Ron Gratz wrote:
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So, please consider the following two statements:
1) The WD system distributes tongue weight over both the front and rear axle (that is the purpose of it), and
2) The WD system removes load from the TV's rear axle and distributes it to the TV's front axle and to the TT's axles.
Which of these do you think is the better definition (meaning less subject to misinterpretation) of the purpose of a WD hitch?
While I totally agree that the first statement is subject to misinterpretation (gosh - what isn't?) if taken as a defacto definition, it is not false (as I believe most have agreed). I can't think of a TT that doesn't have its total weight split up in two parts, axle weight and tongue, or remaining weight. Without a WD system, the TV must bear ALL the tongue weight and it will be borne at the point of attachment, normally some distance
behind the rear axle. As is common understanding, this results in adding load to the rear axle and actually removing some of the load borne by the front axle. Adding a WD system into the mix simply takes that loading and changes it so more weight is on the front axle and less weight is on the rear axle than would otherwise be there. The fact that this type of weight distribution also places some additional load on the TT axle(s) doesn't negate the validity of the first statement, IMO.
Regarding the second statement, I believe it's more ambiguous to not talk about tongue weight at all, since virtually all TT manufacturers use the terms axle weight and tongue weight to describe how the trailer's total weight is distributed (empty, of course). Other than that, the statement is definitely more enlightening.
Therefore, if we want a more
fully accurate definition, I would propose that we combine both definitions into something like the following.
A weight distribution system enables a tow vehicle to more effectively handle the tongue weight of a trailer by removing load from the tow vehicle's rear axle and distributing it to the tow vehicle's front axle and the trailer's axle(s).
Comments?
