Why do I need WD?
I have had several people telling me that towing my toy hauler without a weight distribution hitch is unsafe. I Don't get it? I have a 26' Cargo trailer / Toy Hauler conversion that only weighs abo...
Forum Discussion
I'm with Barney
Non engineering/technology/designer folks do not understand often enough
that all things designed are not for the good days when just about anything
'can' do it
Ditto specifications...they are not for the good days when you 'can'
tow the Space Shuttle. Even a riding lawn mower 'can' tow it if given
enough gears and time
All designed for that worst day out there when Mr Murphy crosses your
or 'the other guys' path....and....for the long haul (longevity) On
that, why do so many folks think that kind of stuff only happens to
the other guy? and never going to be next to that other guy when their
setup messes up ???
A huge component is stopping that GCW at rated speed, at rated incline,
at rated curve, at rated ambient, etc, etc....OBTW...'at rated' means
worst case...as in highest temp, highest humidity, etc, etc
Also agree with Snowdance, as he does understand that weight transfer
during any stop. That then increases the tongue weight and if a WD
Hitch system...that then will re-distribute. The trailer (tongued or
fiver) will nose dive and place that added force on the ball or PIN
That then pushes down on the TV's rear. That then lifts the TV's front
and dependent on suspension and WD Hitch architecture
Yes, the GMT900 GM full sized trucks no longer can get even drop nor
is it recommended by GM. Missing is that there is a secondary front
suspension spring on 'some' of them
Meaning that, that secondary spring prevents the front suspension from
dropping much pas a certain point.
Weight distribution (bias front/rear) is very different on a TV with
several tons hooked up (either tongue or fiver).
That weight transfer during braking affects much in how the TV and
setup handles.
There is much to it all and it is all a system. Whereby too many only
look at and 'change' a component without knowing that they have upset
or potentially upset the over all handling characteristics for that
moment when Mr Murphy crosses the road...either you have it spot on
or not.
That is also known as 'manhandling' the setup or 'tail wagging the dog'...
Non engineering/technology/designer folks do not understand often enough
that all things designed are not for the good days when just about anything
'can' do it
Ditto specifications...they are not for the good days when you 'can'
tow the Space Shuttle. Even a riding lawn mower 'can' tow it if given
enough gears and time
All designed for that worst day out there when Mr Murphy crosses your
or 'the other guys' path....and....for the long haul (longevity) On
that, why do so many folks think that kind of stuff only happens to
the other guy? and never going to be next to that other guy when their
setup messes up ???
A huge component is stopping that GCW at rated speed, at rated incline,
at rated curve, at rated ambient, etc, etc....OBTW...'at rated' means
worst case...as in highest temp, highest humidity, etc, etc
Also agree with Snowdance, as he does understand that weight transfer
during any stop. That then increases the tongue weight and if a WD
Hitch system...that then will re-distribute. The trailer (tongued or
fiver) will nose dive and place that added force on the ball or PIN
That then pushes down on the TV's rear. That then lifts the TV's front
and dependent on suspension and WD Hitch architecture
Yes, the GMT900 GM full sized trucks no longer can get even drop nor
is it recommended by GM. Missing is that there is a secondary front
suspension spring on 'some' of them
Meaning that, that secondary spring prevents the front suspension from
dropping much pas a certain point.
Weight distribution (bias front/rear) is very different on a TV with
several tons hooked up (either tongue or fiver).
That weight transfer during braking affects much in how the TV and
setup handles.
There is much to it all and it is all a system. Whereby too many only
look at and 'change' a component without knowing that they have upset
or potentially upset the over all handling characteristics for that
moment when Mr Murphy crosses the road...either you have it spot on
or not.
That is also known as 'manhandling' the setup or 'tail wagging the dog'...
BarneyS wrote:
Good luck to those of you that feel you do not need WD on larger, heavier rigs. I sincerely wish you the best and hope you do not find yourself in any situations where the WD hitch could have saved your bacon.
Take a look at the second paragraph of this post by member Sundance for one good reason to use it.
I personally have experienced a similar situation a couple of times and am very thankful I was using a WD hitch. In addition, you might take a gander at this post I made a couple of years ago during our trip home from Florida.
As far as the GM pickups goes, it has only been in the past year or so that they changed their recommendations for using WD and that applies only to current vehicles - no their older ones.
Barney
