Quote: I'd have to agree, even if you try and lift the 7-800lb tongue weight your only lifting it a little and what ever friction you have being applied to the WD's sway control feature will be minimal at best.
To the OP.
I tow a TT with a one ton that is about your TT's weight. Unless your truck is substantially less stout there is absolutely no need for a WD function. You still probably will want some sway feature. I have used WD and not used WD and there is really no difference in towing or stability. One benefit from not using WD is that the axles of the trailer are not loaded any more than normal dead weight. A WD hitch redistributes about 25 percent of the redistributed weight back to the TT axles, probably something your axles don't need--more weight. The rest is redistribued to the front axle and on a one ton that axle is already heavy as it supports the engine weight. So why redistribute more to that axle if you don't have to. The rear axle of a one ton is light unloaded, and since it is a truck designed to carry weight in the back 1000 pounds tongue weight is less than 25 percent of the payload. You still have plenty of capacity on the rear axle, wheels and tires.
Now go buy a heavier TT so you can really use the one ton! Your dually has a capacity of at least 12,000 pounds on the rear skins, an axle of at least 9000 pounds capacity and an unloaded weight on the rear of maybe 3500 pounds. Why would you want to redistribute weight to the TT axles and the front axle of the truck? You have all the capacity you need just waiting to be added to the rear of the truck where Ford designed it to carry a load. It will ride better with the tongue weight than without (empty). Try it and I think you will find that to be true.
* This post was
edited 04/27/12 10:17am by jmtandem *
'05 Dodge Cummins 4x4 dually 3500 white quadcab auto long bed.
'09 299bhs Tango.
goducks10 wrote: I'd have to agree, even if you try and lift the 7-800lb tongue weight your only lifting it a little and what ever friction you have being applied to the WD's sway control feature will be minimal at best.
When the WDH is properly adjusted, the friction being generated by the WDH's sway control feature will be essentially the same regardless of 1/2-ton truck or 1-ton truck.
ScottG wrote: Don't expect the front of a dually to drop any with a WDH. If you can get it to drop then you'll have way too much weight on front and it will handle strangely.
A tongue weight of 800-900# will cause a load of around 400# to be removed from the steer axle. Whether that causes a noticible front-end rise depends on the amount of friction in the front suspension components. Even if there is no noticible rise, there still is load removed.
A properly adjusted WDH can restore the front end to its unhitched load.
Don't expect the front of a dually to drop any with a WDH. If you can get it to drop then you'll have way too much weight on front and it will handle strangely.
Your going to have only a bit of weight transfer - most of the weight will be carried by the back end of the truck, which is where it's designed to carry weight.
I would try carrying it w/o the WDH as long as the hitch isn't used beyond its rating.
Scott, Grace and Wesly
2003 Dodge 3500 4x4, 6 speed Cummins (lightly bombed),
2004 Forest River 25RKS many, many mods.
H0NDA eu2000i
Congrats on your new ride. This it is good truck. If I remember right 99 was the 1st year of the Super Duty. What is the GVWR on your truck? The Super Duty up'ed the ratings. My last F350 Dually was a 10,000# GVWR but it also only had a 360 V8 back in 1975. They have come a long way since.
Now to the WD hitch. Yes use it. Your receiver needs it and your DC provides the sway control.
Mine has rear springs good for a 7,000# GAWR-RR. Including helper springs when the bed weight get down far enough.
See here my smaller camper. Boy I miss that camper. I had separation anxiety from it so we still used it a little until she went to a new home.
That camper when empty like it was in the pics had a 800# scaled tongue weight. I still used the WD hitch even when the TW was 800#. I had my 1,200# WD bars still as when that camper was loaded it went up to 1,200#. We used it as a spare bedroom at DW's Mom's place 500 miles away when we went to visit.
You adjust the WD the same as always. The weight is still there and if you pull out the tape measure the rear is compressing and the front rising. Without a tape measure it may not seem like much but it is. Yes, mine is not a dually, but that is why I asked what your GAWR-RR was so I can compare it. Even if you have an 8,000# GAWR-RR the weight is still coming off the front of the truck. If it isn't, then something is flexing in the truck not allowing it to.
