Weight Distribution Hitch Question

[scottbridget]

Hello. The measured difference between my Reese weight distro hitch installed and with it not installed is a rise of 3/8" on the front wheel well as measured from the ground. Is this a good amount? I followed the Reese instructions and double checked my work along the way.

Thanks....scott

[007matman]

Your "squat" both front and rear should be as close to the same as possible. Then you know you have the weight distributed as evenly as possible.

[calgarycampers]

Agreed. You need to squat equally.

[DNA Dan]

Some TVs benefit in stability by having slightly more weight on the rear than pushed forward. If it's close, try it and see how it drives. if you think you need more, crank it up.

[markb5900]

Agree with the above.
Get your wrench's, go find a LEVEL parking lot and start adjusting to get the truck squat to be the same from front to back, otherwise you are compromising your steering ability.
3/8 doesn't sound like much, but when that semi passes you and starts pulling you into it, you will be hating life. LOL

[clarkbre]

Scottbridget: Please tell us what truck, trailer and hitch model you are working with.

Also, for general WDH adjustment, your overall goal is 2 things:

1. Get the front fender height to return to stock. This helps retain the factory weight back on the front axle to keep steering and braking close to a stock unloaded TV.
2. Get the trailer as level as possible.

3/8" isn't much; however , that could be a few hundred pounds lifted off your front axle when the trailer is connected.

Once it's all set up, if the rear sags a bit, that's ok. Especially if it's a truck, there is very little weight on the rear axle. 500+ pounds will likely make it squat, but the rear axle is carrying that weight.

Lastly, when you think it's set up right, take it to the scale. The numbers don't lie and will show you if the rear axle is carrying too much weight.

And, for reference, when setting up my truck and trailer, w/o the trunnions connected the front fender raised about 3/4". Trunnions connected, the fender was maybe 1/16" higher than stock. Visiting the scales verified that the trunnions helped load the front axle with 78% (280 pounds) back on the front axle. Without the trunnions, there was 360 pounds lifted off the front.

[scottbridget]

I have a 2014 Ford F150 EcoBoost 3.5 with the towing package (not the max towing package), no added performance items, just a stock truck. I have a Reese SC Weight Distribution System with trunnion bars riding on friction pads and all parts are rated V5. The trailer is a 2018 Puma 32RKTS with Hitch/tongue weight of 1,137.

[markb5900]

Originally Posted by clarkbre

Scottbridget: Please tell us what truck, trailer and hitch model you are working with.

Also, for general WDH adjustment, your overall goal is 2 things:

1. Get the front fender height to return to stock. This helps retain the factory weight back on the front axle to keep steering and braking close to a stock unloaded TV.
2. Get the trailer as level as possible.

3/8" isn't much; however , that could be a few hundred pounds lifted off your front axle when the trailer is connected.

Once it's all set up, if the rear sags a bit, that's ok. Especially if it's a truck, there is very little weight on the rear axle. 500+ pounds will likely make it squat, but the rear axle is carrying that weight.

Lastly, when you think it's set up right, take it to the scale. The numbers don't lie and will show you if the rear axle is carrying too much weight.

And, for reference, when setting up my truck and trailer, w/o the trunnions connected the front fender raised about 3/4". Trunnions connected, the fender was maybe 1/16" higher than stock. Visiting the scales verified that the trunnions helped load the front axle with 78% (280 pounds) back on the front axle. Without the trunnions, there was 360 pounds lifted off the front.

IMHO 3/8" is quite a bit of squat on the front of the truck.
If you have that much you ARE taking your life in your hands on the steering.
I HAVE drove a truck with 3/8" squat on the front fender and almost killed my wife and I.
That is why I am so forceful about the OP getting it "fixed".

[jaherbst]

Both fender wells should measure the same if hitch is adjusted correctly and the trailer should be perfectly level. 1/4 - 3/8 squat in rear of truck would be acceptable.

Very important to adjust the hitch up or down using the receiver holes to have trailer perfectly level. If not, you are putting unequal weight on front or back axle or front or back tires. This is a BAD thing. Causes many tire or axle failures.


If any doubt take it to a professional RV Tech.

Jack

[scottbridget]

Thanks Mark B. I hope I worded my initial question correctly When the trailer was not connected to my truck (just the truck alone), the distance from the ground to the driver side wheel well was 37 1/2". Then I attached the Reese WD hitch with bars and measured the exact same spot again and the new measurement was 37 7/8", so the front of the truck lifted by 3/8". Hope this helps. I'm not actually getting any squat on the front, it looks like the rear is squatting a little, but not much. When viewing the entire rig from the side, it looks fairly level in my opinion. Looking forward to your reply my friend...

Thanks again....

[SailorSam20500]

Really suggest you hit a CAT scale and get some actual weights. The tw you gave looks to be a brochure number. FWIW, my actual tongue weight is 300 lbs more than the brochure number.

