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Old 02-09-2013, 07:51 PM   #1
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Weight-distributing versus weight-carrying

Question, these numbers are significantly different for my truck (approx 9,000 vs 6,000) with the hitch weight around 900 vs 600. Looking at TT's it is hard to tell which they are, is there an easy way?
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Old 02-10-2013, 06:49 AM   #2
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I think I've got what you're asking?

The truck mfg is saying his truck can handle more trailer (tongue) weight when using weight distributing arms. They help disperse the load (tongue weight) to both the front and rear axles of the truck. Without them (weight distributing arms) the weight on the rear of the truck would have the trucks frame acting as a lever, using the rear axle as a fulcrum, and lifting weight from the front axle? Add some side winds to that, and you could possibly have a vehicle with some really interesting (nasty?) handling in side winds?

The trailer doesn't give a darn (weight distibuting vs. none). It will pull fine either way.
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Old 02-10-2013, 06:55 AM   #3
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I think I've got what you're asking?

The truck mfg is saying his truck can handle more trailer (tongue) weight when using weight distributing arms. They help disperse the load (tongue weight) to both the front and rear axles of the truck. Without them (weight distributing arms) the weight on the rear of the truck would have the trucks frame acting as a lever, using the rear axle as a fulcrum, and lifting weight from the front axle? Add some side winds to that, and you could possibly have a vehicle with some really interesting (nasty?) handling in side winds?

The trailer doesn't give a darn (weight distibuting vs. none). It will pull fine either way.
Thanks ahicks, that helps. I got that information from the bottom of the second page of this PDF
http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/g...itionNov18.pdf

This may help clarify my question
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Old 02-10-2013, 04:38 PM   #4
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Talked to a friend today that tows horse trailers a lot and uses wright-distributing arms. But in essence I get these and my towing ability goes from 6,000-9,000 pounds? Seems too good to be true!
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Old 02-10-2013, 05:24 PM   #5
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Talked to a friend today that tows horse trailers a lot and uses wright-distributing arms. But in essence I get these and my towing ability goes from 6,000-9,000 pounds? Seems too good to be true!
It may be too good to be true. If your TV is a 1/2T with a 4 cyl gas, 6K may too much. If your TV is a 1T dually with diesel then you probably don't really NEED a WD hitch with the 9K TT.
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Old 02-10-2013, 05:30 PM   #6
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It may be too good to be true. If your TV is a 1/2T with a 4 cyl gas, 6K may too much. If your TV is a 1T dually with diesel then you probably don't really NEED a WD hitch with the 9K TT.
It's an expedition 5.4 L V8. Not sure why the difference listed by ford is so large
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Old 02-10-2013, 05:56 PM   #7
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Weight carrying means the trailer's tongue weight is resting on the tow-vehicle's hitch with no assistance. This (most -times) cuases sagging in the rear of the TV and a lot of extra weight on the rear axle of the TV

Weight distibuting means that once the tongue is resitng on the tow-vehicles hitch, the weight distibuting bars will disperse a percentage of the weight, evenly over all of the axles on the TV and the TT.

The reason that there is such a difference in the weight ratings is because weight distribution distributes the load off of the rear axle / suspension and provides better handling of the TV. Without it, your putting a lot of strain on the rear end of your TV. (not to mention reducing braking and steering abilities)

They cost a bit to add to the trailer, but worth their weight in gold. The picture can also read as "weight carrying" and "weight distributing"
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Old 02-10-2013, 06:44 PM   #8
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Thanks bagpipes, very helpful!
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Old 02-10-2013, 07:48 PM   #9
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Can you get a weight distributing hitch that is too big? My camper weighs about 6000 lb and I was thing about buying a used hitch rated for 15000 lb
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Old 02-10-2013, 07:57 PM   #10
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My Hansley is rated at 12k. My rig weighs about 6k. The extra capacity just gives you some additional wiggle room.
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Old 02-11-2013, 05:34 AM   #11
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I think in order to have the 9k tow your expedition needs to have the heavy duty tow package option. Usually means a beefed up radiator and trans cooler...
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Old 02-11-2013, 09:55 AM   #12
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Can you get a weight distributing hitch that is too big? My camper weighs about 6000 lb and I was thing about buying a used hitch rated for 15000 lb
Should work fine. Before you hook up to the trailer, be sure the trailer is level front to rear. When you drop the tongue onto the ball, the front of the trailer will squat. So you tighten the spring bars until the trailer is level again.

But if almost tight is not enough and one more chain length is too much, then you don't need to replace the entire WD hitch. You can replace just the spring bars with the ones for less tongue weight. (Ignore the gross trailer weight (GTW) rating and go by the tongue weight (TW) rating.)

If your hitch is a Reese, then you can buy replacement spring bars rated for 800 or 1200 pounds TW to replace your 1,500 pound TW spring bars. You need 900 or 1000 pound TW spring bars, but those are probably not available for Reese WD hitches. If your hitch is some other brand check to see if they have 900 or 1000 pound TW springs available.

If you buy 800-pound tongue weight spring bars, be certain you will not have hitch weight (tongue weight or TW) of more than 800 pounds. Many TTs have TW of 15% or more, so your 6,000 pound GTW TT could have hitch weight of up to 900 pounds and be perfectly normal. Check the tongue weight with a Sherline tongue weight scale after the trailer is wet and loaded for the road, and never exceed the weight of your spring bars.
Sherline Trailer Tongue Weight Scale - 2,000-lb Capacity Sherline Tools 5780
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Old 02-13-2013, 08:20 AM   #13
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I've never met anyone that has had issues with a hitch that was too big but I have read reports of people pulling a 4500lb trailer with 12000lb hitch and causing damage to the trailer frame and the tow vehicles frame due to torquing. Reports I've read seem to indicate that the 12000 bars are too rigid for a lighter trailer and don't flex properly when meeting with bumps and dips such as entering a driveway, fuel station, speed bumps, pot holes etc. In my opinion, better to be over rated than under but I think that they make different tolerances for a reason. I personally wouldn't go too much over.

My 2 cents. I don't claim to be any kind of expert on this.
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Old 02-13-2013, 10:21 AM   #14
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I've never met anyone that has had issues with a hitch that was too big but I have read reports of people pulling a 4500lb trailer with 12000lb hitch and causing damage to the trailer frame and the tow vehicles frame due to torquing. Reports I've read seem to indicate that the 12000 bars are too rigid for a lighter trailer and don't flex properly when meeting with bumps and dips such as entering a driveway, fuel station, speed bumps, pot holes etc. In my opinion, better to be over rated than under but I think that they make different tolerances for a reason. I personally wouldn't go too much over.

My 2 cents. I don't claim to be any kind of expert on this.
What in the world would you use 12000lb bars on? Using the 10& rule for tounge weight, that would make the trailer 120K (60tons). I wouldn't want that behind my PU. Did you mean 1200lb?
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