weight distribution hitch ...I'm confused.

[Rollnhome]

Where to start....I just bought an enclosed car hauler 10,000 lb. I am towing with a 40' MH. Freightliner chassis auto leveling air bag suspension.
Hitch rating 5000 lb with 500 lb tounge weight. 10k lb flat tow TW N/A. Weight distribution 10,000 lb tow weight 1000 lb tongue weight.
It looks like I need weight distribution hitch or do I since the air ride is self leveling or is there stress on the frame I am overlooking? Wouldn't the two systems fight each other? How could I adjust tension if MH keeps leveling automatically? Man flat towing the Jeep is way easier, but my wife wants to take her little sports car. So we compromised and we are taking her car, what else can I say?

[Rollnhome]

Talked with a lot of reps and manufactures today. What I gleened is they all have differing answers. Going with a WHD hitch for this trip if it doesn't work out then a new heavier recover hitch will be installed. Thanks for all your help. Would have gone with straight ball and hitch towing as many suggested but I don't think I would be legal and libality would be outrageous.

[Dave_Mck]

Rollnhome wrote:
Trailer weighs 3680 lbs the car is 4,130 lbs. Tounge weight of trailer is 400 lbs. So tounge weight loaded with car would be around 800 lbs. I am well below the 1k/10k the receiver hitch WDH rating.

Your tounge weight may be less due to the way these trailers are designed. The car usually sits in the rear, most of the weight being right over the wheels and to the rear of the wheels.

[Rollnhome]

Thanks for all your answers, I am taking it all in and have learned a bunch.

[Rollnhome]

Freightliner said to call Fleetwood. Fleetwood did the math, then supplied and installed the receiver. Freightliner considers it aftermarket install. The more I look into it the less scence it makes. The purpose of WDH is to level the ride, thereby distributing the load evenly. It does not reduce the tongue weight, if anything it appears to increases it. If the air bags level the load then why the need for WHD to level the load. From a laymans position the WDH does not reduce any stress on the frame any more than the leveling done by the airbags. The axle weights are with in spec so ?????? I"ll see what Fleetwood says Monday.

[mrekim]

I'm hoping Freightliner will provide helpful info. Since the hitch is so far behind the rear wheels it may not be as simple as an upgraded receiver.

[KD4UPL]

With an 800 pound tongue weight and that hitch it seems like you would need a WDH. However, I think using one is silly. Just upgrade the receiver to one that can handle the tongue weight without a WDH, they are available.
With a tow vehicle that huge there's no reason you can't put 800 pounds on the hitch.

[Rollnhome]

Trailer weighs 3680 lbs the car is 4,130 lbs. Tounge weight of trailer is 400 lbs. So tounge weight loaded with car would be around 800 lbs. I am well below the 1k/10k the receiver hitch WDH rating.

[mrekim]

Rollnhome wrote:
Where to start....I just bought an enclosed car hauler 10,000 lb.

I assume the gvwr is 10,000 and the car+trailer will be somewhat less. On thing to watch is the loaded tongue weight.

Rollnhome wrote:

Weight distribution 10,000 lb tow weight 1000 lb tongue weight.
It looks like I need weight distribution hitch or do I since the air ride is self leveling or is there stress on the frame I am overlooking? Wouldn't the two systems fight each other? How could I adjust tension if MH keeps leveling automatically?

I assume the 10K/1K rating is for the receiver. If the receiver is OEM from Freightliner maybe you can ask them about it. The WD hitch will still distribute the load even it it does not raise the rear and lower the front of the tow vehicle due to the air bags.

I'm not sure how you would adjust the hitch though. Maybe you could go on level ground and turn off the auto level adjustments (engine off?) and use the regular process for adjusting the hitch? If you can get help from Freightliner I would ask them what procedure to use for setting the tension on the bars too....

Don't forget to verify the loaded tongue weight at some point...

[badboy368]

I am currently towing a 37' race car trailer that weighs 14,800# with 40' diesel pusher with no problem. Yes, you should use a w/d hitch. Feel free to p-m me if i could be of any help.

[sch911]

With those specs you cannot tow that trailer period. If the MH can handle a 10K flat tow and a 500# tongue it means that the frame is not setup to go beyond that. A WDH isn't an option. IMHO you can't get there from here....

[K_Charles]

How much does the trailer and car weigh?

[eHoefler]

newman fulltimer wrote:
You need a bigger hitch

Agreed!! Also, look at the manufacturer ratings for the coach's towing capacity, it may be below the hitch rating. Any rig will benefit from an equalizing hitch, just because you may have an air ride suspension that will compensate for squat, does not mean weight has not been removed from the steer axle. A Weight Distributing Hitch is designed to transfer weight back to the steer axle, as a benefit, it also helps with rear axle squat.

[newman_fulltime]

You need a bigger hitch

[Terryallan]

not sure a WDH would work real well on a 40' MH, as the purpose of a WDh is to transfer lost front axle weight back to the front to return steering control. One way to check I guess, is to measure the front bumper to the ground unhooked, then hookup, and measure it again. See IF it rises with the trailer hooked up. I'm thinkin it won't.
However you may need one to keep from overloading the receiver.