with flex bars rated for the trailer weight range I am towing.
I tow a 33’ ~7400 gross lb trailer with my 5thGen Ram 1500 with a WDH and it’s well within the SAE J2807 specs even with 15% tongue weight. All capacities and axle weights verified on a CAT scale before each trip and it tows just fine.
What’s funny is my 5th Gen 1500 has more power and better capacities than my 2003 2500 did
@@baddestmofoalive What engine/ ratio do you have? My 2016 1500 Sport 5.7 w/ 3:21 ratio struggles with our 24', 4800 lb trailer. I'm guessing the axle ratio is the biggest culprit. I do have a WDH.
It may just be me, but I found your explanation of a weight-distribution hitch wanting. I'm only understanding like 1/3 to 1/2 of what you are saying. You pointing and curving your hand, etc, help some, but it's still unclear.
Maybe on your next attempt, you could draw a simple diagram and show with arrows the forces & levering action involved? Or, even better, you can make a model and SHOW the difference between a regular hitch and a WD-hitch? Just saying...
Excellent point; fully agree with your suggestion, and I'm an Engineer. He's talking about a Free-Body Diagram JD, and "should should you accept this mission, JD", while you're at it, could you please distinguish between the intent of "anti-sway" bars and "weight distribution hitch"?
Thanks in advance!
I had the same thought, this should have been a whiteboard video explaining the process with a free body diagram. Use simple numbers, colored arrows, and most people would get a better understanding of what's being explained.
Clearly you don’t know about trucks
JD, you didn’t mention anything about sway control. Sway control is based on the downward force for friction.
Yep
Reinforcing the A-frame section is just chasing moving goal posts. Reinforcing the A-frame would add tongue weight which means you need to add more weight distribution spring force, which means you need to reinforce the A-frame more.
Also, you would just be moving the point of failure somewhere else and I expect replacing a damaged A-frame is much easier (i.e. costs less) than whatever the next point of failure would be. The only real correction for a overloaded truck is to get a bigger truck.
That tree interests me!
Question for you BTBRV, I have a travel trailer that weighs approximately 10500, tow vehicle is the 3500 Ram SRW w/ air suspension so weight isn’t an issue and the trucks suspension lifts the vehicle up almost without sag without any problem. So I use my blu ox for a sway control more than weight distribution., but still cinch it pretty good for sway. Your input please would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks J.D. for the information. We have a 2020 Jayco 32RL, currently towing with a Nissan Titan (1/2 ton). I am looking to upgrade this year to at least a 3/4, maybe even 1 Ton. I was thinking about your comment about the A-Frame portion. I have seen some trailers that just have it welded to the main frame. On our Jayco, it actually goes thru the trailer frame, and welded on the inside. My thought is, this is a stronger connection. What are your thoughts on that style of A frame connection? I am off to start comparing heavy duty trucks.....Thanks!
You can also easily overload the rear axle on 1/2 ton trucks so you need to transfer the weight to the front or you can balance the trailer better. In my case including hitch, 2 batteries and gas bottles my hitch weight is 1500lb or 22% of 7k trailer. My rear axle is over rating by 200lb that's without weight distribution. I have to re-balance the trailer and drop the tongue weight by 200lb without using weight distribution. My numbers are from CAT scale ⚖️ and i have 1/2 ton F-150. Everything is perfectly level because I have Timbrens....
They should look at Dimond C and the engineered beam design they use on their trailers. It's an excellent design feature that puts metal where it's needed and saves a good amount of weight while still adding strength
That's one of the very nice things about the Weigh Safe hitches, it has the gauge in it that lets you know how much weight you are distributing (generally 2-3 times the tongue weight).
The old original and proper concept for the ball hitch was to allow pivoting around all 3 axis. You have a WDH on there and you go even slowly over a bend like a driveway or over a railroad grade crossing or rough dirt road it's going to put a tremendous torquing moment on the weld where the A-Frame meets the main frame. I suspect that in too many cases there is a dealer trying to sell a WDH and/or trailer to an under-educated buyer who has a tow vehicle with inadequate capacity and/or the TV hitch height is too much of a mismatch to the trailer.
