Quote: Originally posted by Greendemon315 on 04/5/2011
Hi Ian
A bit tricky at this stage. I do wish you well with it, but it's definitely going to pose some problems.
I think whatever you do, you're still going to need the 4 x 4. Certainly a smaller car would pull it, but would never stand the noseweight.
Without measurements it's hard to say, but the ratio between front and back, divided at the axle, looks to be about 10:1. That means something over half a tonne of sand behind the axle to bring the noseweight down to car levels.
Putting that into perspective, spare wheels and sand aren't really going to help much, so I think the noseweight isn't going to change substantially. All you can do is try to get it under 100Kg, which is the limit for some hitches.
As far as pendulum effect goes, it's actually more like a hammer, with all the weight at one end, so you will have to take care on the road. I think if it snaps out of line, you probably won't get it back. There's no balance. Fortunately, you have a heavy tow vehicle.
Legally, I'm not sure how you would go about getting it plated. Hopefully, someone else will be along shortly with ideas on that.
Good luck with the project. It does look great. If only looks could be translated into stability.....
As Wizard says, see if you can get some weight distribution advice from the makers of these things.
Jim
Topic: Advise on my towhitch weight
