Weight distribution

[jerryleejr]

I don’t know if this goes here or if I need to move it to my specific camper board. However I’m wondering if anyone has weighed before and after installing a WDH. Im trying to get an idea how much weight is shifted to the camper.

JJ

[Bobbo]

It depends on how tight you pull the chains or bars, as well as how strong the bars are. You tailor the amount transferred to the tow vehicle front axle and the trailer axle to fit your particular circumstances.

[Ndcctrucks]

Literally hundreds have re-weighed for checking WD.

There are also, literally, thousands of posts regarding this subject.

Plenty of material to review here.

[LNBright]

Most use a “three-pass” method at scales, where you weigh the trailer, then the truck and trailer w/o WD, and then them together with the WD system in-place. (Weigh the truck too by itself if you want, perhaps with and without gear in the bed.).

Will admit, as I’ve a single-axle camper, I wasn’t so worried: first trip, I pulled onto the scales already hooked up, just to ensure it all looked good, and went on….

(I don’t have a lot of load return put into my WD system, it doesn’t need much for us.)

[JeffKim]

This thread has a lot of information on weighing and calculating axle loads, etc.

We weighed our 25' with our SUV at the CAT scales and they make it pretty easy to get multiple weights. It's something like weight both car and trailer with WD, then just trailer, unhook and weight vehicle, plug the weights into a spreadsheet. Some do a fourth weight with WD bars disconnected, but it's in the thread I posted.

[FMSports]

Weigh-safe is a little module and app you plug into your ODB port.
Uses truck tilt to determine loading calcs. So you can do that in real-time and anywhere that is decently level. Has a little green line to hit with WD.

[CharlesinGA]

You need the weight of the tow vehicle by itself to do all of the calculations.

Charles

[SuperTrouper]

Here's how I did it the first time (in another detailed thread about weigh-ins). https://www.airforums.com/forums/f23...ml#post1105856

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by jerryleejr

I don’t know if this goes here or if I need to move it to my specific camper board. However I’m wondering if anyone has weighed before and after installing a WDH. Im trying to get an idea how much weight is shifted to the camper.

JJ

Generally it shifts weight to the tow vehicle front axles, not to the camper. There might be some weight shifted backwards, but IMO that means the hitch is not configured properly. The lift provided by the springbars moves weight forward, not back.

Easier to measure your wheelwells unhooked, then connected and check the difference. It should, be back to zero. Thats weight distribution. Going Over or under that means its configured wrong. The weight is not relevant unless you are towing something too big for your tow vehicle, which is quite common by the posts here.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by JJTX

Generally it shifts weight to the tow vehicle front axles, not to the camper. There might be some weight shifted backwards, but IMO that means the hitch is not configured properly. The lift provided by the springbars moves weight forward, not back.

Easier to measure your wheelwells unhooked, then connected and check the difference. It should, be back to zero. Thats weight distribution. Going Over or under that means its configured wrong. The weight is not relevant unless you are towing something too big for your tow vehicle, which is quite common by the posts here.

It actually has to shift weight BOTH directions (fore and aft.) Since nothing is touching the ground but the tires, those are the only points of leverage. Both the trailer tires and the steering have to take up some of the force being transferred off the drive axle. If zero weight is shifted to the trailer axle(s), zero will be shifted to the steer axle. It won't be the same amount as the steer axle unless the distance from hitch to axle is nearly the same, but it's there.

[RedSHED]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

It actually has to shift weight BOTH directions (fore and aft.) Since nothing is touching the ground but the tires, those are the only points of leverage. Both the trailer tires and the steering have to take up some of the force being transferred off the drive axle. If zero weight is shifted to the trailer axle(s), zero will be shifted to the steer axle. It won't be the same amount as the steer axle unless the distance from hitch to axle is nearly the same, but it's there.

^^ this.

If you parked the truck and trailer on a barge -- unhitched but with the tongue stand down, so the barge was level fore and aft then retracted the tongue jack until the hitch was connected, the barge would stay level.

If you added "the normal amount" of weight distribution, the barge would remain level. You can make the barge dip at one end by moving mass around, but adding a spring in between the truck and trailer doesn't move much if any mass.

In fact, if you added enough weight distribution to lift the rear wheels of the truck into the air (like some old front wheel drive ads), the barge would still stay level.
From an earlier thread:

https://www.airforums.com/attachment...ear_wheels.jpg

[dznf0g]

Both the prior posts are correct, except the first is a bit off. On order for equal distribution to occur, the distance from the rear axle to the trailer axle has to equal the wheelbase of the tv. Rear axle is the fulcrum, not the hitch.

[AlbertF]

Originally Posted by jerryleejr

I don’t know if this goes here or if I need to move it to my specific camper board. However I’m wondering if anyone has weighed before and after installing a WDH. Im trying to get an idea how much weight is shifted to the camper.

JJ

You asked a specific question. In reality, 200 lbs is probably a reasonable assumption with a WDH that has a good amount of tension and actually results in the front axle of the tow vehicle carrying a full share of tongue weight, as opposed to merely returning front axle weight to its unhitched load.

As a percentage, it will always be more with shorter trailers. With longer and heavier trailers with higher tongue weights, the percentage will go down, but the net amount might be similar.

So, I'm going to say, "200 lbs, but it depends." I'll let you research the other threads and tell me how close I am.

[Daquenzer]

You should look at how Andy at CAN AM how to set up WDH hitches. They have videos. They measure wheel wells. As I did. I want to make sure the pickup is level, and the trailer is slightly sloping down. The app does work. I have used it. But after you use it once you get a pretty good handle on how to pack and set the rig up.

[waninae39]

here are the videos to watch

https://www.canamrv.ca/blog/category/hitch-hints/