Weight Distribution per Axle

[bcarter395]

Hello, all.

I just ordered an Equalizer weight distribution hitch. After looking at their online installation manual, I am curious as to roughly how much of the tongue weight of my TT will be distributed individually to the front and rear axles of the truck.

Per the instructions, the weight distribution hitch should be adjusted so that the height of the truck's front axle to the wheel well is the same loaded with the hitch weight as it was before the truck was loaded. This will result with more of the hitch weight being applied to the rear axle -but how much more?

I am assuming the ending weight distribution is somewhere around or 40/60% (front to rear), but does anyone have any specifics on this?

Thanks.

[Rustic Eagle]

Basically the WDH (Equal-i-zer) removes weight off the rear axle and returns the same weight back to the TV's front axle that was originally removed when the TT's ball coupler was initially placed on the TV hitch ball. Some weight (nominal) will get distributed to the TT axles as well do to the physics taking place with the WDH when it's engaged.

The "percentage" of weight returned to the TV's axle and the TT axles verys depending on loading habits, suspension, etc.. The WDH doesn't distribute weight to a TV's rear axle, it removes it. The WDH's main design function is to restore the integrity of the TV's front suspension (axle) for steering, braking, etc..

It's fairly common that even with a properly adjusted WDH the TV's rear will squat 1" to 2"..., again, it varies with suspensions. Refer to your TV's owner manual (Towing Section) for specifics on using a WDH with your particular TV.

If you would like to really fine-tune your WDH adjustment, a CAT scale visit will tell you everything one would want to know. The CAT results will also define the amount of weight (%) distributed with your TV/TT combination.

CAT scale 'how to': http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f3...v-tt-3871.html

Bob

[need-a-vacation]

As Bob mentioned, only the truck's weight will be on the front axle. The rear axle will carry most of the tw, and some gets transferred to the tt axles.

Not sure what your tv is, but look in the owners manual to what is recommended for the wdh adjustment. Some manufactures only suggest maybe 50% of the lost weight returned to the front axle, others are 100%.

Example:

Truck only front axle weight is 3000lbs.
Hook trailer up (no wd bars hooked up) and say front axle weight is now 2600lbs.

If you need to return 100% of the "lost weight of the front axle" (400lbs in this example), you would adjust the wdh so the front axle would again weigh 3000lbs (or very close to it) once you hooked up the wd bars.

If it is suggested for only 50% of the lost weight to be returned, the front axle would then weigh 2800lbs once the wd bars are hooked up.

So double check your owners manual and go from there.

Measuring the front wheel weight height change can get you very close, if you may need to weigh the rig set up at a CAT Scale once you have adjusted the wdh to the loaded (ready for a trip) tt. Do not adjust it/ set it up to the empty tt, may need some adjustment once loaded.

Follow the links in my signature for a ton of wdh info if needed.

[bansai]

It took me a lot longer to get my Equalizer hitch dialed in than I initially thought it would.

The instructions that come with the hitch are pretty good. There are also a ton of youtube videos on the process, most of which made me feel like a moron because it took me a lot longer than them to get dialed in.

One thing you will discover - The heavier your camper is, the more tension you will need on your spring bars in order to achieve the desired result (measuring distance from your wheel wells, and the ground, comparing that to your baseline results, etc...)

Due to the high amount of tension I need for my setup, to be within spec - my spring bars are *very tight* and have a lot more tension on them than I expected. I ended up using a lot of washers, and also had to adjust the brackets for the bars higher than I though I would (based on the default setup in the instructions) The end result is hooking up, and un hooking your camper from your TV will require you to use the jack on your camper a lot. I've almost raised the back tires of my truck off the ground in order to get the bars to fit in their brackets. Not sure if this helps, but don't be surprised if you have a few learning experiences getting used to this new system and have to adjust it a few times to get the results you want.

I would just add that it's pretty important if you need to re-adjust your hitch from time to time - do it on FLAT / LEVEL ground. Part of my frustration with my initial setup was directly related to doing the entire install in front of my house, which has a slight grade to it. I'd spend some time on youtube...

And last but not least - they want a whole lot of torque on the nut that holds your hitch ball onto the hitch head. Most people don't have the tools to do this. If you want more information on that, I'd be happy to share how I did it.

Editing again lol ... ok final tip, I promise - It's kind of a pain installing the brackets with a typical ratchet style wrench. If you have one of those Cross Bar lug nut wrenches... you know.. the ones that have different sized sockets on each end and the tool looks like + ?? Sorry the name is escaping me at the moment... but that tool is a godsend for installing, and removing the various nuts on this hitch as they are the same size as a typical lug nut... saved me a lot of time.