Axle weights w & w/o 5th wheel

[Steve M]

A while back a couple of members had weighed their rigs with and without their 5th wheel trailers. I can't find the posts. Any chance of re posting those numbers?

There's a discussion on another forum about weight distribution of a W/D ball mount hitch vs a 5th wheel. Some say a 5'er distributes weight to both axles more than a W/D hitch. And vice verse. I tend to believe a 5th wheel puts very little weight on the front axle while with a W/D hitch and strong enough spring bars you can effectively put all the weight on the front axle if you so desire. With my ol' F-150/1850 TT I could amost raise the rear wheels off the ground with my trailer on. Of course I didn't drive it that way. Just playing around with the hitch.

 

[Bob Cochran]

Cannot help with the weight numbers but on weight distribution hitches. Reese used to have a vid that showed the rear wheels taken of a car with a small trailer and the car was front wheel drive. So guess using weght distribution hitch they pulled the trailer around without rear wheels. Cool vid to sell Reese distribution hitches.

 

[Driftwood Ram]

Weight

Steve

I do not have the numbers in front of me, but when I hook up my 5th wheel there is almost mo change in the front axle weight.

 

[Paul Somers]

On a 5th wheel, if pin is directly over rear axel, front axel weight will not change. As pin is moved forward of rear axel weight will be added to front axel and subtracted from rear axel. As pin is moved rearward of rear axel weight is added to rear axel and subtracted from front axel.

 

[DRR-24V]

Somers Has It Right !!

My 5th Wheel is 29 feet long.



Unladen Weight is:

Front 4370

Rear 2890

Total 7260



With Trailer:

Front 4470

Rear 4990

Trlr 7550

Total 17,010



Pin is located over the rear axle.

 

[Steve M]

Sounds like the conclusion I had arrived at. Using my truck as an example, my hitch is 3. 5" ahead of the rear axle and I have a 155" wheel base.

3. 5" devided by 155" equals . 0225806 times 1,100 lbs pin weight equals 24. 8 lbs of pin weight on the front axle. I believe my calculation to be correct...

Thanks for the replies!

 

[klenger]

The advantage of the 5th wheel hitch compared to a HD bumper hitch is not that it puts the weight on the front axle, but that swaying movment applied to the truck from the camper is applied at the axle and not three feet behind the axle. This prevents the sway problem of a TT.

 

[Turbo Trucker]

Here's the difference in my gooseneck, loaded with 3 trucks vs unloaded. The front axle is just about the same.



Front 3,620

Drive 4,600

Trailer 4,640





Front 3,680

Drive 10,220

Trailer 15,800