Help! with Weight Distribution

[Jwestman]

I followed everyone's advice and finally went to the scales today with my 06 jeep grand cherokee 5.7l hemi and new '12 flying cloud 25 fb.

I've got a big weight distribution problem:

Front axle weight: 2,440 pounds
Rear axle weight: 3,860 pounds
Trailer axle weight: 4,880 pounds

The rear axle weight is 680 pounds above the axle rating. Everything else is within the proper specs for the vehicle and the trailer. The only extra weight up front are two full propane tanks. The jeep had one 130 pound rear seat passenger and a full tank of 18 gallons of gas.

My hitch is a Reese - Hitch bar 63970 with dual cams and 1,200 pound bars. I have it tightened up to the 4th chain link. What am I doing wrong?

[idroba]

You need more tension on the spring bars to move more of the tongue weight forward to the front axle.

Your 1200# rated bars are too stiff for the load, but that is not why your front/rear weights are off so much. Go back to the scales and weigh the TV, front and rear, alone. Then drop the trailer on the ball, and pull the chains up until you get a more even front/rear loading. It will not be the same of course, but you should put about the same % of additional weight on both front and rear.

If you have too few links remaining to pull up, you may need to tilt your hitch head down so you have more links to work with.

I would guess that your tongue weight is in the 800# range. That is why I mention that your bars are too stiff for the load which puts extra stress on the trailer frame. They should more closely match the trailer tongue weight.

[Denis4x4]

Interested in seeing some answers here as I have a 2013 GC on order and a 25' Safari FB. I wonder if there is difference in weight distribution between a FB and RB.

[Bill M.]

The trailer axle weight is interesting to me. My 88 center bath Excella 25' puts about 5800 on the axle. Are the newer FC's a thousand lbs lighter than the older trailers? Be nice to know the tongue weight. Maybe your trailer has a high tongue weight? I pull with a 2500 with stiff springs and I had to tilt the head of the Reese down as far as it would go to get enough WD and still sometimes hitch with 4 links instead of the reccomended 5 minimum. I started with the 1000 lb bars but soon switched to the 800. Most likely you need to tilt the hitch head a bit more to get more lift with the same number of links showing.

[Naper]

There are plenty of experts here and you will get lots of advice but I think your WD isn't set up properly. Your trailer weighs 5600 pounds empty with a hitch weight of 760 Looks like you haven't transferred any weight.
You should try running your rig over the scales without the bars and then with the bars, increase the tension until you get the weight from the rear axle to the front axle of the TV and the trailer.

[idroba]

Originally Posted by Denis4x4

Interested in seeing some answers here as I have a 2013 GC on order and a 25' Safari FB. I wonder if there is difference in weight distribution between a FB and RB.

Denis: Your 2013 GC will be quite different from his 2006 as the Jeep was totally revamped in 2011. My 2012 GC has the air suspension system and is a very very nice TV for my 4200# total weight, 700# tongue weight 20' Argosy. I expect yours will do the 25' with no issues. I now use the Andersen hitch which I also like very much, but in the past have used both Reese and Draw Tight hitches with good results.

If you have ordered the GC with the Air Suspension, you will find it a little tricky to set up your hitch right. It is easiest to do if you turn the Air Suspension off and do the setup on a scale, but it can be done other ways too.

[Jwestman]

Tongue weight according to the trailer stats is 840. I have seen conflicting info on the number of links: some say 5 as a minimum for towing and some who say it doesn't make any difference since the bars move on the cam for the turns and not the chains. I could go up a couple more links if you all think that is wise. Trailer weight according to the scales was 5,760. 11,180-5,420 for the Jeep by itself. That fits within the GCWR of the jeep which is 12,200 and max Gtw of 7,200. So all I need to do is accomplish the shift to the front of the Jeep. How do your tilt the ball? Forward or back?

[dwightdi]

Tilt the ball back to get the bars to start off pointing down toward the ground more. Do not tilt too far as it could become difficult to get the bars into the saddles. Then keep decreasing the number or links under tension till you have the right amount of pounds transferred to the front wheels. To prevent bumps in the road throwing a lot of stress into the trailer it is advisable to use lighter weight bars than you have currently.

[Jwestman]

Do the number of links remaining matter with the cam set up?

[Wazbro]

Make sure the trailer sits level when hitched. If the front of the trailer is too high you will have more tongue weight (effectively leveraged onto your tow vehicle).

