Would I be correct in my thinking a WD hitch will change the apparent tongue weight depending on it's setting?
I don't think that's the case at all. It will only do that if it transfers hitch weight backwards and onto the trailer wheels -- that's not the case. See http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238...ers-17984.html. WD gear cranks the TV frame so that some hitch weight is transferred forward to the front wheels. The main purpose is to avoid overloading the rear axle as finalcutjoe is trying to do.
Do you have a GM receiver on the Burb? If so suspect it is the weak link and you are bending it. That is why no weight is being transfered to the front of the vehicle.
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When I first got mine (set up by dealer) I thought I needed to raise L-brackets to increase the upward force on the spring bars to transfer some of the weight to the front axles. In my mind it would be like applying more force to the the spring bars as if you were lifting up on the handles of a wheel barrow with the rear axle as the pivot point. Turns out I was wrong. By lowering the L-brackets (moving the brackets down so the square headed screw is in a higher hole), I increased the load on the front axle and decreased the load on the rear axle.
When I load the bed of my truck, I raise L-brackets by moving the square headed screw to a lower hole in the L-bracket. One adjustment that was made was to add a washer behind the hitch head to tilt it away from the tow vehicle. This also helped to transfer weight to the front axle.
Apparently there is a good bit of adjustment that needs to be made between the dry weight of the trailer when the dealer set up the hitch and after we added all of our traveling gear and gas to the LP tanks.
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Do you have a GM receiver on the Burb? If so suspect it is the weak link and you are bending it. That is why no weight is being transfered to the front of the vehicle.
TAKE IT FROM SOMEONE WHO KNOWS......GET RID OF THE GM RECIEVER
RECOMMEND A CLASS 5
inspect it carefully it may already have cracked welds
When I first got mine (set up by dealer) I thought I needed to raise L-brackets to increase the upward force on the spring bars to transfer some of the weight to the front axles. In my mind it would be like applying more force to the the spring bars as if you were lifting up on the handles of a wheel barrow with the rear axle as the pivot point. Turns out I was wrong. By lowering the L-brackets (moving the brackets down so the square headed screw is in a higher hole), I increased the load on the front axle and decreased the load on the rear axle.
When I load the bed of my truck, I raise L-brackets by moving the square headed screw to a lower hole in the L-bracket. One adjustment that was made was to add a washer behind the hitch head to tilt it away from the tow vehicle. This also helped to transfer weight to the front axle.
Apparently there is a good bit of adjustment that needs to be made between the dry weight of the trailer when the dealer set up the hitch and after we added all of our traveling gear and gas to the LP tanks.
Hi MM, that would be true. I'll bet you can effect the tongue weight by a good 300# after you load up versus a dry trailer.
The infinite adjustability of the Equalizer is one of the characteristics that make it such a great hitch. Once you get it dialed, you shouldn't have to fuss any more.
Sounds like you have it figured out...
Bill
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Yes that is true regarding the rear hitch installed on all 2001 through 2006 Suburbans. They are round rather than the square type we have on our Burb.
There is a recall on these hitches. I read it on a past edition of Trailer Life magazine. Sorry, I don't have teh recall number. Take it to a GM dealership and have it replaced.
Yes that is true regarding the rear hitch installed on all 2001 through 2006 Suburbans. They are round rather than the square type we have on our Burb.
There is a recall on these hitches. I read it on a past edition of Trailer Life magazine. Sorry, I don't have teh recall number. Take it to a GM dealership and have it replaced.
My "sometimers disease" may be kicking in. Time for beddy-bye, but... wouldn't one of those helper wheels (from the Long Long Trailer) take up some of the very high tongue weight of a 30 slide?
And... OMG, crawl under there and look at your hitch receiver! I did that yesterday and nearly crapped. (Of course I'd watched a Silverado info-mercial with Howie Long who mentioned that the NEW 2008 hitch receiver is 171% stronger than the old one .... hmmm shoulda guessed.... would they have fixed it if they didn't know it was broken?
So fellas, where do I take the 'burb to get a new aftermarket hitch receiver before next Sunday?
Paula Ford
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Go to a Hidden Hitch or Rigid Hitch or Reese or Draw-Tite dealer in your town. If they are a stocking dealer they should be able to put one on in a hour. If not, they can get one delivered by Thursday.
Talked to EQ hitch tech yesterday... basically, we've got the thing configured properly- albeit, totally maxed out... I think 2Air is right... we must be dealing with significantly more than airstreams published 1050# tongue weight....
could the entire ~460# of fresh water weight be on the tongue?
getting a sherline... i need real numbers...
not that I don't value the information and input of everybody here- you guys have been invaluable- but I haven't been able to find any other mention of Chevy's class IV hitch failures anywhere else...
mine looks fine (although I only have about 600 miles of towing the s/o on it)
although... the idea the hitch is not strong enough to transfer the weight makes sense to me... the chevy hitch does look pretty wimpy compared to box style class IV's...
Q: do you ever stop spending $$$$ on these things??!!!!111
I have run your numbers through the handy-dandy Crowhurst hitch calculator and came up with the following observations:
By my calculations, you have about 1700# tension in the bars in the first case. This is transfering 700# from your rear axle, adding 490# to the steer axle and 210# to the trailer axle.
The weight distribution is 61% drive axle/39% steer axle.
In the second case you have about 3000# of tension in the bars, and you are unloading about 1260# from the rear axle, adding 880# to the front and 380# to the trailer axle. In this case you are transferring a good deal of passenger and cargo weight off the axle in addition to the tongue weight.
The weight distribution in the second case is 58% drive/42% steer.
(note: bar tension is not the same as bar ratings, 3000#bar tension does not exceed the rating of 1200# bars. 1200# bars are for 1200# tongue weight.)
I agree that you have barely changed the weight distribution in your tow vehicle, even though you have really cranked the bars up. I think the reason you are having trouble getting the axle weights more balanced is the weight you have added as cargo and passengers.
Have you considered taking along another vehicle? Maybe you can unload some of the weight by putting the kids in their own car. I think this would be a good idea as you are over the rated GCWR of your tow vehicle.
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