Just Browsing Towball Weights

[wally]

My business, WEIGHTCHECK Mobile Caravan Weighing, was asked by a client if we could supply some data on towball weights and how they are affected by the height of the towball. It was an interesting process and the results, whilst not alarming , do shed some light on how the height of the towball affects the TBM and the GTM
The single axle van was towed onto our Load Cells ( axle weighers ) and disconnected from the tug. Then the towball height was set to the same height as it was when attached to the tug, and these weights were used as our starting point. We then took measurements at various heights both up and down and at level.
A spreadsheet of some of the results is below.

 

[Drover]

Most interesting, you will start them going now worrying about all manner of things to do with weight..................
......I wonder how the weight displacement changes as you drive down the road with the hitch at various heights ????
......I used to watch my axles scales in the truck and it was amazing to see how the weight moved around in certain situations and the loading up of the wheels.

........Now you will have to do a comparison with a dual axle rig, to see not only the bal loading but how it changes the axle loadings..........youv'e opened a can I think, very good can though of interesting info for a rainy day read.

 

[wally]

Most interesting, you will start them going now worrying about all manner of things to do with weight..................
......I wonder how the weight displacement changes as you drive down the road with the hitch at various heights ????
......I used to watch my axles scales in the truck and it was amazing to see how the weight moved around in certain situations and the loading up of the wheels.

........Now you will have to do a comparison with a dual axle rig, to see not only the bal loading but how it changes the axle loadings..........youv'e opened a can I think, very good can though of interesting info for a rainy day read.

Hi Drover ,
Yeah I am going to do the same test on a dual axle in a couple of weeks, that will be interesting to see how the towball weight transfers to each of the axles ?? About that can of worms...now you've got me thinking ...I should also do the same set of tests with the van on both a forward and blackward slope...maybe about 20 degrees ...what do you recon
Cheers Wally

 

[Drover]

The can just got bigger, lol,lol,lol...............................10 deg sideways slope, I recall looking at the scales once as I negotiated out of a paddock and was a tad worried by the figures.
Those that have a pile of crap on the draw bar or rear bumper may benefit from a bit of lift or drop at the front, oh the possibilities....A bigger spread sheet.??????.........

.................Of course the effect of all this on the weight distribution on the tug would also have to be included.

But since it's all static and not dynamic it possibly doesn't transfer to the real world all that well but could possibly extrapolate to a max and min loading to various points of the rig in certain situations which would vary by the second as you drive down the road....!!!!!!!!!.............................now I have a headache.

 

[wally]

The can just got bigger, lol,lol,lol...............................10 deg sideways slope, I recall looking at the scales once as I negotiated out of a paddock and was a tad worried by the figures.
Those that have a pile of crap on the draw bar or rear bumper may benefit from a bit of lift or drop at the front, oh the possibilities....A bigger spread sheet.??????.........

.................Of course the effect of all this on the weight distribution on the tug would also have to be included.

But since it's all static and not dynamic it possibly doesn't transfer to the real world all that well but could possibly extrapolate to a max and min loading to various points of the rig in certain situations which would vary by the second as you drive down the road....!!!!!!!!!.............................now I have a headache.

I know Drover . there are so many variants ...i'll keep you posted when I do the double axle
Cheers Wally

 

[chartrock]

Do you need a dual axle van to test?

 

[The escapist]

Wonder how much suspension lift would make a difference? Outback comparison with a touring model compared to a touring model with underslung axles.....

I've an underslung touring model you can use