Tiny House Weight Distribution

Proper weight distribution is extremely important, but easily overlooked.

What is a Weight Distribution Hitch?

A weight distribution hitch is a system installed between your tow vehicle and your trailer designed to keep your vehicle and trailer level during towing. This creates a more stable ride and reduces strain on your tow vehicle.

When you add a load to a trailer, the majority of the weight of the load is carried by the axles. However, some of the weight is carried by the tongue and is thus transferred to the tow vehicle. The amount of weight that is on the tongue is important, as having too little or too much can create an unsafe condition. If there is too little weight, the trailer can easily get out of control and swing from side to side (sway). If there is too much weight, it can put undue stress on the tow vehicle and cause a failure. The optimal tongue weight of a trailer is 10 to 15 percent of the trailers gross weight. On a normal equipment trailer this can be easily adjusted by repositioning your load. For instance, if you a pulling a trailer with a tractor, the tractor can be moved forward or back. This is much more difficult to accomplish with an RV or tiny home since the amount of weight that can be repositioned is much smaller. In general, it is better to err on the side of having more weight on the tongue since the downsides of this can be mostly overcome by a larger tow vehicle and/or a weight distribution system.

Example Of Unsafe Weight Distribution

Even if the weight of your trailer is properly distributed, the tongue weight of your trailer can cause the back or your vehicle to sag, resulting in the vehicle and trailer being unlevel. A weight distribution system is engineered to solve this by being put in place while the trailer and vehicle are level (i.e. while the trailer is jacked up) and then using leverage and tension to keep them that way after the jack is retracted.

What is Sway Control?

Sway control, which is often integrated or included as on add-on to weight distribution systems, is a mechanism that helps reduce the sway of your trailer while driving. This is usually accomplished by using friction to keep your trailer centered with your tow vehicle.

Do I Need a Weight Distribution Hitch?

Often your vehicles owner’s manual will tell you when you need to use a weight distribution hitch. But given the weight of most tiny houses it is a safe bet to assume one will be required. In fact, for liability reasons most RV dealers will not allow an RV to leave their lot if they are not first connected to a weight distribution system, and as we know, tiny houses weigh more than RV’s. So, if you plan to move your house more than just once or twice in it’s lifetime, and more than just a few miles, we highly recommend the use of a weight distribution system with integrated sway control for your safety and for those around you.

Because of the lower weight of an empty tiny house trailer, a weight distribution system is not required to move one.

Which Weight Distribution System?

There are several different weight distribution manufacturers and systems available, ranging in price from $400 to over $3000. After owning 4 different systems over the years and talking to many experienced RV owners, we have selected the system we recommend and offer based on the following criteria:

  • Ease of use. The system we recommend does not connect using chains. While systems utilizing chains are generally less expensive, in our opinion it is not worth the tradeoff of the added noise and difficult connection.
  • Integrate Sway Control. Some systems integrate the sway control into the spring bars while others require an external sway bar. The external systems require more time to connect, more parts to store, additional clips to lose, and sometimes require being disconnected prior to reversing your vehicle.
  • Price. The price of the system we selected needed to be within a reasonable range. Some weight distribution systems out there cost as much as the trailer they are pulling. We did not feal this was practical nor a realistic option for most.

For these reasons we have selected the Equal-i-zer Sway Control hitch as the official Tiny Home Builders weight distribution system.

Related Articles

Choosing a Tiny House Trailer

Something exciting is about to happen! You are searching for the most important feature of your Tiny House to be. The cornerstone. The Foundation. The Trailer. What should you be looking for in a trailer that is about to carry your home? I recently purchased a tiny house trailer and this is a summary of all the items I considered.

Watch Your Roof! Respecting Tiny House Height

One of the growing trends of the tiny house world is going as big as you can and still going tiny. We are asked a lot about the maximum lengths, widths and heights. Our normal builds are 13’5” high, just one inch below the legal limit set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The response is normally, “WOW! How do you drive with that in tow?” Here are some of the things to think about when it comes to respecting tiny house height.

Space Concordia and The Adventure of Trailer Tom

A few weeks ago, the Space Concordia Rocketry team journeyed to Timmins, Ontario, where they undertook one of our most challenging rocket engine tests to date...

Making the Most of Your Tiny House Height

It is one of the biggest concerns on every new tiny home builder’s mind: How much room am I going to have in that loft? We are asked all the time, “What is the highest that I can go?” There are set limitations for sure, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways to sneak out as much headroom as possible. Here is what you need to know to make the most of your tiny house height.

The Tiny Home Builders Difference

Tiny Home Builders was started in 2009 by Dan Louche when he built his first house for his mom. After that experience, he realized there had to be a better way and set out to design a safer and faster alternative.

Contact Us