Proper Weight Distribution

[jjarrard]

Just took some measurements and discovered I have almost no difference in height when hitched up on the front end, but about three inches of difference in the rear height. Should I decrease tension on my WD bars (fewer links hanging) to level things back out? I am leaning in this direction next time I take out the trailer. The truck sits almost level when hitched up with tension on the bars. When it is unhitched the rear end sits about three inches higher than the front. I am taking all measurements from the ground to the top of the wheel wells. Thanks!

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by jjarrard

The truck sits almost level when hitched up with tension on the bars. When it is unhitched the rear end sits about three inches higher than the front. I am taking all measurements from the ground to the top of the wheel wells. Thanks!

I am confused

When hitched with your WD in place the truck SHOULD sit level.

When you connect the camper without installing the bars, the truck should sit lower in the rear due to the weight of the tongue on the hitch.
Adding tension on the WD bars should raise the rear bumper back to approximately where it was before you connected the camper.

Is that what you are trying to say?

[flyrotor]

As Lou stated, it sounds like you have do not have enough tension on the bars. The rear of the truck should settle slightly more than the front of the truck as the weight of the trailer settles on your hitch. More tension provides lift between the truck and the trailer, which distributes the tongue weight off the rear axles of the truck, and shifts it both forward to your front wheels, and back to the trailer wheels.

Hypothetically, ground to wheel well measurements:
Front 33" Back 36".
When you introduce the weight of the trailer, you should now have measurements similar to:
Front 32" Back 34"

As stated, these numbers are hypothetical, but when properly adjusted tension is applied the front and rear should drop when the weight is introduced, hence the term "weight distribution"

Any others correct me if I am wrong.

[jjarrard]

When the truck is unloaded it sits 3" higher in the rear. I`ve noticed many other pickups do also. I do understand the issue. I was in a hurry earlier and mistated my position. I was thinking of adding more tension, not less to the WD bars. The truck sat nearly level last time. This represents a change in attitude to level from the unloaded attitude. I reviewed some installation videos online. The videos recommended maintaining the original attitude after loading the WD bars. Both front and rear compressed and almost equal ammount. This differs from what others have told me. The guys at the dealership seemed knowledgable, but I discovered they failed to properlt torque the bolts on the hitch head. I retorqued them to 300 ft lbs as prescribed in the OEM instructions. The hitch performed very well, with no perceptable sway issues on both occassions I have towed it. Any other comments? We are leaving for a 7 night trip next Tuesday. We are getting fired up!

[padave65]

I recommend airbags. You can always try more tension in the bars, but airbags will help with squatting and spring fatigue.

[jjarrard]

I am not suggesting I have a problem with squatting or spring fatigue. I am just trying to zero in on the optimum hitch setup. I believe I am already close. I will make small adjustments and observe the performance. Thanks for the replies!

[SaskCampers]

The truck should drop the same amout front and rear when properly setup. At the worst the rear should only drop maybe 1/2 an inch more than the front. Ypu can change the hitch head angle to keep your bars parallel to the trailer frame as you go. The following is one of the best explainations of hitch setup I have seen to date.

RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Towing: Travel Trailer Hitch Set-up Procedure

[lbrjet]

What the rear of the truck does should not have anything to do with how you set up your WDH. You want the front wheel wells to be the same as or slightly higher hitched vs. unhitched. You want the trailer level or slightly nose down. That's it.

If this describes your current setup then leave it alone.

[jjarrard]

After reading the articles linked, I am closer to ideal rigging than I thought. My front end is almost the exact same height loaded or unloaded. I had 7 links in use with plenty of clearance also. The rear end dropped almost 3 inches causing the truck and trailer to be level when hitched. I will verify the measurements again next week. I appreciate the helpful spirit once again! Lake Oconee is calling me!