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Old 05-04-2018, 06:15 AM   #21
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You will need to upgrade tires to a higher load rating if you are going to throw so much weight on the rear axel of the Infiniti to the point where WD, existing coil springs and existing air springs can’t support the load.

My 30’ has a measured tongue weight of 990lbs and with the correct WD my Infiniti QX sat level within 1/2”.
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Old 05-04-2018, 01:53 PM   #22
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To try to answer some of these questions:
"... What I do not know and would like to know is how the height adjustment systems work on these Asian vehicles. What if any issues encountered from long term and extend towing. Are these vehicles all time all wheel drive? Do they have low range high range abilities? Do they have hill decent? Do they transfer power to needed wheel and or wheels? What are their tongue weight max? How does the height system work when towing? Up, down, and or lock/disabled?...."

I found this older article about the QX56 suspension when it switched from the Titan truck based platform to the Patrol that I believe is being used on the new Armada:

https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/...alkaround.html

So far I have found the only enjoyable thing about pulling the trailer is riding in the QX.
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Old 05-04-2018, 04:11 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by TheCabin View Post
To try to answer some of these questions:
"... What I do not know and would like to know is how the height adjustment systems work on these Asian vehicles. What if any issues encountered from long term and extend towing. Are these vehicles all time all wheel drive? Do they have low range high range abilities? Do they have hill decent? Do they transfer power to needed wheel and or wheels? What are their tongue weight max? How does the height system work when towing? Up, down, and or lock/disabled?...."

I found this older article about the QX56 suspension when it switched from the Titan truck based platform to the Patrol that I believe is being used on the new Armada:

https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/...alkaround.html

So far I have found the only enjoyable thing about pulling the trailer is riding in the QX.
What's interesting is that Infinity adopted this type of system in response to the Lexus LX. Lexus has had hydropneumatic suspension, known as AHC, since 1998. Also fitted to various year Toyota Land Cruisers. And can be augmented further for serious loads up to something like 5 tons for armored application. The original systems were robust and the newest systems, that much more robust with more capacity again.

Don't mix these types of suspensions with run of the mill air leveling suspensions as these are way more sophisticated, able to dynamically adjust on the fly, and serious off-road articulation ability, among it's many other bag of tricks.
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Old 05-04-2018, 07:08 PM   #24
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The supplemental air springs in the QX / current generation armada are a good design. They allow for a softer spring rate when the rear axle is not loaded by deflating and thus the rear suspension works only with the soft-sprung coil springs. This provides for a comfy ride when unloaded / not towing.

When you add load to the rear axle (tongue weight - with WD applied of course) they inflate and add more spring rate / firmer suspension in the rear to help with handling.

In the real world, they reduce rear end sag by about 3/4” with ~1,000 lb tongue weight and WD applied in a relatively aggressive manner. This helps the vehicle sit level while still returning 50-100% of load to the front axle for a positive steering feel.
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Old 05-05-2018, 08:56 AM   #25
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Where did you get air bags? I believe we need them as well.
The air bags are Firestone Coil-Rite Air Helper Springs.
Our 2006 QX did great on towing the trailer for about 6 yrs, putting on around 35,000 miles. No problem at all with the air suspension. Then 3 yrs. ago coming back from the east coast, it went out. I did some research and found out about the air bags and how much they help in keeping the suspension from having so much load all the time when towing. I keep them with only 5 lbs in when not towing and up it to 30 lbs. when towing.

I do not know if the new generation air suspension would benefit from these, but the suspension I have really needs them.

https://www.etrailer.com/Vehicle-Sus...id=20061013250
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Old 05-05-2018, 11:20 AM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheCabin View Post
To try to answer some of these questions:
"... What I do not know and would like to know is how the height adjustment systems work on these Asian vehicles. What if any issues encountered from long term and extend towing. Are these vehicles all time all wheel drive? Do they have low range high range abilities? Do they have hill decent? Do they transfer power to needed wheel and or wheels? What are their tongue weight max? How does the height system work when towing? Up, down, and or lock/disabled?...."

I found this older article about the QX56 suspension when it switched from the Titan truck based platform to the Patrol that I believe is being used on the new Armada:

https://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/...alkaround.html

So far I have found the only enjoyable thing about pulling the trailer is riding in the QX.
Thank you, good read. Interesting set up. It appears was available in either 2WD or 4WD and not all wheel drive. It looks to be quite the beast.
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Old 05-05-2018, 03:15 PM   #27
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Thank you, good read. Interesting set up. It appears was available in either 2WD or 4WD and not all wheel drive. It looks to be quite the beast.
Funny you say that about the QX. We have always referred to ours as "The Beast".
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Old 05-06-2018, 08:51 AM   #28
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What's interesting is that Infinity adopted this type of system in response to the Lexus LX. Lexus has had hydropneumatic suspension, known as AHC, since 1998. Also fitted to various year Toyota Land Cruisers. And can be augmented further for serious loads up to something like 5 tons for armored application. The original systems were robust and the newest systems, that much more robust with more capacity again.

