WDH effects on TV rear axle?

Thanks for the reply Scott. There seems to be some difference of opinion as to whether or not any additional weight can be added to the front using the WDH. I tend to believe that you can. After I had a talk with the RV mechanic that set the hitch up on the truck he said that definitely the weight is being distributed to the front and rear axle of the tow vehicle and the axles of the trailer. He also stated that it is proportional to the amount of tension you put on the bars. I am probably going to be close to 1000# of tongue weight on the truck or a little less once we load our few things for camping, the 900# was measured after the propane tanks and battery was installed so I believe that will be the biggest contributor of tongue weight.

I am sure I am going to catch a ton of flack for this but the reason I am discussing this is because I am pulling this trailer with a 2013 Silverado 1500. We never go further than 200 miles from home and never travel with tanks full. I never questioned the tongue weight as I guess I really never thought about it. Just knew what the trailer weighed and they set me up with the hitch I needed. I ran the numbers and I will be right at or slightly over GVWR of the truck but definitely not over the GAWR of the rear axle. Dealer I bought the truck from didn't seem to concerned at all about it and stated that they have had guys pulling 34' trailers with the 1500. I don't think I would do that. The only thing they said I may need to do is replace the P rated tires on the truck if they seem to shimmy too much.

Now I don't want to start a fight over this and I am not condoning it, I agree we should have gotten a 3/4 ton truck but we already own the truck and trailer and while I think it will be close to the limits I am not replacing them. After talking to a couple of guys in the service department they stated while it would not be good to exceed the trucks maximum rated capacity, the truck isn't going to fall apart if you do by a little. They said the numbers are pretty conservative for two reasons, one legal reasons, and two probably the biggest is they give themselves plenty of cushion because of the 100,000 mile warranty on the powertrain. However they did state if you were doing this on a daily basis then no way but a handful of times a year camping is not going to kill that truck.

Yes, some of the 900# is going to the front. If you tighten the bars down enough you'll see the front suspension go down. There are even pics on-line of a vehicle with the rear wheels removed because the bars force so much weight forward.

900 pound TW
Drop tongue on ball:
TV front axle -350 pounds
TV rear axle +1250 pounds

Apply WDH an adjust such that front axle 350 pounds is then restored:
TV FA +/-0 from unhitched
TV RA +700 pounds
TT Axles +200 pounds

None of that 900lbs is going to the front axle. Put 900 lbs on the back end and that levers weight off of the front end. The WDH puts back some or all of this weight if it is set up correctly. However, 15-20% of the TW will be moved to the trailer axles. Add the weight of the WDH itself to the rear end and you are still going to end up with close to 900lbs on the rear end of the truck. Maybe more if all the front end weight is not moved back to the front.

Thanks for the reply I just talked to the RV mechanic who installed it and he said the same that the weight of the tongue is being distibuted among the TV rear and front axles as well as trailer axles. I was just curious on how much weight the rear axle would really "see" if you put it on a scale.

Because the tongue is behind the axle you could have much more than 900 # on the rear axle. The torsion bars redistribute some of that weight to the front axle. If you hook the chains high enough it is possible to lift the rear axle enough to slide a paper under it. This would depend on how heavy the rear was to begin with and how heavy the torsion bars are rated. The first time I saw it done I was amazed.