Can I use a WDH on a DP
I tow a 22' enclosed trailer behind the DP in my signature. It has a 10,000 lb hitch with a 1000 lb tongue weight capacity. I have been hauling a UTV weighing 1100 lbs in the front and a 3200 lb...
Forum Discussion
wildmanbaker wrote:bjbear wrote:
Although it is true that a DP with air suspension will compensate for extra weight on the hitch receiver by raising the rear of the coach, that is not the primary purpose of a WDH.
The WDH does 2 important jobs......................
Tell you what, find a scale in your area and give this a try on you MH. Get back to us on what you find out, OK. There are a lot of things that work on paper, but not in real life.
OK ... since you asked. Having spent my career in engineering, I am pretty careful to make sure I know what I am talking about before I put anything out......
Fortunately, I have a set of scales not far from where I live so when I wanted to engineer a hitch extension for my truck for use with a camper, I was able to verify my paper calculations with real life observations. Below is the results of some of work. Note that like my previous drawing, when you tighten the chains on the equalizer, more weight is added to the steer axle and the trailer axles and the equivalent weight is removed from the drive axle of the truck.
Although this data was from my truck, it applies equally to my MH.
Think of it this way.
On a motorhome, when you add weight to the hitch........
- The rear of the MH goes down
- The air level valves sense this change and add air to raise the rear of the MH back to the design level
- The air bags are pushing upward on the frame. The increase in force is equal to the weight from the hitch
- At the same time, the air bags are pushing down on the drive axle with an equivalent force, increasing the loading on your tires and axles.
The end result therefore is that when you measure the resultant weight on the drive axle, it will have increased. Doesn't matter if the rear of the MH is sagging or has been forced back to normal position. The weight has still been added to the axle and tires.
There is a reason that the manufacturers of hitches and receivers give different ratings for use with and without an WDH. If your actual tongue weight is over the rating for your receiver and hitch, then use a WDH.
