Weight Distribution Hitch

[Jeep4Two]

There you go. Sounds like you are good then, as long as WDH is safe for your PUP.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by CCrane2299

I would say that the mini van has sufficient length that air bags might do the trick. On a short wheelbase vehicle like my Wrangler, the leverage from the hitch to the rear axle is much greater. (it is easier to lift the front since the fulcrum [rear axle] is relatively close to the front axle)

Yes, the total length of a vehicle makes a difference. But in a Wrangler the wheels are to the extreme back end of the vehicle....there is almost no overhang. The distance between the hitch and the back wheels is so close that it does not lift the front end as much as a vehicle with a long overhang, such as a minivan.

Originally Posted by CCrane2299

Air bags make it much easier to hitch up and go, and also will not be affected going through dips and up steep driveways. As a side note, I put the air bags on my jeep before I researched any of this. Now, I have tested and found that the air bags only allow 1/2 in sag in the rear and about 1/2 inch rise in the front. So on a very short wheelbase car, they help. I do not however have that extra weight on the front axle that might be important in panic stop situations. I'm confidant the trailer brakes will make that entirely tolerable.

Air bags may help with the rear end sag, but they do nothing with distributing the weight......and I think you are saying that in your statement. If someone has a 1/2" rise in their front end when hooking up a trailer without airbags, that is going to be the same measurement even after adding air bags. All air bags do is raise the back end. They do not increase the rear axle weight rating (RAWR), and that needs to be considered when pulling a camper, along with the added load of passengers and gear in the back, plus the weight of the vehicle.

[CCrane2299]

You are correct on both counts. However, mine raised a full inch before the airbags, so either I ran my tests wrong or it helped just a little. All that being said, wdh is the way to go.

The steep driveway comment did not refer to how many feet of rise per distance traveled, but rather the transition from a likely crowned road to until the trailer tires are on the drive...