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Old 07-21-2018, 08:32 AM   #1
Jefster
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Tweaking the WDH

My last trailer was pretty small, the dealer set up my WDH and I was good to go. The dealer set up this one for me also, and all is going well with one exception - I found myself on some bumpy highways, and the ride is much rougher than with my old little trailer. It feels like the trailer gets bouncing front to back a little bit, resulting in a little bit of a jerky ride unless I slow down a bit.
So I'm wondering about the weight on the rear of my TV. The trailer seems to be slightly nose down, and it seems like if I try to level it a bit better (raise the rails on the WDH) it might get a little bit smoother? Or should I be looking at something else?

My details:
TV - 2007 Chevy Express 3500 15 passenger van, tow package
Hitch - Husky Centerline
Trailer - 2018 Passport 3290bh
My total vehicle length, TV and RV - 58 ft.

I hit the scales on this trip (almost fully loaded), and these were my results:
Front axle - 3380 lb
Rear axle - 5060 lb
Rv - 6460 lb
Total gross weight - 14,900 lb

Per the sticker in the door of my van my capactiy:
Gvwr - 9600 lb
Gawr front - 4300 lb
Gawr rear - 6084

By the numbers it seems like I'm in pretty good shape, and I want to take some time to do a better set up on the WDH. I came across this last night, and it seems like a decent guide to setting it up when I have some time to do it: http://davidsrvtips.blogspot.com/200...etup_2781.html
At least I think it is, I haven't really set one up before so I don't know what else could be missing.

My first thought is to try to just raise the rails on the centerline hitch and see what happens. I don't have measurements to base it on, just the performance on some bumpy roads.

Any advice from WDH pros would be appreciated!
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Old 07-21-2018, 09:23 AM   #2
sourdough
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My first thought is the van. It's 11 years old. What kind and how old are the shocks? Are the springs shot/fatigued? What kind of tires? You're describing what happened to me the first time I took my larger trailer out with a 1/2 ton - it wasn't really up to the task. Heavier tires, air bags, heavy duty shocks and things improved; a new HD truck completely fixed it. From the weights you've given it looks like the van has the numbers but I'm not sure the aged components can perform as if it were new.

Edit: here is the link to the installation/setup for the Husky Centerline;

https://www.huskytow.com/wp-includes...NST_042415.pdf
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Old 07-21-2018, 01:36 PM   #3
flybouy
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You don't list the trailer tongue weight. That's an essential piece of info to judge if the set up is correct. Also you are comparing your "smaller trailer" to a new trailer, apples and oranges.
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Old 07-21-2018, 05:41 PM   #4
Jefster
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Right sorry, tongue weight is listed as 825 in the camper specs. I didn't weigh it at the scale, just did one pass through on the scale with the van hooked up.
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Old 07-21-2018, 07:05 PM   #5
ctbruce
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Tongue weight packed is probably closer to 1000 lbs. Just a guess, but I feel confident in this. You can check your measurements disconnected and connected to verify if it is still set up right. If the dealer set it empty, it will change and need adjustments when loaded. I've experienced this first hand.
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Old 10-03-2018, 06:53 PM   #6
cookinwitdiesel
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Given that his rear axle weight on the scale would include the hitch weight from the trailer, I am inclined to think it could have to do more with the van suspension. Not likely the van is "out of spec" (when new) but it is not "fresh" either anymore.

It could also be as simple as your trailer is larger now, when it bounces, it will transfer more of that energy back to the van since more mass is moving than on your old trailer. Just to be clear, you got a new WDH with the new trailer? Not re-using the old one from the smaller trailer? Want to make sure your hitch is rated for and matches your new trailer.
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Old 10-04-2018, 06:21 AM   #7
flybouy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cookinwitdiesel View Post
Given that his rear axle weight on the scale would include the hitch weight from the trailer, I am inclined to think it could have to do more with the van suspension. Not likely the van is "out of spec" (when new) but it is not "fresh" either anymore.

It could also be as simple as your trailer is larger now, when it bounces, it will transfer more of that energy back to the van since more mass is moving than on your old trailer. Just to be clear, you got a new WDH with the new trailer? Not re-using the old one from the smaller trailer? Want to make sure your hitch is rated for and matches your new trailer.
Without a second pass of the van only there is no way to tell what the tongue wt. is or how much of that wt. is on the rear axle as the wdh is distributing the wt. My question, other than my original question on how much tongue wt. is have you measured the distance from top of tire to bottom of fender well arc before and after hitching? The difference (#before hitching - after hitching) should be close front to back. That will give you a rough idea if it's set up correctly and you will need to this anyway to change the setup. In my opinion the only way to correctly set it up is to go to the scales. Weight the rig set up as you woulkd go camping. Then reweight the van only. CAT scales will only charge you once if you reweight within 24 hrs.
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