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Alley_Fox's avatar
Alley_Fox
Explorer
Jun 11, 2013

Why don't 5th wheel mfgrs place more heavy items in rear?

OK, maybe a naive question but why don't 5th wheel manufacturers place some of the heavier items in the rear to help relieve the heavy pin weights? I'm thinking about things like gensets, water tanks and propane. Pin weight recommendations usually say 10%-25% of total trailer weight so why not try to help relieve some of that? What's the tradeoff?

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  • REWahoo's avatar
    REWahoo
    Explorer
    Jun 11, 2013
    Alley Fox wrote:
    Pin weight recommendations usually say 10%-25% of total trailer weight so why not try to help relieve some of that?

    I think the recommendation is more along the lines of 15%-25%. In my experience 20% is the sweet spot.

    I have to use care in not loading too much weight in the rear. If I have less than 18% (per CAT scale weights) on the pin the trailer starts 'chucking' - and the boss lady starts '*itching'.
  • Bionic_Man's avatar
    Bionic_Man
    Explorer
    Jun 11, 2013
    More pin weight = better handling.

    Less pin weight = increased likelihood of the trailer fishtailing, especially with cross winds.

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