I hit the scales today and I feel a bit fat

[f6bits]

For $10, I went to the local scale to weigh my setup. Front axle is less than expected, rear axle is more than expected. I’m hoping that cranking up my WD will even these out.

Trailer weight was more than expected by a couple hundred pounds, even taking into account 20+ gallons in my back-of-trailer waste tanks, full propane, a battery, and the usual junk in the trailer. Tongue weight about 11% of trailer weight.

Is cranking up the WD the best way to approach this? I know I need more tongue weight, but don’t want to keep piling weight on my rear axle when the front axle is so under utilized.

[f6bits]

Can someone check my math? When on the scale, I (155lbs) was in the TV.
Fully hooked up with WD:
TV Front Axle: 2450
TV Front & Rear Axles: 5690
Calculated Rear Axle: 3240
TV & TT: 10760

Standalone (unhooked) TT: 5660

Calculated TV & Driver: 5100

Calculated tongue weight: 590

[campingcpl]

It does seem like you are going to be a little heavy on the tongue and rear axle of the TV if there is no water in the rear holding tank (water is 8.35lbs a gallon and a little more for black water, so 20 gallons of fresh water would be 167lbs that you would be taking off the pin). There are a couple of things you need to look at that you didn't list. The first thing is I would take the measurments of the TV without the trailer attached and then redo the measurments after the trailer is hooked up with the leveling bars. You should have the same height in the front as your first measurment. Higher means you will need to add more angle to the head or pull the bars up a little tighter. The back should be about the same hight as the front or slightly higher. The other thing is you didn't say if you got the axle weights on the trailer. If the front axle is heavier on the trailer then you will need to adjust the bars to equal out the load on the trailer axles as well. The other thing is to make sure that the truck and trailer are level. If you dip in the middle (at the tongue) you will need to tighten up the bars. If you dip in the back of the trailer and in the front of the TV then you will need to loosen up the bars. If the TV is level but the trailer isn't then you will have to adjust the hight of the ball by either raising it or lowering it and then you will have to readjust the bars again. When adjusting a WD hitch it's a matter of trial and error because every set-up is different. It took me a couple of tries to get mine just right. If after all that you are still having trouble getting the adjustments right I would say you might need to add something to the rear suspension of the TV to help level it out. I had to add coil-over load adjusting shocks to my last truck to help even out the load. I just couldn't get that last 1" or so I needed in the back of the truck and the shocks made that possible. These are just some of the things I would be looking at if it was me. I hope this helps and maybe gives you some ideas at what to look at.

[f6bits]

Thanks for the WD info. The rear of the TV definitely sags. The trailer is pretty much level. I plan on adjusting the angle of the head.

I understand that the front height of the TV shouldn’t change much with WD, but you said the back should be about the same as the front, or higher. When unloaded, the back is higher, I was hoping to bring the back up to match the front so the TV sits closer level, though I expect the front to dip some if I’m cranking up the bars. Like you did, I need some trial and error to get everything to sit nicely.

The trailer’s fresh water 30g tank is up front, and is empty. The two rear 30g tanks say ⅔ full each, but I think it’s more like half.

I didn’t do individual axle weights on the trailer because I didn’t think it mattered in the big scheme of things. Tongue needs to be 10-15%, and there’s the gross weight to consider. These two numbers should tell me how evenly the trailer weight is distributed.

[f6bits]

After adding a washer to the hitch head, I went back to storage and measured at the top of the wheel well above the axle:
Unhooked Rear: 33”
Unhooked Front: 32

Hooked Rear (no WD): 30.75
Hooked Front (no WD): 32 ⅞

I cranked the bars up one more notch, which is the top setting:

Hooked Rear (WD): 31 ½
Hooked Front (WD): 32 ½

Yes, the front is *still* a bit higher loaded with WD than it was unhooked. However, according to the Equalizer manual, this is ok as long as less than half way to the non-WD height. Close enough for me.

The trailer is now slightly tilted up in front, but less than an inch. My hitch ball/neck is at its lowest elevation.

I have a weekend trip coming up, so I’ll continue to measure and evaluate.

[campingcpl]

Right now that doesn't sound bad for that set up. One thing you have to remember too is that you wont always have that much waste in the rear tanks and you might be carring roughly about 1/4 of a tank of fresh water. This will add more weight to the tongue which will change your set up. If at all possible you should check your set up with the way you plan on traveling with the trailer. When I made all my adjustments, I made them with water in the fresh water tank (the same amount that I would normally carry for a trip), the holding tanks empty, the fridge and pantry filled and ready to go and all the clothes and stuff like that. That way you can get a better handle on the set up.

As for knowing what each axle weight is, that is somewhat important. If you have more weight on one axle then the other you could possibly have problems with tire failure or possibly overloading the axle. The extra weight on the tires will cause the tires to get hotter which in turn could cause the tire to fail. The same goes for the TV tires. That is why it is important to try and get everything as level as possible.

I would still recommend looking into some type of rear suspenssion helper. Not only will it help keep everything level but it will help with the ride as well. There are several threads on suspenssion helpers and there are several different products on the market. Like me on my other truck I opted for the coil over shocks which gave me an additional 1500lbs and raised the back of the truck roughly an 1-1/2" loaded and about 2" to 2-1/2" with no load. It was just the little extra I needed to make everything level and the ride improved. The other options are add-a-leaf or leaf spring helpers, air bags, Timbren helper springs, etc.. It all depends on how much you want to spend, how much work you want to do and how much help you need. In my opinon it doesn't sound like you would need much. The shocks I used were less then $100.00 for the set and only took me about an hour to install them.

