Heed the warnings of running HD trucks with heavy WD bars

[JK3500]

Hi. Haven't contributed in awhile but just want to add to those warning about towing Airstreams with HD trucks and heavy WD bars. I tow my 22' International with a Chevy 3500 Classic (SRW). When I bought the trailer my dealer set me up with 1000# bars. I have now had my frame repaired twice. The first time (see link below), neither I nor Airstream had any idea what had caused the problem. Since I had just recently purchased the trailer I assumed it had been caused by the previous PO. At the time I was reassured by Airstream I was well within recommended limits with my towing setup and it should not be a cause for concern.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/bent-frame-on-2005-22-intl-how-bad-is-it-33396.html

A year and a few thousand miles later I was still dealing with the signs of a rough ride (replacing interior rivets, screws coming loose) when an undercarriage inspection revealed my frame was now cracked, just in front of the forward axle and just behind the repair Airstream had done a year ago. Pretty crushing blow for an owner of a $35K, 3 year old trailer! With nothing else to pin it on, I am firmly convinced the cause of this was the combination of HD truck and HD bars.

The good news is Airstream did cover the frame repairs a second time. Now I am in the process of resealing a significant number of leaks I am sure were also caused by my previous WD setup. At the same time I am still looking for additional damage I might have caused.

This is not meant to steer anyone away from a heavy duty truck. I love my 3500. It has a smooth ride, does everything I need it to do (I use it for more than just a TV) and tows my little 22' like it's not even there. For anyone who does, please heed the advise of many here on the site and run the lightest bars you can. Andy from Inland RV has been sounding the alarm on this for some time now and hopefully folks are starting to listen. I wish I had a year ago.

[enduroryda]

We had a seminar on this issue at the PEI rally. The dealer gave us a heads up on the concerns your talking about with a great slide show. One thing that we can do to make sure we are not overstressing our setup is to check the leaf springs on your rear suspension. If they are flattened out under a full load w/ bars in place things must be adjusted to reduce the rough ride your trailer will endure resulting from a bad setup.

[Silvertwinkie]

I may be wrong here, but I seem to recall there being a significant issue with the 22' design...so much so that the 23' unit was the replacement to the 22' and the "final answer" as to the root cause of the shortcomings of the 22'.

Keep in mind this is just what I heard....it by no means is law, but right after I started to hear about issues with the 22s, they vanished and along came the 23s.

I am not saying that rough rides don't contribute to issues with Airstreams, clearly I think rough rides do, but to have the frame consistently fail, seems to me like an engineering issue and why the factory is being so generous as to the repair. Popped rivets, etc, sure, but frame issues? I don't know, I'm no engineer, but frame breaks caused by a 1 tonner with 1000lb bars, I just don't know. Good warnings though. It'd be interesting if anyone else has a 22 that has issues and, what folks who have a 23 footer are towing with and what issues they have......

[3Ms75Argosy]

I'm not sure what difference there is between the 22 and 23... I'm sure you'd find the frames are the same. My understanding with the 22 was the wet bath was a deal breaker... not so much anything wrong with the 22 ... do they still leave the belly open in the 23's?

I think they both use the same axle system, same 14" wheels, same length... not sure about frame thickness... .
Marc

[Antique Pedaler]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

It'd be interesting what folks who have a 23 footer are towing with and what issues they have......

Our 2500 HD GMC D-Max is the TV for our '23. 12,000 miles so far with no issues. Hitch is an Equalizer transferred from our X Bambi. This '05 pickup has a much softer ride and our old '00 GMC 2500 HD which was equiupped with the heavy duty off-road suspension. Unloaded, it was a kidney killer.

[dwightdi]

I run no WD bars when I tow my Overlander with the 3500 dually Cheyy 4wd. With that much load capacity, you do not need them. The truck can easily take a little tongue weight without problem as it was designed to take 2,000 lbs on the box without having to add weights to the front bumper. I would say that frame damage in front of the wheels is the result of poor design at Airstream as was the frame breakage behind the rear wheel on the mid-70's rear bath rear tank longer trailers. Of course, the Red Ant bike carriers and people putting spare tires back there did not helpeither. Back then, Airstream admitted their engineering problem and installed a quick fix for most customers for free. They gave them frame strengthening plates and bolted the frame up onto the trailer shell so the shell held up the frame.

