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Towing sag

Mark Frazier
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dieselfan1 Senior Enthusiast

dieselfan1

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, flyingfool said:

cheapest route is to shif some weight to the rear of trailer, and add 2-3" higher hitch.. i never used weight distribution hitch. too much hassle and $$$.  if you really want a quick lift one can try a set of cheap air shocks too. but the key is Weight "BALANCE" 

You don't tow much I take it. You need the tongue  weight to be around 13% of the trailer weight. That's the sweet spot for a TT. So putting more weight in the rear isn't the best idea. Unless you know you are way tongue heavy. A travel trailer is the most beastly thing to tow IMO. Especially in the wind 25-30 mph. A lot of surface area on the sides and 10 feet tall. 

You ever had one wag the dog and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Boats are gravy train to tow. So are flatbeds. 

A WDH for Travel Trailers is common practice. Not using one is dumb.

The O.P. never mentioned he was worried about $ did he?

  • Like 2
flyingfool Senior Enthusiast

flyingfool

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, dieselfan1 said:

You don't tow much I take it. You need the tongue  weight to be around 13% of the trailer weight. That's the sweet spot for a TT. So putting more weight in the rear isn't the best idea. Unless you know you are way tongue heavy. A travel trailer is the most beastly thing to tow IMO. Especially in the wind 25-30 mph. A lot of surface area on the sides and 10 feet tall. 

You ever had one wag the dog and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Boats are gravy train to tow. So are flatbeds. 

A WDH for Travel Trailers is common practice. Not using one is dumb.

The O.P. never mentioned he was worried about $ did he?

I've towed more than most people on here 3 times a week 25 miles a day for 5 years with my old trusty 1990 Suburban hauling a cargo trailer loaded to 8500lbs.  never had a need for WDH,   I do recommend people buy a cheap trailer tonge weight scale if you do long distance traveling Balance is important! . If you keep the rig at 55/60mph your Safe, wagging the dog issues do creep up when the hitch is very light  causing lifting of the rear end..   just dont hauling ass at 75-85 mph , in windy areas, and wooped out roads , you will get into issues for sure.

 K2 1500 trucks have stiffer rear leafs than previous models  so stability has improved on these trucks compared to older generations. i would rather put the money into a rear sway bar instead of WDH

Edited by flyingfool
sldhead700 Enthusiast

sldhead700

Posted
Posted
I've towed more than most people on here 3 times a week 25 miles a day for 5 years with my old trusty 1990 Suburban hauling a cargo trailer loaded to 8500lbs.  never had a need for WDH,   I do recommend people buy a cheap trailer tonge weight scale if you do long distance traveling Balance is important! . If you keep the rig at 55/60mph your Safe, wagging the dog issues do creep up when the hitch is very light  causing lifting of the rear end..   just dont hauling ass at 75-85 mph , in windy areas, and wooped out roads , you will get into issues for sure.
 K2 1500 trucks have stiffer rear leafs than previous models  so stability has improved on these trucks compared to older generations. i would rather put the money into a rear sway bar instead of WDH
Sorry, I disagree with you........
I tow several hundred miles when I tow, ( not just 25 to run to Menards or wherever lol)
My driving is a lot of 75+ mph towing too.
So I'll keep my weight distribution hitch, along with having the proper weight spread across all of my axels (vehicle and trailer) and not just trying to " balance the trailer" thank you.
What you are doing with a cargo trailer( short trips and slow speed)
I don't even considered that towing...
Anyone can have an "unbalanced trailer" and get away with it for short distances and slow speeds.....
I have also seen people that have their loads very poorly tied down too( bouncing around on the trailer), that seem to get lucky by not having it completely fall off.... Some people are just lucky!

Over 30 years towing much bigger trailers and heavier loads and faster speeds.

Please be safe


Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

  • Like 3
flyingfool Senior Enthusiast

flyingfool

Posted
Posted (edited)

i've also towed 200-300 mile runs in a day.  at 65mph. no issues whatsoever on those long hauls. no fancy wdh needed

Edited by flyingfool
Jglew82 Enthusiast

Jglew82

Posted
Posted
Sorry, I disagree with you........
I tow several hundred miles when I tow, ( not just 25 to run to Menards or wherever lol)
My driving is a lot of 75+ mph towing too.
So I'll keep my weight distribution hitch, along with having the proper weight spread across all of my axels (vehicle and trailer) and not just trying to " balance the trailer" thank you.
What you are doing with a cargo trailer( short trips and slow speed)
I don't even considered that towing...
Anyone can have an "unbalanced trailer" and get away with it for short distances and slow speeds.....
I have also seen people that have their loads very poorly tied down too( bouncing around on the trailer), that seem to get lucky by not having it completely fall off.... Some people are just lucky!

