Downside to tongue weight over 15%?

myredracer wrote:
Interestingly, the percentage based on factory dry weights is 10%.

I’m glad someone else noticed this; I’ve seen published tongue weights from different manufacturers as low as 9%. The general consensus (though not everyone agrees) seems to be manufacturers design some TTs with these lighter TWs to make them “half-ton towable”.

I raised the question in another thread, if a lighter tongue weight is designed into the unit by the manufacturer, why does actually towing at that tongue weight make the unit unstable (or does it)? My neighbor at our seasonal site tows new, empty TTs out of the factories in northern Indiana—last year he pulled over 100k miles. He just hooks them up in the parking lot and goes regardless of the dry tongue weight. He doesn’t even own a WDH. So what is it about loading these campers (assuming they’re balanced) that makes it necessary to add (on certain units) 4-5% to the TW? My sense is part of it has something to do with putting enough weight (causing friction) on the WDH for it to function properly.

That being said, I’ve been looking into the premium hitches (the ProPride 3P and Hensley Arrow). One of the big differences between how these work compared to conventional WDHs is the premium hitches handle sway and weight distribution separately. Conventional WDHs use friction to handle them simultaneously. So looking at one of these hitches gives an idea of what happens if sway is addressed properly but weight distribution isn’t.

With the 3P or Hensley Arrow, either one, it doesn’t matter how much or how little weight you have on the tongue the trailer can’t sway (I got this from both Sean at ProPride and Terry at Hensley Mfg.). What happens if there isn’t enough weight on the tongue (using one of these hitches) the trailer will bounce (Sean at ProPride called it the “hobby horse effect”) because there is too much weight on the TT’s axles. If there’s too much weight on the tongue the same effect is possible because there is too little weight on the TT’s axle.

So what I take away from all this is each TT and hitch combination must have a “sweet spot” where everything is in balance. And when using a conventional WHD not only would that “hobby horse effect” be possible I would also think sway could be an issue if that sweet spot isn’t hit.

This is all anecdotal and I couldn’t prove it scientifically if my life depended on it, but this is what I’m beginning to think about TW and weight distribution.