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Trailer Hitch Facts |
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Trailer Hitch Facts:
The weakest link determines the overall strength of any chain.
Common horse sense... but often overlooked when discussing towing capacity and
trailer hitches.
The "chain" of "links" to consider when towing a
horse trailer are:
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Tow Vehicle (including brake controller,
auxiliary cooling, etc.) |
| Hitch (including ball, draw-bar, hitch receiver, wiring, chains, etc.) |
| Trailer (including coupler, axles, tongue weight, etc.) |
If your tow vehicle has a turbo-charged 10-cyclinder diesel engine with
950-horsepower and a 3,000 pound class-II trailer hitch... 3,000 pounds is
ALL you can safely tow.
Abbreviations & Terms:
Studying hitches and towing capacities requires learning a whole new
language, filled with an "alphabet-soup" of abbreviations. The Department
of Transportation (DOT) has standardized the industry terms so that every
manufacturer uses consistent specifications. Here are the most common and
important terms to know:
| Curb Weight: The empty weight of a vehicle including all
factory options and accessories. For cars & trucks, this usually (but
not always) includes at least half a tank of fuel and 1 person (driver) at 150
lbs. For trailers, it is the empty weight of the trailer without horses,
tack, hay, etc. |
| GTW: Gross Trailer Weight - the actual total (gross) weight
of the fully loaded trailer (with horses, tack, hay, water, etc.).
This is the actual weight you are pulling - sometimes called "Trailer GVW". |
| TW: Tongue Weight - the amount of weight pressing down on
the vehicle's hitch from the coupler of the trailer (fully loaded). TWs
for tag-alongs
should be in the range of 12~15% of the trailer's curb weight, plus ~66% of
the "extra" cargo (not including horses) if the trailer is loaded and
constructed correctly. TWs for our 2-Horse gooseneck is ~25% of the
trailer's curb weight plus ~66% of the extra cargo (not including horses). |
| GVW: Gross Vehicle Weight - the actual fully loaded weight
of your tow vehicle, including passengers, luggage, fuel, the TW of and
trailer, etc. |
| GVWR: Gross Vehicle Weight Rating - the maximum possible
fully-loaded weight of any single vehicle with axles (trailer and/or tow
vehicle). The GVWR is primarily determined by the load carrying capacity
of the axles, frame, and suspension. The GVWR for a trailer must be
greater than the GTW. For your tow vehicle, the GVWR will include the
maximum allowed TW. |
| GCWR: Gross Combine Weight Rating - the maximum possible
combined (total) weight of your loaded trailer and your loaded tow
vehicle. This must include cargo, fuel, passengers, horses, etc. (also
called GCVWR, where the "V" is Vehicle). |
Hitch Considerations for Tag-Along Trailers:
Horse-Cents recommends our clients to
etrailer.com for your hitch parts and accessories. We can personally recommend them for their honesty, quality, and
fair prices.
We want to make 200% certain that your tow vehicle is properly
equipped with the correct hardware and electrical components (including the brake
controller) for safe hauling of your trailer and horses.
For a more complete description of towing
hitches, ratings, and accessories, we refer you to the leading two manufacturers
of hitches in the country:
Draw-Tite and Reese.
Each manufacturer has a tutorial section in their web site with lots of good
graphics and explanations.
Also - please see our Trailering Tip More
Hitching Help for additional information.
There are two basic hitch styles:
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Weight Carrying: Abbreviated as "WC". All the weight of the trailer
is carried by the hitch. These are the most common type. There are two types
of ball-mount platforms for WC hitches:
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Fixed Draw-bar - where the ball platform is
permanently mounted to the hitch (typical in most Class I & some Class II) |
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Removable Draw-bar - where the ball platform slides
into a receiver on the hitch |
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Weight Distributing: Abbreviated as "WD". Much of the trailer's
tongue weight (TW) is transferred
via "trunnion" torsion (spring) bars to the tow vehicle's frame (via the hitch
receiver). These hitches have a
much higher GTW and TW rating than WC systems and are less prone to sway
problems. |
Typical hitch receivers |
Typical WC removable draw-bar and tow ball |
Typical WD system assembly |
There are five common hitch classifications used in
N. America:
Hitch
rating labels:
Some Class III and all Class IV and V hitches are identified with four weight
capacities; two for WD and two for WC. For each type (WD and WC), the two
figures represent the maximum GTW and TW that the hitch is rated for,
respectively. For example, the markings found on a Class IV hitch might look like:
12,500 / 1,250 WD - 5,000 / 500 WC. Here the 12,500 is the GTW
capacity and the 1,250 is the TW capacity when used with a WD hitch assembly,
the 5,000 and 500 are respectively the same ratings when used as a WC hitch
(i.e., with a simple draw-bar and tow ball).
For towing horse trailers, the minimum hitch you should consider is a
Class
III. Never, ever, attempt to pull a horse trailer on a
bumper-mounted ball. These are typically Class I (or at best Class II) and
generally not safe
or legal for hauling livestock! Only use trailer hitches securely mounted to the
frame of the tow vehicle.
Other components of the hitch system are also rated. You must
make certain that the Tow Ball, Drawbar, Locking Pin, and Safety Chains are
all rated high enough for the task.
Another hitch consideration is an "anti-sway" device.
These stabilize the trailer by dampening any tendency for the trailer to sway
behind the tow vehicle (a very dangerous condition which has led to
countless trailering accidents). Several Weight-Distribution hitches have
built-in anti-sway devices / functions. Please see our Trailering Tip More
Hitching Help for more information.
Remember, it only takes one link
to fail for the chain to break!
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