It's been a long time since I took a Statics or Dynamics class, but I'm willing to bet that a properly designed and weight adequate frame that doesn.t use a WDH isn't going to bend under the trailer body. No matter what they say about frames being designed to flex, if the body structure isn't designed to accept the flex, it's going to pull out mounting screws and bolts or break the walls.
Flex equals fatigue equals failure.
A certain manufacturer of a popular line of small trailers had a bad run of models where the frames were made too small and light and unable to mate successfully with the lightweight body structure over more than a few years. Add that to overly aggressive marketing to buyers with poorly matched tow vehicles and they almost but not quite ruined their reputation. It appears that both suspensions and frames have been strengthened.
I had a gm 1500 cc6.6 max tow, when hooked to my 13 jayco eagle 316rkds I couldn't set up the wdh to max setup, the receiver had enough torsion on it to touch the rear bumper. I never towed it more than 15 miles, even though I was within spec, I found it was pretty hard on the truck when hitting rough spots. I will either borrow or rent a 3/4 next time I need to move it.
I like your explanation. Being a first time USA RV trailer user coming from Europe I wonder why the trailers here typically have a lot more load on the hitch. In europe we typically have between 100-250 lbs which is no real problem for most truck here. Another question I have is: have you heard of any problems with the hitch connections to the truck. The truck hitch suffers just as much as the trailer A-frame like you point out.
Light Duty Trucks with Leveling Kits…. Then they use the WDH to try and keep their truck level while towing. Trucks have rake for a reason.
WDH is for returning steering and braking performance to the front of the truck, you’re only supposed to return half of the weight back to the front.
We didn't have any problem when the WD bars where TAPPERED and effectivelly worked as a spring.
These new WD models with bars that have a straight profile don't flex, they seem to be designed by people that have no clue why they are called spring bars...
If you have a "spring" bar that can't flex , when you need that to work as a spring it won't and something else will give up, if it is not the hitch then the trailer frame.
That is the reason I always used the tried and true round bar system.
Andy, from CamAm Airstream had an article several years ago saying exactly that.
They set up minivans and cars for towing 30ft trailers (airstream in Canada) and never had a problem with it.
What is your thoughts on the bumper pull to gooseneck conversion that a couple companies are making, if you didn’t mind having the gooseneck hitch in the back of your truck and not be able to use all the bed for extra stuff.
Nonsense. The frames are breaking because they are too cheaply made.
I agree with you. It's a cheep problem not a weight problem
Maybe offer some ideas of those proactive approaches? Airbags in the truck to offset some of the sag? But would that reduce the friction for the sway control in some of the hitches?
It’s also easy to get too heavy of a weight distribution hitch, as they’re often sold like a ball mount- more=better.
I’m not using any weight distribution, but I have a 350 and a 20 foot
Thanks for the insite. TV is 05 Pathfinder towing a 2022 R-pod 202 and I do a decent job managing my weight but I get more sway than I am comfortable with once I push past 65. I'm adding sway control this week and I should learn to be comfortable with 60mph. I wonder though if I am over doing my WDH. If I apply too much, from what you are saying, I add weight to the rear which in my mind is no different than improperly loading my gear.
Overloading the truck bed and/or trailer tongue, then trying to compensate with an equalizer hitch is the recipe for bent or sbapped trailer frame.
Fat thumbs on a smartphone keyboard strikes again. SNAPPED not sbapped.
Our 25 ft couples trailer came with a weight distribution hitch??? I just used it 🤔 My lifted 95 Ram doesn't sag at all 🤔...I looked at it as sway control...Great video 🏕✌🏿
My understanding on weight distrbution hitches were to prevent sway as well. Is that right? Also love that you educate everyone. Just wondering if you could use an erase board to draw it out so that we can get a better visual.
They very much reduce sway, but not as substantially as a proper swaybar.
Couple that with what you might be doing to your light duty pickup truck
Good information
Thanks for the great info. By the way, there is a face in the tree behind the A frame in the background. Check out it
Question for you. I have a 2020 Silverado 1500 rst z71 and I pull a tracer air 244bh with. Pretty light trailer at only 5200 pounds dry weight. Pulls great plenty of power with the 3.0L in it, trailer sits pretty flat with my current hitch. Just a regular ball. What do you recommend for a sway control and weight distribution hitch that won’t brake the bank. We don’t pull across the country. Mostly weekend trips with maybe 1/500 mile trip per year.
