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m.hony · 08-13-2016, 05:19 PM

When I had the problem of the L-brackets moving Equal-i-zer sent me some new link plates.

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abone · 08-31-2016, 09:13 PM

I picked up our '17 Airstream 27FB on Monday and ran across the scales. Appreciate any feedback on the #'s.

TV - 2014 Ram 1500 Laramie Limited, 3.92, 4X4, short box, air suspension, crew cab.

Equal-i-zer 90-00-1000

Tow vehicle - full fuel, wife and me, no camping gear:
Front axle - 3608 lbs
Rear axle - 2816 lbs
Total wgt - 6424 lbs

Trailer left factory @ 6025 lbs but the dealer filled the water tank so 6350 lbs approx, otherwise empty.

Tow vehicle and trailer, with WDH:
Front axle - 3322 lbs
Rear axle - 3960 lbs
Trailer - 5390 lbs
GCVW - 12,672 lbs

I like where the GCVW ended up but need to move some weight forward.

The AS dealer installed the hitch, and it was just slap it on and hand me the keys. I do see he installed 4 spacers.

Any suggestions for dialing this in for more weight on the front axle? Add 1 or 2 more spacers first? Adjust the bars second? What about moving the hitch shank closer to the truck? I posted in my Ram forum and that's what I've been told to try.

Appreciate any comments and suggestions.

**wulfraat** · 08-31-2016, 10:29 PM

How is it that your rear axle load (without trailer attached) is measuring ~800# lighter than you front axle load (2816# rear vs 3608# front)?

Do you have those numbers backwards or do you haul around a pallet of bricks on the front hood of the truck?

ROBERTSUNRUS · 08-31-2016, 10:31 PM

Hi, I would add two more washers. My magic combination is with six and a half washers.

abone · 08-31-2016, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wulfraat

How is it that your rear axle load (without trailer attached) is measuring ~800# lighter than you front axle load (2816# rear vs 3608# front)?

Do you have those numbers backwards or do you haul around a pallet of bricks on the front hood of the truck?

Here are the scaled weights at the factory as per the VIN decoder, no fuel, no Bak-Flip tonneau, no passengers:

Front - 3313 lbs
Rear - 2489 lbs
Total - 5802 lbs

The Ecodiesel engine is heavier than the Hemi, and an empty pick-up truck box is light. Anyone that has weighed these trucks empty have similar ratios front to rear.

abone · 08-31-2016, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, I would add two more washers. My magic combination is with six and a half washers.

Dumb question but when you say 1/2 a washer, you mean a thin washer?

ROBERTSUNRUS · 08-31-2016, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abone

Dumb question but when you say 1/2 a washer, you mean a thin washer?

Hi, not a dumb question; Yes, I found a washer that was about half as thick as the Equal-I-zer ones. It doesn't show in this picture.

One page #1 and post #5, the picture on the right shows my six and one half washers.

Captain Hank · 09-01-2016, 03:00 AM

What is the tongue weight of your trailer? The dealer should have measured the tongue weight to determine what size bars are needed on the hitch. My FB has 1150lbs. TW, so I have to use 1200lbs bars.

abone · 09-01-2016, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Hank

What is the tongue weight of your trailer? The dealer should have measured the tongue weight to determine what size bars are needed on the hitch. My FB has 1150lbs. TW, so I have to use 1200lbs bars.

There are a lot of things my dealer "should have done" but didn't. I did spend a lot of time with CanAM RV over the phone though and they recommended a 1000 lb bar.
I haven't loaded it up for travel yet, so once I do I will get a TW measure.

m.hony · 09-01-2016, 05:42 AM

Adding a washer or 2 and/or raising the L-brackets one notch is pretty much all you can do.

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abone · 09-01-2016, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m.hony

Adding a washer or 2 and/or raising the L-brackets one notch is pretty much all you can do.

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Fingers crossed that will do it.

Bob662 · 09-01-2016, 06:05 AM

Why adding a couple of washers? Is he trying to transfer more weight to the front axles? That's about all adding washers will do.

abone · 09-01-2016, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob662

Why adding a couple of washers? Is he trying to transfer more weight to the front axles? That's about all adding washers will do.

Yes, thats what I need to do. I will load it up for travel, dump some water from the tank, then scale it again....then add the washer and see where I am at. Brand new trailer, coming home from the dealer I ran it across the scales and didn't like the weight distribution.

KJRitchie · 09-01-2016, 07:29 AM

What is the distance from the ground to the top of the fenders on the truck without the trailer attached?

Hitch up the trailer without WDH and measure to see the difference.

Add a couple of washers to the head and connect the WDH. Check the measurements. If they are close to solo then you can take it to the scales for an accurate verification.

I prefer to keep the bars parallel to the tongue as raising the L bracket causes you to have to raise the trailer and the truck higher for the bars to clear without using the lever tool.

I use an Equalizer with 1000lb bars. That is what my dealer supplied. They didn't weight the tongue but probably went off the Airstream tongue weight specs which are low. I have a Sherline scale and my tongue weight is 1100-1200lbs. When towing with my Tundra I had to you 6 spacers. I purchased extra hardened washers from a local hardware store. With my Ram 2500 being 3/4T I'm currently using 4 spacers and it seems correct when measuring vendor height.

