Quote:
Originally Posted by prydey
5th wheel and semis are substantially different in that the hitch is above the rear axle. Massively different to an overhung hitch.
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Yeah the difference is 25% is about optimal for fifth wheel, and 10-15% is best for conventional. The people insisting less is always better or “no more than 5% because my owners manual says so,” are saying that because they’re not really talking about vehicles designed for towing. If you can’t put 10-15% of your trailer load on your hitch, because it will sag and overload the rear axle, then it’s too much trailer weight for that vehicle. Yes, you can shift more load toward the rear of the trailer to help level it, strap on your towing mirrors and away you go, but you’re dealing with compromises. It may be fine as long as you understand it. Now pull that same trailer with a vehicle designed to take the load, load the trailer properly so 10-15% is on the tongue, tell me which towing experience was more stable.