class III hitch -- 600lb tongue weight is all?

Here's the story.  A Class III hitch (bolted onto my 97 Tahoe) pulling a little StarCraft AR0ne 15' scaled recently (loaded) at 2700 pounds.  Tongue weight is 650 pounds.  My 2" ball mount is rated at 500 Tongue wt.

Since I'm considering also loading a 100lb inflatable boat onto the tongue for a vac (making the tongue weight 750lbs, I thought I should buy a beefier 1000lb ball mount.

Stay with me... 

This morning the local hitch place guy told me just going to a beefier solid ball mount is a "bad idea"-- because class III hitches only have a max tongue wt of 600 lbs. (Showed me photos of a hitch that stayed bolted to the frame with ripped welds and bent downward;  too much TW).

BUT he said, going to a weight distrib hitch dramatically increases the tongue wt capacity.  Did I misunderstand him?  Going to a WD hitch makes the tongue weight lighter?  I don't get it. (he recommended going to a WD hitch, but didn't mention going to a beefier class4 receiver.)

You know my weights now -- should I be using a WD hitch?
Or should I go up to a class 4 hitch receiver? 
It all just seems such overkill for a "lightweight" trailer like mine. Sway hasn't been an issue with me.

Be gentle with me, I'm old.

Did I misunderstand him?  Going to a WD hitch makes the tongue weight lighter?  I don't get it.

Click to expand...

The weight distributing hitch leverages weight to the front axle of the towing vehicle thus taking weight off of the hitch.
See the following: http://www.etrailer.com/faq-weightdistribution.aspx


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A class 3 hitch is rated for 5K lbs and 500 lbs tongue weight MAX
A class 4 hitch is rated for 12K lbs + 1200 lbs tongue

Which do YOU think you should be using safely, and without leaving the trailer on the side of the road one day????  You are already nicely  overloaded at 650 lbs on the tongue even without the boat..... Adding another heavy hitch won't improve the situation, rating wise.....

Weight distribution is meant to balance out a load, NOT correct an unsafe overload.

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link"

650# is an awful lot of weight for a 2700# trailer. How did you come to determine your TW @ 650#.

here are the specs on that trailer:
http://www.starcraftrv.com/light-weight/ar-one/floorplans/15rb/#floorplan-main

No one travels with the 220# "Dry TW" listed in the specs but I seriously doubt if yours would be over 350# fully loaded unless you have a 300# motorcycle (or 4, 100# batteries ) on the tongue........ optimum tongue wt is about 13% of your loaded trailer wt...... If your trailer scales @ 2700# (which seems a bit suspect also with a dry wt of 2550#), I would be surprised if your TW is over 300#.

A WDH allows you to distribute the weight more evenly between the front and rear wheels of the TV. This is done with leverages spring bars. A WDH does not change the weight carried by the ball. In fact, the sheer weight of the WDH will increase the total payload weight on your TV.

You need to determine the wt carrying capacity of the front and rear wheels of your TV. Using the WDH may help in that capacity but I have my doubts about the total payload of your Tahoe. The payload is the total weight of the cargo, driver passengers plus the TW on your hitch (and the hitch itself). 

The easiest way to get your true TW is to get your hands on a 8' long 2x6. put a brick or stack of wood under both ends of the 2x6. Place a wood dowel  (broom stick or similar) between the 2x6 and brick on one end. Place a bathroom scale under the other end....... mark the exact center of the 8' 2x6 and place the center of the coupler on that mark. Double whatever the scale says. If the scale is too light for the load, measure 1/3 the distance for the coupler placement and multiply the weight on the scale x 3.

Agree with Wavery: if your 2700# trailer has a 650# tongue, you need to do some rebalancing right away. It shouldn't be over about 325 (12%). 400# tops.

A WD hitch doesn't change the actual tongue weight, but it redistributes the tongue load across the tow vehicles front and rear axles, reducing the effective weight on the ball. So yes, you can carry a greater tongue weight with a WD type of hitch. Here's one simple article explaining WD
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-parts/towing/equipment/hitches/towing-weight-distribution-systems.htm

And more help here:
http://www.etrailer.com/faq-weightdistribution.aspx