[Silvertwinkie]

I am seriously considering getting one of those air hitches before the start of next season, even though I only have a 2500. It's been said these can help reduce the harshness of ride, but one of my concerns is that the hitch rides on an air bag. Though I believe these are heavy duty air bags, I question if the bag could ever blow or leak making the hitch unusable?

[JK3500]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

I may be wrong here, but I seem to recall there being a significant issue with the 22' design...so much so that the 23' unit was the replacement to the 22' and the "final answer" as to the root cause of the shortcomings of the 22'.

Definitely possible an inherent weakness in the frame also contributed to my problems. To fix, Airstream sent my dealer a "frame-stiffening kit", which beefed up the area of the frame where the crack occurred.

Whether it was the sole cause or not, I am fairly certain my towing setup at least contributed to the mishap.

I would be curious to hear from anyone else towing a 22' and whether or not they have the same issues. jk

[BradS]

I also pull a 22' International with a one ton truck ( a Dodge Megacab) When I bought the trailer I also purchased an equlizer hitch with 1000 lb bars. After a year of having this set up I quit using the hitch setup. A one ton truck can pull a 5600 lb trailer without even knowing that it is there. I no longer find everything in my trailer tossed about and screws and rivets seem to stay put. I dont know why I would need, want, or use a WD hitch with a small trailer and a large truck.

[JK3500]

Originally Posted by BradS

I also pull a 22' International with a one ton truck ( a Dodge Megacab) When I bought the trailer I also purchased an equlizer hitch with 1000 lb bars. After a year of having this set up I quit using the hitch setup. A one ton truck can pull a 5600 lb trailer without even knowing that it is there. I no longer find everything in my trailer tossed about and screws and rivets seem to stay put. I dont know why I would need, want, or use a WD hitch with a small trailer and a large truck.

Agree. That is where I am at now as well.

[Cracker]

I can't imagine 1,000 lb bars on a 22' trailer. My 30' Excella has a travel weight of 980 lbs on the hitch measured with a Sherline scale. Generally speaking, I thought that the rated bar strength should match the hitch weight as close as possible. With that said, I still set my 1,000 lb rated bars somewhat lightly since their main function for me, when towing with the 3500 dually is to act somewhat like a shock absorber. As others have said, the dually can, for all practical purposes, tow with little significant assist from the bars - or simply without the bars. Because I reduced the rear spring capacity of my dually, while bringing the axle a lot closer to the rubber bumper on the chassis, I still like to tension the bars somewhat - but not to their capacity. I've never seen any indication, or felt, that I was "bottoming out" - with the exception of extreme twisting maneuvers when running on rough terrain solo. Once again, I've yet to find any loose rivets with my setup. I also think that it bears saying that, by scale weights, the trailer tongue weight only unloads the front axle by about 200 lbs - and no amount of bar tensioning (---within reason) will restore that load on the front axle. The lever arm is simply too long, the distance from the rear axle to the hitch is too short, and the vehicle weighs too much. Frankly, the front end weight for a fully-outfitted crew-cab dually with 4wd, A/C, Duramax, and Allison Tranny can use a bit of "unloading!"

[dwightdi]

If you believe the Reese literature and the self centering design of the twin cam, you need tension on the bars to give you the antisway performance to the hitch. All other hitch designs are only frictional dampeners and do not depend upon WD loading to effect their performance. I have own and have used Reese frictional, Reese Dual Cam, and Equalizer hitches. I like to dual cam with a moderately loaded WD when necessary but I do not need any anti-sway since I bought the dually. I have not owned a Hensley yet, but I would if I had a short wheelbase truck and a big trailer.

[Airstreamer67]

The AirSafe hitch was my answer to a harsh ride from a heavy-duty pickup. I can push down on the trailer tongue while the trailer is hooked up to the F250 and the trailer tongue will go up-and-down without affecting the truck. When towing on the road, the truck and the trailer suspensions act independently of each other. The effect is especially remarkable when no weight-transfer bars are used, but the AirSafe can be used with the bars.

