My weight distribution hitch weights 75 pounds!

[steve02bat]

I use a weight distribution hitch because I'm towing with a Jeep Cherokee and pulling a Rockwood a214hw. I'm trying to get my tongue weight down. I noticed today that my weight distribution hitch weighs 75 lb! Did I buy the wrong one? Or are they all this heavy?

[steve02bat]

This is it.

[HangDiver]

Mine is 98lbs. They are heavy although I think Reese makes one under 60lbs.

Edit: The Reese I mentioned above is 62lbs.

[Scrapper]

WDH's are heavy. You won't get the hitch weight down without moving items inside the trailer to better balance it. The more items you have in the front storage the heavier the hitch will be. The hitch weight should be 10 to 15% of the gross trailer weight. Try shooting for 12 - 13%.

[bikendan]

Heck, the 4pt Equal-i-zer is around 100lbs, counting the weight bars.

[steve02bat]

Does the weight distribution hitch count as part of your total hitch weight?

[HangDiver]

Well yes in that it counts against the payload capacity of your Jeep: think of it as adding to the hitch weight.

[jame]

Originally Posted by Scrapper

WDH's are heavy. You won't get the hitch weight down without moving items inside the trailer to better balance it. The more items you have in the front storage the heavier the hitch will be. The hitch weight should be 10 to 15% of the gross trailer weight. Try shooting for 12 - 13%.

I've always done this, regardless of what I'm pulling, or what I'm pulling with.

So, what's the point of the WDH?

[dfreeman]

Originally Posted by steve02bat

I use a weight distribution hitch because I'm towing with a Jeep Cherokee and pulling a Rockwood a214hw. I'm trying to get my tongue weight down. I noticed today that my weight distribution hitch weighs 75 lb! Did I buy the wrong one? Or are they all this heavy?

Anderson's No Sway WDH weighs less than 50# total including the frame brackets. Head weighs about 25lbs and the pin plate and chains another 15# or so. They also work great for anti-sway and do a decent job of distributing weight to the front axle. I have one for sale cheap as I just purchased a new 5th wheel.

[hbillsmith]

Originally Posted by dfreeman

Anderson's No Sway WDH weighs less than 50# total including the frame brackets. Head weighs about 25lbs and the pin plate and chains another 15# or so. They also work great for anti-sway and do a decent job of distributing weight to the front axle. I have one for sale cheap as I just purchased a new 5th wheel.

We used to tow our 24' TT (5800 GVW) with our 2010 Mercedes GL that had a very light 600# hitch weight spec. The trailer was an ultra light and with a few CAT scale visits we were able to load proper and keep the tongue weight down.

The Andersen WDH was the only one I could use that didn't put me over the hitch weight limit. So that's the one I got and was pleased to experience nice distribution with almost all the car's front wheel weight pushed back on properly and best of all, the Andersen really did a nice job of controlling sway. I'm in 5er now and sold the Andersen for a good price too! (and of course, I'm an Andersen Ultimate 5th hitch now ;-))

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by jame

I've always done this, regardless of what I'm pulling, or what I'm pulling with.

So, what's the point of the WDH?

The point of the WDH is to control the angle between the trailer frame and the tow-vehicle frame.

Think of a giant protractor (angle measuring scale), setting at the hitch ball. If the tongue weight is too heavy, the trailer and car dip down, and this angle is a V. By getting this angle up to flat (180 degrees), the trailer is tipped back and there's less weight on the tongue and more on the axles. And the tow vehicle is flat, headlights not pointing at the sky.

It takes a lot of metal to tilt the trailer up. That's why the giant casting weighs 60-70 pounds. Add in the control bars and you can approach 100. But if tipping the trailer back gets 600 lbs of trailer weight off the tongue, then your net saving is 500 lbs. That can make a world of difference in driveability and safety. If there's too much weight at the back, there's too little in front. That means loss of front-wheel braking as well as steering in an emergency.

Larry

[chuckstaubus]

dfreeman—PM me about purchasing your Anderson.

[Tigger1]

Originally Posted by dfreeman

Anderson's No Sway WDH weighs less than 50# total including the frame brackets. Head weighs about 25lbs and the pin plate and chains another 15# or so. They also work great for anti-sway and do a decent job of distributing weight to the front axle. I have one for sale cheap as I just purchased a new 5th wheel.

