Tongue Weight Rating

LarryJM wrote:
This specifically says the hitch is "NORMALLY" mounted to the towing vehicle and part of the "PRIMARY CONNECTING SYSTEM" and one could I think argue that the WDH sway hitches as they are called are NOT NORMALLY mounted on the towing vehicle, but are added to the receiver temporarily when towing.---

This is simply a matter of definition. It should be clear by now that VESC-5 uses the word "hitch" to include the receiver among other components.

LarryJM wrote:
---Further more under section 3.9 all the components of what we normally consider a WDH and integrated Sway system such as the Reese SL, Equal-i-zer, and Blue Ox Sway Pro except for the ball and some minimal drawbar are clearly excluded specifically from the "Primary Connecting System" and thus are no part of the "HITCH" as used in VESC-5.

That is not correct. 3.9 does not exclude "all the components" 3.9 does not exclude the drawbar and it does not exclude the ball mount. 3.9 does not include WD bars, brackets, friction sway bars, etc because they are not part of the primary connecting system.

larryJM wrote:
I guess you could read it that way, but I consider my receiver a part of my vehicle towing Structural member since it's function to the transfer forces at the receiver to the vehicle frame. So again I read the hitch to be narrowly limited to only the ball and the balls support structure (i.e. minimalist drawbar) as defined previously in para 3.6 and 3.9 above.

Again, that's simply a matter of definition.
But, since your receiver transfers forces from the vehicle frame to your "hitch", your receiver is part of the system which connects the tow vehicle to the trailer.
Therefore, your receiver is part of the primary connecting system.

LarryJM wrote:
Based solely either on my lack of understanding or common sense I personally can subjectively see several components of these vertical loads as they comprise the tongue weight as defined in 5.4. --- These forces at the "ball/socket" in my view can come from 3 sources in the case of a weight carrying configuration ... the "dead trailer tongue wt", the weight of the WDH/Sway system in excess of a simple ball and mount, and the component of the cargo wt after the rear axle of the TV.

The vertical force at the "ball/socket", in my view, comes from one source -- the downward force exerted by the trailer tongue. There also is vertical upward force exerted on the ball mount via the WD bars.
The weight of the WDH/Sway system does not exert force on the "ball/socket". The weight of the WDH/Sway system is carried by the receiver.
TV cargo does not exert force on the "ball/socket" and it does not exert force on the receiver. The weight of TV cargo behind the rear axle is carried on the rear axle.

LarryJM wrote:
You made as I remember a comment about this cargo thing and when it's added or considered and I'm not sure that matters because in my view whatever wt. behind the rear axle that is acting as a lever on the TV to change the wt on the front axle the vertical component of that "CARGO WT" attributed at the ball/coupler location will be redistributed the same way as the additional wt. of just the trailer tongue. Thus to my way of thinking it is the same as tongue wt from a WDH standpoint as the tongue wt. at the trailer coupler.

Larry, you can define tongue weight any way you want to.
That doesn't change the fact that VESC-5 gives us a different definition of tongue weight and VESC-5 defines the procedure for determining a receiver's tongue weight rating.

Ron