They work better when directly above the ends, but you can fudge it some. How far off is it? Naturally it would be best if you could move the battery box or raise it. If the links for the WD bars are at too great of angle, there are not as effective and you put more strain on them and the bar ends.

 

Ah, torque on the spring bars! Spring bars are (A) 4-6" inches (not at rig now) forward of the battery box rear, maybe (B) 10 +/- behind of the front of the box. If I can do option (A), this will mean a little more tongue wt. than what the perpendicular position would yeild - am I getting this right?

 

Yes and it could move the brackets that the torsion bar chains hook to. It might not too pretty if they slide under the battery box or bend something that shouldn't be bent. If your not running max load you could maybe get away with it for this trip. But if it were me I'd do what it took to do it right the first time so nothing gets messed up. If the battery supports are bolted to the tongue, I'd shim them higher. If they are welded i'd get them relocated asap. If you could mount the battery support in a manner that the battery would be carried inside the tongue you'd have it made. If you want to try it this trip as is, I'd probably mount it in front of the battery because the angle of the chains would be less.

 

Agree with your statements and so does DrawTite tech service. The battery box also contains the hydraulics. It was held on by 1/4" studs too short to use w/elevated/shimmed box. I moved it to the back of the tongue, temporarily supported it with wood and strapped it into place securely. Now the WDH brackets are where they should be.

Thanks to everyone for your helpful suggestions. The link to the RV thread was very helpful too

 

That's good to hear. When you get back, you should be able to raise the battery up enough be using some 3/4" hex stock drilled and tapped to thread on the existing studs and bolt thru the battery tray to secure it. 1/2" to 3/4" higher should do it. Just make sure that the hex extention goes tight against the tongue and lock washer and use thread locker such as Loctite 242. With the hex extension going tight against the tongue you are minimizing the leverage forces on the studs. Have a good trip.

 

I have a few 1/4" hex extensions that I got somewhere a long time ago but they're only about 7/16". Using them crossed my mind but they were too narrow. The studs are spot welded to the channel and there's a hip at the bottom where the weld is. The 3/4 hex stock is a great idea especially if I'd counter sink them for the spot weld hip.

Trip went very well. Truck felt very secure and that was because of the WDH. It rained all day but the truck felt GREAT pulling/hauling 3300 lbs of cargo up and down the steep hills of coal country. Trailer and truck gvw maxed out. The front end felt more secure that I ever felt it due to the extra weight on the front axle. The 4.6 was reving, sometimes to 5k for breaking and hauling, to get it done and it did get it done.

 

Glad to hear the trip went well. I think yopu'll really grow to like the truck the more you use it. you may wish you had the 5.4L engine, but it's quite capable as is. I was amazed at how well my 06 5.4L handled towing my enclosed car hauler. Since I had an 05 SD diesel before, I was really apprehensive as to how it would do. But it's as stable as the SD, it pulls nearly as well in the hills as on the level and gets within 1 mpg pulling of the diesel. And it will go the speed limit. I can't drive 75-80 like I could with the diesel, but I shouldn't be going that fast anyway. All in all for a weekend hauler it does very well.