[VAL] Re: VAL Digest V1 #182 - Spring bars too light?

[waymark1@xxxxxxxx]

You need lighter spring bars to approximately match the tongue weight of
your Caravel when it is loaded and ready to roll, plus the load in the
back of your tow vehicle. Accurately measure the weight on the hitch
coupler of your trailer, then add to this figure the weight of the cargo
you will be carrying in the back of your tow vehicle, particularly behind
the rear axle of the tow vehicle. Select the spring bars rated equal to
or next greater than this sum.
The "10,000#" rating is the weight distributed load capacity of the
receiver and ball mount. It does not mean that your tow vehicle can tow a
10,000# trailer, just that the receiver will carry that much with its
designed safety margin. The hitch maker would rather that your tow
vehicle bend or break before their receiver or ball mount bends or
breaks. My van came with a 4,000# capacity receiver. Overloading had bent
the van's rear frame slightly. I removed it and installed a 10,000#
receiver. When the bolts were tightened it straightened the frame.
The main difference between the 4,000# and the 10,000# receivers is that
the 4,000# unit fastened only to the very rear of the frame, the rear two
holes, while the 10,000# receiver side frames reached farther forward on
the van's frame, its front holes going in front of the van's rear leaf
spring mounts.
Al