How much tongue weight does a WDH actually put onto the trailer axles? Example, the tongue weighs 900 lbs, is it safe to guesstimate that 300 lbs is put onto the trailer, leaving 600 lbs on the truck axles? I realize that it can vary depending on how tight you tighten the bars, but I'm just looking for a ballpark figure here, nothing exact. Thanks for your help.

 

What weight is on the trailer is on the trailer. However, you can shift the balance of the weight by moving it forward or back of the axles. In towing, you need some weight on the tongue, usually 10-15% of the entire trailer & load. Say in your example 900lbs, then 15% on the tongue or 135 lbs. The weight distributing hitch will spread that 135lbs over both front and rear axles of the tow vehicle instead of just the rear. On this example, 135lbs won't make the back of your vehicle sag (most likely) too much, however if you move that to 9,000lbs, you can see that would mean another 1,350lbs on the tongue. Weight distributin hitches are mostly used when towing heavier loads. Hope this helps.

 

When you tighten the spring bars, a portion of your 900 lb. tongue weight is transfered to the front axle of the tow vehicle and a smaller amount onto the trailer axles. The main idea is to remove weight from the rear of the tow vehicle axle and put it on the steering axle. I'm not sure what exactly would be a perfect situation. but if it were mine I'd want about 450 of that 900 put onto the front axle of the truck.

 

davee is correct, a weight distributing hitch places some of the weight not only on the front axle of the tow vehicle, but also back onto the trailer axle(s). The 10-15% tongue weight is what it should be before you hook up the weight distribution system.

 

The Gross Dry Weight of the trailer I'm looking at is 6310 lbs, with a hitch weight of 760 lbs. These figures are from the trailer manufacturer propiganda book. By the time you add water, food and gear, I figure around 1000 lbs, that puts me at 7300 lbs trailer. The hitch weight is still greater than 10% without the water and gear. My concern is that I don't have the truck yet, still waiting for the build date on a new '04 F-150, so I can't actually weigh it, but by my calculations I have about 850 lbs until I'm over the 7200 lbs GVWR of the truck. So 850 lbs for payload left and a 760 lbs dry hitch weight, I'm just wondering if I'm cutting it too close to the GVWR of my truck. So that's why I wanted to know if anyone had an idea of how much weight a WDH spreads back to the trailer. The dealer told me it was 30% of the weight back on the trailer, but I get the feeling he was just telling me what I wanted to hear so I would sign on the doted line. Now about the only thing about the trailer is that the fresh water tank is rear of the axle, actually it's just infront of the rear bumper, which will reduce hitch weight. If I do get it, I may only be able to haul it with a half full tank of fresh water. What do you guys think, should I still be considering this Travel Trailer, or should I keep looking?

 

Most serious RVers will tell you that regardless of the tow rating you would be better off with a 3/4 ton truck for that size trailer. When calculating the weight of the loaded trailer, calculate it from the GVWR of the trailer, not the dry weight. The dry weight quoted by companies does not include any accessories you might add on, such as A/C. Also, how many people actually underpack when they travel? Not many from my experience.

Since you've already committed to a truck, the new F150, you should possibly reconsider the trailer or wait until you have the truck to buy it. Remember, that passengers, gas, and accessories all add weight that needs to be considered to the tow vehicle. The only way to know for sure is to get it weighed when fully loaded with everything you would normally have with you in the truck. Maybe you could convince the dealer to let you take a similarly equipped truck to get it weighed full of fuel, passengers, etc. That way you can start shopping now with confidence.

What brand of trailer are you looking at? Does it have a slide? Most companies now offer light-weight models so that you can have a larger trailer and tow it more comfortably with a smaller vehicle like an F150. As an example, check out www.fleetwoodrv.com. You will see that travel trailers under their different brand names and similar floor plans are available in the light weight version.

 

The amount of weight that is transfered to the front of the tow vehicle and to the trailer axles a simple algerba problem. It is dependant on the load placed on the spring bars, the relative distance from the hitch ball to the center of the trailer axles and from the hitch ball to the front axle of the tow vehicle. The ratio would be 50-50 for instance if your truck had a 140 inch wheelbase+ 40 inches from the ball to the rear truck axle and it was exactly 180 inches from the ball to the center of the trailer axles.
I agree with johndiesel in that the trailer is too big or that you need a F-250 truck to be safe. This is not the kind of thing that you want cut that close.

