Cybertruck Trailer Hitch/Casting Failure @10,400 lbs *VERTICAL LOAD*

[cybercricket]

It does, depending on how you measure Tongue weight. Use this next time with any Weight Distribution hitch to see how much your Tow Vehicle Hitch is taking the tongue weight. Lowering Tongue Weight means transferring the load to front axles.

https://www.weigh-safe.com/product/steel-weigh-safe-drop-hitch/

I use Hensley Hitch, but any regular WD hitch would do.

I believe you're mistaken. I think I already said that twice in this thread: WD only changes the vectors of force, not the force itself.

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[mongo]

It does, depending on how you measure Tongue weight. Use this next time with any Weight Distribution hitch to see how much your Tow Vehicle Hitch is taking the tongue weight. Lowering Tongue Weight means transferring the load to front axles.

https://www.weigh-safe.com/product/steel-weigh-safe-drop-hitch/

I use Hensley Hitch, but any regular WD hitch would do.

That's not hitch weight though, that's ball weight. The trailer requires a certain torque or force to balance. You cannot decrease that and have a stable system.
The WD offsets the torque induced by the lever who's length is the rear axle to ball distance.
The truck frame cares about force and torque at the receiver, thus the spec on ball to rear axle distance.

 

[Cyber Man]

I believe you're mistaken. I think I already said that twice in this thread: WD only changes the vectors of force, not the force itself.

lol! How can WD magically lower overall force? Of course when someone says Tongue Weight with WD, they are referring to the vectors of force on the rear axle through the hitch point. WD helps distribute that force to front axle. That’s the basic mechanism of WD.

If someone is mistaken, it’s Jerry who thinks CT is broken as it cannot take 10,000 lbs force directly on the hitch, and those who believe CT is unsafe are also completely mistaken!

Probably someday I’ll measure the “vector force” on the hitch while driving off road with 10,000 lbs dirt trailer and share the data point to prove that the weight on Hitch will not reach 6000 lbs even with bumps and uneven terrain!

 

[cybercricket]

lol! How can WD magically lower overall force? Of course when someone says Tongue Weight with WD, they are referring to the vectors of force on the rear axle through the hitch point. WD helps distribute that force to front axle. That’s the basic mechanism of WD.

I am not disputing that. The issue is the entire amount of force is applied through the hitch receiver, which is what we're talking about. How that force is later distributed across the axles of the truck is beyond the point. Without WD the force is applied on a downward arch (same as in Jerry's test), and with WD it would be more vertical. I am skeptical that there would be a significant difference in the breaking weight between the two scenarios.

If someone is mistaken, it’s Jerry who thinks CT is broken as it cannot take 10,000 lbs force directly on the hitch, and those who believe CT is unsafe are also completely mistaken!

Jerry made the claim that the receiver has to withstand vertical loading equivalent to the entire trailer weight. Such claim is independent of the Cybertruck, and folks in this thread suggested that from the regulatory standpoint there is no such requirement.

Probably someday I’ll measure the “vector force” on the hitch while driving off road with 10,000 lbs dirt trailer and share the data point to prove that the weight on Hitch will not reach 6000 lbs even with bumps and uneven terrain!

No matter how hard I try, I will not be able to throw 180 grains of lead achieving 500 joules.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

It does, depending on how you measure Tongue weight. Use this next time with any Weight Distribution hitch to see how much your Tow Vehicle Hitch is taking the tongue weight. Lowering Tongue Weight means transferring the load to front axles.

https://www.weigh-safe.com/product/steel-weigh-safe-drop-hitch/

I use Hensley Hitch, but any regular WD hitch would do.

MY experience with weight distributing hitches is that they push the ball location back another 5" behind the standard ball location without weight distribution. Tesla provides an 1,100-pound hitch weight ONLY at 7" from center of hitch pin to center of ball. When I put my weight distributing hitch on my CT, it is 12" from pin to center of the ball. That change DRAMATICALLY reduces the weight rating and increases the leverage factor by a lot. This added "distance" leverage is why Tesla limits the weight of bicycles on a bike carrier to only 220 pounds. I prefer weight distribution too, and used it for years with y 9,500-lb boat trailer, but am afraid to do so with this truck.

