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Old 02-28-2016, 05:50 PM   #1
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Submitted to the Weight Court

Visited the CAT scales today.

With WD Hitch
Truck Front Axle 2760
Truck Rear Axle 3760
Trailer Axles 7300

Without WD Hitch

Truck Front 2600
Truck Rear 3980
Trailer Axles 7240

Truck Only
Front 3080
Rear 2320

Full tank of gas, nobody in truck, trailer loaded with the stuff that stays in there all the time so need to add clothes, food and beverages, propane tanks are full, fresh and waste tanks empty.

It seems like maybe I should try and shift some more weight to the front.

Towingplanner.com cam back with:

Gross Combined Weight View -13,820
Truck Weight (hitched + WDH engaged) - 6,520
Truck Weight (hitched; no WDH) - 6,580
Truck Weight (truck only) - 5,400
Camper Weight - 8,420
Tongue Weight - 1,180
Tongue Weight Percentage - 14 %

First issue is my Equal-i-zer is the 1K/10K. Obviously I need to go up to the 1.2K/12K version.

Second issue is that the GVWR for the truck is 7000. According to towingplanner.com I'm already at 6520. That only leaves me 480. I'm 250 and the DW is 160 so now I'm left with only 90 lbs of stuff I can take with us. I carry more beer than that. :-)

Any advice? The rig drives well. No sway even when being passed by big rigs. The dealer transferred the Equal-i-zer. Unattached, the top of the ball is at 26" and the top of the trailer ball mount is 24" when the trailer is level. Equal-i-zer wants those closer to level but I haven't messed with it. The truck and trailer ride close to level the way it is. MPG is about 10 at 60 to 65 MPH.

The DW would like me to add airbags to try and dampen the porpoising. Of course that raises the back of the truck and then I have to adjust the hitch again.
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Old 02-29-2016, 09:40 AM   #2
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Hmmm, no replies in 15 hours? What's up? You guys love talking about weights?

On my display it doesn't look like my signature is showing up. We have a 2016 Rockwood 8329SS and a 2014 GNMC Sierra 1/2 ton Crew Cab with the 5.3L V8. The GVWR is 7,000. The GCVRW is 15,000, The Tow rating is 9,800 and the Tongue rating is 1,200.
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Old 02-29-2016, 09:58 AM   #3
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Air bags won't stop porpoising (in my opinion), although they may limit the amount of compression they won't help the rebound. You'll have to go to better and heavier duty shocks for that.
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Old 02-29-2016, 10:04 AM   #4
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The Weight Court says you are guilty !!! (Of taking the time to weigh your rig and set it up correctly !!)

IMHO, you need to transfer more weight to the front truck axle. You are currently still missing 320 lbs. of weight on the front TV axle. 1 or 2 more more washers in the Equal-i-zer may correct that problem.

Once you do that, more weight will be transferred to the trailer axles, leaving a bit more weight available for the truck. It would probably be wise to still not carry much in the truck except your passengers.

The 1200 lb. spring bars may be needed, but maybe some of the resident Equal-i-zer experts can chime in on that.

Once you get the proper setup, there should be no need for airbags. (IMHO, airbags should not be used on a 1/2 ton truck.....it encourages people to overload their rear axles.)

As far as the beer weight.....with a 14% tongue weight (which is not bad), you can load up the beer near the rear of the trailer without worries.

Kudos for trying to get the best possible performance and safety from your combo, but always keep in mind that is a lot of trailer for a 1/2 ton truck, so drive safe out there.
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Old 02-29-2016, 04:42 PM   #5
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I stopped on our last trip last year. I wish I had more time to weigh with/without WDH and with the trailer disconnected but needed to get back on the road. I feel really safe with our set-up so the additional info would just be for micro-analysis.



