WDH Spring Bars

[phone man]

New member here, but just eclipsed 14 months of owning a Lacrosse 296. This is my first travel trailer and been curious about my hitch setup which is a Reese round bar setup with a single friction sway controller. Being so new to this I assume my hitch is setup properly and I have never weighed my loaded trailer, but I would assume it is around the 8K mark. My question is about spring bars. My dealer set it up with 1K bars, but I'm curious as to what others with the same unit are using. Thanks in advance.

[caper]

With the length of your TT I would be using 2 friction sway controllers. I have added the second to my set up. The second friction controller make a big difference as to how the TT handles when towing. I started with 800lb bars and had a lot of bounce when towing. Changed to 1k and no more bounce. I know that we have different trailers but the weight and lenght is about the same.

[MtnGuy]

With a listed dry weight of 652 lbs, the 1000 lb. Reese spring bars should be sized about right. I think with the round bar setup, that is the maximum spring bar weight. I have heard that Reese has reclassified those bars to 1200 lbs. now.

With a 33' trailer, a 2nd friction sway bar would be beneficial. Better yet, if you have the spring bars with the notched ends, adding dual cams to your setup would probably be a better option.

Weigh your truck with and without the trailer to see if your WDH is properly set up. Visit a Cat Scale to weigh each axle, or you can do it at the local rock quarry or grain storage facility. Or, you can do the fender measurements as spelled out in the WDH instruction manual.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by phone man

New member here, but just eclipsed 14 months of owning a Lacrosse 296. This is my first travel trailer and been curious about my hitch setup which is a Reese round bar setup with a single friction sway controller. Being so new to this I assume my hitch is setup properly and I have never weighed my loaded trailer, but I would assume it is around the 8K mark. My question is about spring bars. My dealer set it up with 1K bars, but I'm curious as to what others with the same unit are using. Thanks in advance.

How many loaded miles have you pulled the trailer? The dealer set it up on his lot empty,then you took it home to load for camping. When going on a trip there is a lot of weight difference from the dealers lot! You need to weight your trailer to come up with the correct numbers for proper W/D setup. Youroo!!

[phone man]

Since last June I have pulled this trailer about 2,500 miles total. It pulls pretty good, but this is my first experience at this, so I have no real reference point. The only real issues I have are a slight porpoise motion on some concrete roadways and at times I get instability by passing tractor trailers. With all the reading I have done these two issues seem to be pretty normal.

[MtnGuy]

The porpoising motion on concrete roadways would not be a concern unless you lose some stability. The instability by passing tractor trailers would be a concern. With many campers, the bow wake of the truck will push the back end your camper away from the truck when it approaches. That in turn makes the trailer tongue want to go towards the approaching truck, and of course the tongue will make the tow vehicle wander that way also......the tractor trailer "sucking" you towards that lane. Once you counter steer a little to take care of this action, the trailer should settle down, and not be affected by the truck. Any instability after that point should be addressed.

1 exception that I have noticed, is if I am following a tractor trailer too close in the same lane, I will feel my truck wander a little in the lane.....I am still in his air wake. I just back off a couple more feet until I am out of the area of air disturbance.

[Walke]

Yes, these hitches are very heavy. My answer was to scan Kijiji for many months and find a Hensley Hitch for a 3 digit price. Absolutely awesume hitch ! Your truck feels like it has a load in the box and the trailer just follows, no matter how hard you turn the wheel. It is going to be hard to remember the other 34 feet behind my truck! Makes you feel that you are towing a fifth wheel, really does, not just a manufacuturers slogan, and you have the box for "stuff". The second noticeable feature, absolutely no centre spring type bounce, tried a very rough road near home, all of the bumps are felt in the truck wheels and the trailer coupler does not flex or bounce on the weight distribution spring bars. Awesume Hitch, only problem they are to much money, have to get a deal and refurbish. Before & after photo's attached.