Visited the CAT Scale with the New Truck

[TXFolkie]

With W/D

Front 4380
Rear 4440
Trailer 7340
Gross 16160

Without W/D

Front 4220
Rear 4680
Trailer 7300
Gross 16200

Truck Only

Front 4640
Rear 3220
Gross 7860

Towingplanner.com says:

Gross Combined Weight
16,160
Truck Weight (hitched + WDH engaged)
8,820
Truck Weight (hitched; no WDH)
8,900
Truck Weight (truck only)
7,860
Camper Weight
8,340
Tongue Weight
1,040
Tongue Weight Percentage
12.5 %

The trailer dealer installed my Equal-i-zer 10K hitch and set the ball height about 3 inches higher than the level trailer coupler height. Then I took it to a hitch place and the guy eyeballed everything and dropped the ball one hole so still about 2 inches high. Neither one of those guys believes in scales or instructions.

Took it for a 500 mile trip this weekend and the front end was very floaty and each gust of wind was a unnerving. (you might recall from an earlier thread that I upgraded my truck because of the handling issues)

So today I took the hitch apart and put it back together following the manufacturer's instructions. It rides much, much nicer but still feels a bit light. The hitch has 6 washers on it. You can go to 8 max. Do y'all think I should try to shift more weight to the front or are these good numbers?

You can see that I'm 40 lbs over the tongue rating on the hitch. I'm not really interested in upgrading to the 12K hitch for that 40 lbs for $500. I can shift some trailer weight to correct that.

[youroo]

There is more to it than just the 40#,bars should be sized to the middle of Tongue# yours is at the High End! The Dealer should supply the Proper #Bars N/C! I have found that the Setup can All be Proper and encounter the Crappy Handling Issues" Solved" by Replacing the OEM Tires with "Maxxis 8008's"! Youroo!!

[Teamfour]

You need to put some more weight on the front. You are right on the limit of the 1000/10,000 hitch. A properly sized and adjusted WDH will also move weight back onto the trailer. If you can move a little forward it may drop the TW slightly.

[The_Rhino]

For nearly the same size TT I insisted they install the Equalizer 4 1200. For my heaviest trip of the season my Ram 2500 numbers (w/WD engaged) were:

Steer Axle 3300 (lighter gas engine...)
Drive Axle 4580
Trailer Axle 7340 (exactly same as yours!)
GCVW: 15220

The dealer included the WDH and installation in the sale price. On the way home from the dealer, totally empty, I felt a lot of porpoising. However, once we loaded our gear & increased the tongue weight, the ride has been totally stable even in high winds, emergency stops, etc.

My EQ4 setup looks like this except my ball mount has one extra hole at the bottom (pic nabbed from the Internet...):

[lbrjet]

Add the remaining washers.


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[asquared]

Adjust your wdh using scale weights. You want the truck front axle weight as close to unloaded weight as possible without going heavier. The trailer should be sitting level or slightly nose down but not nose high. My old tt of similar weight worked well with a Reese dual cam with 1200 lb bars. I was taught to go to the size above your current weight. I also learned my dealership completely botched my hitch setup in more ways than 1. You learn a lot setting it up yourself. Good luck.

[TXFolkie]

BTW, for those who have mentioned the dealer providing the hitch, I already owned the hitch and they adjusted it to the new trailer. It did not come from them or with the deal.

[lbrjet]

So were your weightings before or after you adjusted the hitch?


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[yetavon]

We had the dealer swap our WDH over to our new camper....1st thing I did when I got home was to fix it right. I'm getting good at it. came with our 1st hybrid, set it up for our truck, then changed to a new truck, then again for the new camper, and may need to change something as we now have a different truck.....

[TXFolkie]

Originally Posted by lbrjet

So were your weightings before or after you adjusted the hitch?

After.

