How to estimate returning 50% load without scales

[tgoodhew]

Hi All,

Trailer noob here and I'm hoping you might be able to provide some guidance.

The wife and I are thinking about getting a travel trailer so we're planning on renting for a couple of vacations to see if we actually like it or not.

As we'll be picking up the trailer from a rental dealer they will be providing a WDH. I'm somewhat concerned, especially after reading the various forums, that they may not be accurate in the setup.

My TV is a 2013 F-150 and Ford recommends that the WDH return 50% of the load to the front wheels. Ideally I'd go to the scales and measure etc but I was wondering how can I estimate the number when I'm at the rental dealer to at least be in the ballpark.

Will measuring the front of the truck, attaching the trailer and then adjusting the WDH until at least half the height distance is returned get me in the 50% ballpark?

I'm planning to get the trailer home, load it for the trip then hit the scales to get actual measurements but I just want to try to get in the ballpark for that first tow.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[tgoodhew]

I believe so. I have a 2013 F-150 XLT SCab with EB and Max-tow. The payload is 1883 pounds and the max tongue weight on the hitch is 1150lbs (Tread Act & Manufacturer Hitch stickers). GCWR is 17100lbs and the GVW is 7700lbs.

The trailer 6400lbs dry with a GVWR of 7900.

It's only the wife & I in the truck so I think we're below all the numbers.

[TomG2]

pitch has it right. Let me guess, you have an adequate tow vehicle for your trailer?

[pitch]

As far as I am concerned close is good enough. Do you take the same gear packed in the same places every trip. Do you carry a full water tank if you are dry camping,do you run with your tanks empty if you are going to have hook ups. Is the area where you are doing the set up perfectly level,or does it have a slight incline or decline?
You can chase an exact formula till the cows come home,but you will never hit the moving target.
Measure the front unloaded and the get it back with the bars best you can. You will be good enough.
My front end lifts about 3/4" when hooked, on my cheap pro pride system I use 3 hanging links with no water and 4 when fully loaded. Trailer tows perfectly.

[mkirsch]

tgoodhew wrote:
Thanks everyone - I guess I don't know if the dealer will actually use scales or not - Given that they're a fair distance from where we live I would assume that even if they did they wouldn't be asking me to come back in once we're loaded for adjustment.

Dealers don't use scales.

They don't even measure. Much.

It will be 100% up to you to adjust the hitch.

[jmtandem]

I don't recall using the word "thousands" or "1000's" in any post. You seem to have me confused with someone else. Might want to use the quote thing rather than putting words in people's mouths. Unsanitary at best.

[TomG2]

I don't recall using the word "thousands" or "1000's" in any post. You seem to have me confused with someone else. Might want to use the quote thing rather than putting words in people's mouths. Unsanitary at best.

[jmtandem]

I looked at a lot of setups this weekend while camping up on Lake Michigan. If you saw some of them you would not worry too much about yours. The "experts" on here may preach for a perfection, where every pound must be accounted for, but that is not always real world. I am not saying that a bad setup is okay, but that an okay setup is most common.

[Passin_Thru]

Hook up, Level it with WDH, go to a certified scale and weigh your axles with full water and fuel. Figure you'll add on about 400 lb of junk.

[TomG2]

I looked at a lot of setups this weekend while camping up on Lake Michigan. If you saw some of them you would not worry too much about yours. The "experts" on here may preach for a perfection, where every pound must be accounted for, but that is not always real world. I am not saying that a bad setup is okay, but that an okay setup is most common.

[jmtandem]

Maybe I'm just worrying too much about getting it from the dealer to my house to the scales - It's not going to be that long a distance, probably 40 miles all up.

We can over think and over worry about stuff. Just go get it and if you think you are competent in setting it correctly, do it. Most folks just let the dealer do it and that is that. And then they complain about it.

[tgoodhew]

Thanks everyone - I guess I don't know if the dealer will actually use scales or not - Given that they're a fair distance from where we live I would assume that even if they did they wouldn't be asking me to come back in once we're loaded for adjustment.

I was really just looking for a way I could ensure that for the first tow from the dealer to my house that I would be reasonably well setup. Once we load up I'm intending to head to the scales to readjust so that the performance on the trip is good.

Maybe I'm just worrying too much about getting it from the dealer to my house to the scales - It's not going to be that long a distance, probably 40 miles all up.

However from there I really do want it setup correctly so that the experience, as mentioned, is a good one.

Again, thanks for the insights.

[TomG2]

Ron Gratz wrote:
IMO, GM specifies on the basis of height because they assume the number of people who might measure heights will be significantly greater than the number who would measure weights.
The philosophy could be that it's better to get approximate axle loads via height than to get nothing at all.

I'm guessing that GM's dual specification of 50% elimination of front-end rise in some cases and 100% elimination in others is related to the SAE J2807 Standard which specifies trailering stability at both 50% FALR and 100% FALR.

The SAE specs are based on front axle load and not on steering geometry.

Ron

So, when GM species 0% on 1500's up to 7,000 pound trailers and 0% on 2500's up to 18,000, they are really worrying about weight loss off the front axle? How odd. Wouldn't it be considerable on a 2500HD towing a 12,000 pound trailer without weight distribution? They must not be too concerned with front axle replacement. Of course, they might be wrong.

[jmtandem]

Think of the 1,000s of hitches installed at dealers; do they run the rig down to the scales?

[Ron_Gratz]

skipnchar wrote:
---What you're replacing is half the RISE not necessarily half the weight (but you'll find that they are actually very close to one and the same.

I wouldn't count on that.

In the first post of this thread, the height was going up when it should have been coming down.

Ron