I would also recommend you reach out to pro pride in Holly Michigan. I would love to see the review
So would something like air bag suspension in the back of the tow rig be a better option than using a weight distribution hitch? Or should they be used together to avoid as much forcer on the tongue
Try a northwood RV. They build their own frames.
That Surveyor rig has a fairly whimpy A-frame to start with. The Forest River trailers always have crappy welded Lippert frames. The BAL frame is huck-bolted, much larger sections and built for heavy WD. The frame should be a top consideration when buying a trailer. I have done 12,000 towing miles with my BAL framed Venture RV in two years with an Equalizer hitch and it is rock solid on the road.
Informative. Are you gonna move the camper with a truck, tractor or your robot?
I feel a slight difference in steering without a wdh, the part that makes it dangerous for the front end to be too light is steering and braking in snow, rain, gravel and high speeds. 2023 Ram 3500 swd, 4000 payload towing 10,000 toy haul.
I have a serious problem with this video. The premise that you are using weight distribution to correct sag - to raise the height of the back of the truck - is completely wrong. That may happen - to a degree - but it is completely incidental to the process of adjusting a weight distribution hitch.
What a WD hitch addresses is the loss of downward pressure on the steer axle. Putting weight on the back of the truck - the hitch - levers the front of the truck up with the rear axle as the fulcrum. The WD hitch counters that by creating a lever arm with the coupler as the fulcrum.
When adjusting your hitch, don't even look at the back of the truck or if it sags. The height of the rear is irrelevant.
To adjust a WD hitch, you need to measure the height of the front of the truck with no trailer, measure the height of the front of the truck with the trailer, then use the WD hitch to bring the front of the truck at least halfway back to it's original height. I measure between the wheel (rim) and the wheel well arch to eliminate tire loading as a factor, because what we are doing here is using the front springs as a makeshift scale.
Better is to use an actual scale. Put at least two thirds of the weight that came off the front axle back onto the front axle - but do not exceed the weight of the front axle with no trailer. The front axle should not carry the trailer load.
With weight back on the front axle, you can still steer - which is extra important when you are towing more than the weight of the truck. The hitch may reduce rear sag a little, but that should not be a goal or benchmark. The rear suspension should be carrying all of the hitch weight, and will normally compress more than the front does.
If you truck still sags, make sure you are not overloaded. Hit the scales. Look at your unladen weight, loaded weight without distribution, and calculate your hitch weight. Also weigh with distribution. Check your GCVWR, GVWR, hitch weight, and the weight of each axle to make sure you don't exceed any limits. If you sag within the limits, make sure your springs and shocks are in good working order. If you still sag, you have a soft suspension (ie, my TRD Off-Road), and need to add rear spring rate - usually using add a leaf, Roadmasters, Load Adjusting shock/spring combo, bags, etc.
Don't try to take out sag with the hitch. Don't overload the truck. Deal with sag in your suspension. Use the hitch to help you steer. Trying to use the hitch for the wrong purpose is the underlying problem that this video is trying to deal with but doesn't address.
GM recommends a WDH when towing more than 7000 lbs with a 1500. Ford recommends it for towing over 5000 lbs with an F-150. I don’t know if you have a contact with any of the manufacturers, but it’d be cool if you could do a video talking with them about this.
Dodge recommends using the hooks in front as ford hooks and Chevy hooks. To rescue the poor bastards
I have a BS in physics. I am salivating at the opportunity to post this comment. One simple way of reducing the pressure is of course to reduce the tongue weight. But the other way would be to lengthen the weight distribution bars. With most setups, the length could be almost doubled.
The bars would have to have a larger cross-section or utilize a stronger(more expensive) material for the increased stress and strain profiles to be able to lengthen the WDH bars.
One recommendation that should have been mentioned is to remove the weight distribution arms once you leave a paved road. The articulation and bouncing of "primitive roads" creates excessive downward force on the A frame and could cause it to fail and bend.
Have you done a video of the pros and cons of a 5th wheel Vs a bumper pull?
I know about the bumper pulls advantage of still having full use of your bed.
I'm more meaning about the way they go down the road.
