Tongue weight??

[Pug59]

If the drawbar has printed on it "1200 lbs tongue weight". Is this the weight AFTER the tension bars are applied or the "dead weight" as if I just measured the weight with a Sherline tongue scale. If the weight is AFTER the tension bars are applied, assuming I can get 20% transfered to the truck and TT axles, I can have a maximun "dead" weight of about 1440. Is my logic correct or am I completly missing something?

 

[DIESELMAN]

The load bars are torsion bars that act longitudinally, 1200 is the dead weight limit limit of the draw bar, the head and ball may have lower limits.



The action of the torsion bars serves to pre-load the weight by stressing the tounge and bar in opposition, when you go over a bump, the rear end drops, the stress can actually exceed the tounge weight, so no, you don't increase the weight rating by using the bars, and you may be reducing the weight rating of the shank and head by not using them.