4.10:1 with a stick or 4.56:1 with a slushbox. For a lot of heavy towing in hill-land one might even go deeper, but for normal use a cooler + staying out of OD will do the trick.

 

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Can you provide a link to these hitches you're talking about? 100% of the weight distributing hitches I've ever seen are for reducing sway due to an improperly or unevenly loaded towed vehicle. It seems rather impossible for a hitch installed behind the rear axle to do what you are suggesting without using some sort of anti-gravity technology.

FWIW I've also never seen any recommendation for a weight distributing hitch on an XJ at any particular load.

 

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You need either load-adjusting shocks or self-levelling air bags to do that. Or put springs in the rear with enough capacity to keep the Jeep level under load. A piece of metal bolted to the frame behind the rear axle can't alter the suspension height.

 

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Over complicating this guys.

There is a pivot point right at the hitch and coupler. For the purposes of this description, think of it as a horizontal pin (much like the clevis that holds the receiver into the hitch). The load is gonna twist right there at the pin, the tongue will go down until the springs (or axle) take over the weight. This will start to form a V between the two vehicles. Then its just a leverage case where you have X amount of tongue weight pushing down (lets say) 2 feet from the rear axle which is now a fulcrum point. Eventually it starts picking up the front etc.

All a load leveling hitch does, keeps that V from forming…basically its a bar bridging the trailer and tow vehicle in such a way that allows you to still turn. Helps keep some of the weight up front and the suspension not as compressed in the rear.

You can combat the weight with stiffer springs (or in the case of bigger vehicles, more air in the suspension) or a load leveling hitch.

Here is a picture of a load distributing hitch in action (tongue weight is about 1200 lb).


Here is a picture of combatting the weight in another manner…stiffer springs and just enough weight on the back of the trailer (in this case from the tongue of another trailer) to keep everything from swaying but pick the tongue up off the truck a bit.

 

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