Did my bandaid repair, false floor 1/2" plywood covered in indoor/outdoor rug. Bolted fully through the old floor with 4 carriage bolts. Now my table is stable! I have more to get done but it's getting there. Put water in it and flushed out the antifreeze.

 

Looks factory installed!

 

So I went to the scale today with the rig and family to get full weights. Before I left I took a pic of my WD bars sitting on almost level ground. To me it look like I may be over tensioning them, such that I do need the 1000# bars (I confirmed my current ones are 800# bars).





close up of bars before going to scales



pic of whole rig before going to scales



1st weigh: truck axles split and trailer on other scale



weigh 2: trucked detached from trailer on its own scale and trailer leveled with tongue on one scale and axles on the other



weigh 3: truck detached and entire trailer on one scale and truck axles each on their own scale

So after this I realized A I have too much tongue weight. Calculation works out to ~17% and with that tongue weight I need heavier bars. The problem I realized is that the way our trailer is made with a rear slide that pushes a queen bed out the back, all the storage is up front, so I have bikes, hitch gear, two spare tires, picnic table, etc. all stored in the front of the camper. I came home and adjusted some and the wife and I discussed that I could put bikes and or spare tires in the truck when towing, but my main question is would I be ok to simply get the 1000# bars and level the rig out for towing, or am I risking damage to the front axle of the trailer with the excessive tongue weight even if I can manage to distribute the weight to the truck better? Give me your thoughts. Other plan I have is to buy a receiver adapter for the rear bumper of the trailer and put the two adult bikes that are on top of the Ex onto the back of the trailer. They are at least 50# total, so that should help.

Thanks,
Kevin

 

Hey what wheel tire combo are you running? I'm looking at new 17" wheels like those on tire rack and Michelins to go with.

 

Stock wheels with Continental Terrain Contact tires. The tires are gone as of yesterday, could not get them to balance and/or be round. Went back to the boring but rock solid Michelin LTX.

 

Ideally, you want the front axle of the truck to weigh the same with or without the trailer. The bars you have don't look too tight at a glance, but they do seem to be giving their all.

I would not want the trailer tongue weight below 800 lbs. That 200 lb difference won't mean much to the trailer axle. I've never seen a top limit published for trailer tongue weights, but I doubt 1000 is a problem to the trailer frame or axles. In most cases, that extra tongue weight will just make it a bit more stable while towing.

The numbers say you need 1000 lb bars which is what I would do in your case. Move a couple things towards the back and I think you'll be good to go. I would not hang a couple bikes on the rear bumper of the trailer, those bumpers just aren't made for that sort of stress.

 

As long as the trailer can handle the 1,000 lbs tongue weight you should be ok.


Here's a better scale measure process:

1) Truck only - front+rear (wd bars in back of truck)


2) Truck + trailer (WD Hooked up) truck front, truck rear, trailer
This will tell you how the WD is working based on all three weights. For example if your front tires are getting unloaded and load on the rear axle.


3) Truck + trailer (WD not Hooked up - bars in back of truck) truck front, truck rear, trailer
This is used to calculate the tongue weight. With the WD bars hooked up some of the tongue weight is back on the TT tires.

For an initial WD setup.

1) go to flat surface.

2) Put masking tape over front tires

3) Mark a line: note height

4) Hook up trailer and NO WD

5) Note the height - will be higher

6) Adjust ball angle/chain links until the line goes back to either
a) The first line mark - or slightly higher - never lower.
or
b) 1/2 between the first two marks

 

Thanks Exxwhy and tjmike for the feedback. I just ordered the 1000# bars and will try the next weigh up as recommended by tjmike. Also I will put kids bikes in the back of the Ex and move a few more things to the back of the trailer to see if I can take a little tongue weight off. I repost with new numbers in about 2 weeks as I will weigh on our way out on the 13th of July.

-Kevin

 

> 2) Put masking tape over front tires
this should really read:

Put masking tape over fender above center of front tires.

You arer measuring the change in body height and comparing unhooked to various tweaks to the hitch....

 

Hey Kevin, I dont think I would transfer stuff to the back of camper if your getting heaver bars. Try it set up the same as you did this time and see how it feels. More tongue weight helps with sway. Also make sure the trailer is level or slightly noise down, also helps with sway. With that long of a camper you may need two of the friction sway bars. I added another to mine and it feels a lot better. Sharp looking Ex too. Low miles? Like under 100K? I think I've seen it around town, East West connector and 81 area. Maybe down at ASA?

 

Eric, is that Big Muskie?

I have pics from long ago.

 

That's it.

 

Yup was there when I was a young un.

We just spent a couple nights in SoHio ... Lake Alma State Park. I'll see if I can round up,the pics seems I'm having interweb issues.

 

Thanks for the hints. I think I am going to move the kids' bikes to the back of the Ex and I have a tote that I put firewood in that I will secure in the back of the trailer to try and shift a little weight. I will use the 1000# bars and stop at the scales on our way out of town next week.

Yes that is probably me you have seen. I work at Bosch, so hwy 81 and the Connector are my stomping grounds. Thanks for the compliments on the truck. It is an extremely clean truck for its age. I actually spent months searching the country and found it as a 1-owner truck in CA. I bought is site unseen and had it shipped to South Carolina and have been happy ever since. It now has ~72k miles on it and is currently my daily driver.

 

Another great camping trip this weekend, the Ex did great and no camper problems. This is also the first time we took the boat with us, my wife did great and got comfortable driving the Durango with trailer in tow. The boat also performed great, I did not have to wrench on it at all.


Kerr Scott Reservoir is a smaller mountain lake but the water is clear and clean near Wilkesboro, NC. We will definitely go back.