Upgrading Pro Series PS49901 Weight Distribution Kit to Higher Weight Capacity
Question:
I originally bought this weight distribution for a 17ft 3000lb camper. We recently upgraded the tow vehicle and the camper. Now the camper has a tongue weight is 650 lbs. This weight distribution system is not quite rated for that. Will it help anything to use it? Or would it be bad to even try to use it. I was looking at the PS49902, that one has the tongue weight at 750 lbs. Would that be enough? Or would I want to up it to the PS49903 with the 1000 lbs. of tongue weight since I could potentially be putting a hundred or 2 lbs. of stuff in the back of the tow vehicle. And I read you are supposed to account for the weight of the luggage in the back of the car too. So if I need to upgrade, can I just buy the metal torsion rods separately? From the looks of all three, the actual hitch part looks identical. I dont want to have to buy a whole system since I literally used the weight distribution system I have twice. Once on the way to the camp, and once on the way home. On the way up, a deer ran between the tow vehicle and the camper on our first trip. Totaled the camper. And we realized we wanted a slightly bigger camper, so we upgraded the tow vehicle and just got a bigger camper..and now I just realized the camper is too heavy for the specs of the distribution kit I bought....
asked by: Daniel B
Expert Reply:
Does the 650 lb tongue weight you mention reflect the dry tongue weight, or the ready to tow tongue weight?
The first thing you'll want to do is determine the fully loaded and ready to tow tongue weight of your camper. To that figure, add the weight of anything stowed in the cargo area or bed of the tow vehicle that's behind the rear axle. I've linked to an FAQ article that explains how to do this. These combined figures represent the Total Tongue Weight (TTW) of your set-up. The TTW of your trailer should fall as close as possible to the middle of the effective range of the weight distribution system you choose.
The # PS49901 Pro Series weight distribution system you mentioned has a maximum tongue weight figure of 550 lbs, which is insufficient for your current camper. The system would be ineffective and could possibly be damaged if you attempted to use it.
To upgrade the capacity, simply purchase higher rated replacement spring bars like # PS58440 for tongue weights between 550 and 750 lb or # PS58441 for tongue weights between 750 and 1000 lb.
