Weight Distribution Bars, how close should the wieght rating be?

[stever40]

Originally Posted by stever40

I don't want to hijack this thread but I kind of have a question in reverse order.

My question is this. I have an Equalizer WDH at 1200# bars. I am trying to avoid a purchase of another one but am wondering if there will be a problem if used on a trailer with weight of 5200# and smaller tow vehicle. Will this be a problem?

Sorry folks - Had to correct spelling. I'd better go back to school.

[thebrakeman]

OK, here we go! I spent 7 seasons with a Coleman popup, and all of that time on popup chat sites.

The typical estimate for loaded weight on a popup is 600 lbs over dry (800 over dry for a hybrid, 1000 over dry for a good size TT...all bets are of for 5ers).
website says dry is 3262. plus 600 = 3862. Add the 700 lbs quad, and you have 4562lbs. Standard popups are physically limited in size. You just can't get much more into them. But with that loading deck, I'm guessing you'll have extra fuel, an extra cooler, bicycles, etc. So let's say 4800 lbs loaded. You could also go ultra-conservative and use the 5200 lbs GVWR. We'll do both.

In my experience with WDH (400 lbs unit with the popup, and 1000 lbs unit with the current hybrid), I find that you do not want to be too close to the rating, or you will get bouncing/porpoising. You don't want to go crazy, but you want to err on the heavy side. Therefore, it's my recommendation that you estimate the TW, add 100 lbs, then round up to the next size.

A. 4800 * 12% = 576 lbs TW. Add 100 = 676. Round to the next size, would be an 800 lbs WDH kit. 600 would mathematically work, but you will hate it, likely tossing your cookies from the motion.

B. 5212 * 12% = 625 lbs TW. Add 100 = 725. Round to the next size, would still be the 800 lbs WDH kit.

Let's go more extreme to see if we can justify that 1200 lbs unit:
C. 5212 * 15% = 782 lbs TW. Add 100 = 882. Round to the next size, would be the 1000 lbs WDH kits. Too close to be able to use the 800 lbs unit. By the way, some manufactures (Equalizer included) do not even make an 800 lbs unit.

PS - My loaded hybrid is right at about 5200 lbs and around 750 lbs TW. My 1000 lbs Equalizer makes for a fabulous combination.

A 1200 lbs WDH is just going to be way too stiff for your combination. 600 would be too light. In order to choose between the 800 or 1000, you really need to get more accurate weights. If you can be sure your loaded TW will be more than 700 lbs, then the 1000 lbs is for you. But again, definitely a no-go on the 1200 lbs WDH.

[thebrakeman]

OK, shame on me for not reading the entire thread first. But why did the OP say he was going to haul 1 quad, then change that to 2 quads.

3262 (dry) + 600 (options and stuff) + 1400 (2 quads) = 5262. You are right at the 5212 GVWR of the trailer. Assuming you have a pickup, be sure to load the extra fuel, cooler, etc in the pickup bed, rather than the deck.

Since you already have the WDH purchase, by all means, give it a try. I suspect it will feel a bit harsh, especially for the times you only haul 1 of the quads.

[thebrakeman]

Regarding the spring steel, vs Equalizer bars, etc.
Keep in mind, all steel bars will flex. A bar made of "spring steel" and another bar of the same dimension (standard steel) will flex in nearly the same manner. The difference is that the spring steel bar is able to flex that much, repeatedly, without being damaged and failing after fatigue.

So, the Equalizer bars do flex, just not as much as a bar of smaller cross-section (like the Blue Ox, etc). Having a 600 lbs Equalizer with 580 lbs of TW would likely have the bars flexing more than would be comfortable, and I would recommend the next size up. Perhaps the Equalizer is not as sensitive to this as others. But again, I have 750 lbs on a 1000 lbs Equalizer, and the ride is fantastic (not harsh). But I would not want to try a 1200 lbs WDH with my combo.

[scurry322]

OP here, I started this thread with too little knowledge of what weights I would be hauling and to be honest I still don't know exactly how much. I knew the camper weight, but not how loading the front deck would affect the tongue weight. I asked and got some great answers here and from FR Tech Support.


To answer the question about why I started asking about hauling 1 quad, is because most of the time that is all there will be on the deck, but the deck will accommodate 2 quads and there will be times I will be hauling 2.


I had already purchased the 1200# set up, mostly because it was a really good deal, then I started doing the math and realized I had probably gone overboard and wanted to see what peoples experiences were.


My final decision is I will have to just test it out when I receive the camper, which is still weeks away.