When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
So I just pulled home my first camper over the weekend. It came with a WDH and anti-sway setup. We went ahead and threw it on my van as it was set for the drive home. It did pretty well, but needs some adjustment. Can you guys verify I am thinking correctly about this.
1. I want the change in ride height between the front and rear to be the same,correct? In the current setup the rear squats more than the front. I could even this out by moving the bars up a chain link or 2, correct?
2. The previous owner had swapped the axles to under the springs for more ground clearance. My van sits a little lower than his truck, so when hooked up the trailer is slightly angled towards the van. I want to try and make the trailer level by raising the hitch slightly, correct? It seemed to ride okay as it was, but on a concrete hwy it caused the van to bounce a bit.
I figure once I get it fairly close I can visit a CAT scale to get axle weights.
So I just pulled home my first camper over the weekend. It came with a WDH and anti-sway setup. We went ahead and threw it on my van as it was set for the drive home. It did pretty well, but needs some adjustment. Can you guys verify I am thinking correctly about this.
1. I want the change in ride height between the front and rear to be the same,correct? In the current setup the rear squats more than the front. I could even this out by moving the bars up a chain link or 2, correct?
2. The previous owner had swapped the axles to under the springs for more ground clearance. My van sits a little lower than his truck, so when hooked up the trailer is slightly angled towards the van. I want to try and make the trailer level by raising the hitch slightly, correct? It seemed to ride okay as it was, but on a concrete hwy it caused the van to bounce a bit.
I figure once I get it fairly close I can visit a CAT scale to get axle weights.
1. Moving the bars up by a link or two will transfer more weight from the rear axle to the front axle. So the rear will tend to come up and the front will go down. It depends on how soft/hard your springs are on the van. On my F-350 I can crank all day long on the tension and the front doesn't move much. I have the heavier duty springs on the front. Your mileage may vary.
2. Yes, raise the ball mount height on the shank. Some ball mounts also can change angle. Pointing the ball further away from the truck puts more tension on the spring bars. General consensus is that the spring bars should be about parallel to the trailer frame. Too close to the frame there may be too much tension and they may hit the frame. Too low and you may not have enough tension.
Some bounce can be eliminated by adding tension to the spring bars (go up a link or add angle to the ball mount). Not all WDH have an adjustable angle on the ball mount.
Be sure your van's tires are aired up properly according to the tire's max PSI. Don't go above the tire's max PSI (at cold) no matter what the van's tire placard says. If the van's placard has a higher PSI than your tires can handle that should be a clue that your tires aren't up to the task.
1. Moving the bars up by a link or two will transfer more weight from the rear axle to the front axle. So the rear will tend to come up and the front will go down. It depends on how soft/hard your springs are on the van. On my F-350 I can crank all day long on the tension and the front doesn't move much. I have the heavier duty springs on the front. Your mileage may vary.
2. Yes, raise the ball mount height on the shank. Some ball mounts also can change angle. Pointing the ball further away from the truck puts more tension on the spring bars. General consensus is that the spring bars should be about parallel to the trailer frame. Too close to the frame there may be too much tension and they may hit the frame. Too low and you may not have enough tension.
Some bounce can be eliminated by adding tension to the spring bars (go up a link or add angle to the ball mount). Not all WDH have an adjustable angle on the ball mount.
Be sure your van's tires are aired up properly according to the tire's max PSI. Don't go above the tire's max PSI (at cold) no matter what the van's tire placard says. If the van's placard has a higher PSI than your tires can handle that should be a clue that your tires aren't up to the task.
Thanks. I am hoping to make some adjustments this coming weekend. I will try and get some pics of it. I don't believe my hitch has an angle adjustment, just up and down.
It looks like your bars are still pointing slightly down, which leaves room to tighten them up a notch or two. If you can add angle to the head, I'd do that first, but it sounds like maybe that's not an option.
I would try tightening the bars up until they are level with the tongue or just one notch past level and see what that does first. That might take enough weight off the rear of the truck and level it up enough to where you don't need to mess with the height. If you do have to adjust the height, take note of how tight those bolts need to be. Mine sat 250 lb-ft. Yours could be a different size, but they need to be TIGHT.
measure your front wheel well height unloaded and try to set your bars such that the front is the same loaded and unloaded. Then maybe hit the scales.
as stated above, if you have a really stiff front end, it can be tough to set looking at ride height because it just doesn't move much. Looking at scale tickets could be your best bet.
The guys above have provided some good info, follow their suggestions to see how the combo sits and rides.
it sounds lie this may be your first WD hitch, if so something that I have seen new users struggle with is getting the spring bars snapped up with lots of tension, like that big TT will require. Get your van and camper all hitched up and then before you begin loading tension on the bars lower your tongue jack enough so that you raise the tail end of the van a few inches, this will make snapping those spring bars up into the tension position much easier.
This Hennessey Takes the Expedition Tremor's Off-Roading Capability to the Next Level
Slideshow: The VelociRaptor Expedition gains a lift, upgraded suspension, Brembo brakes, and trail-ready equipment while retaining the stock 440-horsepower EcoBoost V6.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
