WD hitch help with TC load?

KimandChris wrote:
Somebody please check my thinking here.... I believe adding a weight distribution hitch to my truck camper/cargo trailer setup will help move some of my TC weight from my rear truck axle and redistribute it to the front axle and my trailer. I cannot find any documentation to confirm this as it all seems to be written concerning just the tongue weight of the trailer. In my mind, there should be no difference in tongue weight and load on the rear axle as to what weight is redistributed...true? In the end, I am thinking I could safely redistribute MORE than the tongue weight.

Some specific details about my setup: Loaded for full timing, my TC is very close to my rear axle weight limit. With some tweaks to the truck, it drives just fine. Adding a 4 foot supertruss/non wd hitch/tongue weight of a 7 x 12 tandem axle cargo(250lbs) trailer causes the truck to have light steering over certain kinds of bumps. By adding the wd hitch, I am sure I can remove some of the tongue weight from the rear axle but it seems like I should be able to do more as the cargo trailer is way under it's weight limits.

This is a question I had when I was designing my hitch extension so I took my truck and trailer to the weigh scales and recorded the weight with different loading on the W/D hitch.



As you can see, I weighted the rig with no tension on the W/D hitch, then with 75% loading on the pull-up chains and then with 100% pull-up.

• The front axle went from 4321 lbs to 4601 for a total increase of 280 lbs.
• The rear axle dropped from 4982 lbs to 4557 lbs for a total decrease of 425 lbs.
• The trailer axles increased from 4674 lbs to 4819 lbs for an increase of 145 lbs.

On the subject of the effect at the hitch/receiver itself. The weight distribution hitch has the effect of reducing the torque on the receiver from any extension....or in other words, as you tighten the W/D hitch up, it reduces the effective hitch weight acting on your receiver. It also increases the loading on the ball itself (downward force).

Hope this answers your question. In my opinion, unless your tongue weight is very low, you should always use a W/D with any extension over about 18".