Re: [A/S] Re: Overload Devices On Tow Vehicles

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Harvey,
  I had our rig weighed by A-Weigh-We-Go at the Fall Escapade; it is an 
interesting excercise:

They first weigh the tow vehicle by itself, then the entire rig. You're 
required to fill out a form that lists all the Gross Weight numbers, 
your tire capacities, etc.

In my case, the front axle of the truck weighed exactly the same with 
the trailer as without, indicating that the WD setup was 'close'. I 
tried pulling up one more link on the chains, but it made the rig feel 
squirrly to me, so I returned to the setup I started with. (we're using 
the last link on the chains)

We do have air bags on the truck, and I normally run 30PSI in them when 
towing. There's quite a lot of pressure on the spring bars; it's not 
really practical to snap the brackets 'up' unless the hitch point is 
elevated by the tounge jack. That's using an old jack handle for 
operating the snap brackets, not a long lever.

Our hitch is an EZ-Lift, with 1000# bars. The tounge weight is between 
700 and 800 pounds, according to my Sherline scale; the trailer weighs 
right at 6000# when ready to roll. As you know, we're towing with a 1994 
Dodge/Cummins, so there's plenty of truck up front. We also use one of 
those friction sway control gadgets, but I have it set fairly 'light', 
so I don't really know how much effect it has.

                                 <<Jim>>