Good exercise in getting the best out of a tow setup! Great thread.
As always keeping tires inflated correctly is absolutely key to safe and stable towing. I really do not think one should consider minimum inflation as a key, however one should always check for maximum cold and keep the pressure up under load especially with ST tires.
It is not an overpressure condition that blows most tires it is almost always heat created by underinflation causing lamination failure of the rubber from what I have read. Or damage from bumping curbs and the like causing breaks in the belts and bulges. TPMS are important but not as important as regular visual checks and actual pressure checks that are accurate.
The stock TPM setups on most vehicles need to have the warning trigger levels changed when hauling heavier loads. My brothers Sierra is a good example it does not give a tire warning until the tire is down to 23 psi which is not a good thing if you decide to haul anything or load the bed of the truck.
Also with a WDH getting the load shift right simply means getting at least the tongue weight of the rig to the front. In my case just over 450 lbs. When I do reach that point by adjusting the chains the tow vehicle sits perfectly level with almost the same load front as back but a little heavier on the back tires. Which is a good thing towing.
Naturally the WDH then compensates for swails in the pavement and increases greatly the stability of the tow setup going down the road. I would not be surprised if the weight transfer to the front tires increases by a considerable amount when going over dips.
Would be interesting to see the weight transfer effect actually documented while in motion, but I have never seen a running test of distribution changes while in motion on the net or on TV yet.
Anyway good thread!
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