WD Adjustment
#1
10-17-2010, 10:19 AM
WD Adjustment
I'm adjusting the WD hitch for our new camper and was wondering how much more "adjusting" I should do? Here is some relevant information:
Tongue wt is 860 lbs (actual wt)
Overall camper wt is 6,500 lbs (actual wt loaded and ready to camp)
Overall camper length is 31' 8"
Truck is a 2010 F-250 CC 9,400 GVWR, 18,000 lb GCWR, 11,300 lbs max trailer wt.
With the WD at its current adjustment and the bars snapped in place (7 links showing) the rear of the truck squats about 1", the front of the truck raises about 1" and the trailer is a bit nose down with about 2" difference from front to back of the trailer.
The camper tows OK with this set-up.
Now for my question to those more experienced at this than me; If I were to raise the ball mount up one bolt hole which equates to about a 1 1/2" height increase at the ball, leave everything else the same including the tilt (maybe use one or two less or more links on the chains) is the general consensus that this would put the WD hitch overall setup about right?
Thanks for any informed opinions and help. I'm running out of time to make trial and error adjustments this weekend and we're heading out for a camping trip next weekend. I have towed in it's existing configuration (3 hours) and it does tow OK, just looking to make it better if at all possible. Sorry for the long post.
Dave
Tongue wt is 860 lbs (actual wt)
Overall camper wt is 6,500 lbs (actual wt loaded and ready to camp)
Overall camper length is 31' 8"
Truck is a 2010 F-250 CC 9,400 GVWR, 18,000 lb GCWR, 11,300 lbs max trailer wt.
With the WD at its current adjustment and the bars snapped in place (7 links showing) the rear of the truck squats about 1", the front of the truck raises about 1" and the trailer is a bit nose down with about 2" difference from front to back of the trailer.
The camper tows OK with this set-up.
Now for my question to those more experienced at this than me; If I were to raise the ball mount up one bolt hole which equates to about a 1 1/2" height increase at the ball, leave everything else the same including the tilt (maybe use one or two less or more links on the chains) is the general consensus that this would put the WD hitch overall setup about right?
Thanks for any informed opinions and help. I'm running out of time to make trial and error adjustments this weekend and we're heading out for a camping trip next weekend. I have towed in it's existing configuration (3 hours) and it does tow OK, just looking to make it better if at all possible. Sorry for the long post.
Dave
#2
10-17-2010, 11:55 AM
Posting Guru
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: NorCal
Posts: 1,391
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I would tighten up the chains some more because that would help get the truck closer to level and raise the front of the trailer as well. The ideal towing configuration is to have both the truck and trailer level.
You may have to adjust the tilt of your ball mount down so that the WD bars can be tightened up more and still leave the proper clearance below the trailer frame.
You may have to adjust the tilt of your ball mount down so that the WD bars can be tightened up more and still leave the proper clearance below the trailer frame.
#3
10-17-2010, 12:01 PM
Senior User
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 170
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Unfortunately, when it comes to WD hitches, there is so many different things acting on them, trial and error is the only way to go. You need more tension on your chains, because if the front end of the truck is raising at all, that means that you are not transferring weight to it, which it the purpose for a WD hitch.
You need to first get the chains and bars tight enough that the front end of the truck stays the same height or slightly drops, which will make the back end of the truck drop less, which in turn makes the trailer more level.
If the back of the truck raises any at all, that means that you have transferred too much weight to the front wheels, and that is no good either because it reduces your traction at the rear wheels.
Once you have the spring bars set, now check the trailer for level, it should be nose high by approx 1", if it is not, now you can start raising the height of the ball to compensate, but you will have to start over with adjusting the spring bars because as soon as you raise the ball height, the spring bar setting will change.
If you get to the point that you run out of chain on the spring bars or they are too close to the ground, now is where the angle of the ball and the spring bar seats has to change to accommodate, however, if you do that, you now have to start over at square one again with spring bar tension, hitch height etc.
Every time I changed trucks, new tires (yes with a 30' trailer this makes a difference) or anything major weight wise changed in the trailer, I would go down to the local highway truck scale (we have a self serve one here - free) and spend about 2 hours setting up the WD hitch. This makes it easier because you can get an actual weight difference on each axle as you make adjustments.
I towed through all types of weather and put enough miles on this setup to wear out a set of tires in 5 years, and never had a problem.
Hopefully this helps, if you have any other questions, feel free to fire them my way.
You need to first get the chains and bars tight enough that the front end of the truck stays the same height or slightly drops, which will make the back end of the truck drop less, which in turn makes the trailer more level.
If the back of the truck raises any at all, that means that you have transferred too much weight to the front wheels, and that is no good either because it reduces your traction at the rear wheels.
Once you have the spring bars set, now check the trailer for level, it should be nose high by approx 1", if it is not, now you can start raising the height of the ball to compensate, but you will have to start over with adjusting the spring bars because as soon as you raise the ball height, the spring bar setting will change.
If you get to the point that you run out of chain on the spring bars or they are too close to the ground, now is where the angle of the ball and the spring bar seats has to change to accommodate, however, if you do that, you now have to start over at square one again with spring bar tension, hitch height etc.
Every time I changed trucks, new tires (yes with a 30' trailer this makes a difference) or anything major weight wise changed in the trailer, I would go down to the local highway truck scale (we have a self serve one here - free) and spend about 2 hours setting up the WD hitch. This makes it easier because you can get an actual weight difference on each axle as you make adjustments.
I towed through all types of weather and put enough miles on this setup to wear out a set of tires in 5 years, and never had a problem.
Hopefully this helps, if you have any other questions, feel free to fire them my way.
#4
10-17-2010, 04:10 PM
Cargo Master
use the tongue jack while you're setting the bars. Putting the chains on should be pretty effortless, once the chains are ready, run the jack back up, and measure.
you will notice a huge difference in the way weight is transferred from the jack to the pickup with and without bars.
I actually use an Equal-i-zer hitch, which is bars instead of chains. There is a tool provided to snap the bars onto their brackets, but I've never used it.
you will notice a huge difference in the way weight is transferred from the jack to the pickup with and without bars.
I actually use an Equal-i-zer hitch, which is bars instead of chains. There is a tool provided to snap the bars onto their brackets, but I've never used it.
