WDH - how much does it reduce tongue weight?
We've been told that a good load distribution hitch will redistribute as much as 30% of the tongue weight. The vehicle we want can tow 7500# but is limited to a tongue weight of 600#. If what we...
Forum Discussion
rbpru wrote:
The WD hitch is intended to shift the trailer tongue weight from the rear wheel to the front wheels and trailer. This levels the load and improves TV steering and breaking.
Jacking up the bars to shift more weight to the front axle make little sense as you are now reducing the rear wheel load.
Put simply, adding the TT tongue weight to the TV causes it to sag. The WD hitch uses the bar tension to remove the sag by shifting some of the tongue weight back to the front wheels and the TT. The TV is level, the TT is level, the tongue weight has been more evenly distributed. The WD hitch is doing its job.
There is nothing mysterious here.
What you are missing with your explanation is that the weight moved from the rear axle to the front axle by the action of the WDH is not tongue weight, it is the same weight that was removed from the front axle when attaching the trailer. The tongue weight itself is distributed between the truck rear axle and the trailer axles. Typically 75-80% of the TW is carried on the rear axle and 20-25% is transferred to the trailer axles.
