I had my tow vehicle and trailer weighed today on a CAT scale today. Steer Axle - 3220 lbsDrive Axle - 4320 lbsTrailer Axle - 6040 lbsThe UVW of the trailer is 6204 lbs but we do have a couple hundred lbs of stuff in it now. The GAWR for my 2013 Expedition EL are 3700 lbs for the front and 4250 lbs for the rear. Our WDH is a Blue Ox Sway Pro. I know the rear axle on the vehicle is overloaded and I believe out of balance from front to back which is probably why things felt 'off' when I was pulling the camper yesterday and today.The question I have is am I correct to assume that reducing the amount of chain links on the WDH bars to tighten things up will shift weight off the rear axle of the vehicle to the front and to the trailer? The dealer installed the hitch and recommended I hook it up at 9 links but I played around with it some and hooked it up at 8 and 7 links and noticed the rear of the expedition definitely came up some.

Yes, you should weigh the trailer again with the links at 7 or 8 links.

MikeJulieGDImagine wrote:I had my tow vehicle and trailer weighed today on a CAT scale today. Steer Axle - 3220 lbsDrive Axle - 4320 lbsTrailer Axle - 6040 lbsThe UVW of the trailer is 6204 lbs but we do have a couple hundred lbs of stuff in it now. The GAWR for my 2013 Expedition EL are 3700 lbs for the front and 4250 lbs for the rear. Our WDH is a Blue Ox Sway Pro. I know the rear axle on the vehicle is overloaded and I believe out of balance from front to back which is probably why things felt 'off' when I was pulling the camper yesterday and today.The question I have is am I correct to assume that reducing the amount of chain links on the WDH bars to tighten things up will shift weight off the rear axle of the vehicle to the front and to the trailer? The dealer installed the hitch and recommended I hook it up at 9 links but I played around with it some and hooked it up at 8 and 7 links and noticed the rear of the expedition definitely came up some.Be careful. You dont want to take too much weight off the rear. It will/can lead to a dangerous situation.In a panic stop you can easily jack knife You did not get all tyhe weights at the scale you need to know what your dealing with..1. You need the truck scale weights by itself.2. You need the truck and trailer weights with WD active ( That you have already)3. You need the truck and trailer weights with the WD disconnected. Once you get those #'s then you do these calculations to find your tongue weights and if you are properly distributing the weight to the front axle.In fact the only thing you are trying to accomplish with the WD hitch is to restore the front axle on the truck to original weights of truck weight alone.The rear of the truck will just be what it is.Input your info here when you get it. Post back so we all can see your results..Cat scale weight calculator.

"but we do have a couple hundred lbs of stuff in it now." We all carry a couple hundred pounds of stuff. Was your fresh water tank full? Anything else you will take that's over 50 pounds? Where will you carry it?

I'd be adjusting the WD hitch a bit more to move more up front..#6000+ on the trailers axle weight alone means it's a pretty good size TT...Figure it's got around a #1000 tongue weight, so that's around a #7000 loaded TT..Probably far from the trucks "tow rating", but that just goes to show you that the "tow rating" don't always equal what you want to tow.... ;)Good luck!Mitch

"but we do have a couple hundred lbs of stuff in it now." We all carry a couple hundred pounds of stuff. Was your fresh water tank full? Anything else you will take that's over 50 pounds? Where will you carry it? TV, TT.

CAT Scale numbers (still a newbie to towing) | Good Sam Community

Lwiddis
Explorer II
Apr 10, 2017
"but we do have a couple hundred lbs of stuff in it now."

We all carry a couple hundred pounds of stuff. Was your fresh water tank full? Anything else you will take that's over 50 pounds? Where will you carry it?
lawrosa
Explorer
Apr 10, 2017
MikeJulieGDImagine wrote:
I had my tow vehicle and trailer weighed today on a CAT scale today.
Steer Axle - 3220 lbs
Drive Axle - 4320 lbs
Trailer Axle - 6040 lbs

The UVW of the trailer is 6204 lbs but we do have a couple hundred lbs of stuff in it now. The GAWR for my 2013 Expedition EL are 3700 lbs for the front and 4250 lbs for the rear. Our WDH is a Blue Ox Sway Pro. I know the rear axle on the vehicle is overloaded and I believe out of balance from front to back which is probably why things felt 'off' when I was pulling the camper yesterday and today.

The question I have is am I correct to assume that reducing the amount of chain links on the WDH bars to tighten things up will shift weight off the rear axle of the vehicle to the front and to the trailer?

The dealer installed the hitch and recommended I hook it up at 9 links but I played around with it some and hooked it up at 8 and 7 links and noticed the rear of the expedition definitely came up some.

Be careful. You dont want to take too much weight off the rear. It will/can lead to a dangerous situation.

In a panic stop you can easily jack knife

You did not get all tyhe weights at the scale you need to know what your dealing with..

1. You need the truck scale weights by itself.
2. You need the truck and trailer weights with WD active ( That you have already)
3. You need the truck and trailer weights with the WD disconnected.

Once you get those #'s then you do these calculations to find your tongue weights and if you are properly distributing the weight to the front axle.

In fact the only thing you are trying to accomplish with the WD hitch is to restore the front axle on the truck to original weights of truck weight alone.

The rear of the truck will just be what it is.

Input your info here when you get it. Post back so we all can see your results..

Cat scale weight calculator.
corvettekent
Explorer
Apr 09, 2017
Yes, you should weigh the trailer again with the links at 7 or 8 links.

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