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Tongue weight (tw), Frontal area, Trailer sway control – Dodge 2013 Grand Caravan User Manual

Page 528: Weight-carrying hitch

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Tongue Weight (TW)

The tongue weight is the downward force exerted on the
hitch ball by the trailer. In most cases it should not be less
than 10% or more than 15% of the trailer load. You must
consider this as part of the load on your vehicle.

Frontal Area

The frontal area is the maximum height multiplied by the
maximum width of the front of a trailer.

Trailer Sway Control

The trailer sway control can be a mechanical telescoping
link that can be installed between the hitch receiver and
the trailer tongue that typically provides adjustable fric-
tion associated with the telescoping motion to dampen
any unwanted trailer swaying motions while traveling.

If equipped, the electronic Trailer Sway Control (TSC)
recognizes a swaying trailer and automatically applies
individual wheel brakes and/or reduces engine power to
attempt to eliminate the trailer sway.

Weight-Carrying Hitch

A weight-carrying hitch supports the trailer tongue
weight, just as if it were luggage located at a hitch ball or
some other connecting point of the vehicle. These kinds
of hitches are the most popular on the market today and
they are commonly used to tow small- and medium-
sized trailers.

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