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A weight-distributing hitch is a "load leveling" hitch. It is a hitch setup mounted on the tow vehicle that uses spring bars and chains under tension to distribute part of the trailer's hitch weight from the towing vehicle's rear axle to the towing vehicle's front axle and to the trailer's axle(s). It can help reduce trailer sway and hop.
Weight distribution is the apportioning of weight within a vehicle, especially cars, airplanes, and trains. Typically, it is written in the form x / y , where x is the percentage of weight in the front, and y is the percentage in the back.
CMVs are restricted by gross weight (total weight of vehicle and cargo), and by axle weight (i.e., the weight carried by each tire). The federal weight limits for CMVs are 80,000 pounds (36,000 kg) for gross weight (unless the bridge formula dictates a lower limit), 34,000 pounds (15,000 kg) for a tandem axle, and 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) for a ...
Towing capacity is a measure describing the upper limit to the weight of a trailer a vehicle can tow and may be expressed in pounds or kilograms. Some countries require that signs indicating the maximum trailer weight (and in some cases, length) be posted on trucks and buses close to the coupling device. Towing capacity may be lower as declared ...
The typical 5-axle tractor-trailer combination, also called a "semi" or "18-wheeler", is a Class 8 vehicle. [30] Standard trailers vary in length from 8 ft (2.4 m) containers to 57 ft (17 m) van trailers, with the most common length being the 53 ft (16 m) trailer. [31] Specialized trailers for oversized loads can be considerably longer.
The gross trailer weight rating (GTWR) is the total mass of a road trailer that is loaded to capacity, including the weight of the trailer itself, plus fluids and cargo, that a vehicle is rated to tow by the manufacturer. In the United States and Canada, the static tongue load, the weight of the trailer as measured at the trailer coupling, is ...
The drawbar requires a trailer which either loads the drawbar lightly (for example a small boat trailer, or caravan, or the load is the weight of the coupling components only (larger trailers, usually but not always with a steerable hauled axle, front or rear). By contrast, the fifth wheel is designed to transmit a proportion of the load's ...
The automatic semi-trailer coupling patented by Fruehauf dominated the semi-trailer market until the Fruehauf Trailer Corporation's assets were sold in bankruptcy to Wabash National in 1997. Another fifth wheel patent U.S. 2,053,812 [ 9 ] was issued to Charles E. Bradshaw of Wellville, Virginia , filed March 18, 1936 and granted September 8, 1936.