Do I need a weight distribution hitch?
Hey everyone. First post here. My wife and I are considering getting off the ground and trading the old tent in for a hybrid travel trailer. We are looking at the 23' Rockwood Roo. My tow vehicle is a...
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All things designed/engineered are not for the good days out there when a half
ton 'can' tow a 'dry' Space Shuttle...
Things are designed for the bad day, or worst day out there when Mr Murphy crosses
your path
Either you have the right sized and properly setup or not...there will be no time
to go back to the store for better/bigger/etc...nor time to re-setup. Either it
is there spot on, or not...
They why of the last two generations of GM platforms for the Suburban has a limited
receiver rating. Both dead weight and WD
Because they designed the receiver into the bumper, which has an over arching
requirement mandated by the government and insurance institutions...it has to
have a crumple zone
That crumple zone has stress raisers designed in so that it will bend/break/fold/etc
during a crash
That stress raiser becomes the limiting factor for towing heavy.
Going over any rating will not have the wheels instantly fall of...just sooner
than if within the ratings. Performance is also affected negatively.
In this case for the receiver...know that the cross tube has both beam loading
and torsion loading. In making changes to it's design (AKA Re-Engineering), it
is a requirement to know how that affects those functions. The effect might
be to introduce one or more stress raisers...to a host of other possibilities
Prime potential issue is changing the harmonics and then the stress
fractures that might induce. Most folks know that as 'tin canning'
Add what always say for anything to do with ratings...
Decide whether you believe in the OEM ratings or not.
If not, then do whatever, but know you have taken the OEM(s) off the hook for
both warranty (if there is any left) and over all liability for injury/crash/etc
If yes, then find out what your OEM(s) ratings are and follow them. Learn how
that ratings system works
ton 'can' tow a 'dry' Space Shuttle...
Things are designed for the bad day, or worst day out there when Mr Murphy crosses
your path
Either you have the right sized and properly setup or not...there will be no time
to go back to the store for better/bigger/etc...nor time to re-setup. Either it
is there spot on, or not...
They why of the last two generations of GM platforms for the Suburban has a limited
receiver rating. Both dead weight and WD
Because they designed the receiver into the bumper, which has an over arching
requirement mandated by the government and insurance institutions...it has to
have a crumple zone
That crumple zone has stress raisers designed in so that it will bend/break/fold/etc
during a crash
That stress raiser becomes the limiting factor for towing heavy.
Going over any rating will not have the wheels instantly fall of...just sooner
than if within the ratings. Performance is also affected negatively.
In this case for the receiver...know that the cross tube has both beam loading
and torsion loading. In making changes to it's design (AKA Re-Engineering), it
is a requirement to know how that affects those functions. The effect might
be to introduce one or more stress raisers...to a host of other possibilities
Prime potential issue is changing the harmonics and then the stress
fractures that might induce. Most folks know that as 'tin canning'
Add what always say for anything to do with ratings...
Decide whether you believe in the OEM ratings or not.
If not, then do whatever, but know you have taken the OEM(s) off the hook for
both warranty (if there is any left) and over all liability for injury/crash/etc
If yes, then find out what your OEM(s) ratings are and follow them. Learn how
that ratings system works
