TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post - Hitch capacity, springs, airbags, etc. [split thread]

Mr. Adventure · 11-09-2010, 12:20 PM

This thread's gone on awhile now, well past the point where we stopped talking about helping somebody choose a Traverse for towing. But as always, I learn a lot when we wander off into truck talk:

- There's no problem loading a pickup until the springs bottom as long as you pad them a lot so that they don't break so much.
- A 7% or so loss of steering/braking caused by 200+ pounds coming off the front axle of a 150" wheelbase vehicle without a WDH just can’t be important, since it only happens when you're towing.*

*Mtnguy’s numbers showed us that his 480# tongue added 700# to the rear axle and took 220# off the front wheels without a WDH (by my calculations, you could make this up pretty well by driving a couple of mph slower, but that’s another subject). In my vehicle the no-WDH penalty is much more severe, of course, but the silver lining for me is that instead of subtracting weight, the WDH actually adds 100# up front when hitched. Mtnguy’s numbers: http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=7041

11-09-2010, 12:20 PM	#29
Mr. Adventure TrailManor Master Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Williamsburg, VA Posts: 668	Truck Talk This thread's gone on awhile now, well past the point where we stopped talking about helping somebody choose a Traverse for towing. But as always, I learn a lot when we wander off into truck talk: - There's no problem loading a pickup until the springs bottom as long as you pad them a lot so that they don't break so much. - A 7% or so loss of steering/braking caused by 200+ pounds coming off the front axle of a 150" wheelbase vehicle without a WDH just can’t be important, since it only happens when you're towing.* *Mtnguy’s numbers showed us that his 480# tongue added 700# to the rear axle and took 220# off the front wheels without a WDH (by my calculations, you could make this up pretty well by driving a couple of mph slower, but that’s another subject). In my vehicle the no-WDH penalty is much more severe, of course, but the silver lining for me is that instead of subtracting weight, the WDH actually adds 100# up front when hitched. Mtnguy’s numbers: http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=7041 __________________ 2005 TrailManor 3023 2003 Toyota Highlander 220hp V6 FWD Reese 1000# round bar Weight Distributing Hitch Prodigy brake controller. "It's not how fast you can go, it's how fast you can stop an RV that counts."