Can anyone tell me how to make sure I have my weight distribution hitch adjusted correctly? I have a 93 f150 s/c 4x4 and was recently given a 22' travel trailer (max weight 4500lbs) that came with the w.d. hitch. The guy who gave me the trailer told me which links in the chains he was told to use when pulling with his dodge van. When I towed the trailer home(empty-approx 3250lbs) it seemed to me like I didnt have enough tongue weight. Is there a rule of thumb to use or is it just trial and error to figure out what works best? Thanks in advance for any info. Dave

 

With the truck and trailer on flat level ground and NOT hooked up yet, measure the wheel well openings of the truck with reference to the ground... Record and save this measurement... The truck ballshould be about 1/2" to an 1" lower than the trailer coupler for a starting point... If not, adjust the ball height accordingly...

Hook up the truck and trailer and snap up the w/d bars... Measure the truck wheel well openings again... What you should see is the truck "squatting" an equal amount front and back... This indicates that the w/d bars are transferring some of the tongue weight to the front axle...

At this point, measure the distance from the trailer frame at the extreme front and back of the trailer frame to ground level... The trailer should be as close to level as possible...

The levelness of the trailer is controlled by the ball height adjustment while the weight distribution is controlled by the w/d bars and the angle of the hitch head... If your truck is still squatting (sagging) to much in the rear, "drop another link" (actually means tighten up the bars by one link) on the chains... If you have less than 4 links between the snap up plates and bars, tilt the hitch head further down by one washer or whatever type adjustment you have... This will enable you to use more chain links for a given pressure...

When all is said and done, you want the trailer as close to level as possible with the truck squatting down equally "on all fours"...

There will be some interaction between the ball height adjustment and the w/d bar tilt and number of "links dropped", so a few "cut and tries" are going to be in order...

It's pretty difficult to get everything "dead nuts" perfect because the adjustments of the ball height and hitch head tilt are usually spaced at 1 1/4" or there abouts... If you can't achieve a perfectly level condition of the trailer, better to have the nose down a bit... Not only does this give you more rear end clearance when entering gas station ramps and the like, but it also shifts the trailer CG (Center of gravity) a bit forward and puts a little more weight on the tongue... This will usually result in a bit more stable tow with the increased tongue weight...

Good Luck and Best Regards,
Les

 

Les, Thanks for the reply. This was exactly the info I was looking for. I'm glad there is a site like this with so many knowledgable people willing to pass on thier knowledge to others . I'll try this out this weekend if possible. Thanks again, Dave