Here is the hitch. 1,200# WD bars, 800# tongue.
In my case I have upgraded the receiver so it could handle the full dead load if I wanted it to. The truck drives better for me with it.
Good luck with your new ride and hope this helps.
John
John & Cindy
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10
CC, SB, Lariat & FX4 package
21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR
Ford Tow Command
1,700# Reese HP hitch & HP Dual Cam
2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver
2004 Sunline Solaris T310SR
(I wish we were camping!)
ScottG wrote: Don't expect the front of a dually to drop any with a WDH. If you can get it to drop then you'll have way too much weight on front and it will handle strangely.
A tongue weight of 800-900# will cause a load of around 400# to be removed from the steer axle. Whether that causes a noticible front-end rise depends on the amount of friction in the front suspension components. Even if there is no noticible rise, there still is load removed.
A properly adjusted WDH can restore the front end to its unhitched load.
Ron
Ok. I have a question and I am trying to ask it right. I hope I don't sound like a smart alic.
When a truck tows a fifth wheel, does it unload the front end? Or is the front end being unloaded unique to a travel trailer? I can see the physics in my mind.
The king pin is a direct load over or just ahead of the rear axle.
The trailer tongue acts as a lever.
I think.
Thanks!
Jeremiah
TT: 1995 Layton 2910
Tow Vehicle: 1999 F-350, v10, 2wd, Crew Cab, Dually
Hitch: Draw-Tite Trunnion WD Hitch
Sway Control: Valley dual friction sway control
Brake Control: Tekonsha Voyager
"It's Kind of Fun To Do The Impossible"
~Walt Disney~
Congrats on your new ride. This it is good truck. If I remember right 99 was the 1st year of the Super Duty. What is the GVWR on your truck? The Super Duty up'ed the ratings. My last F350 Dually was a 10,000# GVWR but it also only had a 360 V8 back in 1975. They have come a long way since.
Now to the WD hitch. Yes use it. Your receiver needs it and your DC provides the sway control.
Mine has rear springs good for a 7,000# GAWR-RR. Including helper springs when the bed weight get down far enough.
See here my smaller camper. Boy I miss that camper. I had separation anxiety from it so we still used it a little until she went to a new home.
That camper when empty like it was in the pics had a 800# scaled tongue weight. I still used the WD hitch even when the TW was 800#. I had my 1,200# WD bars still as when that camper was loaded it went up to 1,200#. We used it as a spare bedroom at DW's Mom's place 500 miles away when we went to visit.
You adjust the WD the same as always. The weight is still there and if you pull out the tape measure the rear is compressing and the front rising. Without a tape measure it may not seem like much but it is. Yes, mine is not a dually, but that is why I asked what your GAWR-RR was so I can compare it. Even if you have an 8,000# GAWR-RR the weight is still coming off the front of the truck. If it isn't, then something is flexing in the truck not allowing it to.
Here is the hitch. 1,200# WD bars, 800# tongue.
In my case I have upgraded the receiver so it could handle the full dead load if I wanted it to. The truck drives better for me with it.
Good luck with your new ride and hope this helps.
John
Hi John,
As always thank you for feedback and all your help.
Here are the specs on my truck.
Front GAWR- 4400 lbs
Rear GAWR - 7940 lbs
GVWR- 11200 lbs
Tires are LT 215/85R16E. Front psi is 65, rear is 60 each
Rear axle 61 code (3.73 open diff)
I am going to have to get some kind of drop shank because my standard shank is too short for my truck now.
I can make it work without dual cam with the standard ball the one inch rise ball needs way to much head tilt to get it down to about 3/4 of an inch above the coupler.
With a fifth wheel the pin weight is applied almost directly over the TV's rear axle, and virtually all of the pin weight is transferred to the TV's rear axle. If the pin weight is applied ahead of the rear axle, some of the pin weight is added to the front axle. If the pin weight is applied aft of the rear axle, the rear axle becomes a fulcrum and some load is removed from the front axle.
With a TT, the tongue weight is applied 5-6' aft of the TV's rear axle. That 5-6' distance becomes a lever which causes load to be removed from the front axle. For a typical TV, the load removed from the front axle is equal to about 40-50% of the tongue weight.
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