Gettin' hitched!

[Prairie Dog]

OK, here's the scenario. I have a 5000 lb TT w/ 600 lb tongue weight and I wan't (need) to purchase a load distribution setup. I'd like to get one rated for 10k lbs in case I buy a larger trailer some day. Will it be possible to adjust this heavy hitch to work with my light weight trailer or am I asking for trouble?



Scotty

 

[SWC]

Scotty I will give it a shot as no one else has answered your question. I hauled travel trailers and 5th wheels for one year. I bought the heaviest weight distributing hitch I could find (12,000 lbs). The kind I have uses a chain attached to the long end of the bar. On a light trailer I would not use much tension on the bar. On heavier trailers I give more tension.

The main thing I would make sure is that your hitch on the truck is in good shape. If my memory is correct some of the factory hitches have developed cracks. I have a deck on my truck and the hitch is built into the deck. The fellow who built my deck built the hitch very strong.

I hope this helps.

Stan

 

[TowPro]

I have a pair of 750 lb distribution arms, and I used to use them on a trailer with around a 400-500 lb tongue weight. You just had to be carefull that you did not crank them up to much, but they will work.

Originally posted by Prairie Dog

OK, here's the scenario. I have a 5000 lb TT w/ 600 lb tongue weight and I wan't (need) to purchase a load distribution setup. I'd like to get one rated for 10k lbs in case I buy a larger trailer some day. Will it be possible to adjust this heavy hitch to work with my light weight trailer or am I asking for trouble?



Scotty

 

[Prairie Dog]

Thanks for the replies guys, I was beginning to wonder if I was asking the wrong question or something.



Thanks again



Scotty



P. S. It's funny, I had no need for a fancy W. D. hitch on my 93, pulled the same trailer and had no sway at all. The 03 moves all over the place and tries to get friendly with big rigs when they go by.

 

[HBarlow]

Prairie Dog:



The answer to your question is yes. You can adjust the tension of the spring bars to match the tongue weight of your trailer by selecting different links of the chains.



Attaching the last link of the spring bar chains to the flip over brackets provides the least amount of tension to match the lightest tongue weight. If you drop one or more links (shorten the chains by attaching the chain at the second or subsequent link) you will create greater tension on the spring bars to compensate for increased tongue weight.



Later, if you tow a heavier trailer you can increase the tension on the spring bars to transfer more tongue weight.



Trial and error will show you how to set the hitch up for your situation.



Harvey