Don't mix these types of suspensions with run of the mill air leveling suspensions as these are way more sophisticated, able to dynamically adjust on the fly, and serious off-road articulation ability, among it's many other bag of tricks.
"Run of the mill air leveling suspensions" would be what on what?
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Old 05-06-2018, 09:21 AM   #29
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"Run of the mill air leveling suspensions" would be what on what?
In the sense that they are primarily load leveling air suspensions. Typically an air bag system on the rear axle. Many manufacturers have these. Some European models come to mind, giving 'air suspensions' a bad rap for reliability with premature failures, even without towing.
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Old 05-07-2018, 07:00 AM   #30
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Originally Posted by pteck View Post
In the sense that they are primarily load leveling air suspensions. Typically an air bag system on the rear axle. Many manufacturers have these. Some European models come to mind, giving 'air suspensions' a bad rap for reliability with premature failures, even without towing.
What and or which European models?
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Old 05-14-2018, 12:49 PM   #31
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Did your air shocks raise the height at all?

Yes they did, but I learned that properly adjusting the hitch is the best bet for avoiding a sagging behind.

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Old 05-14-2018, 05:32 PM   #32
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2 things wrong here with your setup.

1. your ball height is too high, your trailer needs to sit level. Drop the hitch down one hole on the shank.

2. Too much squat on your rear end. You need more leverage on the WD bars. Rear fender height should be within 1” of the front. I have the same 30’. Get more aggressive with WD.

I have the same trailer and same truck. You don’t want to tow like that.

Here’s a couple pictures. The one in the parking lot was when I picked it up from the dealer. Not enough WD as you can see. I increased and things leveled out.

Everything needs to be almost dead level
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Old 05-14-2018, 06:04 PM   #33
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Sorry meant to say that in addition to not having enough weight transfer my ball was about 1.5” too high in the parking lot picture.

I dropped it one notch on the shank and increased WD and everything leveled out
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Old 05-14-2018, 08:04 PM   #34
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Not sure if it’s the picture, but my hitch is at 22” and my coupler is at 21”. So yes, it is higher, but by 1”. If I drop the shank it will be lower by .25”. Do you think I should still lower it?

Before loading I measured my front fender wells at 36” and my rear at 35”. So I was already squatting to begin with. After I was done, the front raised about 1/2” and the rear fell 1”.

I already bought the tools so I can tweak it some more.
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Old 05-14-2018, 08:47 PM   #35
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Originally Posted by wulfraat View Post
2 things wrong here with your setup.

1. your ball height is too high, your trailer needs to sit level. Drop the hitch down one hole on the shank.

2. Too much squat on your rear end. You need more leverage on the WD bars. Rear fender height should be within 1” of the front. I have the same 30’. Get more aggressive with WD.

I have the same trailer and same truck. You don’t want to tow like that.

Here’s a couple pictures. The one in the parking lot was when I picked it up from the dealer. Not enough WD as you can see. I increased and things leveled out.

Everything needs to be almost dead level


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What brand of Hitch and Shank are you using?
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Old 05-14-2018, 10:28 PM   #36
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I used the same setup as FCSteamer - equalizer hitch with 1,000lb bars.

You should try dropping the hitch one hole, which I believe is 1 1/4” drop on the standard equalizer hitch.... after doing so then raise your L brackets one hole, and run 5-6 washers on the tilt.

I remember that my 25’ sat level at a given ball height @760lbs tongue weight, but when I got the 30’ I had to actually drop a hole on the shank to compensate for more aggressive WD lever on the spring bars. My measured tongue weight on the 30’ international serenity was/is 990lb with WD applied.

It’s a more aggressive WD stance / setup but your receiver can handle it on the current generation armada.

By dropping the hitch one hole on the shank yes you will be slightly nose down at first, however you will recover some of that and level out with more WD - the rear won’t squat as much either, preventing the tongue from lowering too much.

Your front fender seems a bit on the high side. You might try that and see if you can get a little more balance.

Have you measured the frame rails? You should be at 15 3/4” from the bottom of the airstream rails to the pavement - front and rear +/- 1/2” at most. Nose down on the 30’ is more desirable if you are not perfectly level - helps to avoid dragging the rear end over dips in the road, etc.

Hard not being on site, you are close, but I think you might be able to tune it just a little more based on the photos, but I could be wrong.m as we are going off photos here [emoji4]

Have you done a 3-pass through the CAT scales test to determine axle weights and now much you are restoring to the front axle?

I can dig up my numbers and share ... I’ll try to track them down...

Oh - and while you are at it - your L-brackets are too far forward on the frame rails. This is going to cause a harsh(er) ride with more stress on all system components. The equalizer is already a stiff setup - L-brackets that are too far forward amplify the issue of non-tapered spring bars.

When you raise the L-brackets one hole, also slide them back on the frame rails while you have them apart. They should be just 3” from the end of the spring bars, no more, no less.
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Old 05-15-2018, 05:56 AM   #37
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I shall give it a try this weekend. Thanks!
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Old 05-26-2018, 10:26 AM   #38
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I lowered the ball one notch at everything looks good. I didn’t pull it out of the lot because, well, I’m lazy. But I went from 36” to 36 1/2” on the front and from 35 1/2” to 34 1/2” on the back. Those back numbers are a little screwey because of the self leveling suspension. I sometimes measure 35 1/2 and sometimes 34 1/2 before hitching.

I need to move the L brackets back a bit. I’m thinking next weekend...
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Old 05-26-2018, 01:48 PM   #39
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How is your trailer sitting? Level? Have you measured front of the frame and rear of the frame to the ground? Should be about 15 3/4” on either end give or take.
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Old 05-29-2018, 03:21 AM   #40
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I didn’t measure it but I will next weekend when I move the L brackets back.
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