[hunterrick]

TXFolkie,

I had a similar situation to yours. I too was right at the max tongue weight for my 10,000 Equalizer and had trouble with getting enough weight transfer, even with 8 washers. I upgraded to a 12,000 Equalizer and I'm still just a little light with 7 washers. I'd say you need to upgrade your hitch. My other comment would be to lower the ball position until it is the same, or just slightly higher than the coupler. Lowering the ball one hole is equivalent to putting in one washer. I'd lower it till even, put in 8 washers then head to the scales. If you aren't almost back to the original front weight, then you need a heavier hitch. Moving weight rearward in the trailer will only result in poor handling and sway.

[TXFolkie]

I did lower it to even when I set it up this weekend so a couple more washers is all I've got left to play with so you may be right.

I should add that the coupler is now about 1.5" lower than before (when it was towing level but handling terribly) so the trailer is towing nose down. According to the manual I should raise the it one hole to get the trailer back to nearly level but that's going to take even more weight off the front.

My truck has a built-in inclinometer display and it reads 1 degree down in the back when hooked up with w/d. I forgot to look at it when the w/d was disconnected to see the difference.

[TXFolkie]

Originally Posted by yetavon

We had the dealer swap our WDH over to our new camper....1st thing I did when I got home was to fix it right. I'm getting good at it. came with our 1st hybrid, set it up for our truck, then changed to a new truck, then again for the new camper, and may need to change something as we now have a different truck.....

Same story. Hitch came with '13 expandable, '06 Tundra, then new '14 Sierra 1500, then new FR trailer, then new '16 Denali 2500HD. I guess with all the dough I've plowed into this I shouldn't be cheaping out over a $500 Hitch. :-)

[hunterrick]

When the hitch is set up properly, the trailer should be level to a little nose down. Handling will be best in this configuration. Nose up equals poor handling/ sway. I'd max out the washers and head to the scales to see what you have. If you are still substantially light, I'd consider the heavier hitch.

By the way, I have a 15,000 Blue Ox for sale.

[hunterrick]

By the way, from your truck weight I assume you have a 3/4 ton. Do you have a 2 1/2" hitch in which you are using a 2" adapter? If so, this could be the majority of your problem. With the adapter there is entirely too much slop which uses up much of your hitch head angle seriously reducing the weight transfer. It also will cause the hitch pin to hog out the holes in the hitch due to the constant movement. I changed to a 2 1/2" shank and resolved all of my weight transfer issues.

[TXFolkie]

Yes, I have the sleeve. That's something else to consider. I imagine shipping your Blue Ox from WI to TX would negate the savings! What size is the shank on it?

[hunterrick]

I'm selling with a 2" shank. I'm keeping the 2 1/2" for my self. You can get one from blue ox though, or Equalizer. They both supply them as options. Shipping for the hitch is around $50. If we get serious I'll give you an exact figure. I still have the original box so shipping is easy. You may be able to work a trade deal with Blue Ox. They have excellent customer service. They supplied both and I was supposed to send back the one I didn't want. I decided to keep the 2" in case I wanted to sell the hitch. 2" is more common.

[doc73]

I was shocked how much "tighter" the trailer and truck got when I changed out the sleeve for the 2.5" shank. I agree to the way to much slop with the adapter.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

[thebrakeman]

Truck-only front weight is 4640lbs. That should be your target, with the trailer hitched and WDH engaged. But your hitched & engaged front weight is only 4380. You need to transfer a lot more weight. I was in the same boat with 6 washers. I'm not at 8, and all is well.

Problem is, at 1040 lbs TW, your 1000lbs WDH kit is overloaded, and may not be able to transfer much more weight. The bars are stiff enough to do anymore work for you.

You never want to even be close to the WDH TW rating, for fear of bouncy "porpoising". I always recommend adding 100 lbs to your actual or estimated TW, then rounding up to the next size kit. That puts you needing the 1200 lbs kit.

Add the 2 more washers, and see where your front weight comes in. If you can get to over 4500, and the ride doesn't make you nauseous, you might be fine. Otherwise, call Equal-I-zer, and see if you can simply order some 1200 lbs bars.

[Teamfour]

Originally Posted by thebrakeman

Otherwise, call Equal-I-zer, and see if you can simply order some 1200 lbs bars.

Unfortunately the hitch head is different between the 1000 and 1200 lb. setups. The 1200 and 1400 bars use the same head.