X2 on the Andersen. Have been using one since late 2014 on two different TT, see signature. Originally had an Equalizer 4-point that worked as advertised but was too heavy for my back so did some research and bought an Andersen. Very happy with it.

[jeffnboise]

I have almost your same set up. Jeep XJ pulling a T12RB with a Husky WDH. I pulled one of the propane tanks off the front, mostly cuz I didn't like the dual tank 'look', but saving some tongue weight is ok, too.

[jflarin]

Originally Posted by steve02bat

Does the weight distribution hitch count as part of your total hitch weight?

I think it is more fuzzy than a yes or no answer.

On the Venza, the weight limit is 350 lbs on a normal hitch, 400 lbs on a weight distributing hitch. My explanation for those different limit is that with a normal load, you get most of the weigth on the 2 bolts toward the back of the back of the car whereas the weight distributing hitch put spreads the weight on the 4 bolts attaching the hitch to the car.

That being said, the weight put on a normal hitch will tilt the car toward the back (like a dragster...) adding weight to the rear axle.

A weight distributing hitch will put some weight on the hitch attachement PLUS some torque. That torque will transfer some weight from the rear axle to the front axle. I measured that actual weight shift on a public balance and it is real.

So when we are trying to keep the hitch load under a limit specified by the car what is the actual limit?:
-The hitch construction?
-The bolt holding the hitch to the car (and the car receiving the bolt...)?
-The rear axle load?
-The tilt of the car induced by the load cantilevered?

I doubt the hitch construction will be the limit. The boltting can be a factor even it if it compensated by spreading the load on more bolts. The rear axle load will not be increased by the extra weight of the WD hitch if it is well ajusted. Nor will the tilt of the car be affected.

So it is hard to say which fraction of the heavy WDH should be counted as tongue weight.

Bonus fact: normally you want between 10% and 15% of the weight to be on the tongue to the trailer does not unhook from the car (a bad experience, believe me...) You don't want EVER the tongue weight to be negative because on the first braking the trailer will remove weight on the rear axle of the car and you get a jacknife. But with a WDH, the torsion bar will push the coupler onto the ball, so you may not need to add some extra tongue weight just to keep the coupler on the ball.

jf

[CampingMyLifeAway]

My Fastway e2 weighs 60 lbs.It's the 450/4500 lb.

[steve02bat]

Originally Posted by jflarin

I think it is more fuzzy than a yes or no answer.

On the Venza, the weight limit is 350 lbs on a normal hitch, 400 lbs on a weight distributing hitch. My explanation for those different limit is that with a normal load, you get most of the weigth on the 2 bolts toward the back of the back of the car whereas the weight distributing hitch put spreads the weight on the 4 bolts attaching the hitch to the car.

That being said, the weight put on a normal hitch will tilt the car toward the back (like a dragster...) adding weight to the rear axle.

A weight distributing hitch will put some weight on the hitch attachement PLUS some torque. That torque will transfer some weight from the rear axle to the front axle. I measured that actual weight shift on a public balance and it is real.

So when we are trying to keep the hitch load under a limit specified by the car what is the actual limit?:
-The hitch construction?
-The bolt holding the hitch to the car (and the car receiving the bolt...)?
-The rear axle load?
-The tilt of the car induced by the load cantilevered?

I doubt the hitch construction will be the limit. The boltting can be a factor even it if it compensated by spreading the load on more bolts. The rear axle load will not be increased by the extra weight of the WD hitch if it is well ajusted. Nor will the tilt of the car be affected.

So it is hard to say which fraction of the heavy WDH should be counted as tongue weight.

Bonus fact: normally you want between 10% and 15% of the weight to be on the tongue to the trailer does not unhook from the car (a bad experience, believe me...) You don't want EVER the tongue weight to be negative because on the first braking the trailer will remove weight on the rear axle of the car and you get a jacknife. But with a WDH, the torsion bar will push the coupler onto the ball, so you may not need to add some extra tongue weight just to keep the coupler on the ball.

jf

Great information, thank you!

[MontyPP]

@CampingMyLifeAway did you have to do any modifications to fit your WDH? I'm looking around for one.

[CampingMyLifeAway]

I just got it and the dealer said they would install it for you.There's a few installation videos online that show how it's installed.You can also download the instructions from the website.Theres not really any modifications you need to do to install it.Just some measuring where to mount the sway control brackets on your trailer hitch your hitch ball height.

[MontyPP]

I know some have had issues installing their hitches because of where the front battery and propane brackets are installed. And was just wondering