Can Someone enlighten me on the the 2 different ratings on a hitch. My hitch has 5000# Weight Carrying / 10000# Weight Distributing.
I don't get how what happens after the hitch effects the weight rating.
That hitch is carrying 10000# whether it's hooked up to a regular or W.D. system.
In fact to go one step further that PIN is essentialy carrying 10000# no matter what is downstream. What's the deal?

Thanks

 

The Weight Carrying rating is for a trailer attatched to the ball. The Weight Distributing rating is for a trailer attatched to the ball with weight distributing load bars attatched to the truck at the hitch at one end and to the trailer at the a-frame at the other end.

The weight distributing load bars act like a spring, since they are locked to the truck at a ~90* angle and extend out horizontally and are attatched to the trailer with chains and a chain tensioning clamp. The tension of the chains pulls the load bars (and thus the rear of the truck) up to the trailer a-frame and actually takes weight off the hitch ball and displaces part of it onto the truck frame and part of it onto the trailer frame. This action raises the back end of the truck and front of the trailer. The effect on the truck is that the rear axle is not carrying as much of the wieght because some of that weight is transferred to the front axle because of the lifting action of the weight dist hitch on the rear of the truck.

You are right, the truck is still pulling the same 10,000 lbs and that stress is still going through the reciever hitch platform. The main difference between using the weight distributing versus straight ball hookup is the difference in how the tongue weight affects the truck. The weight distributing system also helps reduce front/rear "porpoising" when driving through dips in the road because it provides a more rigid (vertically) connection between the truck and the trailer at the hitch ball, whereas with a straight ball hookup, the ball acts like a hinge in all directions and the truck and trailer pivot about that point.

I'm not sure what you are referring to when you say "PIN". "Pin" is short for "kingpin", which is the fifth wheel trailer's version of a hitch ball, carried upside down on the trailer and engaging the rest of the 5th wheel hitch mechanism mounted in the bed of the truck.

 

Thanks for a great explanation.
The Pin I was talking about was just the 1/2"? pin that holds the slide in receiver (what the ball is mounted to) to the hitch.
The WD receiver I was looking at only had one "attatchment" to the hitch (the Pin)

 

Oh ok, that's simple enough. Should be a 5/8" dia pin on a Class III or above hitch.

The weight dist hitch attatchment actually consists of 4 parts: the part that slides into the hitch, which has multiple holes in the sides of the verticle part of it for different ball hieght choices; the ball mount which carries the ball and also has 2 receptacles below the ball mount plate for inserting the weight dist bars and most likely will also have a place on one or both sides of the ball for mounting a smaller ball for connecting the sway control; the ball; and the weight dist bars and the chains/clamps that connect them to the trailer. For more info on weight dist hitches and how they work and the different styles and models availble, check out www.reeseprod.com which is the manufacturer website for Reese hitches.