 

[mongo]

MY experience with weight distributing hitches is that they push the ball location back another 5" behind the standard ball location without weight distribution. Tesla provides an 1,100-pound hitch weight ONLY at 7" from center of hitch pin to center of ball. When I put my weight distributing hitch on my CT, it is 12" from pin to center of the ball. That change DRAMATICALLY reduces the weight rating and increases the leverage factor by a lot. This added "distance" leverage is why Tesla limits the weight of bicycles on a bike carrier to only 220 pounds. I prefer weight distribution too, and used it for years with y 9,500-lb boat trailer, but am afraid to do so with this truck.

However, the spring arms of a weight distribution hitch counter that added torque.

 

[dalton108]

All right NERDS, I think this has gone on long enough; there’s only one way to settle this.

 

[CyberGus]

 

[Crissa]

For it to handle a thousand pounds at the hitch in a dynamic system, the load would have to extend less than an inch in any direction. The volume a load fills moves the center of gravity of the force on the hitch, and hence, multiplies the dynamic forces.

And I don't know any load that actually does that without actually being on a trailer with its own lever and load bearing axle which limits the angles it can apply the forces.

Your vertical load would have to be a tiny, dense, concave, spherical cow otherwise.

-Crissa

(Like, I can put my whole body weight on a single footpeg of my bike, right? But imagine if I were to stack a load the weight and size of my body to the peg, and the bike hit a normal bump, it would tear the peg right off as the load went flying. Dynamic forces are nothing to sneeze at!)

 

[Startreknerd]

Over 10k lbs before the casting "snapped"

Pure punishment!

JerryRigs framing it as a failure though.

 

[Startreknerd]

Wow, ChatGPT was channeling some snark.

Remember, kids, LLMs don't know if anything is true or not, and just follow with matching words or phrases to complete grammar.

The actual answer is that static loads under motion become multiplied as dynamic loads. So if you put a 1000 lbs on it and jump a curb or pothole, that 1000 pounds gets accelerated and multiplied by the drop.

Which is why it didn't break until the total load hit 10x the static limit.

-Crissa

10k lbs of sustained force.

 

[jakoh1]

So Jerryrigeverything is cancelled?

 

[Startreknerd]

So Jerryrigeverything is cancelled?

He made a few false or misstatements. Not looking good.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

However, the spring arms of a weight distribution hitch counter that added torque.

Not necessarily. Many of us set up the weight distributing hitch to eliminate sway, level cornering and reduce impact from bounces, but for neutral effect on tongue weight (no pressure up or down) when pulling straight - so the added 5" of distance rearward from the hitch pin is an actual reduction in the 1,100 maximum hitch weight at the ball - probably reduces it into the range of 700 pounds based on this Tesla owners manual chart and related graphic.

Pushing the center of downward weight back 10.5 inches reduce the hitch rating from 1,100 pounds to 375 pounds, so it seems to me that pushing it back five inches would split the difference, hence somewhere between 700 and 750 pounds max tongue weight rating.

 

[mongo]

Not necessarily. Many of us set up the weight distributing hitch to eliminate sway, level cornering and reduce impact from bounces, but for neutral effect on tongue weight (no pressure up or down) when pulling straight - so the added 5" of distance rearward from the hitch pin is an actual reduction in the 1,100 maximum hitch weight at the ball - probably reduces it into the range of 700 pounds based on this Tesla owners manual chart and related graphic.

Pushing the center of downward weight back 10.5 inches reduce the hitch rating from 1,100 pounds to 375 pounds, so it seems to me that pushing it back five inches would split the difference, hence somewhere between 700 and 750 pounds max tongue weight rating.

Are we talking anti sway hitches or weight distributing ones?
Weight distribution hitches produce torque opposite of the tongue weight while also decreasing what the receiver would perceive as weight.
Image the trailer was reduced to a point load on the ball and you lifted on the spring arms. That reduces the torque at the pin/receiver and total weight the point source is applying.

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