Silvertwinkie, my Class V AirSafe hitch is equipped with two Firestone air bags, the same type used so successfully by truckers for decades now. They are noted for at least a 10-year (and usually much longer) life. If and when they go bad, they are available and easily replaced.

[Rugger]

Now Im concerned...I just bought a 2008 International 28 and tow it with my 2008 F350 Long Bed Dually. Ive only towed it from the dealer in Eugene, OR to Palm Springs, CA and noticed that the ride was terrible (as were the roads!) I have a Equalizer hitch with 1000 bars. Can I use the AirSafe with the Equalizer? What are my other options? Im afraid that Im going to shake my new Airstream to pieces!!

While Im not new to towing travel trailers, I am a newly minted Airstream owner and want to protect my investment. Thanks in advance for any advice!

[ROBERT CROSS]

Welcome Aboard.....

The first thing you might try is softer bars, with the TV (forum speak for tow vehicle) you have you could probably use the lightest available.
Keep that Airstream perfectly level.

[Mikethefixit]

We tow our 27ft Overlander with the truck indicated on the lower left corner. We have a old style Reese Straightline Dual Cam, the bars are 550 lbs bars or 1" square. We get a very soft ride on both truck and trailer. We have no problems with rough ride. I run 6 links under tension cause thats all the links there are. I have tried 5 links under tension the ride is really bad . REMEMBER the TAIL IS IN THE SCALE. Weigh your truck empty and then the combo spliting each axle to find where the weight is . The results may suprise you.Damage like U are showing I'm sure is the product of an over HITCH situation. Of course I would not rule out some design flaw.

[safari 28]

This has been discussed before and as we have progressed the 250 and 350 series trucks with diesel power have been the choice of the forum. It has also been well warned by Inland Andy and other experts that for most of the Airstream line, a properly set up modern 1/2 ton truck is all that is needed for our rigs. I have a reese dual cam with 600lb bars on 5 links and the test is very simple. When all set up jump up and down on the rear bumper. If you do not have at least 3 inches of travel, then you are over rigged. I was parked next to similar 28 on this last cross country voyage and he complained of all the damage he was having with appliances etc. He had a 2500 HD GMC and a Hensley. We left at about the same time and i jumped on his back bumper. Could not move it! He jumped on mine and the whole rig went up and down like on a cloud. Needless to say, it was obvious.

Another test is a wavy road. At times it feels like the whole rig is floating. The trucks suspension is working hard and not sending shock to the A/S. I know you guys love your diesels, and for some reason many think taking a gasser up to 3500 rpm is hurting it on long grades. I submit to all that is not the case, and a new gas 1/2 ton set up for the job will be a great daily driver and tow your rig cross country like I have over 4 times in just over 1 year with no long term issues. Maybe for the 34 triple axle rigs it is required, even then, check your trucks ability to absorb the bumps in the road.

[canadianguy]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

I am seriously considering getting one of those air hitches before the start of next season, even though I only have a 2500. It's been said these can help reduce the harshness of ride, but one of my concerns is that the hitch rides on an air bag. Though I believe these are heavy duty air bags, I question if the bag could ever blow or leak making the hitch unusable?

Check out the rear end of a semi-truck sometime. Most of them ride on air, and with the trailers. They have a very good reliability record.

[dwightdi]

If I were you I would do a trial run without the bars. You really do not need them. Equalizer 1000 pound bars are much more rigid that Reese bars of the same rating. If it is still to rough, look into lowering the spring rate of the truck. The easy low cost way to run the experiment is to drop the spring rate of the tires by lowering the pressure for a trial. If you are running the 70 psi recommended pressure for the tires on the dually, drop the pressure ten pounds (check the website to make sure your still within load rating of the tires) and rerun the trial. If you find there is a signifigant improvement, it is your choise to either continue to run the lower pressure or buy some lighter weight rear springs.

[ArtStream]

After repairing front end separation from the previous owner I installed a Class 5 Air Hitch, dropped the E-350 dually tires to 60 psi, changed out the 1000 lb reese dule cam bars to 700 lbs.

60,000 latter all is well.