Here are the Ford instructions from my 2016 owners manual.
1. Park the loaded vehicle, without the trailer, on a level surface.
2. Measure the height to the top of your vehicle's front wheel opening on the fender. This is H1.
3. Attach the loaded trailer to your vehicle without the weight-distributing bars connected.
4. Measure the height to the top of your vehicle's front wheel opening on the fender a second time. This is H2.
5. Install and adjust the tension in the weight-distributing bars so that the
height of your vehicle's front wheel opening on the fender is approximately a quarter the way down from H2, toward H1.
6. Check that the trailer is level or slightly nose down toward your vehicle. If not, adjust the ball height accordingly and repeat Steps 2-6.

Finally, in setting up my rig, I shot to have the same percentage of total truck weight on the front axle before and after hooking up.

[clarkbre]

Originally Posted by markb5900

IMHO 3/8" is quite a bit of squat on the front of the truck.
If you have that much you ARE taking your life in your hands on the steering.
I HAVE drove a truck with 3/8" squat on the front fender and almost killed my wife and I.
That is why I am so forceful about the OP getting it "fixed".

The front of the truck isn't squatting...the OP states it lifted 3/8".

This indicates the rear axle is acting like a fulcrum and the tongue weight of the trailer is pushing down on the rear; thus, lifting the front of the truck 3/8". This scenario lessens the braking and steering ability of the truck. Please reread my original post before you misinterpret and butcher it.

Originally Posted by scottbridget

I have a 2014 Ford F150 EcoBoost 3.5 with the towing package (not the max towing package), no added performance items, just a stock truck. I have a Reese SC Weight Distribution System with trunnion bars riding on friction pads and all parts are rated V5. The trailer is a 2018 Puma 32RKTS with Hitch/tongue weight of 1,137.

Honestly, from what you're telling us about your truck and trailer, you might have a lot more trailer than the truck can handle. Your saving grace would be if it's a 2wd, standard cab, long bed with the Ecoboost. Those are rated close to 3000 pounds payload. The run of the mill crew cab, 4wd have about 1500 pounds of payload. With the weight of your Puma being loaded and the WDH weight, your truck will likely be maxed out before there's bodies in the cab.

[jaherbst]

[SIZE="4"]

You are asking for serious trouble if the front of the TV is lower than the rear. Level or slightly lower in the rear. Measure to the top of your fender wells and compare, then readjust[ the receiver accordingly. Make sure entire hitch is in place i.e. bars/ chains etc. before measuring fender wells.

It sounds as if you are somewhat confused on this. My advice is to go to a reputable RV dealer/repair and get it done right before you have a possible accident. Once again I repeat. Front measurement should NEVER be lower than the rear.

Jack/SIZE]

[SailorSam20500]

Originally Posted by clarkbre

Honestly, from what you're telling us about your truck and trailer, you might have a lot more trailer than the truck can handle. Your saving grace would be if it's a 2wd, standard cab, long bed with the Ecoboost. Those are rated close to 3000 pounds payload. The run of the mill crew cab, 4wd have about 1500 pounds of payload. With the weight of your Puma being loaded and the WDH weight, your truck will likely be maxed out before there's bodies in the cab.

X2. I don't want to play weight police. BUT, what I know about F-150's, makes me wonder. As you will find looking thru posts like this throughout RV forums, 1/2 ton class trucks tend to run out of cargo capacity pretty quickly. So, check the sticker on your door, the one with yellow on it. It will tell you how much "cargo" you can put in your truck. Cargo is everything beyond the empty truck when it is full of gas.
Since you said you don't have the max tow package, you may have the smaller 24 (?) gallon gas tank, which will allow a somewhat higher cargo number. Otherwise cargo weight has to cover all people, all stuff in the truck, plus the actual tongue weight.
I'm not saying anything bad will happen if you are overweight, but you will have upped your risk level.

[LynnGlaze13]

Originally Posted by scottbridget

I have a 2014 Ford F150 EcoBoost 3.5 with the towing package (not the max towing package), no added performance items, just a stock truck. I have a Reese SC Weight Distribution System with trunnion bars riding on friction pads and all parts are rated V5. The trailer is a 2018 Puma 32RKTS with Hitch/tongue weight of 1,137.

The GVWR on that trailer has to be near 10,000 pounds?
Is the hitch rated to carry to 1,137 pounds with a WDH?
Does the truck have a high enough payload to carry that amount of hitch weight?

The reason I ask is there are a lot of dealers that say "Yes it is 1/2 Ton towable" when in reality it might be with one or two specific lower optioned trucks but not everyone of them.

I have found this in our search for a trailer.

The hitch on mine is rated for 1,210 with WDH but I have seen others that are lower than mine and some in the 1,000 range.