I hope all this helps you, have a safe and fun trip! We wont be leaving for our first trip till the middle of May (14 days of NO WORK) and we can't wait!!!

[f6bits]

Thanks for the reply. Next time I hit the scales, I’ll isolate the trailer axles as well. And I’ll weigh the unhitched TV axles as well. As for a suspension helper, I’d probably go with airbags such as the Ride Rites, as they’re easy to adjust as needed.

[chuck&gail]

Everyone has an opinion, I have mine, and mine has worked for me for over 200,000 towing miles. IMHO the absolute best is when front TV axle weight INCREASES by almost, but not quite, as much as rear TV axle increases. Also both TV axles must be UNDER their GAWR. This usually means adding at least one more washer than you expect in the Equal-i-zer head.

If front axle weight decreases, you have less control in an emergency. The solution is not airbags, unless it is a 5er, it is a properly sized and adjusted WDH. That is what they are designed for.

You want 13 to 15% of the TOTAL FULLY LOADED TT weight on the tongue. The 10% number is for popups and boats, which have little frontal area.

[f6bits]

I have the 1000/10,000 EQ hitch, and put in an extra washer (five, total), and put the L bracket to the highest hole. There’s still a lot of sag out back. The back drops 1.5 inches, and the front rises .5 inches. To me, that means that the front axle has lost weight.

I need to pore over the EQ manual again and maybe give them a call. It could be that my TV hitch isn’t low enough and right off the bat that’s not an optimal way to get the WD working properly. I believe that the head is already at its lowest setting.

[chuck&gail]

I'm sure there are lots of variables, but with our 860# tongue weight I needed SEVEN washers with our 2010 Expedition.

[f6bits]

With the seven washers, are your spring bars on the highest setting? It seems to me that the washers do the same thing as raising the L brackets for the spring bars: “increase” the angle of torque to push down on the front end of the TV. Is this correct?

[E597283]

I had to buy a longer shank for my hitch so the bars where in the correct hight. I also added some additional washers. The ball hight was correct to a level trailer (about inch or so higher) but the bars where to high....add more washers.

[campingcpl]

Originally Posted by sdayman

With the seven washers, are your spring bars on the highest setting? It seems to me that the washers do the same thing as raising the L brackets for the spring bars: “increase” the angle of torque to push down on the front end of the TV. Is this correct?

You are correct in your thinking. The reason for having the adjustable L-brackets is to be able to adjust your set-up to changing situations with out having to take the head apart and add more or remove washers. If it was me I would add another washer or 2 and then set the brackets to the mid point. That way you will have some room for adjustment if you need it.

Originally Posted by sdayman

After adding a washer to the hitch head, I went back to storage and measured at the top of the wheel well above the axle:
Unhooked Rear: 33”
Unhooked Front: 32

Hooked Rear (no WD): 30.75
Hooked Front (no WD): 32 ⅞

I cranked the bars up one more notch, which is the top setting:

Hooked Rear (WD): 31 ½
Hooked Front (WD): 32 ½

Yes, the front is *still* a bit higher loaded with WD than it was unhooked. However, according to the Equalizer manual, this is ok as long as less than half way to the non-WD height. Close enough for me.

The trailer is now slightly tilted up in front, but less than an inch. My hitch ball/neck is at its lowest elevation.

I have a weekend trip coming up, so I’ll continue to measure and evaluate.

As for your new measurements, personally they don't look bad. The rule of thumb for the rear is that you want somewhere between your unloaded and loaded (no w/d) hights without going over or under these measurements. For the front if you add the unloaded and loaded (no w/d) measurments then divide by 2 (32 + 32-7/8 / 2 = 32-7/16) this would be where you want to have the front measurement. So with your measurment of 31-3/4 in the rear and 32-1/2 in the front you should be in good shape. I'd take it for a test drive and see how it feels. If you are not getting any loose steering then I wouldn't worry about a little sag in the rear and if you are only a 1/2" up on the nose of the trailer I wouldn't worry about that either. I wouldn't start worrying unless you start getting over an 1" higher in the front of the trailer and the rear of your TV approches or drops below that 30-3/4" measurement and you front starts going over the 32-1/2" measurement. With adding another washer or two and re adjusting the L-brackets you should be able to get the front down to that 32-7/16" and bring the back up slightly more.

You are on the right track and you are probably close enough that if the test drive feels good then I wouldn't worry about it. Good luck!

[f6bits]

Thanks for clarifying that the L brackets are for the fine tuning. On our way out this weekend, we had to lower the L bracket one notch because the steering felt weird. It felt much better after that.

Not having the joy of experiencing extreme trailer sway, any little bobbing gets me antsy. My next set of tires will definitely be LT so they have stronger sidewalls, as I get some side to side bobbing. For those who have experienced sway, what was your first clue? I don’t think I have sway, as the bobbing I experience is slight, but firm, but I don’t feel like the front end of a wagging dog.

[campingcpl]

The bobbing or bouncing is normal. It doesn't matter how much you tighten up the bars or how stiff the suspension is. I towed all sizes of trailers with all sizes of trucks and you still get a bouncing from time to time. As for sway... the best way I can describe it would be take your TV out on a wet road and start fish tailing with a load of brick in the back. It feels like someone pushing the back of the truck around. It's not a fun feeling!!! Had it happen once and hope it never happens again!!

[f6bits]

Ah, know that feeling. Towed a Rose Float with a tow bar one year. 12,000 lbs. can really push you around if they’re not on the brakes at the right time.