Weight Distributing Hitches - What they Do

[ctechbob]

This is not a weight distribution how-to, it is real-world data that I took using my setup a couple of weekends ago that shows what exactly is changing when you hitch up to a fairly heavy trailer and how you can shift weight around using a WD hitch.

When people think of a WD hitch, they are usually thinking of towing travel trailers, but they're also used on just about any kind of 'bumper pulled' trailer. Just that the vast majority of the conversations center around RV'ing.

This was done with almost everything packed to go on a trip. The only thing that is missing is the weight of our clothes, and about 10 gallons of water I travel with in the fresh tank (The fresh tank sits above the trailer axle in my trailer, so it would have a minimal increase of weight on the truck)

This is the tow vehicle. My 2020 Ranger 2WD as loaded for a trip with the exception of the wife and dog. The WD hitch is in the receiver as well, so there is a 65# chunk of metal hanging off the rear end.

Payload Rating - 1711#
GVWR - 6050# (Which means the truck should weigh 4339#)
Rear GAWR - 3500#
Front GAWR - 2930#

Light in the rear, as expected for an unloaded truck.

Here is the trailer attached. In this example, I'm still within the limits of the truck as I've only added 700# overall to the truck/hitch, but I've also taken 340 pounds OFF of the steer axle. I can, and have towed like this just as an experiment. It is certainly not a load of fun and you can feel that the truck is light on the front end.

The total weight of the trailer is 5520#'s.

Now, this is with my 800# E2 bars attached. Notice the truck actually got lighter overall by 60# and the trailer got heavier by 60#. There is also 180# shifted back onto the steer axle. The bars are essentially picking the combination up in the middle, forcing the trailer and the steer axle down while lifting the rear axle. What the hitch companies generally tell you to shoot for is to gain back about half of the weight on the steer axle from hitching the trailer.

In my case I 'lost' 340# on the front by hitching the trailer and I 'put back' 180# by using the weight distribution hitch.

The end result is a more stable tow with the truck feeling much more planted.

Like I said, this isn't meant to be a class on WD hitches, it's just an example for people who have never seen how they work/what they do.

 

[Wayne]

Thanks for the post!

This is how WD hitches are to be used. With more weight on the front axle, you'll have better braking when you need to panic stop, potentially better visibility at night when the headlights don't point up higher than normal, and better stability driving down the road.

Is your hitch also anti-sway?

 

[ctechbob]

Thanks for the post!

This is how WD hitches are to be used. With more weight on the front axle, you'll have better braking when you need to panic stop, potentially better visibility at night when the headlights don't point up higher than normal, and better stability driving down the road.

Is your hitch also anti-sway?

Yes, it is an E2 round bar.

 

[Wayne]

Yes, it is an E2 round bar.

Good, we've seen so many trailer sway accidents we've lost count.

 

[ctechbob]

Good, we've seen so many trailer sway accidents we've lost count.

Ohh, I'm a big proponent of WD/AS hitches. There's precious few cases where I wouldn't tow without one. I'd have to have a REALLY big truck and a dinky little trailer to do that. I think the vast majority of RV's need one

I'm also on a bit of a personal mission to get people to use the right words when they talk about what their truck and trailer are doing.

Sway being unwanted oscillations of the trailer caused by loading or improper setup.

Truck trailer being disturbed by wind/bumps/terrain - Not sway (So long as the rig goes back to tracking straight after a disturbance.)

I think a lot of people talk about sway using it to cover all those things not realizing that 99% of the time, you are going to feel wind buffeting from passing trucks, etc. You can watch 18-wheelers weave in their lanes when they pass each other. You'll never be free of it. But as long as your setup goes back to tracking straight, you're not 'swaying'.

I tow what most people would consider 'too much trailer', and yes, I feel wind when passing trucks, but my setup doesn't sway. As soon as the disturbance is over, the trailer tracks straight and true, right on up to the max speed of the tires (81), which I have tested on a lonely highway. The wind buffeting never gets to the point where it makes the setup feel unsafe, and if you're paying attention when driving and have been doing it for a while, you know exactly how the setup is going to move when you're being passed.

 

[Wayne]

I'm also on a bit of a personal mission to get people to use the right words when they talk about what their truck and trailer are doing.

If they do they will understand it better and be better equipped to avoid becoming a victim.

I wrote this a couple years ago, because I couldn't find anything on the internet that put all of it together.

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