Newbie Ques for hitch selection
Hi All, Newbie to the forum and newbie to RVing. Following is my future rig. Have bought the tow vehicle and have zeroed-in on the trailer but not yet purchased. Tow vehicle is 2012 Acura MDX...
Forum Discussion
Y-Guy wrote:
Check your owners manual first, the online version I found said, "A weight distributing hitch is not recommended for use with your vehicle, as an improperly adjusted weight distributing hitch may reduce handling, stability, and braking performance." Which it totally not what I expected.
the key words are "improperly adjusted". We have an MDX, don't tow with it, but with the short wheelbase, unibody construction and limited tow capacity, I could imagine someone adjusting the hitch in a way that way overloads the front end of the tow vehicle.
to the OP the tow rating on the MDX assusmes:
1) tongue weight is no more than 10% of trailer weight, while trailer mfg typically design for 15% tongue weight. Easy then to go over the TV weight rating
2) you need to carefully look at the MDX 'cargo" weight rating. the weight of passengers, cargo in the back and trailer tongue weight combined must be below that number.
3) you need to actually weight the trailer in question loaded up as you would tow it for trailer actual weight and even more importantly trailer tongue weight to make sure you don't go over the MDX hitch weight limit.
4) A MDX may have a GWVR of around 6,000lbs, but actual weight is around 4500lbs.
