Seneca towing trailer - weight distribution or not

Rustynuts · 02-23-2019, 10:54 PM

Curious, I know there are several Seneca owners here that pull good sized trailers. I have always towed my trailers with a weight distribution hitch but with regular leaf spring rear suspension on our motor homes. When we got our Seneca the manual has a warning to not use a frame type equalizer hitch on the motorhome and I assume this is because of the self leveling rear airbag suspension so I have not been using a weight distribution hitch and have had no problems. I have searched to the reason why on the internet but everything that comes up just relates to air spring type add on airbags, not truck suspension. So I want to know, have any of you been using a weight distribution hitch on a Seneca? I would assume if you do, you would have to make sure the suspension is all aired up before setting the bars.

meyerjohnc · 02-23-2019, 11:25 PM

We pull several trailers with our 2016 Seneca TS with the heaviest right at 10,000 lbs with no issues or with a weight distribution hitch. I have never felt that the load was ever overloading the capacity of the motorhome either in power or braking. We drive over many narrow, winding, and steep mountain passes on the west coast.

SloPoke · 02-25-2019, 01:31 PM

When we put our trailer on the Scale , it is usually around 7,500LBS on the dual Axles and the tongue weight is just under the 1,000 it is rated for.

We have never used our WDH on the Seneca...(Don't ask me why we have three of them still - just don't use them with the Seneca) When I drop the trailer on the ball... the Air Suspension takes care of it!

I might suggest that when you load your Seneca, We try to keep the heavy items forward of the drive axle on the Seneca so that we keep enough weight on the steer axle (those with the SRV2 should really pay attention to this, as your fuel is now behind the drive axle)

Rustynuts · 02-25-2019, 01:40 PM

I havent been using a WDH on ours and I always assumed its was because of the self leveling air bag suspension. I was just always curious as to the "why" as its a pretty big warning in the manual. We have never had any problems not using one and I have both a tongue weight scale and a ball mount with a scale built into it. Our hitch is rate at 12k/1250TW, I have scales the axles and individual wheels sever times and everything is good to go even with the rear fuel tank. Its nice here in Oregon as I have scales within 2 miles on each road out of town and Oregon leaves their scales on 24/7 with the readout visible from the scale pad. I just ignore the wife when she rolls her eyes every time I pull in....its a guy thing

SloPoke · 02-25-2019, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustynuts

I just ignore the wife when she rolls her eyes every time I pull in....its a guy thing

Stacy actually does not mind the stop over the scale... she jumps out of the cab with her pack of smokes and is happy that she got an extra stop.

She on the other hand would rather not have the Cat Scale app on my phone - she can't finish one before we are weighed and ready to roll... She always suggests "don't you need to check the trailer too???" I have to obey somehow....

Pmcmath · 02-27-2019, 10:01 PM

We pulled a 28 foot race trailer and it has never been too much or felt overloaded on our Seneca

SFM · 07-21-2019, 07:02 PM

Rustynuts I have the same questions on the hitch. Some hitches are rated for example at 12K towing and 1,200 tongue weight with a WDH and 6K towing with 600 lbs tongue weight with a Weight carrying hitch hitch. Every hitch should have a mfg label to show both ratings. We are picking up a new 2019 37TS next week and will be towing a trailer @ 8,500 lbs. The dealer says they can not see the mfg label because it was painted over. Have you looked for any label on your rig?

Rustynuts · 07-21-2019, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SFM

Rustynuts I have the same questions on the hitch. Some hitches are rated for example at 12K towing and 1,200 tongue weight with a WDH and 6K towing with 600 lbs tongue weight with a Weight carrying hitch hitch. Every hitch should have a mfg label to show both ratings. We are picking up a new 2019 37TS next week and will be towing a trailer @ 8,500 lbs. The dealer says they can not see the mfg label because it was painted over. Have you looked for any label on your rig?

I actually discovered that my original hitch was a 10k/1000TW hitch and my build sheet said 12k/1200TW. I brought it to Jaycos attention and after some fighting I got it replaced with the correct 12k/1200lb hitch. The label only says 12k/1200lbs TW

SloPoke · 07-21-2019, 08:23 PM

One of the many things I learned the hard way... NEVER paint over the placard on a trailer that states the GWR and VIN of the trailer - same goes with the Hitch that it is connected to.

If you cannot prove to the LEO (Law Enforcement officer) that you are the weight ratings of your equipment... ie: Tow vechicle GVWR, Axle capacity, tire capacity, hitch capacity, Trailer GWR, Trailer Axle capacity or Trailer tire capacity... then you are wide open for an overweight violation or in the worst case, being red-tagged and you get to be towed away.

I took the ticket, had to travel back to Barstow CA from Salt lake City UT a month later with proof that my equipment was rated at the capacity we were written up for. It cost me two days from work, getting my trailer certified in UT and a lot of frustration.

That has a lot to do with me frequently going over the CAT scales and getting our ACTUAL weight.

Rustynuts · 07-21-2019, 08:31 PM

If SFM's hitch is like my original 10K hitch that got replaced, the label was painted over when they did the body paint on the Seneca. I tried to remove the paint with thinner and scratching it off but still couldnt read it......they need to take a little more time on their masking jobs.

SFM · 07-21-2019, 09:56 PM

Thanks for getting the pictures posted. Did you go through Jayco directly or a dealer to get your hitch replaced with the correct hitch?

Rustynuts · 07-21-2019, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SFM

Thanks for getting the pictures posted. Did you go through Jayco directly or a dealer to get your hitch replaced with the correct hitch?

Your 2019 should have the correct 12k hitch on it but it doesn't hurt to check. Ours was a 2018.5 which went from a 10k to a 12K rating mid year and I assume they were just using up old stock of hitches thinking it wouldn't be noticed....well I noticed

I started working direct through Jayco and once approved went to to a dealer to have it swapped out.

SFM · 07-21-2019, 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustynuts

Your 2019 should have the correct 12k hitch on it but it doesn't hurt to check. Ours was a 2018.5 which went from a 10k to a 12K rating mid year and I assume they were just using up old stock of hitches thinking it wouldn't be noticed....well I noticed

I started working direct through Jayco and once approved went to to a dealer to have it swapped out.

Good to hear you got it squared away. Thanks for the info. I am sure I will be checking for post from folks who had problems with their coaches and solved them. I should be picking up the TS next week on the 31st. I need to get it loaded, trailer brake control installed, Satellite up and on line and learn it’s systems in 4 days. Any pearls of wisdom are always appreciated.

You may also like: