I'm on the eighth link and use pipe to pull up the chain buckles.As I had seen in another post My bars appear to be 1000 pound bars.Mabey my set up is wrong.if I went 6 or 7 links would something bend or would it be to ridged.
I'll do my homework
Do you lock the coupler to the ball then raise the trailer /ball hitch with the tongue jack up past level some ? this way you take the load off as much as you can and lock up the chains ,then lower down off the tongue jack completely.your bars should bend some upward ,thats what they are suppose to do ,they are spring bars .you could use 800 # bars but it depends on the tongue weight you have . you could tilt the ball forward to use less links
as lipits has said ,but still it is the tension of the bars that effectively levels out your TV and trailer .That load imparted to the TV and trailer frames by
the design of the WD is what causes both to become level .1000 # bars
are ok but if your Tv is not level in the rear you just don't have much
tension on them .The bars will have less curvature if they can level out your Tv without as much tension as 800# bars might need ,because they are
1000# bars.I have my links sinched at the 6 or 7 link depends on my tongue weight and loads ,if the front water tank is full (happens sometimes) and they
are 750# round bars ,i use a round bar hitch that can accept different sizes of bars ,up to 1000 # .
The 1000 pound bars may not need the full 2 inches of deflection to achieve the proper weight transfer you need. Follow the Reese instruction gives on properly setting up the hitch. Your TV should squat equally in the front and rear after you hook up the trailer and install the bars. It is usually about an inch for a 1500 Suburban and your size trailer. If the hitch ball height is right this should properly load your trailer wheels as well and the trailer should measure level at the front and rear belt line. If it does not and the TV has even squat on it, then the ball was not at the proper height when you started.
Here is a good document from Reese on how to set up your bars correctly. I do think that 1000 pounders for a 71 Safari could be too stiff. Your trailer is listed as 440 lbs of Hitch wt. My TW is listed at 640 and I use 750 lbs bars and they work fine. The final adjustment in the document is to level the TV with the number of links of chain.
You people are great,
From other post I've read mabey 1000# bars are to stiff for what I have.I'll look for some 750's.I geuss I can damage the A frame w/what I have.I'll keep my current ones as I'm due for another dailey driver and will most likely be another full size wagon to turn into a 2nd TV.Airstream taste with an old Nomad pocket book.
Took everyones imput and took 2# washers out and moved ball forward a little,Looked @ reese set up info,used jack to take weight off and I went to 5 links on chain and have 3/4" to 1" deflection on bars.The trailer is level and TV is squatting 3/4" in rear and the front remains the same measurement.Now are These bars that are 29" long and 1 1/4"X 1 1/4" at the top infact 1000# bars.Also is there enough give in them to not cause damage.Here's what it looks like now.Again thankyou everyone.
Yes that looks good there ,you have abit of curvature or normal bend in the bars as needed ,not too much at all either .Time to take it down the street and see how much better your rig should feel and tow .I think its good right there ,see if all sits level as well if it does ,youve got it .If you use the 750#
you would then pitch the ball back rearward a little because they will deflect more than your 1000# bars will ,but it should appear as you have it setup now.your test ride should also give you a feel for the movement of the
TV and trailer as you dont want it to feel that it has no give and its too
rigid as in overhitched where the bars are too stiff .Try it out and see .
you mentioned the 3/4 squat and you may have the to move the ball back
and then tensionup the bars with 6 links or sometimes the position of the hitch head needs to be in a lower hole ,sometimes that is too much ,so Id
get it as close as you can ,now that you know how to do it you can experiment abit .
Scott
When you are loading your bars (taking up links on the chain), use your jack to raise the trailer - that way you don't have to muscle it up. I drop either two or three links (I forget which - it's automatic now). Try two and see how it looks. If you still are still low in the rear of your tv, drop another.
Pat
ps Oops - missed most of the forgoing messages. Sorry.
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