Some may think this is a long winded thread but I think it is great.
#20 Home Depot summed it up great this morning
To sum it all up:
Weight distribution bars simply change where the tongue weight of the trailer gets applied to the ground. It does not change the tongue weight.
Another visual aid may be to look at a 40' long beam that weighs 4000 pounds. If it were laying on 40 scales all would read 100 pounds as the "Weight is distributed" evenly. Now bend that beam in the middle and you will see that only 2 scales touch and the and they both read 2000 pounds. The beam still weighs the same and each segment still weighs the same it is just measured in 2 places instead of 40.
Now look at as with a TV/TT combo. 3 scales with big springs on them and the same 40' beam. The 3 scales will read a total of 4000 pounds just as before but depending on where you space them you may or may not get an equal distribution of 1/3x/1/3x1/3. Now bend the beam as in the first example. The middle spring will expand and the 2 end springs will compress. The total weight is the same but where it is measure changes. Any piece of the beam in isolation still weighs the same before or after bending but where that weight meets the ground can change.
Ron - Thanks for all the examples.
