[rickst29]

Counting everything behind the rear axle is a good 'roughly speaking' first approximation, and gets you a heckuva lot closer to the right WDH setting than ignoring the out-of-balance TV loading you get when you pile all that stuff in the back. And so, this is what Draw-Tite recommends to Dealers in the 2006 catalog, "matching towing products to customer needs" starting on page 168. (I started this thread after reading Draw-Tite's instructions, and realizing that no one had ever brought them up in the forum before.)

If we were to be really finicky, then the type of vehicle would be a consideration. Pickups, especially short-bed models, don't have a lot of body structure out back... they're naturally heavier on the front axle, and need far less re-balancing help from a WDH. The first couple hundred lbs of Tongue Weight, UNDISTRIBUTED, actually helps balance these pickup trucks! But in contrast, an SUV like mine has a lot more stuff out back (big door instead of liftgate, goes all the way up to the roofline, etc.) and needs more help.

When you put stuff in the very back of a typical long-bed pickup, it's much more unbalanced than putting the same stuff at the back of a regular-bed pickup... because most of 'em are built from the same chassis, with the 'long-bed' differing due to a much longer overhang. Stuff loaded behind the rear axle unloads the front axle, just like a trailer tongue... it doesn't matter that the TV "body" extends into this overhang area. Yes, passengers in the back seat will be loading the rear axle somewhat more than the front axle. But they won't be UNLOADING the front, and there's no need to balance your TV axle loading to the last 1/10 ounce. As a rough cut, do what Draw-Tite says: simply add on just the total weight of luggage stored at/behind behind the rear axle. To the extent that you DON'T count this stuff, your TV front axle is more likely underloaded, with the resulting steering/braking issues.

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I must strongly agree with Jim's point, though... the *STANDARD* 2619 and 2720 axles/tires are IMO underconfigured, and even though you want to bring your weight back to the TV front axle (where you need it for steering and brakes), owners of these models must be sure not to push the WDH too far, overloading the Trailer axle.

You can see by, my sig, what *I* think to be the proper solution for the 2619 and 2720.