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lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Location: Quaker Hill, CT
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Posts: 2587
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Topic: Just bought a 2018 179 - towing issue Posted: 21 Jun 2021 at 4:16pm |
+1 to JR for hitch.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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JR
Senior Member
Joined: 31 Aug 2018
Location: Manistee, MI
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Posts: 345
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Posted: 21 Jun 2021 at 3:28pm |
I use an E2 with 600 lbs bars and am totally satisficed with it towing a 179 with a Pathfinder. Hope this helps.
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Jay
179/2019
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HillbillyMedic
Newbie
Joined: 15 Jan 2021
Location: WV-FL
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Posts: 11
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Posted: 21 Jun 2021 at 3:25pm |
So now the question becomes: What size WDH? 500, 600, 1,000?
Tacoma Sport/R-Pod 179.
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Be careful.
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HillbillyMedic
Newbie
Joined: 15 Jan 2021
Location: WV-FL
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Posts: 11
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Posted: 14 Apr 2021 at 9:23am |
Thank you all for your input, advice and information. It is greatly appreciated. Off to buy a WDH.
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Be careful.
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290
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Posted: 03 Apr 2021 at 5:40pm |
There is some fundamental physics going on here you just can't getlko around.
Say your trailer weighs 3500 lbs. You need your tongue weight to be 11 percent of that to be stable enough to avoid sway. That's 385 lbs. When you hang that 385 lbs on the hitch the TV is a teeter totter with the fulcrum being the rear axle. So there is a moment (torque) created. If the ball is 5 ft from the rear axle that moment is 385 x 5 = 1925 ft-lbs. If the wheel base is 10 feet then to counteract that 1925 ft-lbs you need 1925/10= 192.5 lbs, so the front axle is going to have almost 200 lbs less weight on it in order to balance the teeter.
There's no way around that. Unless you use a weight distribution hitch with which puts a countering moment (torque) on the tow vehicle and pushes the front axle back down. That's in a nutshell is what a weight distribution hitch does.
If your wheelbase is long enough and your vehicle is heavy enough then it odoesn't matter and you don't need a weight distribution hitch. But if you have a lighter tow vehicle with a shortish wheelbase it really helps put some load back on the front axle which is after all what steers the vehicle and has the best brakes.
So if you have an F250 don't worry about it. If you're an F150 driver it's probably personal choice but if you have a Highlander or a Taco or some other lighter tow vehicle, especially one with a short wheelbase it really helps.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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jato
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Location: Kewadin, MI
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Posted: 03 Apr 2021 at 12:29pm |
Originally posted by GlueGuy
Someone someday is going to have to explain in detail what this giant resistance to using a WDH is all about. It solves several real problems, and you move on. |
In my case it isn't a 'resistance' to using one but rather for the following: the dealership told me it wasn't necessary for my setup (177 at 2415 lbs being towed by an Explorer) and since I have never used one and feel comfortable driving with a simple Curt friction bar ($40) over the past 10 years and 34,000 + miles without incident over many various road and wind conditions, I don't like to fix it if in my mind, it doesn't need fixing.
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God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
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GlueGuy
Senior Member
Joined: 15 May 2017
Location: N. California
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Posted: 03 Apr 2021 at 12:22pm |
Someone someday is going to have to explain in detail what this giant resistance to using a WDH is all about. It solves several real problems, and you move on.
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bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Location: Quaker Hill, CT
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Posts: 2587
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Posted: 03 Apr 2021 at 12:09pm |
Good point, OG.
A properly balanced load means that there is adequate weight on the front wheels in order to be safe. If the shifting of stuff around only occurs in the trailer, then your reference to a teeter totter would be exactly the problem; just a question of on which side the fat kid is going to sit. Unless the shifting around of stuff adds weight to the TV's front wheels by adding weight at the most forward end of the bed, how would it ensure adequate weight transfer to the front wheels? Maybe really heavy passengers in the front seat of the truck?
It'd be interesting to see the results of weighing the whole rig, not just the tongue weight. How much weight is on the front wheels, the rear, the trailer? What would the results of the weight distribution calculator show? Again, the bottom line is a safely balanced rig.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5290
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Posted: 03 Apr 2021 at 11:14am |
My point is different. I’m not interested in leveling my tow vehicle, it doesn’t end up level. I’m interested in counteracting the teeter totter and getting the weight on the front axle back where it was without the trailer. That is how it is designed to operate and will handle the best. The only practical way to do that is by using a Wdh. You can move stuff around in the trailer all day and it wouldn’t accomplish that, not and still have at least 11% (400 lbs in my case) on the tongue. I guess I could hang some lead in the front bumper instead or gain a couple hundred pounds but I think I’ll pass on those options . As LA says, it’s not a big deal for me to connect and tension it.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016
Location: Quaker Hill, CT
Online Status: Offline
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Posted: 03 Apr 2021 at 8:47am |
No, Old, I didn't miss your "point." As I said as clearly as I could, "I don't care whether one buys a WDH or not." If you are happy with shifting things around to achieve a balanced load, then good for you. If you like what you have and it is safe, then keep doing what you prefer.
As to whether it is more simple than using a WDH, that is not necessarily the case. The extra couple of minutes I spend hooking up our e2 is far more simple than futzing around with moving stuff fore and aft to achieve a balanced load. To each his own.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney
Sonoma 167RB
Our Pod 172
2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost
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