How much of rise on front of truck acceptable when hitched?
When hitched with the load bars, the front fender of my F150 rises a half inch verses unhitched. Is this acceptable?
Forum Discussion
Weights are placeholders. Static.
Road forces are dynamic. Ever-changing. (Why TW & Payload mean next to nothing: it’s Axle ratings with tire/wheel ratings).
Acquiring the static numbers fits formula for what happens on-road.
Over time these may change. Normal wear & tear OR something’s truly off (defect or damage).
Having a numerical baseline acquired via scale readings shows:
1). The RANGE of adjustments for a given combination vehicle (from nearly empty and on up).
2). Side-to-side and across tandem axle tires the possibility of weight shift.
To TEST is what matters. Braking & steering are what matter in towing. The stupids think it’s about how fast they can ascend a grade (not lose speed). ONLY the downgrade matters, as that’s where most loss-of-control accidents occur from natural or man-made winds.
HANDLING is as much getting a grip on what it should be while solo (tire pressure and bed load securement) THEN some knowledge of what the combined rig feels like.
A combined rig is stable ONLY when under light to heavy throttle. Snapping a trailer back into compliance means BEST braking of both vehicles, and a distance from others full throttle plus MAXIMUM trailer braking is undertaken.
Replication of solo handling via WDH is to AVOID over-correction at the wheel (the pinpointed cause of loss-of-control). “Normal”.
The better the rig tracks (camber changes, ruts, and other surface deviations) the better the outcomes of direction changes not initiated by the driver.
The driver is the weak link. In a straight axle, high COG TV, he’s worsened his chsnces of trailer recovery as feedback from the rig is poor. (A couple of seconds and it’s over). If the trailer can shift the grip of the rear axle tires, Mario Andretti couldn’t save it.
Weigh #2 is to get an accurate read on TW. (Weight shift is bar tension as well as ball angle).
A pickup with a near-empty bed (in terms of weight) is a poor TV. It’s E-Z to lose rear traction in that scenario given road surface problems. And, where cars may slide or spin on losing rear traction, pickups will roll.
High COG trailers (slide-outs) on leaf spring axles are much the same. The design of each vehicle is fundamental as predictor (“skill” claims’ll get you laughed out of the room).
WDH spreads the forces each vehicle is creating across the length represented by the axle trio. Not just at the ball. Makes problems less so.
.
Road forces are dynamic. Ever-changing. (Why TW & Payload mean next to nothing: it’s Axle ratings with tire/wheel ratings).
Acquiring the static numbers fits formula for what happens on-road.
Over time these may change. Normal wear & tear OR something’s truly off (defect or damage).
Having a numerical baseline acquired via scale readings shows:
1). The RANGE of adjustments for a given combination vehicle (from nearly empty and on up).
2). Side-to-side and across tandem axle tires the possibility of weight shift.
To TEST is what matters. Braking & steering are what matter in towing. The stupids think it’s about how fast they can ascend a grade (not lose speed). ONLY the downgrade matters, as that’s where most loss-of-control accidents occur from natural or man-made winds.
HANDLING is as much getting a grip on what it should be while solo (tire pressure and bed load securement) THEN some knowledge of what the combined rig feels like.
A combined rig is stable ONLY when under light to heavy throttle. Snapping a trailer back into compliance means BEST braking of both vehicles, and a distance from others full throttle plus MAXIMUM trailer braking is undertaken.
Replication of solo handling via WDH is to AVOID over-correction at the wheel (the pinpointed cause of loss-of-control). “Normal”.
The better the rig tracks (camber changes, ruts, and other surface deviations) the better the outcomes of direction changes not initiated by the driver.
The driver is the weak link. In a straight axle, high COG TV, he’s worsened his chsnces of trailer recovery as feedback from the rig is poor. (A couple of seconds and it’s over). If the trailer can shift the grip of the rear axle tires, Mario Andretti couldn’t save it.
Weigh #2 is to get an accurate read on TW. (Weight shift is bar tension as well as ball angle).
A pickup with a near-empty bed (in terms of weight) is a poor TV. It’s E-Z to lose rear traction in that scenario given road surface problems. And, where cars may slide or spin on losing rear traction, pickups will roll.
High COG trailers (slide-outs) on leaf spring axles are much the same. The design of each vehicle is fundamental as predictor (“skill” claims’ll get you laughed out of the room).
WDH spreads the forces each vehicle is creating across the length represented by the axle trio. Not just at the ball. Makes problems less so.
.
