Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Maybe it's not widely realised either that WD hitches can in some situations throw TV weight back on the trailer, have one on your 750lb tear with a 1000lb axle, be towing with something large and hit a railroad crossing too hard and blam, sudden 3000lb weight dump to your tear..... maybe you'll break the tongue, maybe you'll pop both tires who knows.... and partly this is due to attitude that "any WD hitch is good and bigger is better." ... uh no, they need to match your trailer weight, with a proper sized bar, which is probably unpossible to get for under 3000lb, then the bar bends instead of slamming too much weight forward or back. 10,000lb bar is probably practically rigid between anything less than 5000lb TV and trailer.

A dart fly's straight because it is weighted in the front. A trailer that is weighted in thee front tows straight. Make a trailer tongue light and the tail heavy and it will turn around to get the weight to the front. The only way a heavy galley can be safe is if the axle is moved back to get the front heavy. I really worry about tears with mid axles and heavy galleys.

If I could lift the tongue off the ball I need more weight up front.

Tt

Im sure most people understand the idea but this is a good video anyway. Its like 30 seconds and shows the difference between a heavy front and heavy rear. https://youtu.be/i2fkOVHAC8Q

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Socal Tom wrote:A WD hitch is designed to reduce sag on the tow vehicle from the tongue weight. It is not intended to substitute for proper tongue weight. If you are tail heavy, they may keep the hitch on the ball, but it risks lifting the rear wheels of the TV off of the ground. So, its also important that light TVs have some weight in the back of the TV as well has having proper tongue weight. As weight shifts during travel, negative weight can be applied to the hitch.
Tom

Jagged Edges wrote:Maybe it's not widely realised either that WD hitches can in some situations throw TV weight back on the trailer, have one on your 750lb tear with a 1000lb axle, be towing with something large and hit a railroad crossing too hard and blam, sudden 3000lb weight dump to your tear..... maybe you'll break the tongue, maybe you'll pop both tires who knows.... and partly this is due to attitude that "any WD hitch is good and bigger is better." ... uh no, they need to match your trailer weight, with a proper sized bar, which is probably impossible to get for under 3000lb, then the bar bends instead of slamming too much weight forward or back. 10,000lb bar is probably practically rigid between anything less than 5000lb TV and trailer.

Tomterrific wrote:A dart fly's straight because it is weighted in the front. A trailer that is weighted in thee front tows straight. Make a trailer tongue light and the tail heavy and it will turn around to get the weight to the front. The only way a heavy galley can be safe is if the axle is moved back to get the front heavy. I really worry about tears with mid axles and heavy galleys.If I could lift the tongue off the ball I need more weight up front.

I agree, in part, with you all. My TV is a '04 2500 HD regular cab Chevy pickup, with 300+ lbs of gear in the cross-bed box, and a crane mast at the rear of the bed. When camping, I load in extra jacks, 10-12 gallons of gas in gas jugs, a 60-75 lb extra cooler, and sundry other items in the bed of the truck (usually separated by heavy wood "compartmentalizing" 2x8 lumber. I estimate the curb weight at 6000+ lbs. I don't think the 1700 lb. trailer is going to lift the rear wheels at any time. I addressed weight shifting by securing my loads, in truck and trailer, so everything should remain stable. Since my TTT is a single beam trailer, I used a 3"x3"x.1875"x72" tube to weld to three crossmembers, and to a spine running all the way to the trailer rear (I won't break the tongue). Its' already survived both TV and TTT being launched into the air by a giant pothole; the truck suffered busted tire belts, but the trailer just flew over it all. My trailer weight bias has been shifted forward over the years; at present, I can't lift it without killing my back. The last calculated balance sheet I did, at 1628 lbs (I've since added more-forward- weight, about 75lbs., in structure and content), showed 201 lbs tongue weight/12.4% when loaded for travel. I'm only using one spring bar, so I'm not putting so much downforce on the trailer tongue, but as I was trying to convey, enough downforce to even out any see-sawing over bumps, and to ensure that the coupler has "incentive" to stay "on the ball". I don't need it, but I trust it, and I think it makes the trailer travel better.

working on it wrote: I'm only using one spring bar, so I'm not putting so much downforce on the trailer tongue, but as I was trying to convey, enough downforce to even out any see-sawing over bumps, and to ensure that the coupler has "incentive" to stay "on the ball". I don't need it, but I trust it, and I think it makes the trailer travel better.

balance sheet snip.PNG

The rule of thumb I read said that WDs were recommended when the Trailer was over 50% of the weight of the TV. In your case, with a heavy truck and a light trailer, its unlikely that you would have a problem with lifting the truck, but that might not be true for someone with a front wheel drive car and an empty trunk. I'm not suggesting that you change it, but others that read this thread should understand that your solution might be a mistake with a different vehicle. The weight shifting I'm talking about is when you are going up or down hills or over a rise. The tongue weight will increase if you lower the tongue ( as in going down hill) and the tongue weight will drop if you raise the tongue ( as in going uphill).
Tom

I was just trying to say that I use the WD system because it helps in several ways. IMHO I learned about the "weight shift", or (trailer) tail-wagging-the-dog (TV), when I started going to races with a 4000 lb (loaded) '69 Chevy 1500 truck towing a 7000 lb trailer (loaded). Once I got the WD system, the only problem I had was too little gear ratio (3.07), until I went to a 3.73. I used a '75 Chevy 1500 later, with more racing equipment inside the covered bed, and that extra weight helped more, despite the 3.42 ratio gearing. Once I got the 2500 HD, with 6000+ lbs, and 4.10 gears (not to mention tow-haul mode 4L80E tranny), I had it made. It's all about TV weight and gearing, with an addendum for load balance (tongue weight). Towing my TTT-it's like nothing is there.The WD system just makes it better.

I'm not sure the idea is getting across to everyone. With weight in the front of a trailer it will run straight down the road even if it comes off the TV. A rear weighted trailer would spin around and stabilize going down the road backwards with it's tongue in the air, if it didn't flip first. For those who need an example, I pulled a tractor on a light, cheap bolt together 4x8 trailer with a Miata! Over half the weight of the Miata. The trailer was front weighted and we flew down the freeway at 80 mph, no problem.

Tt

working on it wrote:I was just trying to say that I use the WD system because it helps in several ways. IMHO I learned about the "weight shift", or (trailer) tail-wagging-the-dog (TV), when I started going to races with a 4000 lb (loaded) '69 Chevy 1500 truck towing a 7000 lb trailer (loaded). Once I got the WD system, the only problem I had was too little gear ratio (3.07), until I went to a 3.73. I used a '75 Chevy 1500 later, with more racing equipment inside the covered bed, and that extra weight helped more, despite the 3.42 ratio gearing. Once I got the 2500 HD, with 6000+ lbs, and 4.10 gears (not to mention tow-haul mode 4L80E tranny), I had it made. It's all about TV weight and gearing, with an addendum for load balance (tongue weight). Towing my TTT-it's like nothing is there.The WD system just makes it better.

I used to tow a 5000lb early bronco on a 2000lb trailer with a 4500 lb Chevy Tahoe. A WD hitch and electric brakes were mandatory. There was plenty of weight to lift the back of the tahoe if tongue weight was wrong. I've towed my 900 lb TD cross country behind a 4000lb Jeep without one. (Granted I had a 4kw generator on the tongue, so I had plenty of tongue weight. ).
Tom

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