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

Jim-Linda wrote:

DSteiner51 wrote:

goducks10 wrote:

Jim-Linda wrote:
If one uses a sufficient TV, pin weight doesn't matter.

Jim

Ding Ding Ding and we have a winner:)

Ding Ding Ding, we have two losers!!

Would you care to explain the loser comment?

Jim

I didn't make the loser post but I will tell you that to much tongue weight can have a negative effect in the towing experience no matter how much TV you have. If you go over 50% or so it feels like you are dragging it instead of it rolling behind you.I haul heavy equipment for a living so I know the effects of an improperly loaded trailer;)

If a man is in the woods all alone and talks, is he still wrong?

Some people must have failed basic high school physics. Simple fulcrum and lever formula. The wheels would be the fulcrum.

DSteiner51 wrote:

goducks10 wrote:

Jim-Linda wrote:
If one uses a sufficient TV, pin weight doesn't matter.

Jim

Ding Ding Ding and we have a winner:)

Ding Ding Ding, we have two losers!!

Would you care to explain the loser comment?

Jim

Alley Fox wrote:
Jim-Linda- I have a 32" Visio LCD TV. Does that mean I am good to go?? ;)



Just kidding, of course.......

Of course, we have a 32" Samsung In our HH.

Jim

Water-Bug wrote:

REWahoo wrote:

motorcycle jack wrote:
The placement of the items inside has very little to do with the pin weight. It is where the balance point versus the axle placement that effects it most. If you have a problem with understanding that, let me give you an example. Lets say the given 5th wheel has a total weight of 10K and the pin weight is 2K (20% of total weight). Now add 1K to the rear of the unit. Does that mean the pin weight is now 1K? Since you added it behind the axle (which is not the balance point). No. The total weight is 11K (10 + 1) and the pin weight is now 20% x 11K or 2200 lbs. Sorry, just the nature of the design.

An engineer will be along shortly to point out the inaccuracies in the above post. :)

He rides a bike. Cut him a little slack. :)

How do you know that he does not jack up a bike?:)

I think it is a combination of axle locations, and also loading positions for basement storage, tank locations, kitchen weight, closets, and also how much acceptable range is in the pin weight spec. vs the gvwr.

I ride a bike too. And sometime jack one up. And jack it down. Wait... is that even possible? To jack something down?:h

When I was kid, long time ago, we had a teetertotter also called a seesaw. We would change the fulcrum point depending on weight of each person. Basically the pin weight will change based on where the wheels are located in respect to the hitch & the rear of the RV and where the weight is placed. i.e. the further back toward the rear beyond the wheels the more it will lighten the pin weight. This why the loads are balaced to give us the proper hitch weight. Obviously adding weight to the extreme front or rear will have a greater effect. How the axle handles the load is another matter.

Water-Bug wrote:

REWahoo wrote:

motorcycle jack wrote:
The placement of the items inside has very little to do with the pin weight. It is where the balance point versus the axle placement that effects it most. If you have a problem with understanding that, let me give you an example. Lets say the given 5th wheel has a total weight of 10K and the pin weight is 2K (20% of total weight). Now add 1K to the rear of the unit. Does that mean the pin weight is now 1K? Since you added it behind the axle (which is not the balance point). No. The total weight is 11K (10 + 1) and the pin weight is now 20% x 11K or 2200 lbs. Sorry, just the nature of the design.

An engineer will be along shortly to point out the inaccuracies in the above post. :)

He rides a bike. Cut him a little slack. :)

OK (and yes, he is wrong, as Archimedes could have proven)

DSteiner51 wrote:

jaycocamprs wrote:

Lantley wrote:
Wow are we confused. Why does a locomotive pull the train and not push it? The weight holds the train on the tracks.

The locomotive pulls the train because the cars are not strong enough in compression. They would crush the rear cars.

Trains have absolutely nothing to do with pulling 5th wheels. The locomotive carries no weight from anything it pulls and is planted on rails.

Only that the weight is in the front leading the train.
But I agree it is not the best analogy because the effect of downward forces are not as critical

Alley Fox wrote:
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?

So you have an AF model that is noted for high pin weight and most likely a 2500 that is noted for low CC. Blaming the trailer for the issue is looking at the wrong component! High tare weight of diesel 4x4 pickups and low GVWR and RGAWR ratings of 250/2500 trucks are the real problem.

Chris