How much weight transfer off of the front axle is OK?

09SilverRam · Oct 24, 2022

Went over the cat scales in my 09 do document the weight of a shared trailer. The trailer is 3880 pounds with a 480 pound tongue weight with the base inventory when I went over the scales. With the trailer I was steer 2820, drive 3040, and trailer 3400. With just the truck (no change in occupants or contents) I was steer 3040 and drive 2340. I'm well within payload, axle, and tire ratings.

No weight distributing hitch. No air bags, although I will probably add them to help with clearance and reduce sag if nothing else.

Truck handles fine, steering feels good. Even crossing dips and bumps going onto bridges at 65 mph. But with 220 pounds being shifted off the steer axle by the tongue weight at what point is it too much and I need to start worrying about steering authority? My previous trucks have been rear leaf springs and they haven't sagged this much with 500 pounds of tongue weight, and haven't shifted this much weight off the front axle.

And before you say get a WDH, trying to avoid it because it is a shared trailer.

Elkman · Oct 24, 2022

According to your numbers the trailer is exerting a hitch load of 700 lbs and that should be a concern. With a light trailer like your a WDH is not needed for a pickup truck.

If a pickup sags with a trailer attached then it needs more load support at the rear axle. Your options for doing so depend on the type of springs at the rear axle.

CamperMike · Oct 24, 2022

Elkman said:
According to your numbers the trailer is exerting a hitch load of 700 lbs and that should be a concern. With a light trailer like your a WDH is not needed for a pickup truck.

If a pickup sags with a trailer attached then it needs more load support at the rear axle. Your options for doing so depend on the type of springs at the rear axle.

No hitch load would be 480... 700 extra on the drive axle but it also reduced the steer axle by 220 for a net increase of 480 in weight.
Op, the weights seem fine overall. That isn't too much off the steer axle.

09SilverRam · Oct 25, 2022

CamperMike said:
No hitch load would be 480... 700 extra on the drive axle but it also reduced the steer axle by 220 for a net increase of 480 in weight.
Op, the weights seem fine overall. That isn't too much off the steer axle.

Thanks, that’s what I thought. I’ll add the air lift 1000s just to level things out and give me a little more clearance on the trailer jack. I know air bags won’t put any more weight on the front axle, just level things out and increase the spring rate.

I feel like the dodge with leaf springs settles a lot more than my previous leaf spring truck.

mtofell · Oct 26, 2022

09SilverRam said:
I feel like the dodge with leaf springs settles a lot more than my previous leaf spring truck.

Dodge/Rams of that year have really soft rear ends. It's always a balance between resistance/load-carrying ability and ride. I think Dodge/Ram was a little too focused on the latter for too many years.

Loudram · Oct 31, 2022

09SilverRam said:
I feel like the dodge with leaf springs settles a lot more than my previous leaf spring truck.

I think your truck might have rear coil springs not leaf springs but I'm not 100% sure since it's the first year for the 4th gen.

You can always get a set of TufTruck springs to stop sag. That's what I did in my last truck and they worked great. They didn't change the ride that much and it cornered better. I loved them. You don't have to bother with inflating or deflating either. I may end up putting a set on my new truck but I want to see how it tows first.

09SilverRam · Nov 4, 2022

Loudram said:
I think your truck might have rear coil springs not leaf springs but I'm not 100% sure since it's the first year for the 4th gen.

You can always get a set of TufTruck springs to stop sag. That's what I did in my last truck and they worked great. They didn't change the ride that much and it cornered better. I loved them. You don't have to bother with inflating or deflating either. I may end up putting a set on my new truck but I want to see how it tows first.

Yeah, it's coil. I was trying to say this coil sprung trucks sags more than my previous leaf sprung truck and it came out wrong

crash68 · Nov 4, 2022

Loudram said:
I think your truck might have rear coil springs not leaf springs but I'm not 100% sure since it's the first year for the 4th gen.

Yes '09 was the first year for rear coil springs on the 1500s. 2014 was the first year for the 2500s coil springs

tron67j · Nov 5, 2022

Adding bags is going to cost now, and with another mechanical/electrical thing impacted by wear and tear, you could be paying repair bills down the road. Why not just do a WDH which is one time cost, cheaper, is most likely repair-free for it's life, and actually will help your rig ride a lot better?

Randy Grant · Nov 5, 2022

IMHO, get a WDH and save the rest of us from being blinded at night. Measure the bumper heights front and rear with and without the trailer attached, and you will see that your headlights are shining in everyone's eyes. And, even though you are within weight limits, and it may handel well, in an emergency (miss the deer/elk/kid) situation, your handling may be less than safe.

09SilverRam · Nov 20, 2022

tron67j said:
Adding bags is going to cost now, and with another mechanical/electrical thing impacted by wear and tear, you could be paying repair bills down the road. Why not just do a WDH which is one time cost, cheaper, is most likely repair-free for it's life, and actually will help your rig ride a lot better?

