Might be a transporter. We see them like that around here all the time. Hook-em and haul-em, let them buyer drill the holes for the weight distribution hitch.
WHo says the rig int he pic has a 500/5000 limit on his hitch? He my have what I have on my dually that is good to IIRC 1500/14K or some such number in non WD mode, 2000/16k in WD mode. If so, the trailer is not overloading the hitch. The hitch I had installed on my old 96, ie pictured with my ET on the back, was good to 10K or some such thing in non WD mode, as I knew when I bought the truck, I had the trailer and bobcat, but not the track hoe for the front of the trailer. total was upwards of 9500 with attachments on the trailer.
Reality is, if the trailer is level, same with the truck, there is probably nothing wrong with it. WD/Anti'sway devices are not required by any law I know of. So tweaking the hitch on the truck is all that is needed!
Now to say towing non WD vs wd vs a dual cam with my old TT, Could I tell the difference? I have to admit yes I could. BUT, reality is, I could tow that trailer in any condition and not have sway when setup correctly. The ET above, I have been told to have JUST the bobcat sitting where it is int he pic, with nothing in the front. Trailer dang near tok out my dumptruck which weighs 12K from sway! Moved the bobcat forward, went from 0 lbs of hw to around 12-14 percent, sway went away!
At the end of the day, proper setup is the key!
Marty
05 Chev CC D/A LS Dooley
92 Navistar dump truck, 7.3L 7 sp, 4.33 gears with a Detroit no spin
00 Chev C2500, V5700, 4L80E, 4.10, base truck, no options!
92 Red-e-haul 12K equipment trailer
3 Single axle utility trailers
Not too many years ago pickup trucks sat level when they came from the factory. Now the fad is to have the back ends up in the air so I guess there is no way that the trucks of today can handle correctly? In a few years maybe the fad will change and the trailers rear being up a little will be "in" too?
No one has towed this rig that has passed judgment on it here so how can anyone pass judgment? Does anyone here know the real hitch rating? Does anyone know how it handles? There are thousands or tens of thousands of trailers being towed safely daily without WDHs or sway control. Many of those are towed nose low. How come in the old days Airstreams were towed safely without WDH or sway bars behind cars?
My first post, now deleted, was spot on but apparently truth can't be posted here. Maybe I'll repost it.
D. Steiner
The sooner I fall behind, the more time I have to catch up.
DSteiner51 wrote: Not too many years ago pickup trucks sat level when they came from the factory. Now the fad is to have the back ends up in the air so I guess there is no way that the trucks of today can handle correctly? In a few years maybe the fad will change and the trailers rear being up a little will be "in" too?
No one has towed this rig that has passed judgment on it here so how can anyone pass judgment? Does anyone here know the real hitch rating? Does anyone know how it handles? There are thousands or tens of thousands of trailers being towed safely daily without WDHs or sway control. Many of those are towed nose low. How come in the old days Airstreams were towed safely without WDH or sway bars behind cars?
My first post, now deleted, was spot on but apparently truth can't be posted here. Maybe I'll repost it.
3/4-ton and 1-ton pickups have always rode with the rear end higher than the front when unloaded, for as many decades as I can remember. Rear-high is not a new fad, by any means. Trucks are designed to ride high in the rear when unloaded, so they sit level when loaded.
My F-350 is noticeably tail-high when empty...with the rear axle at the GAWR, it's still not quite level. It's a 1979.
John and Elizabeth (Liz), with 3 nutty cats
My beloved St. Bernard, Marm, lost him 1/2/12
Current rig:
1992 International Genesis school bus conversion
DSteiner51 wrote: Not too many years ago pickup trucks sat level when they came from the factory. Now the fad is to have the back ends up in the air so I guess there is no way that the trucks of today can handle correctly? In a few years maybe the fad will change and the trailers rear being up a little will be "in" too?
No one has towed this rig that has passed judgment on it here so how can anyone pass judgment? Does anyone here know the real hitch rating? Does anyone know how it handles? There are thousands or tens of thousands of trailers being towed safely daily without WDHs or sway control. Many of those are towed nose low. How come in the old days Airstreams were towed safely without WDH or sway bars behind cars?
My first post, now deleted, was spot on but apparently truth can't be posted here. Maybe I'll repost it.
3/4-ton and 1-ton pickups have always rode with the rear end higher than the front when unloaded, for as many decades as I can remember. Rear-high is not a new fad, by any means. Trucks are designed to ride high in the rear when unloaded, so they sit level when loaded.
Actually my 1976 F250 4x4 was bubble on empty. Of course it wouldn't look that way with today's weight being put on them. I'd share a photo but I have trouble scanning that old of a image.
Bottom line is trucks weight ratings have really changed the last 35 years. More so the last 80
DSteiner51 wrote: Not too many years ago pickup trucks sat level when they came from the factory. Now the fad is to have the back ends up in the air so I guess there is no way that the trucks of today can handle correctly? In a few years maybe the fad will change and the trailers rear being up a little will be "in" too?
