Hitch Weight

[2014screw]

Are the hitch weights on a manufacturers website only "Dry" weights

No battery & empty propane bottles?

[wing_zealot]

handye9 wrote:

2014screw wrote:
Are the hitch weights on a manufacturers website only "Dry" weights

No battery & empty propane bottles?

Not only, do they not include battery and propane, they also, do not include many options. They are marketing numbers, normally from a basic model....

Mine on the other hand, was only 8 lbs over its published brochure weight before propane and battery. So I guess the point would be, go to the dealer and look at the model in question and get the weights as it sits there right on the lot - before you buy. No need to speculate that way.

[pitch]

Just look at alworths sig. will give you a major clue what he is about!

[SlowBro]

Just ignore Allworth 🙂 If they get too bad, click on their name, there's a Block button.

[2014screw]

Allworth wrote:
Just tell us where you are going to be so we can avoid those roads!

Wow, what a comment. Thanks for your serious and entertaining input. I appreciate your help and thoughtfulness in answering my questions.

Tell me where you are and I'll be sure to go where you are just to annoy you.

[Allworth]

Just tell us where you are going to be so we can avoid those roads!

[handye9]

2014screw wrote:
Are the hitch weights on a manufacturers website only "Dry" weights

No battery & empty propane bottles?

Not only, do they not include battery and propane, they also, do not include many options. They are marketing numbers, normally from a basic model.

My trailer for example, the website shows 888 lbs hitch weight. Some of the options available are an airconditioning unit (or two), minimum or full carpet, fireplace, ceiling fans, electric tank heat, corian counter tops, power jacks, power stabilizers, power awnings, window upgrades, and various others. After the dealer and I added things, my loaded hitch weight is 200 lbs higher than that 888 lbs.

For your payload question--- Being over on payload, means you're also over the same amount, on GVWR. Could be over on axle / tire, receiver ratings, and over GCVWR. Is your truck going to explode? Probably not, but, you won't like the handling and performance, you'll have increased wear and tear, and possibly, premature failures on various pieces and parts.

Up to you to decide how many and how much, you are comfortabe with exceeding your ratings.

[SlowBro]

Bobbyg2013 wrote:
IN YOUR FORMULA, WHAT DOES THE * SIGN REPRESENT, I.E. max gvwr of TRAILER/100*10=TONGUE WEIGHT

It means multiplied by. That formula is read as GVWR of trailer divided by 100 multiplied by 10. Just another way to calculate percentage. In this case, 10%.

[SlowBro]

I think we'll be alright, as we're not actually over any ratings, and I've included safety buffers to boot.

[LarryJM]

cdevidal wrote:
True, but some people can't go with more TV or less TT. I'm one of those; It's a long story why. I think we'll be alright, as we're not actually over any ratings, and I've included safety buffers to boot.

Unfortunately, your attitude is not unusual and while you can attempt to rationalize the numbers to fit your desires they don't change the facts and you don't know what safety factor there might be in the various numbers. As I stated the receiver rating is to be compared to the actual tongue wt. before any "redistribution" from things like a WDH are activated. By dead tongue wt. I mean that which you would see from putting the tongue on something like a Sherline tongue wt. scale. Now days you might be very surprised just how little safety factor there are in the design of things and if you are counting on that unknown number then IMO you are already too close and are in the typical too little TV or to much TT category.

Larry

[Bobbyg2013]

IN YOUR FORMULA, WHAT DOES THE * SIGN REPRESENT, I.E. max gvwr of TRAILER/100*10=TONGUE WEIGHT

[SlowBro]

True, but some people can't go with more TV or less TT. I'm one of those; It's a long story why. I think we'll be alright, as we're not actually over any ratings, and I've included safety buffers to boot.

[LarryJM]

cdevidal wrote:
There is some good news though, since you're butting up against the payload rating like I am. A weight distribution hitch, if you use one, will transfer anywhere from 20-30% of the tongue weight to the trailer's axles. Since I am planning conservatively, I calculated 20%.

So my formula looks like this:
Trailer weight loaded (max GVWR) / 100 * 10 = Tongue weight
Tongue weight / 100 * 80 = Final tongue weight on the vehicle

I forgot to mention, you also need to add the hitch weight to your vehicle's load, since most of the weight from the hitch, except the chain mounts/snap-ups, is on the vehicle. So every pound saved on your hitch goes a long way. If you have a lighter vehicle, the Andersen hitch is a good choice, at less than 60lbs. So is a Harbor Freight hitch. There are pros and cons to these hitches though; I encourage you to read the forum threads on this item before making that decision.

Be forewarned though, asking which hitch is best is kinda like a religious debate, or Packers vs Patriots vs Seahawks 😉

Any actual experience with a Harbor Freight WDH?
Anderson Hitch

Harbor Freight hitches use a friction device, so read this too:
Friction anti-sway device use in rain or wet roads

Just be careful ... while a WDH system will help reduce the non distributed TW total as it concerns the TV payload it WILL NOT reduce the TW that goes against the TV receiver TW rating or TV TW limitation if so specified in your owner's manual.

Also I think you will find a 20% transfer back to the TT axles to be overly optimistic, but the only way to tell is by actual scaled measurements.

A final word of caution is that if you are having to jiggle numbers like you seem to be wanting to do IMO you are already too close for comfort and need either more TV or less TT.

Larry

[SlowBro]

Thumbs-up

[pitch]

That is exactly what I said. Nothing can change the rating of your truck. There are lots of things that to a point will improve the capability of your truck. The sticker won't change though, you are not going to change 1400# payload into 2200#. But if you are looking for a couple of hundred of breathing room these "band-aids" work like a charm with few or any side effects.