 

It's a 2005 Springdale 286RLDS. The only thing I have left to do is weigh the truck to be sure about the remaining payload available. The GVWR of the trailer is 9560, but I have yet to find anyone who packs 2000 lbs worth of stuff in a TT for a weeks worth of holiday. I have already taken into consideration the weight of passengers, fuel and accessories of the tow vehicle. The trailer dealer has the exact trailer I'm looking at, but in the wrong color. I think I'll take a drive out there and get him to throw the hitch on a scale for me.

 

T.T., remember the base weight of the trailer does not include ANY of the accessories that you might have ordered. Most people I have come across pack their RV to the max. You'll be surprised how much weight you can add to the trailer. Underpacking is the exception.

The floorplan you are looking at is very popular and almost every manufacturer offers a similar floorplan. The Fleetwood Prowler Lynx (Ultralite) 29BHS, for example, is pretty much the same floorplan, but the GVWR of the trailer is only 7600. CLICK HERE to check it out. A lot of manufacturers also offer lightweight versions of their trailers for people who are towing with smaller vehicles. Have you checked out any other models besides the Springdale? Have you checked into any of the lightweight models? That would be my suggestion since you seem very interested in that floorplan.

 

So far Springdale is the only manufacturer I've found that offers a double slide TT that is even remotely in the realm of posiblities for this truck. We have looked at several RLS type units, with varying GVWR and hitch weights, but there was always something we didn't like about them (too short, I'm 6'4", second door in the bed room, poorly planed storage spaces....), so far this has been the only one that we actually liked.

 

Try these links. www.keystonerv.com, the manufacturer of Springdale. They have several lines of trailers including the Hornet, a lightweight line. The Hornet is available with the same floorplan you are looking at. Also, click here for Fleetwood RV. They have several lines as well and most of them are available with the floorplan you are looking at. Most of their lines also have lightweight models available.

I'm not sure about the interior height of the trialers, but you should be able to get something in a lightweight model where you won't scrape your head on the ceiling. I'm just trying to save you some white knuckles!

 

I'm very appreciative of that, and I thank you for your info and time. Thanks.

 

No problem. You've been here since last August and you only have 17 posts? Please join us more often.

 

I've been doing more reading than posting. I was mostly reading the '04 F-150 forum so I was educated about mods and problems before I ordered mine. Now that it's on its way to me, I'll be asking a hole pile of already discussed questions, lol!!!

 

The dry weight of my '30 WW toyhauler was given as 6400 lbs.

With a partially filled water tank and with the grey and black tanks at something less than 1/3 full, the truck and trailer combo weighed 18,000 lbs the one time that I weighed it.

This was with a F-250 with full tank of fuel, me, my wife and daughter and car seat in the truck and the rest in the trailer.

In the trailer, I had only had a Suzuki DRZ-400 dirt bike that is supposed to weigh something like 270 lbs dry for a toy, the rest of the load in the trailer was all the dishes, food, clothing, and misc other stuff you load in to a travel trailer.

Figuring that the truck weighs something like 7000 to 7500 lbs, that tells you that the trailer had to be in the 10,000+ lbs range as a bare minimum. So some how it went from 6400 lbs to 10,000 lbs pretty darn quickly. Didn't seem like we had it all that heavily loaded.

I have heard the same thing from a lot of other trailer towing folks. The actual weight of the trailer as loaded for the weekend is much higher than they thought when first adding up the numbers on paper.

I have a weight distributing hitch and it makes all the difference in the world. I also have a Reese anti sway friction thingy on there too. Adding or dropping a link on the bars can make a big difference in how well the rig tows and how much sway you experience going down the road. You definitely want that 10 to 15% of tongue weight on the truck to make it handle right.

I had a F-150 before getting the F-250 and honestly, I don't think think that the F-150 is enough truck to safely tow that size trailer. Hills will not be something that you look forward to going up. And coming down may be worse.

Buy a good brake controller like the Tekonsha Prodigy, and make sure that the trailer has good brakes. Scrub off most of your speed before you start to head down any serious grade. Assuming that you have an automatic tranny, pull it down into 3rd or a lower gear to keep the TC locked and help keep from building too much speed.

A trailer that size can push around a F-150.

Good luck . . .