[1grlscout]

Does anyone have an idea about my problem? I thought that I was doing the right thing by purchasing the ProPride hitch and having professionals install it.
Following are the sequence of weights recorded at the Mainline Sorter in Hillsborough NC, on Sept. 5 and I thought that the rear axle was #2, but the weight distribution bars had been tightened to the max (ProPride 14,000 lbs, adjustments by phone from Sean Woodruff) to fix the rear end sag, so it seems backwards. Does anyone know?
Platform Weight
1. 2900
2. 4320
3. 5620
4. 12840
I was nearing home after my first tow of 600 plus white knuckle miles from the dealership. Sean Woodruff had been very helpful, after I sent him pictures, and I followed all his directions, including a major adjustment to the coupler which required two maintenance men from a truck stop service dept.
I thought the trailer tongue weight lowered according to the weight of the trailer. Fully loaded my 25' FB weighs 7300 lbs, with a tongue weight of 833.
Or what is the extra 1000 lbs on the tow vehicle? (curb weight 5700, CAT scale with me 1/2 tank gas plus 100= 6200)

Sean only knows one person familiar with the ProPride in my state. At first, I thought that I needed a hitch matching my tongue weight or trailer weight, 8000-1000 lbs., but none of this seems very important, so I am stuck. Any help will be appreciated.

[1grlscout]

I should have previewed.
The paper that I was given shows the platform at the left and weight at the right, so the numbers should be underneath the weight.

[1grlscout]

I am posting this here in addition to the PP thread, since no one is reading there and weight distribution is my problem, I think. I don't care what kind of hitch I have, if the trailer and tow vehicle are level and the rear axle is not maxed out.I sure felt every truck pass with the PP and my shoulders were sore from gripping the steering wheel, trying to keep my act on the highway, so I just need weight distribution, whitchever hitch will do that.
Does anyone have an idea about my problem? I thought that I was doing the right thing by purchasing the ProPride hitch and having professionals install it
Following are the sequence of weights recorded at the Mainline Sorter in Hillsborough NC, on Sept. 5 and I thought that the rear axle was #2, but the weight distribution bars had been tightened to the max (ProPride 14,000 lbs, adjustments by phone from Sean Woodruff) to fix the rear end sag, so it seems backwards. Does anyone know?
Platform Weight
1. 2900
2. 4320
3. 5620
4. 12840
I was nearing home after my first tow of 600 plus white knuckle miles from the dealership. Sean Woodruff had been very helpful, after I sent him pictures, and I followed all his directions, including a major adjustment to the coupler which required two maintenance men from a truck stop service dept.
I thought the trailer tongue weight lowered according to the weight of the trailer. Fully loaded my 25' FB weighs 7300 lbs, with a tongue weight of 833.
Or what is the extra 1000 lbs on the tow vehicle? (curb weight 5700, CAT scale with me 1/2 tank gas plus 100= 6200)
I had been in touch with Bruce Stevenson at the Out of Doors Mart by phone and email, but he did not respond to my question. Sean only knows one person familiar with the ProPride in my state.

[dwightdi]

Whether the trailer's nose sits high or low has nothing to do with the amount of weight transfer. If the nose is too high, you have the ball set too high. If it sets too low, you have the ball set too low. You do want the trailer to set evenly as Airstreams have independent suspensions and if the trailer is not setting evenly it is a sign that the wheels are not carring the load equally. If it is nose high, the back wheels have too much load. If the trailer iis nose low, the front wheels are carrying too much of the load. If the axles of the trailer are not worn out or taken a set, you need to first set the ball on your truck to the specifications called out by Airstream for that model. Then you need to hitch the trailer to the truck and adjust the weight distribution hitch to properly distribute the load on the trailer and the truck so they all settle the same amount front and back. Then check the height of the ball after all the load is on. If it is within 1 inch of the specification you are done. If it exceeds that you must select one higher hole on the hitch bracket and move the ball up. After the trailer is reattached and the bars are installed and torqued. Remeasure the ball height and measure how level the trailer is. It should be level within an inch. You will likely not need to make further adjustments. The actual number of links under stress or hanging free have nothing to do whether the setup is proper.

[slowmover]

[QUOTE=1grlscout;1218018]I am posting this here in addition to the PP thread, since no one is reading there and weight distribution is my problem, I think. I don't care what kind of hitch I have, if the trailer and tow vehicle are level and the rear axle is not maxed out . . . .

Have posted a chart on the earlier thread that -- if we can fill out weights, -- can also make a better start on "where" you are at present.

.