Over 30 years towing much bigger trailers and heavier loads and faster speeds.

Please be safe


Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk


Agreed here, distributing the load across the axles is key, and shifting weight to the rear of the trailer for the sole purpose of removing sag is a recipe for ditch-ville. That’s why when we pull double/triples the lightest trailer goes in the back.
  • Like 1
flyingfool Senior Enthusiast

flyingfool

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Jglew82 said:


Agreed here, distributing the load across the axles is key, and shifting weight to the rear of the trailer for the sole purpose of removing sag is a recipe for ditch-ville. That’s why when we pull double/triples the lightest trailer goes in the back.

yes, your right..  but overly loaded hitch is usually the problem with novice tow'rs and rv's.  take the toy hauler. , and its full of stuff in the front bathroom area,  throw on 2 full LPG tanks, two  deep cycle batteries  on the hitch area. full tank of water  and i'm almost certain  the trailer is nose heavy

slide187 Enthusiast

slide187

Posted
Posted

If you’re that concerned about/wanna know your tongue weight at any given moment, pick up one of these bad boys from weigh-safe.com they’re the bomb-diggitty.

6d2cc360574c34dc04afc995d4992091.jpg



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  • Like 3
flyingfool Senior Enthusiast

flyingfool

Posted
Posted

i'de rather buy that hitch scale than a WDH, much less stuff to deal with and you know your numbers are where you want them

  • Like 1
slide187 Enthusiast

slide187

Posted
Posted

Correct, it is an excellent on-demand type of info tool,  but at the same time i'm not sure its an either/or thing, but this is definitely a good tool to help you balance the load and know your tongue weight.  and if you're not towing heavy enough to need a WDH this helps with that.  It will also tell you if balancing what you are towing is just str8 up too heavy for your truck to handle w/o a WDH.

 

e.g. I use this hitch to tow my utility trailer when i pick up any construction materials or carry my ATV (i'm too old to drive it up into the truck bed, and it doesn't fit in this truck anyways).  my ATV is only 830-ish lbs so it doesn't even register on the scale, but the 8" drop is low enough that the trailer rides pretty level.

 

I ALSO use this hitch when i borrow my friend's 5000lb capacity hydraulic Dump trailer to pick up sand/gravel etc.  for that rig i need the 2-5/16 ball it comes with and only a 2" drop.  but it helped me know when to push gravel to the front or the back of the trailer, AND most importantly when to just take a bucket back out of the trailer cuz i was over weight.

 

my on the road while towing control etc comes from my Roadmaster Active Suspension that i installed, which prevents pogo-ing, axle-wrap, sag and body roll.  Add to that that i don't think i'll ever tow something big/tall/long enough to need a WDH so i'm set up the way i need to be.  but for serious big stuff towing i would def consider a WDH.  That is just me, i'm an engineer so i tend to go a little overboard with stuff  on the safety side, but again WDH's as i understand them are above my level of towing, but i think their application when they are needed is not really circumventable.  #iinventedthatword

  • Like 1
Epsilon Plus Enthusiast

Epsilon Plus

Posted
Posted (edited)

I towed my 6350 empty TT home on a regular ball and my truck was sagging and swaying all over the place on flat freeways.

 

At home I installed and set up the E2 Trunnion WDH  (https://www.fastwaytrailer.com/e2-hitch) and the truck is practically dead level (2" BDS level in the front) and the towing has way more control. A little bit of porpoising, but that's to be expected.

 

Even GM tells you that beyond a 800lb tongue a WDH is required to max at 1200lbs on the hitch.

 

I wouldn't dream of towing something this large without one now. Those commercials that say Colorados, Rangers and Jeep Gladiators can tow 7,000lbs crack me up. What, in a straight line, flat, for 5 mins before catching fire? I live in AZ but my trailer heats my truck up like 5 big girls humping in a Ford Focus. I couldn't imagine having 7k pushing me down a big grade in a midsize truck when it kicks this trucks ass that supposedly can handle 9100lbs.

Edited by Epsilon Plus
  • Like 2
midwestdenaliguy Enthusiast

midwestdenaliguy

Posted
Posted
On 8/27/2020 at 8:42 PM, slide187 said:

If you’re that concerned about/wanna know your tongue weight at any given moment, pick up one of these bad boys from weigh-safe.com they’re the bomb-diggitty.

6d2cc360574c34dc04afc995d4992091.jpg



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I've got the same hitch, one of the better purchases I've made for the truck! Quality is amazing, you pay for it but it's worth every penny.

  • Like 1
slide187 Enthusiast

slide187

Posted
Posted

Could not agree more! And the company is great to deal with. I don’t mind sinking some cash in the right spots.


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