Kelvin

abone · 09-01-2016, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

What is the distance from the ground to the top of the fenders on the truck without the trailer attached?

Hitch up the trailer without WDH and measure to see the difference.

Add a couple of washers to the head and connect the WDH. Check the measurements. If they are close to solo then you can take it to the scales for an accurate verification.

I prefer to keep the bars parallel to the tongue as raising the L bracket causes you to have to raise the trailer and the truck higher for the bars to clear without using the lever tool.

I use an Equalizer with 1000lb bars. That is what my dealer supplied. They didn't weight the tongue but probably went off the Airstream tongue weight specs which are low. I have a Sherline scale and my tongue weight is 1100-1200lbs. When towing with my Tundra I had to you 6 spacers. I purchased extra hardened washers from a local hardware store. With my Ram 2500 being 3/4T I'm currently using 4 spacers and it seems correct when measuring vendor height.

Kelvin

Once I load up the rig for our first trip, I will start with the measurements and such. Should be over the weekend. My dealer weren't much help.

kscherzi · 09-01-2016, 08:38 AM

As you fill the trailer with your camping things you will find that over time the tongue weight will increase. After 3 years my 27 FB tongue weight somehow went up by 200 lbs over the manufacturers stated weight. Adding washers is the easy way to transfer weight forward. Additionally, as the hitch wears in over time you may need to add yet another washer to compensate. I have 7 washers I recall.

abone · 09-10-2016, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abone

I picked up our '17 Airstream 27FB on Monday and ran across the scales. Appreciate any feedback on the #'s.

TV - 2014 Ram 1500 Laramie Limited, 3.92, 4X4, short box, air suspension, crew cab.

Equal-i-zer 90-00-1000

Tow vehicle - full fuel, wife and me, no camping gear:
Front axle - 3608 lbs
Rear axle - 2816 lbs
Total wgt - 6424 lbs

Trailer left factory @ 6025 lbs but the dealer filled the water tank so 6350 lbs approx, otherwise empty.

Tow vehicle and trailer, with WDH:
Front axle - 3322 lbs
Rear axle - 3960 lbs
Trailer - 5390 lbs
GCVW - 12,672 lbs

I like where the GCVW ended up but need to move some weight forward.

The AS dealer installed the hitch, and it was just slap it on and hand me the keys. I do see he installed 4 spacers.

Any suggestions for dialing this in for more weight on the front axle? Add 1 or 2 more spacers first? Adjust the bars second? What about moving the hitch shank closer to the truck? I posted in my Ram forum and that's what I've been told to try.

Appreciate any comments and suggestions.

Well I added 2 more spacers for a total of 6, emptied the fresh water tank down to 25%, loaded up the truck with 150 lbs of gear, and packed the trailer with most of our gear for travel, and here is where I ended up.

Tow vehicle and trailer with WDH:
front axle - 3454 lbs
rear axle - 3872 lbs
Trailer - 5632 lbs
GCVW - 12,958 lbs

FWIW - I also measured my tongue weight using the bathroom scale method and it came in at 800 lbs.

So by adding 2 more spacers for a total of 6, I did move some weight to the front axle, a little off the rear axle, and some to the trailer, BUT, I am nowhere near getting the front and rear TV axles weights close to evently distributed. (trailer tows like a dream however)

In addition, my wheel well measurements are, air susp engaged:
Front uncoupled - 36"
Front coupled and WD applied - 37 3/4"
Rear uncoupled 38 1/8"
Rear coupled and WD applied - 38"

Bars are not parallel to the frame, they are aiming up towards the trailer a bit.

So, what do you guys think, add one more spacer for a total of 7 and call it a day?

My wife and friends think I have lost my mind trying to get this perfect!!

m.hony · 09-10-2016, 10:28 AM

It is hard to transfer more weight to the front axle of a 1/2 ton.
If it drives good/feels good, you might have it as good as it gets.
I have thought about getting "helper springs", but not sure that will help transfer more weight to the front axle.
Everyone thought I was as crazy, too- adjusting it at every rest stop and campground for 2 years till I got it as good as it gets.

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cory_can · 09-10-2016, 11:42 AM

Re: air suspension. Curious, did you properly account for the air suspension adjustment when you setup your WDH? I've had a RAM 1500 ED Limited w/ Air and a now a 2500 w/ air and the setup is initially a little more involved when you have air suspension but very convenient after setup..... I.e. Changes in load won't alter your setup.

abone · 09-10-2016, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cory_can

Re: air suspension. Curious, did you properly account for the air suspension adjustment when you setup your WDH? I've had a RAM 1500 ED Limited w/ Air and a now a 2500 w/ air and the setup is initially a little more involved when you have air suspension but very convenient after setup..... I.e. Changes in load won't alter your setup.

That is a good question, the AS dealer slapped it on so I'm not sure what they did, but pretty sure no accounting for air suspension took place in the set-up.
I have called Equal-i-zer and Joey told me what to do with the wheel well measurements, but that's all. Other than engaging tire jack mode when hooking up and unhooking, I'm not sure what else I can do to account for it.

I've towed a few trailers in my time, and never has one towed as nice as this....but that light front axle is driving me crazy!

Any suggestions?