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Question on WDH: 10000lb on a 5000lb TV

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offgrid View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Question on WDH: 10000lb on a 5000lb TV
    Posted: 23 Dec 2022 at 12:42am
My 2015 179 came in at 3680 lbs, 100 lbs under  GTW.  That was packed pretty light  with a week of supplies, very little gear and clothing, and single propane. But full FWT  and dual GC2 batteries, which together add about 300 lbs vs dry tanks and a single battery. I also had a reinforced axle which added about 50lbs. So yes you should come in at around 3500 if you pack light and don't carry water and dual batteries. My problem was tongue weight in the 179, with those heavy batteries and forward mounted fwt. I believe the FWT in the 178 is in the rear? So if you do fill it you might have the opposite problem, too light on the tongue. As in Jato's case, if you to start carrying water, you might be better off with more batteries and propane on the front to balance things. 

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jato View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote jato Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Dec 2022 at 3:49pm
You should easily be under 3500 lbs with the 178.  The empty weight on our 2011 177 is 2415 lbs.  Fully loaded for a 30 day trip and 36 gal. water (tank behind axle) gets us up to 2940 lbs.  Make sure you have 11% or more of your total weight on the tongue.  For us that was 2940 x .11 or 323 lbs.  With a pair of 12v batteries and two 20# propane tanks on the tongue we weigh in at 340 lbs. on the tongue, and with that - no trailer sway.  We do utilitze a simple $40 Curt anti-sway bar however.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote renhui Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Dec 2022 at 3:07pm
Again, appreciate the helpful replies. 

My 2016 rpod 178 has a dry weight of 2786lbs, and I don't plan to carry full water tanks etc. so try to stay below 3500lbs.  (one of the reasons getting an Rpod is the light weight, so I don't have to change my TV, but let's find out soon). 

I'll definitely hit the scale station when the weather warms up in a couple months. 
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Dec 2022 at 2:57am
Originally posted by renhui

Thanks for all the replies, guys.

I'll definitely go to a scale to weight everything before my first trip!

p.s. I was going to get a fastway e2 6000lb WDH, but the seller was nice enough to include it with the sale, so don't want it to go waste. plus already bought a sway control bar for it to be on the safe side. 

Bear in mind that you have multiple weight specs to stay within. Tow vehicle front and rear axle load, max tow rating, tongue weight, vehicle gross weight, and max combined vehicle weight. Plus trailer gross weight and trailer axle weight. Tensioning the wdh increases trailer axle and tow vehicle front axle load while reducing tow vehicle rear axle load. Some think that the wdh reduces tongue load but it doesn't unless specifically allowed in your TV owners manual  

So setting all this up right is quite literally a balancing act. If you boondock and have a mid sized rpod will find it challenging to stay within all your ratings with a 5000 lb TV. The 500 lb tongue weight rating can be particularly difficult to manage. 

If all this sounds complicated it's because it is. With a heavy tow vehicle you don't need to spend much time on it besides knowing your real world trailer loading, but at a 5000 lb tow rating you and I don't have that luxury.

So when you go to the scales have both your trailer and tow vehicle fully loaded, fuel, supplies and  water in the tanks, people  gear, and pets, as you actually plan to travel. You'll be surprised how it all adds up. Bring your wdh bars but leave them off.  put them in the back of your TV. If you leave them tensioned it will mess up your weight readings.

This calculator will help keep track of everything  You can adjust your wdh tension in the calculator later to see what the effect is. The objective is to get the load on the TV front axle back where it was without the trailer. Not to level the TV as some folks think. 


https://www.ajdesigner.com/apptrailertow/weightdistributionhitch.php

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Post Options Post Options   Quote Rpod-Couple Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Dec 2022 at 8:39pm
Renhui - You mention your TV is 5000 lbs which typically means your TV hitch weight rating is 500 lbs. Offgrid is correct to verify your tongue weight does not exceed your TV a rating.

For those with a full-size pickup truck with a 1,000 lb tongue rating, your pickup’s suspension is already so stiff that the WDH spring bar rating of 600lbs vs 10000 lbs wont hardly be felt. But the stiffness will be noticeable on a 500 lb rated vehicle like Renhui’s. 
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Post Options Post Options   Quote gpokluda Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Dec 2022 at 2:59pm
I highly recommend the Fastway E2 should you decide the ride with the 10000# hitch is too harsh. That's what we used on our 179 and it worked flawlessly.

Safe travels!
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Post Options Post Options   Quote renhui Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Dec 2022 at 2:24pm
Thanks for all the replies, guys.

I'll definitely go to a scale to weight everything before my first trip!

p.s. I was going to get a fastway e2 6000lb WDH, but the seller was nice enough to include it with the sale, so don't want it to go waste. plus already bought a sway control bar for it to be on the safe side. 
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Post Options Post Options   Quote David and Danette Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Dec 2022 at 12:48pm
I agree that will not be a problem better to be over rated some than under rated with a WDH. Our camper dry weight is about 3,400 lbs but the hitch weight unloaded is 480 lbs. We had a 6,000 pound Equalizer hitch but I thought fully loaded our hitch weight might go over 600 lbs. And a representative for equalizer recommended a 10,000 lb. WDH and he told me it would not be a problem and it hasn’t been.
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Post Options Post Options   Quote offgrid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Dec 2022 at 1:05am
I used a 10000 lb wdh on my rig, also a 5000 lb TV, and it was fine. It shouldn't cause any ill effects, the load imposed on the TV and trailer frame by the wdh is limited by the actual tongue weight and g forces from the road surface (pot holes etc) not the wdh rating. 

So as others have said your issue will be ride quality. That in turn will depend on how you load the trailer. The heavier your tongue weight is the less bouncy the stiff wdh will feel. Of course, you don't want more tongue weight than you need, but you do need your tongue weight to be at the very least 10% of total trailer weight to avoid sway. 

In my case I was always boondocking so had dual batteries on the tongue and a full fresh water tank, which is located forward in the 179. So my tongue weight was near 500 lb and my trailer weight about 3800 lbs, both near their respective limits most of the time, At those weight I found the 10k wdh bars to provide a nice ride 

I suggest you start by going to a scale and get actual fully loaded trailer, tongue, and tow vehicle and axle weights (everyone should know those numbers fur their rigs anyway IMO)  If you are running lighter trailer and tongue weights then probably look for lighter bars for your existing hitch or get a lighter hitch  

If you are running heavy like me then try what you have and see how it feels on the road.  

I have several posts on how to easily get all the weights using two passes through a scale, you should be able to find them using the advanced search. 
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Post Options Post Options   Quote Rpod-Couple Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Dec 2022 at 9:43pm
It will work but you may find the ride to be extremely harsh. All the bumps your R-pod hits get transferred to your tow vehicle through the stiffer 10,000 lb spring bars on your WDH. My WDH is also 10,000 lb spring bars. I bought a 6000 lb set of spring bars which made the ride much smoother in my TV. 
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