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Old 06-11-2016, 02:17 PM   #1
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EQ Hitch: a question

Don't know if this has already been discussed, but here is a question from a newbie ...

Does an equalizer (weight distribution) hitch actually take some weight off your towing vehicle hitch, and how much in relative terms (%)? RV dealer I talked to today says it does.

Thanks
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Old 06-11-2016, 03:27 PM   #2
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There will be less weight pushing down on the receiver, but there will be a lot of torque applied to it as the weight is transferred to the front wheels. Perhaps the dealer wants to sell a trailer that is over the weight rating of the receiver? Nah, they wouldn't do THAT.
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Old 06-11-2016, 04:13 PM   #3
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Thanks Lynnmor,
How do you rate receivers for torque? My vehicle has a class 3 receiver, factory installed. The trailer I'm looking for has about 300lb hitch weight. Yeah, the dealer didn't sound very convincing to me too.
The EQ hitch he showed me looked awfully heavy to me. One could anchor a 45' boat with it.
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Old 06-11-2016, 06:06 PM   #4
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There is no torque rating, just some common sense. While the vertical load might be reduced, the trailer is still there.

300 lbs ain't nothing. Get a real weight measured with a scale, don't depend on advertising or dealer guessing. Depending what tow vehicle you have, you probably don't need a WDH. If you post exactly what you have folks will be able to give some good advice.
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Old 06-11-2016, 09:02 PM   #5
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Hi, Kurt, and

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kurt Austin View Post
Does an equalizer (weight distribution) hitch actually take some weight off your towing vehicle hitch...
Off the hitch? No. Off the GVW of the tow vehicle, yes.

Quote:
and how much in relative terms (%)? RV dealer I talked to today says it does.
A properly installed and adjusted WD hitch should distribute about 20% to 25% of gross hitch weight back to the trailer axles, another 20% to 25% forward to the front axle of the tow vehicle, with about 50% to 60% of gross hitch weight remaining on the rear axle.

It doesn't remove any weight from the hitch (ball), but it distributes that weight to three places instead of leaving it all on the rear axle of the tow vehicle.

So yeah, the weight that goes back to the trailer axles is removed from the towing vehicle - not from the hitch but from the GVW of the tow vehicle.

To see the effect of your WD hitch, you need two different scale reports - one with the spring bars tight for towing, and the other without the spring bars tight. Note the differences in weight on the front axle, rear axle and trailer axles. Weight will be removed from the rear axle and added to the front and trailer axles.

Quote:
How do you rate receivers for torque?
Torque? They're not. I suspect you saw "tongue weight (TW)" and thought it said "torque weight".

Receivers are rated for gross trailer weight (GTW) and for tongue weight (TW). Ignore the GTW rating, because TW is your limiter. If you don't exceed the TW rating, you'll probably never get close to the GVW rating.
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Grumpy ole man with over 60 years towing experience. Now my heaviest trailer is a 7'x16' 5,000-pound flatbed utility trailer, my tow vehicle is a 2019 F-150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost SuperCab with Max Tow (1,904 pounds payload capacity).
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Old 06-12-2016, 03:13 PM   #6
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Thanks Smokey,
Your post was very informative. Highly appreciated. The hitch weight (TW) is something I was worried about too. My vehicle's hitch is rated at 485 lbs. Now, correct me please, if I'm wrong in my calculations. The trailer I'm eyeing is about 300 lbs. Now, to calculate what other load applies to the rear axle, I would add two people sitting on front seats @ 50% (150 lbs), my daughter sitting on the back seat @ 100% (100 lbs), and whatever sits in the cargo area @ 100% (?? Lbs). That alone is over the vehicle's rating. Is a weight distribution hitch going to bring it down, or not? Bear in mind that that monster is about 75 lbs, give or take. Also, do WDHs work their miracle when in motion only, or static as well?

Thanks again.
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Old 06-12-2016, 03:32 PM   #7
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Another one ... Is there any way of estimating these weights? Obviously, I can't put something on a scale that I haven't purchased yet.
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Old 06-12-2016, 05:35 PM   #8
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I think at the very least every rv dealer should have a shure line scale. It costs $ 100.00 takes minutes to use and hitch weights could be estimated . And if you think they shouldn't because they then my not sell someone a TT, think about it this way.. I wonder how many sales could have been upgraded since maybe tung weights were lower than estimated..... Just saying.
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Old 06-12-2016, 06:46 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kurt Austin View Post
Is a weight distribution hitch going to bring it down, or not? Bear in mind that that monster is about 75 lbs, give or take.
If your TW is only 300 pounds, plus 75 pounds for the WD hitch, that's only 375 hitch weight. If you adjust your WD hitch so that 20% of hitch weight is distributed back to the trailer axles, that's only 75 pounds removed from the GVW of the tow vehicle.

Quote:
Also, do WDHs work their miracle when in motion only, or static as well?
The WDH distributes the weight whether you're on the road or sitting on the scale. But the sway control doesn't do anything unless the trailer is moving down the road. A static trailer is not going to sway, but the hitch weight will still be there, mashing down on your receiver
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