Help with weight distributing hitch setup.

[Yo Hoot]

Save a lot of stress and life safety and get a 5th wheel trailer!

Maybe down the road. I like having the bed available to load up, not having the hitch there either. This is only a 26 footer and it's bigger than what I was originally shopping for as it is. I can see where the fiver makes things easier all the way around. I watched a guy make a hard right out into a country road with a big one. That thing took that turn like a UFO.

 

[Harlacher]

Bought a 10,000 trailer and leveling hitch. Went through what you are going through; bought air bags, problem solved. I am no expert so I don't know if I was overloaded but the ride was much better and felt like I had a lot more control.

 

[Yo Hoot]

My problems weren't so much with towing but more with buying a 1000lb TW trailer that came with a WD hitch with 600lb bars. The guy had the trailer for 3-1/2 years and said it towed fine. The RV dealer he bought it from (new) set him up with too light of a WD hitch.

My truck sits much higher than his 2WD dually Chevy. So I ran into the problem of not being able to get the correct ball height with the stinger it came with. I bought a new stinger to correct that. Later I discovered when I had to bend the bars like a pretzel that the bars were rated too light. I ended up selling the whole hitch and buying a new one. Price was almost a wash between the $200 I got for the old hitch and what it would have cost for new bars. I returned the new stinger I bought.

Started off fresh with a brand new Blue Ox WD hitch with 1000lb bars. I also decided to do the air bags because sometimes I pick up a pretty heavy load in the truck... stone and whatnot so the bags would work out in more ways than one.

Will airbags alone do anything to control sway? I don't have a serious sway problem but I have experienced a near disastrous event years ago with an improperly loaded trailer.

Again airbags alone will not redistribute the tongue weight the way a WD hitch does. Airbags alone the TW is still entirely in the rear axle. Maybe I have a little overkill but I like it.

I will experiment a little. Like Harvey said, by adding air after the WD was set up I am unloading the bars. Thing is I am being careful not to unload them much. The bags are just adding some dampening. They seem to control porpoising but it's hard for me to compare because it porpoised more with the old hitch. Now only the trailer porpoises a little but that hardly transfers to the truck. Seems pretty good.

 

[crispyboy]

Did you buy the Blue Ox Sway Pro system or just a basic weight distribution system?

The sway in towing comes from the pivot point where the trailer is hitched to the truck. You will see this with cross winds or when a semi-truck passes you on the highway (bow wave effect). It also comes from the side to side leverage placed on the hitch as shown from your previous draw bar that stuck out too far. The farther the hitch is from the rear wheels the worse things will be.
You will probably find out that with the heavier spring bars the ride could be a bit rougher. Hopefully you can find the sweet spot. Reese dual cam systems are good systems. One problem with the Reese dual cam system is that you have to get the correct trunnion bar size correct or the sway feature of the hitch doesn't work well. The bars need approximately 1" of deflection to provide sway protection.
I am towing with a Hensley Arrow hitch. All I can say is I actually look forward to towing - it is a breeze with the Hensley. One secret of the hitch is that it projects the fulcrum point near the rear axle of the truck. I get very minimal effects from crosswinds or semi-trucks passing.
Post a picture of your new setup.

 

[Yo Hoot]

It's the whole system. I'll get a pick as soon as I hook it up again.

 

[Yo Hoot]

I may move the hitch down one more hole and level the back of the truck better.



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[tempforce]

yes, it looks like the hitch point needs lowered. at least one bolt hole lower.
i prefer the front of the trailer a bit lower than the back when loaded.
it helps stabilize the trailer also helps in wind gust conditions and when a truck goes by.

 

[HBarlow]

The truck and trailer look level to me. I don't see a problem evident in the photos.

I would be more concerned about setting the hitch up so that the trailer is level front to rear than the truck being an inch high at the rear.

If the recent photos above were taken with the weight on the truck's springs, not with air bags inflated, and it handles correctly at towing speeds I'd leave it alone. If the bags were inflated when the photos were taken I might deflate the bags, adjust the hitch to level the trailer, and if the truck is level with that setup I'd call it good.

I would only inflate the air bags if the truck rear sags below level. I doubt that will happen. You should have adquate suspension for that trailer's tongue weight.

 

[tempforce]

i think the truck is o. k. but from experience and per recommendations from commercial haulers. i tried lowering the front of my trailers about a inch compared to the rear.
it does stabilize the trailer.
having the front level or slightly elevated causes more movement of the front of the trailer in a side to side motion and it catches the air differently.
some manufactures are starting to build the angle into the roof-line.
so you can hook up level. so if your trailer's roof is taller in the back from the bottom of the frame. no need in making any adjustments.

 

[Yo Hoot]

I ended up dropping the hitch two holes to get it so the rear of the truck was slightly higher and the trailer is slightly lower up front.



There was some air in the bags but not alot. I allowed the hitch to take on most of the work. It's driving down the road the best yet.

 

[tempforce]

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