Seems like there's a lot to think about a both seem to have many advantages AND disadvantages.
This makes me curious about the Andersen WD hitch I use and what kind of forces it applies. Instead of springs pulling down directly on the A frame, it uses chains in tension mounted horizontally below the A frame. I know it puts a lot of compression force at the back of the hitch ball and trailer coupler (which is why certain coupler models aren't to be used with it). Seems like the forces at the WD A-frame brackets would be trying to twist the A-frame upwards, putting downward pressure on the top of the A frame tube and upward pressure on the bottom an inch or two farther forward. No idea if that type of force is better or worse than the straight downward force on the A frame from spring-bar WD hitches.
What's the best solution for someone who won't have much/any rear end sag on their tow vehicle, but wants to control sway (and also maintain maneuverability and easy backing up)?
Hello thanks for the video. How much does your travel trailer weigh? You saidnl it was relatively light but it would cause you're half ton to sag quite a bit? Do you think 5k lbs camper with 600 toungue weight would cause to much sag on a half ton?
Don’t you think the frame manufacturers build in the use of weight distribution hitchs? To compensate for the weight of the trailer
We like to keep it tight. The wind is a major factor. Hopefully our RV doesn’t fold in half.
If the rated hitch weight of my truck significantly exceeds the tongue weight of the trailer, do I even need a weight distribution system?
While I agree with your description of the stress on the A-frame caused by WDH, you seem to have neglected (unless I missed it) the mitigating effect of spring bars... They are rated in pounds for a reason: controlling the forces in the system... Taken to the extreme, the WDH can be rigid, which would exponentially increase the static and dynamic stresses on the frames of both the tow vehicle and trailer... As stated earlier, a couple of simple diagrams would have helped the presentation... Just sayin' 😎
If you select the proper weight classification of hitch for your camper, the components of the hitch system will likely fail before the a-frame. The problem is when people think they're "playing it safe" by using a 14k WD setup on a 6k trailer for example.
Do you think a Ford F350 dually pulling a 26 ft Flafstaff weighing 8,200 lbs would need a weight distribution system?
I have a Surveyor Legend , I believe is 2 to 3 feet longer than the one in your example. I agree with your points, so far my box A frame has held up, also recently in a questionable whoop te do type highway. I am wondering how much help air bags installation , on my 1/2 ton Truck would give me….Thanks. 👍
Makes me wonder if filling the void in the frames with some sort of expanding foam would help keep water from causing rust on the inside.
Arctic fox and outdoors RV, which is made by the same people custom build their frames and they are very strong
What you think about weight safe hitch with scale on it and knowing your vehicle hitch max weight limits?
This is the reason I Went from a Weight Distribution Hitch to a BP Conversion. The overall towing experience is like a night and day difference.
What is BP? Never heard before.
@@mikefoehr235 Bumper Pull Conversion. It converts the travel trailer into a Gooseneck Trailer. I tell everyone just cause i like to confuse them with my trailer. "Its a Bumper Pull Gooseneck Travel Trailer". Makes a Bumper Pull Pull like 5th wheel in a way if i have to explain it better
I’ve seen the bp conversions and it sounds great, but I have one concern about them. Since they attach to your A-frame and adds the gooseneck out in front, isn’t that like putting a giant lever on the front of the trailer and increasing the flex load on the A-frame? Couldn’t that potentially bend the frame as well?
I have pulled a momentum 31G for 4000 miles with the BP Conversion. Night and day for sway and stablation.
@@michaelblankenship548 I felt the same way but after running it for a few years and I feel good with my purchase. I too sometimes worry about the a frame due to it being made of thin material but after being on the road and traveling down some pretty rough areas I seen how well it holds up and where the mounting points are located plus they added a brace which is sold separately to go under to strengthen the A frame for anyone wanted a extra layer of protection for the heavier and longer rigs.
Great information...my rear truck axle (drive) weighs about 600 lbs more than the front ( steer) axle based on CatScale. Both numbers are within the trucks tolerance. My question: is that a somewhat normal situation, a 600 lbs difference?
Will it also increase the weight that the axle on the trailer is carrying?
I’m trying to figure out what’s going on with that tree in the background. Oh, nice video.
I've known about those distribution hitches breaking frames for 10 years