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Old 10-04-2016, 03:35 PM   #1
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Wow, WDH Hitch Video

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Old 10-05-2016, 09:09 AM   #2
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It's a great video to illustrate some of the effects of load distribution... but it's not about weight-distributing hitches at all. It's from a British company, and WDH is very rarely used there.
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Old 10-05-2016, 09:58 AM   #3
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Yes, it is more about proper weight distribution on your trailer and resulting sway, not using a w/d hitch.
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Old 10-05-2016, 10:11 AM   #4
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I'm excited to use this tongue scale with our 21' when we get it in 2017



https://www.amazon.com/Sherline-LM-1.../dp/B007REJTGI

and (from what I have read) to keep the tongue weight between 10% and 12% of the total weight of the loaded trailer.

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Old 10-05-2016, 10:45 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
It's a great video to illustrate some of the effects of load distribution... but it's not about weight-distributing hitches at all. It's from a British company, and WDH is very rarely used there.
Spot on. The effects of low tongue weight are well known, and will cause sway. Since a WDH uses leverage to distribute some of the weight on the back of the tow to the front of the tow, it won't help a low tongue weight situation. Only proper load distribution in the trailer will do that.

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Old 10-05-2016, 01:35 PM   #6
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Newbie quesiton

Since there is not too many movable items in the trailer it seems like it would be difficult to make sure the front of the trailer is heavier than the back. How do accomplish this?
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Old 10-05-2016, 01:43 PM   #7
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Since there is not too many movable items in the trailer it seems like it would be difficult to make sure the front of the trailer is heavier than the back. How do accomplish this?
I'm no expert, but filling some of the fresh water tank on a 21' (for example) (the tank is behind the axles) will lessen tongue weight

and i'll keep my heavy tools carefully stowed in the dinette benches - and NOT in the front cargo box, or under the bed, (both close to the hitch on a 21') for example. Again - where you put the heavy stuff.

I'll also pack bottles of water as far back as possible...

and always will check tongue weight.

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Old 10-05-2016, 01:50 PM   #8
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Since there is not too many movable items in the trailer it seems like it would be difficult to make sure the front of the trailer is heavier than the back. How do accomplish this?
Part of properly distributing the load in the trailer is taken care of by the trailer itself -- Escape designs it so there's a relatively even distribution of weight from front to back. How you store cargo inside the trailer will affect that. Having a tongue box and a couple of full propane tanks actually helps with this, since they're pretty heavy. That means you can store other items toward the rear of the trailer, without worrying about the tongue being too light. Provided of course, that you don't exceed the trailer's GVWR with the cargo you add.

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Old 10-05-2016, 06:42 PM   #9
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Quick (probably not) question: it's clear from this video how distribution of weight affects fishtailing. (Less clear how it would if equally distributed, though.) How does speed affect it? Obviously it would be more dangerous at higher speeds but does the likelihood of swaying/fishtailing increase with speed?
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Old 10-05-2016, 06:45 PM   #10
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Quick (probably not) question: it's clear from this video how distribution of weight affects fishtailing. (Less clear how it would if equally distributed, though.) How does speed affect it? Obviously it would be more dangerous at higher speeds but does the likelihood of swaying/fishtailing increase with speed?
I dont have an answer to your question

but I know for sure that if i'm going to start fishtailing, I'd MUCH rather be at 55 MPH and not 70 MPH.

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Old 10-05-2016, 08:13 PM   #11
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Quick (probably not) question: it's clear from this video how distribution of weight affects fishtailing. (Less clear how it would if equally distributed, though.) How does speed affect it? Obviously it would be more dangerous at higher speeds but does the likelihood of swaying/fishtailing increase with speed?
If the vehicle is susceptible to fishtailing from an improperly distributed load, the fishtailing will be aggravated by higher speed. And the only real way to recover from the fishtailing is to reduce speed, not by braking, but by slowly decelerating.

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Old 10-06-2016, 12:41 AM   #12
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some info here, that seems to be good.



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Old 10-06-2016, 10:25 AM   #13
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Why would descending push the trailer and tow vehicle sideways as stated in the previous video (1:43-1:50)? There is no sideways force.
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Old 10-10-2016, 12:00 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
It's a great video to illustrate some of the effects of load distribution... but it's not about weight-distributing hitches at all. It's from a British company, and WDH is very rarely used there.
Oops... I realized when I looked at this again that this specific video is something from the U.S., not the original by Bailey of the U.K. The idea is the same - mass distribution matters.



The rig in both cases has a moveable axle, so different trailer geometries can be simulated. The two posts holding the weights can also be moved, so it can be used to show that a trailer with mass closer to the ends is less stable than one with mass closer to the middle, even with the same tongue total mass and tongue weight. The video with the Mustang does not show the effect of axle position, or of moving masses toward or away from the middle.
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Old 10-10-2016, 08:26 AM   #15
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Good find Brian - that's the one I remember seeing a while ago and being very impressed by it.
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