It’s a shared trailer pulled by other people as well, can’t make any changes to it. The trailer we had before this one had a weight distributing hitch that ended up getting taken off because people couldn’t set it up right every time.

The other trucks that may tow it are an F150, F250, and Titan. None of them have issues with it now, and none sag under the weight the way the dodge does. They aren’t going to want to deal with a WDH because my dodge focused too much on ride quality for this generation of truck.

09SilverRam · Nov 20, 2022

Randy Grant said:
IMHO, get a WDH and save the rest of us from being blinded at night. Measure the bumper heights front and rear with and without the trailer attached, and you will see that your headlights are shining in everyone's eyes. And, even though you are within weight limits, and it may handel well, in an emergency (miss the deer/elk/kid) situation, your handling may be less than safe.

I have the OEM fogged over dual headlights from 2009. Pretty sure I’m not blinding anyone.

09SilverRam · Nov 20, 2022

I put airbags on (Air Lift 60818) Thursday and pulled the trailer about 70 miles this weekend. Rode great with the airbags with 20psi in them.

It never swayed before the airbags when going over dip / bumps (like uneven bridges on the interstate) but you could really feel the trailer load up the hitch weight when going over dips at speed. Now it is a non-event. Pulls like it isn’t even back there.

Randy Grant · Nov 20, 2022

You do know that you can get a WDH for your towing, and take the hangers off of the trailer tongue and keep them for your use.
I used a setup similar to this for many years and it worked great. Only stopped because I went to a fifth wheel.
As you can see, the tongue hangers are removable, and even if left on the trailer are not in the way for others.

tron67j · Nov 20, 2022

09SilverRam said:
It’s a shared trailer pulled by other people as well, can’t make any changes to it. The trailer we had before this one had a weight distributing hitch that ended up getting taken off because people couldn’t set it up right every time.

The other trucks that may tow it are an F150, F250, and Titan. None of them have issues with it now, and none sag under the weight the way the dodge does. They aren’t going to want to deal with a WDH because my dodge focused too much on ride quality for this generation of truck.

Yep, saw it is a shared trailer, Randy Grant below has the answer. The problem with any of us helping out is that we don't know the exact axle weights of your set up. You could have a 4-wheeler in back plus 4 people, and the Titan has two people and an empty bed. Each truck and trailer combination, even if a shared trailer, is going to handle very differently based on weight carried and how distributed plus the type of suspension and wheel package. Best thing is to go to scales when fully loaded, measure it all, and then see what is what. Good luck.

09SilverRam · Nov 20, 2022

tron67j said:
Yep, saw it is a shared trailer, Randy Grant below has the answer. The problem with any of us helping out is that we don't know the exact axle weights of your set up. You could have a 4-wheeler in back plus 4 people, and the Titan has two people and an empty bed. Each truck and trailer combination, even if a shared trailer, is going to handle very differently based on weight carried and how distributed plus the type of suspension and wheel package. Best thing is to go to scales when fully loaded, measure it all, and then see what is what. Good luck.

I posted my loaded and unloaded scale weights. It is the first post in this thread.

smittyd174 · Nov 23, 2022

I agree with Randy , WDH is probably the way to go . Will level your truck out , improve handling and keep your lights pointed where the should be . Being a shared trailer shouldn't be an issue as there is only 2 bolt on brackets on the trailer . When your not using it simply remove them takes a couple minutes, no special tools required . Just bolt them on when you're using it just mark the location of them .

smittyd174 · Nov 23, 2022

Hit post too soon , once the hitch is set for your truck it's done , unless you're sharing the hitch to , that's a whole different ball game . Maybe have your own dedicated hitch .
My theory is do it right so if something ever happened nobody can say that what I was doing was the cause of the problem and give insurance companies an out.

09SilverRam · Nov 23, 2022

smittyd174 said:
I agree with Randy , WDH is probably the way to go . Will level your truck out , improve handling and keep your lights pointed where the should be . Being a shared trailer shouldn't be an issue as there is only 2 bolt on brackets on the trailer . When your not using it simply remove them takes a couple minutes, no special tools required . Just bolt them on when you're using it just mark the location of them .

I already bought the airbags and they are working well.

There is no way a half ton truck should need a weight distributing hitch with 480 pounds of tongue weight. There are crossover SUVs rated for 500 pounds of tongue weight. Dodge should have put stiffer springs in these trucks.

smittyd174 · Nov 24, 2022

I do agree with you , 1500 Rams ride like a car . The first part of the coil springs are really soft allowing a soft ride . Put a load in and you get a couple inches of squat before getting into the stiffer portion .of the spring . Airbags are a good solution don't mess up ride quality but give you the support you need .
The squat caused by trailers is simple physics , the load is 4 ft or so from the axle which is the fulcrum, works like a lever . If you put 450 lbs over the rear axle the truck would hardly notice it . I would be curious to see how much weight the airbags will transfer back to the front . Push the rear down weight off the front , push the rear up and weight will transfer forward . If you ever weigh it with the bags please post the results .

How much weight transfer off of the front axle is OK?

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