zx12-iowa

Edit... Saw his trailer is 4k lbs v 5k lbs. that will make a big difference...

KR Kodi

iTrader: (1)

Hey Smokey - Thanks for your input based on a lot of knowledge and experience!!

First of all, my older 3500 model Trailer Toad weighs 200 lbs - and that's with the WDH attached.

The newer 5000 models with a larger/heavier axle, spindle, deck, and ST225/75R15E tires probably weighs up near 350 lbs with the WDH attached.

The WDH attaches to the rear of the Toad, so it is carried by the Toad's axle and none of that is transferred to the truck.

The shank of the Toad that extends forward and goes into the hitch receiver on your TV weighs just a couple lbs, so adds virtually no weight to the truck. Below is a picture of my Toad, and the 675 lbs of tongue weight of the trailer is being supported by the Toad (note the tongue jack is retracted):




And below I'm easily holding up the shank because it only weighs a couple lbs:




The WDH mounts on the rear of the Toad,and it doesn't really "distribute" any weight to speak of. Talking with Jok Nicholson of Trailer Toad on the phone, he says that the WDH basically just keeps the deck of the Toad level. Here's a picture of a Toad with the spare removed and you can see that there's a hinge between the shank that mounts in the truck's receiver and the deck of the Toad, which contains the vertical spindle that provides pivoting action when turning, and you can see the hitch ball on the rear of the Toad - and the spring bars would extend aft from the WDH ball mount:




So....no trailer weight at all is transmitted to the truck (that hinged section prevents that from occurring), and no tongue weight is distributed aft to the trailer axles. As I understand it, my trailer when loaded is say 6100 lbs (675 tongue weight, 5425 on the axles, and that's the way it's going to stay when hooked up to the Trailer Toad, with the Toad carrying 675 lbs, the trailer axles carrying 5425 lbs, and the truck axle loads will weigh the same as whatever they weigh with the truck completely unhooked from the Toad and trailer.


So, I'm a little confused by some of your numbers. You say:

Are those axle weights of your loaded truck before hooking up your WDH??

Then later on, referring to towing with a Trailer Toad, you say:


If that section above is towing with a Tailer Toad, then I believe you think that the WDH is still going to "distribute" some weight - but I don't think it does.

I think that the weights of your Steer and Drive axles will be the same as when the loaded truck is completely unhooked from the Toad/trailer.

And I believe that whatever the tongue weight is, that's what will bear on the Toad's axle (along with the weight of the Toad itself and the WDH).

And I don't believe that the WDH is actually transferring any weight from the tongue back to the trailer axles, or vice versa.

And nothing at all from the trailer (tongue weight or axle load) will be transferred to the truck.


In the case of my truck, on the CAT scales it weighed 6180 with full fuel, bed liner, tonneau cover, and bed extender - otherwise empty. I didn't weigh the Steer and Drive axles separately, because With the Trailer Toad there won't be any change to the weight distribution.

With a 7200 GVW, I have a 1020 payload capacity.

When my wife and I mount up (220 and 140) and hook the 675 lbs of tongue weight directly to the truck (without a WDH), we've already exceeded the payload available.

However, with the Trailer Toad carrying the tongue weight, after my wife and I are in the truck I still have 660 lbs available for luggage and stuff in the cab and bed.

My truck has a GCWR of 15500. If I load the truck to its GVW of 7200, then I can pull 8300 lbs.

My trailer weighs about 6000 to 6200 lbs depending on what I load in it, the Trailer Toad is 200 lbs, so I'm around 2000 lbs below GCWR, even if I do carry 660 lbs of junk in the truck.

So....before Trailer Toad, I was overweight with absolutely nothing in the truck except for me and my wife.

After Trailer Toad, with me and my wife I can still carry 660 lbs in the truck, and I'm 2000 lbs under my GCWR limit.

The Trailer Toad might not be something most truck owners need to tow their load, but in my case with the very limited payload of my highly optioned King Ranch, the Toad keeps me way below all weight limits.

Wannafbody

The disadvantages I see with the trailer toad is the purchase price is fairly high and it adds length to the trailer. Otherwise, it looks like it would work well.

KR Kodi

iTrader: (1)

Yeah - I paid $2000 for my used one. There's a really nice looking one available out in Washington state for $1100. The new ones are $3200 and up.

For me it was a lot cheaper than a bigger truck, and my truck is turning into my daily driver, so the F150 is the biggest I want to drive around town.

It adds 2 feet to the length of your rig.