No one has towed this rig that has passed judgment on it here so how can anyone pass judgment? Does anyone here know the real hitch rating? Does anyone know how it handles? There are thousands or tens of thousands of trailers being towed safely daily without WDHs or sway control. Many of those are towed nose low. How come in the old days Airstreams were towed safely without WDH or sway bars behind cars?
My first post, now deleted, was spot on but apparently truth can't be posted here. Maybe I'll repost it.
3/4-ton and 1-ton pickups have always rode with the rear end higher than the front when unloaded, for as many decades as I can remember. Rear-high is not a new fad, by any means. Trucks are designed to ride high in the rear when unloaded, so they sit level when loaded.
My uncles two mid '60's Chevy 1 ton flat bed duallys and the early '80s Ford 1 ton flat bed dually was nearly level until loaded to gross wt rating the rear was lower. My '76 1/2 ton was nearly level.
I'm more interested to answers for the questions in the second paragraph.
blt2ski wrote: WHo says the rig int he pic has a 500/5000 limit on his hitch? He my have what I have on my dually that is good to IIRC 1500/14K or some such number in non WD mode, 2000/16k in WD mode. If so, the trailer is not overloading the hitch. The hitch I had installed on my old 96, ie pictured with my ET on the back, was good to 10K or some such thing in non WD mode, as I knew when I bought the truck, I had the trailer and bobcat, but not the track hoe for the front of the trailer. total was upwards of 9500 with attachments on the trailer.
Reality is, if the trailer is level, same with the truck, there is probably nothing wrong with it. WD/Anti'sway devices are not required by any law I know of. So tweaking the hitch on the truck is all that is needed!
Now to say towing non WD vs wd vs a dual cam with my old TT, Could I tell the difference? I have to admit yes I could. BUT, reality is, I could tow that trailer in any condition and not have sway when setup correctly. The ET above, I have been told to have JUST the bobcat sitting where it is int he pic, with nothing in the front. Trailer dang near tok out my dumptruck which weighs 12K from sway! Moved the bobcat forward, went from 0 lbs of hw to around 12-14 percent, sway went away!
At the end of the day, proper setup is the key!
Marty
Even the OEM Ford 15k receiver on the DRW 350's is limited to 7500 lbs without a WDH. The commercial side of the business has stronger hitches for the larger trucks, but show me an OEM hitch that handles the full tow capacity without weight distribution. If you assume this person (who cannot level a trailer) purchased an aftermarket hitch, then i retract my statement.
The OEM receiver and suspension have been lightened to improve unladen ride quality and increase economy. When you compare a new OEM receiver to an aftermarket or vintage receiver, you will find many are half the weight with much less material.
Weight distributing hitches also allow more towing capacity by applying some of that weight to the front axle which will aid in steering control when hauling heavy loads. Anyone that has had a load push their tow vehicle to point of losing directional control knows that additional weight on the front would have helped.
Towing the trailer nose down will actually help stability since more weight is shifted to the front (adding tongue weight). The issue will be whether the front axle/tires are loaded beyond capacity. Even if the both axles are suspended with sufficient articulation to allow them to fully contact the road surface, the lowered side of the trailer with carry more weight than if it was level.
I'm not assuming a thing with the rig in the OP. The hitch could be OEM, or like my last two trucks, they came with out an OEM hitch. I installed "stronger" hitches than OEM. Hence why the blue CC with the bobcat/trackhoe on the trailer was ordered WITHOUT the OEM hitch. My 05 dually fortunately, was NEVER ordered with a OEM hitch. So I aftermarketed the hitch to handle the trailers I tow in a non WD fashion.
I personally have found the WD only works well, if the trailer HW takes off too much FA wt. For the blue 96, at around 400 lbs off the FA, WD would have helped in stock mode. My dumptruck has all of 60 lbs off the FA with that trailer attached. My dually around 200 lbs. And yes, I have had the FA pushed thru a stop sign on ice towing the above trailer with my previous Case skid steer! towing in snow and ice makes things even more fun!
back to the OP pic. Until ALL of us know what hitch, etc is on that truck, it is anyones swag as to if said truck is safe at the end of the day. per EVERY LEO/CVEO I have asked in Wa st, has said. per our laws any how, manufactures rating numbers on placards, etc, are nothing more than performance numbers.
THen per the people that built the dump bed on my dumptruck, a typical reciever with a 1/2" pin, should not tow more than 10K! yet how many hitches are rated for more than 10K lbs with a typical 1/2" pin? Most if not all! He recomended a 5/8 or 3/4" pin with a 3" square tube. 2" square tube was a max 10K lbs! hmmmmmmmmmmm anybody seeing some issues with some hitches?
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