8,000# hitch on new E-450 Chassis
It has recently come to my attention that all new Thor Motorhomes on the E-450 chassis built after 10/01/2014 come equipped standard with an 8,000 pound receiver hitch instead of the 5,000 pound hitch...
Forum Discussion
Golden_HVAC wrote:
The E-450 has had a 22,000 GCVWR since the time that I bought my class A back in 1997. The 14,500 GVWR - this leaves about 8,000 pounds towing ability if the RV is 14,000 pounds, and the trailer is 8,000 pounds.
Hitch weight is around 800 - 1,000 pounds on a cargo trailer of that size, so curb weight would need to be around 13,500 pounds in order to tow a 8,000 pound cargo trailer with a 1,000 pound hitch weight.
What you would need to worry about is the extra weight put onto the rear axle. Say the rear axle to hitch ball is 10 feet, and wheelbase length is 176". Then every 100 pounds on the hitch will take away about 60 pounds from the front axle, placing 140 pounds on the rear axle. 1,000 pounds would be 1,600 put on the rear axle and 600 less on the front axle.
A much shorter distance between hitch and rear axle, say only 6 feet, you would have 72" between hitch and rear axle, and 176" between rear and front axle, or about a 2.5:1 ratio. So 250 pounds on the hitch will only take away about 100 pounds from the front axle, or 1000 pounds would take 400 pounds off the front axle onto the rear one.
Good luck!
Fred.
I have thought about exactly this as well. For my flat trailer that weighs 5500-6000 pounds it probably wouldn't be an issue but would need to be setup correctly weight wise.
If I stepped up to an enclosed trailer that was closer to the 8,000 pound limit, a weight distribution hitch setup on the trailer would solve this issue correct? It would transfer more of that tongue weight back to the front tires of the tow vehicle.
I would rather not hassle with a WD setup if possible but as a means to fit the needs it would fit the bill.
