Weight Distribution Hitch

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Jim M

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On the surface you should be ok. You will also be fine with the 10k hitch. I wouldn't go any bigger on the hitch. The dry weight is your starting weight. Once you add all your stuff you'll have the actual towing weight also known as wet weight. The only difference between your truck with the 8k rating and one like mine with the 10k rating is the gears. It's the same frame, brakes, tranny, everything.

The weak point with our trucks is payload. Watch your tongue weight. Your tongue weight, cargo, hitch weight all count against your payload ratings. If you added a bed liner, step bars, or anything like that, it will also count against your payload. It adds up quick. Get to know your weights, what they are and what they mean. It'll make for a better tow

Congrats and have fun camping.
Agree! And don't forget that the wife and dog are payload too! :) All the cargo space in my Minnie Plus 26RBSS is in front of the axles, which makes payload a major issue for me. So far, the air suspension has only said "overload" once, when I had a half tank of fresh water on board. I plan to put a receiver and storage box or platform on the back to transfer some of the load.
 

crash68

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Do you have any other truck stops within a reasonable distance? I'd want to know the weight at the tongue. Pretty important number for making sure you have the right WD hitch.

None of the CAT scales measure the tongue weight directly. You calculate tongue weight by knowing your axle weights. That why you weigh the truck without the trailer.
 

Hankrebel

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Agree! And don't forget that the wife and dog are payload too! :) All the cargo space in my Minnie Plus 26RBSS is in front of the axles, which makes payload a major issue for me. So far, the air suspension has only said "overload" once, when I had a half tank of fresh water on board. I plan to put a receiver and storage box or platform on the back to transfer some of the load.

Yeah I plan to load up the TT as best I can and go weigh it this weekend. This will include truck full of gas and 4 passengers.
Im making it a plan to only go to camp sites with full hookups for the first couple of months. This is so I don't have to haul all of that water weight.
There is a rack on the back of the TT so I can use that for some load balancing.

Thanks everyone for the advice and help!!
 

jejb

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None of the CAT scales measure the tongue weight directly. You calculate tongue weight by knowing your axle weights. That why you weigh the truck without the trailer.
They will if you unhook the trailer with the tongue jack on the middle of the 3 scales, and pull the truck onto the front pad. That's the way I do it. Takes a little time, especially if you're using a WD hitch. But it's the most accurate way.
 

Hankrebel

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They will if you unhook the trailer with the tongue jack on the middle of the 3 scales, and pull the truck onto the front pad. That's the way I do it. Takes a little time, especially if you're using a WD hitch. But it's the most accurate way.

So I went by Loves this morning to recon the scales and they actually do have 3 different pads for weighing. My truck fits perfectly on the first pad.
What Im hearing is to get an accurate tongue weight on the truck is to:
Weight 1. Pull onto the scales so that the truck is on the first pad and the TT axles are on the second pad.
Weight 2. Disconnect trailer so that the axles and tongue jack are on the second pad.

Weight 1 - Weight 2 = tongue weight
 

crash68

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What Im hearing is to get an accurate tongue weight on the truck is to:
Weight 1. Pull onto the scales so that the truck is on the first pad and the TT axles are on the second pad.
Weight 2. Disconnect trailer so that the axles and tongue jack are on the second pad.

Weight 1 - Weight 2 = tongue weight
You want the individual weights of each axle:
1: truck front axle
2: truck rear axle
3: trailer axles
You want all three like that so you can see where the weight is at to adjust the WDH
You also want the truck axle weights without the trailer attached. The tongue weight will be calculated using the above numbers.
 

jejb

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So I went by Loves this morning to recon the scales and they actually do have 3 different pads for weighing. My truck fits perfectly on the first pad.
What Im hearing is to get an accurate tongue weight on the truck is to:
Weight 1. Pull onto the scales so that the truck is on the first pad and the TT axles are on the second pad.
Weight 2. Disconnect trailer so that the axles and tongue jack are on the second pad.

Weight 1 - Weight 2 = tongue weight
No, 3 pads, 3 weights.
-Trailer axles on the rear most pad.
-Tongue jack on center pad, all by itself, disconnected from the truck.
-Truck by itself on the forward most pad.

That won't give you weights on each of the trucks axles, but you really don't need that for setting up the WD hitch. Or at least I didn't with my Camco Trekker. You adjust the load on the axles by measuring the front and rear sag pre and post WD hitch hook up.
 

crash68

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No, 3 pads, 3 weights.
-Trailer axles on the rear most pad.
-Tongue jack on center pad, all by itself, disconnected from the truck.
-Truck by itself on the forward most pad.

That won't give you weights on each of the trucks axles, but you really don't need that for setting up the WD hitch. Or at least I didn't with my Camco Trekker. You adjust the load on the axles by measuring the front and rear sag pre and post WD hitch hook up.


You want the front and rear axles of the truck with the trailer connected to check the front to rear weight balance and your not exceeding either GAWR.
If law enforcement wants to be a PIA, they'll weigh your vehicle. If your over on the GAWR(either) or GVWR of the truck and/or trailer.

Also as you adjust the WDH, the "tongue weight" changes, some of it gets pushed back onto the trailer axles.
This is showing the difference between WDH and air bags but it's how's what happens to the weights when a WDH is adjusted correctly.
 
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jejb

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You want the front and rear axles of the truck with the trailer connected to check the front to rear weight balance and your not exceeding either GAWR.
If law enforcement wants to be a PIA, they'll weigh your vehicle. If your over on the GAWR(either) or GVWR of the truck and/or trailer.
I've been on RV forums for over 20 years. Can't recall anyone saying a cop axle weighed their rig. Commercial trucks? Sure. RV's, highly unlikely. Saying that, you still want to use some common sense and not overload.

Also as you adjust the WDH, the "tongue weight" changes, some of it gets pushed back onto the trailer axles.
This is showing the difference between WDH and air bags but it's how's what happens to the weights when a WDH is adjusted correctly.
Sure. WD hitch moves some of the weight to the truck axles also. But you need to know the real tongue weight to buy the correct hitch in the first place.
 

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