Steer Axle: 4900 lb
Drive Axle: 5200 lb
Trailer Axle: 6420 lb
Gross Weight: 16,520
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Old 02-29-2016, 04:48 PM   #6
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You have some room on your GCVRW; couldn't you load more on the trailer axles (i.e. cargo in the camper)?
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Old 02-29-2016, 05:11 PM   #7
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I`d try the washers like MtnGuy said, If that don`t work then contact Equalizer . They may have a thicker or thinner bar socket that would let you run 1200 bars in your 10K head. If they don`t have a socket that way , maybe you could have a couple machined . 1200 bars are 1.5 inches in Diameter , What are your 1000 Bars ? That would help me know which way would be best to get a socket to fit in your hitch head. Also you may need to move the L brackets up if there is anymore adjustments in them.
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Old 02-29-2016, 05:54 PM   #8
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The trailer has opposing double rear slides so there isn't much room to put much cargo over the axles when it's closed up. Of course the front is pretty closed off too when the front slide is in. It'll take some strategic placement but I can try to get some weight over the axles.
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Old 02-29-2016, 05:57 PM   #9
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Equal-izer uses a different head as well as different bars when you move from the 10 to the 12. I think the 12 and 14 might be interchangeable though. Not sure if the sockets can be changed out. I'll call Equal-izer and ask that question.
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Old 02-29-2016, 08:09 PM   #10
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The 1200 and 1400 bars are the same bars , only difference is the 14k head is thicker steel. Lets us know what Equalizer tells you , Etrailer sells Equalizer parts so maybe you can fine tune your hitch .
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Old 02-29-2016, 10:49 PM   #11
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I think the biggest problem is the fact that you published your wife's weight on the forum
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Old 03-01-2016, 12:51 PM   #12
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Fixed It

After careful consideration and self butt-kicking I bought a new truck today. I knew it was just a matter of time so why not now? I've been accused of being part of the Weight Police before as I've always told folks to stay under 75% of any of their ratings and here I was screwing around with 95 to 105%. Stupid, stupid stupid. I always tell the kids and grandkids, "There's never time to do it right but always time to do it over." If you do something stupid with your rig you might not get a chance to do it over. So I'm doing it right.

Thanks to everybody who offered advice and thanks to those of you who didn't say, "Oh, you need a new truck," even though you really, really wanted to.

And, yes, the new truck is awesome.

Cheers
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Old 03-01-2016, 02:23 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TXFolkie View Post
After careful consideration and self butt-kicking I bought a new truck today. I knew it was just a matter of time so why not now? I've been accused of being part of the Weight Police before as I've always told folks to stay under 75% of any of their ratings and here I was screwing around with 95 to 105%. Stupid, stupid stupid. I always tell the kids and grandkids, "There's never time to do it right but always time to do it over." If you do something stupid with your rig you might not get a chance to do it over. So I'm doing it right.

Thanks to everybody who offered advice and thanks to those of you who didn't say, "Oh, you need a new truck," even though you really, really wanted to.

And, yes, the new truck is awesome.

Cheers
OMG!!! you have way to much truck for the TT you need to upgrade your TT so your using more of the capacity of the truck LOL

Congrats on the new truck and lets us know how different is tows compare to your old truck.
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Old 03-01-2016, 03:50 PM   #14
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Congrats!! I too bought a 1/2 ton towable camper only to find out that you need a death wish to tow it with a 1/2 ton. My F-350 Dually may be a little overkill but it tows like a dream. The WDH, Dual Cam Sway control and dually make for an extremely pleasurable towing experience. My guess is that yours will be much better going forward as well.

Post some pics of that new truck!!
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Old 03-01-2016, 04:00 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TXFolkie View Post
After careful consideration and self butt-kicking I bought a new truck today. I knew it was just a matter of time so why not now? I've been accused of being part of the Weight Police before as I've always told folks to stay under 75% of any of their ratings and here I was screwing around with 95 to 105%. Stupid, stupid stupid. I always tell the kids and grandkids, "There's never time to do it right but always time to do it over." If you do something stupid with your rig you might not get a chance to do it over. So I'm doing it right.

Thanks to everybody who offered advice and thanks to those of you who didn't say, "Oh, you need a new truck," even though you really, really wanted to.

And, yes, the new truck is awesome.

Cheers
Remember if no pictures it didn't happen.....we always love to see new trucks...congrats.
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Old 03-01-2016, 04:11 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by TXFolkie View Post
Hmmm, no replies in 15 hours? What's up? You guys love talking about weights?

On my display it doesn't look like my signature is showing up. We have a 2016 Rockwood 8329SS and a 2014 GNMC Sierra 1/2 ton Crew Cab with the 5.3L V8. The GVWR is 7,000. The GCVRW is 15,000, The Tow rating is 9,800 and the Tongue rating is 1,200.
Ya changed trucks in the middle of the stream. Later RJD
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Old 03-01-2016, 06:31 PM   #17
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Yes be careful you are very border line with your truck. I traded my 1/2 ton for 3/4 ton night and day difference in handling. But you also have a little bit more capacity with your truck than I did.
We have the recliners, when stowed you can put a cooler between them. We also throw our overnight bags on seats of recliners. If you have the recliners ALWAYS be careful opening and closing slides. Recliners sometimes slide forward and interfere with slides or other items, like bags can also get in the way.
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Old 03-01-2016, 06:37 PM   #18
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For what ever reason I didn't see page 2. Congrats on new truck, believe me you will sleep better!
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