Weight distribution

[camp-n-family]

Having a little discussion on another forum. This is what I'm arguing against;

Airbags lift the rear end thereby transferring weight back to the front axle. WD hitches also do this but in a different way. Many trailers are not WD hitch equipped. Thus, the tow vehicle needs a way to return weight to the front axle to remove sway and give steering control. Air bags do this. No one ever mentioned transferring pin weight. It is returning load weight back to the front axle.

Anyone care to share their thoughts. I'm having difficulty explaining how wrong this is.

[mkirsch]

Walk away. Just walk away.

Ignorant folks will be ignorant. These are the same folks who think an airplane can't take off from a treadmill.

[bguy]

All the airbags do is raise the fulcrum of the lever.

[Terryallan]

You can also just give them a ruler. Have them measure to see if the front comes back down, or just stays the same, and the rear goes up. You know the front won't come down.

[Ron_Gratz]

camp-n-family wrote:
Funny. That was my post.

That seemed highly likely -- unless there's more than one person from Ontario who drives a 2014 Ram 2500 Laramie and has a keen interest in whether an air bag can transfer load to the front axle. 🙂

Ron

[camp-n-family]

You're going to find it very difficult using physics, or any other approach, to explain something to a person whose mind is closed.

The best response was given in post #13 of the thread in the other forum:

"Go to a scale and try it."

Ron

Funny. That was my post.

[jerem0621]

The only thing common about the two is that they both can accomplish pointing the headlights correctly.

Old school of hard knocks physics...take one boy ms let him sit on one side of the teeter totter...take another smaller boy on the other end...what happens?

The smaller boy sits in the air while the big boy sits on the ground....

Now...stand a cinder block on its end under the seat and have the bigger boy sit down...likewise have the smaller boy sit on the other side....

Have the forces changed? No...the forces are the same even though the boys are sitting relatively even on the teeter totter...

So what changed?

The only thing that changed was the ground height...instead of the big boy sitting on the ground...he is now propped up by a cinder block.

Applying this principle to a truck and you can see just how dangerous it is having that "little boy" out in front with all the breaking and steering responsibilities... The only problem is that he can barely get his toes on the ground...

Not sure what thread you are talking about but there is danger in a overload situation like this. Big time.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Ron_Gratz]

You're going to find it very difficult using physics, or any other approach, to explain something to a person whose mind is closed.

The best response was given in post #13 of the thread in the other forum:

"Go to a scale and try it."

Ron

[mrekim]

If a hitch is rated for XXX lbs without WD and YYY lbs with WD the air bags in no way change anything. If you want to get above XXX then you need the WD setup.

I would at least make sure that fact gets into the discussion.

[downtheroad]

It's what they want to believe...so let them believe it and get on down the road.

You are not going to change their mind.

[path1]

Air bags must work magic. Who ever your talking with must of bought the WD model. I got the HO model. The "HO" stands for "Headlights only" model. After installing the HO model, weights have not changed. But driving at night cars coming at me no longer flash their high beams at me. HO model just leveled me out.

I'm checking to see if I can order the MPG model next.:B

[coolmom42]

All the air bags do is carry the weight, therefore preventing the rear end from sagging so much. They are basically a stiff spring.

[K_Charles]

so if you park a truck on the scales and put air in the rear airbags, weight swill get removed from the rear axle? If that is what they think you are wasting your time talking to them.

[BarneyS]

You can probably argue your point until the cows come home and not change the mind of the other person. My advice is to drop it and let him/her bask in their ignorance.
Barney