Sagging Truck?

[J. Morgan]

Frankly,,,, I can take all of the tongue weight and more off of my truck with my hitch with 1,000 pound bars, and the tongue of my trailer ain't light.

If you cant get the tongue weight off of the truck,

A. Something is wrong with the WD system.

B. It is not setup right.

[mefly2]

Originally Posted by m.hony

Compressing washers?
That could explain the rig being level one day and not the next?

The washers supplied by EQ are hardened and it is unlikely that they are compressing to any degree ...

Adding washers is essentially the same as raising the L-brackets. You need to find a balance where the load bars are a close to parallel to the frame/ground as possible.

[m.hony]

I raised the ball. It still doesn't look right. I got out the instructions and started over at step 1. According to the instructions up to 1 1/4" nose down is acceptable. According to the instructions 2" compression on the rear suspension is the target. The pictogram for "acceptable" or "right" shows a sagging truck with a horizontal dotted line through it. It just isn't acceptable to me. I will tinker with it some more this weekend at the campground. I have really almost exhausted all possibilities/combinations and I cannot afford another truck. As bad as I don't like it, I may have to live with it. I will get a couple more washers to try. That will really be the last thing to try other than raising the ball again. It seems like raising the ball just pushes the tail end of the truck down even further while the trailer is remaining in the same attitude/height. All I have accomplished in all this tinkering is getting the rear of the truck up a couple of inches (a good thing- proper weight distribution) and better anti-sway control (also a good thing). Adjusting the L-brackets has had more influence on the whole rig than washers or ball height. That makes me wonder if I should get 1,200# bars. If I could just get that trailer level. The instructions indicated that I may not get the trailer level, but if I have to choose nose down is better/safer than nose up.

[m.hony]

The trailer is still slightly nose down. I'm gonna try raising the ball another notch.

[dkottum]

Visually the truck looks good, as long as the rear is not higher and the front is not lower than unloaded heights. Raising the ball on the receiver should bring the trailer level and all looks well.

[mefly2]

Picture looks good. I take my trailer measurements at the front and rear frame-to-ground and then use that to determine if level. How many washers do you have in now?

It is significant if you have already raised the rear of the truck by 2". Washer number changing has the same effect as changing L-bracket height position. you can effectively change the stiffness of your load bars by moving the L-brackets closer to the coupler. IIRC the manual says to use the range of 27-32" from the center of the ball/coupling to the front edge of the L-bracket mounts.

[rgwatkin]

I am the original poster and I thought I would give an update. I have solved my truck level issue through a combination of the tire pressures and hitch tilt angle. As I shared I am using a Husky round bar WD with 800-1200lb bars. I first tried the addition of 1 additional washer but ultimately ended up with 2 additional for a total of 7. Today I measure the weights at a CAT station and got the following:
Front TV axle: 3360 lbs
Rear TV axle: 3580 lbs
Trailer axle: 6060
Total Axles: 13,000

Additionally: Here were the fender well height differentials.
Front axle before hookup: 36 1/8 after: 36"
Rear axle before hookup: 38 1/2 after 38"

The other piece of data is: the trailer is absolutely plumb level.

I feel much better and am much more confident in the setup.
The AS dealership in our local area did the original setup and am a little disappointed that they did not do it right the first time. A newbie to WD towing is not going to be able trouble shoot until he/she acquires the knowledge and that be definition is going to take a while.

Rich

[BoldAdventure]

Man, that is a sharp looking rig and setup right there m.hony! Too bad this forum doesn't allow us to have signature images. A lil HDR filter and it pops!

[m.hony]

I have 6 washers. I might add 1 or 2 more-

[m.hony]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

Man, that is a sharp looking rig and setup right there m.hony! Too bad this forum doesn't allow us to have signature images. A lil HDR filter and it pops!

I'm pretty fond of it-
I wish I could get rid of the house and live in the camper at the shop-

[J. Morgan]

If i could get my wife's sewing machine in an Airstream I think I could get rid of my house all together....

[No. 13]

Originally Posted by rgwatkin

I am the original poster and I thought I would give an update. I have solved my truck level issue through a combination of the tire pressures and hitch tilt angle. As I shared I am using a Husky round bar WD with 800-1200lb bars. I first tried the addition of 1 additional washer but ultimately ended up with 2 additional for a total of 7. Today I measure the weights at a CAT station and got the following:
Front TV axle: 3360 lbs
Rear TV axle: 3580 lbs
Trailer axle: 6060
Total Axles: 13,000

Additionally: Here were the fender well height differentials.
Front axle before hookup: 36 1/8 after: 36"
Rear axle before hookup: 38 1/2 after 38"

The other piece of data is: the trailer is absolutely plumb level.

I feel much better and am much more confident in the setup.
The AS dealership in our local area did the original setup and am a little disappointed that they did not do it right the first time. A newbie to WD towing is not going to be able trouble shoot until he/she acquires the knowledge and that be definition is going to take a while.

Rich

Rich...glad you got things figured out...and sorry you thread got hijacked...I forgot you were the OP. After I got my trailer set up from the dealer I spent hours in the storage yard fine tuning. It was well worth it. I haven't messed with the hitch adjustments for a long time, but I keep experimenting with tire pressures...it is always a work in progress. Good luck and post a pic with your newly leveled rig. Gene

[Landshark]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

If i could get my wife's sewing machine in an Airstream I think I could get rid of my house all together....

I have both my sewing machine AND my serger in our A/S....

Vivian

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by mefly2

The washers supplied by EQ are hardened and it is unlikely that they are compressing to any degree ...

Adding washers is essentially the same as raising the L-brackets. You need to find a balance where the load bars are a close to parallel to the frame/ground as possible.

Hi, with the washers in place, the slack bolt tight, and the head bolts tight, I don't believe that the washers could get smashed. If everything was loose, maybe the washers could get hammered, but something much worse would soon happen. Basically, I'm saying that I don't believe in smashed washers.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by m.hony

I raised the ball. It still doesn't look right. I got out the instructions and started over at step 1. According to the instructions up to 1 1/4" nose down is acceptable. According to the instructions 2" compression on the rear suspension is the target. The pictogram for "acceptable" or "right" shows a sagging truck with a horizontal dotted line through it. It just isn't acceptable to me. I will tinker with it some more this weekend at the campground. I have really almost exhausted all possibilities/combinations and I cannot afford another truck. As bad as I don't like it, I may have to live with it. I will get a couple more washers to try. That will really be the last thing to try other than raising the ball again. It seems like raising the ball just pushes the tail end of the truck down even further while the trailer is remaining in the same attitude/height. All I have accomplished in all this tinkering is getting the rear of the truck up a couple of inches (a good thing- proper weight distribution) and better anti-sway control (also a good thing). Adjusting the L-brackets has had more influence on the whole rig than washers or ball height. That makes me wonder if I should get 1,200# bars. If I could just get that trailer level. The instructions indicated that I may not get the trailer level, but if I have to choose nose down is better/safer than nose up.

Hi, I finally set my hitch up with 6 1/2 washers. Six wasn't quite enough and seven would have been too much. I found a washer that was half as thick as the rest; Therefore I call it six and one half washers. I have a picture of this on the Equal-I-zer hitch thread. What is the payload on your truck and what is the tongue weight on your trailer? Instead of 1200 lb bars, I would add a leaf to the rear suspension first. Spring bars shouldn't have to make up for the lack of payload of the tow vehicle. I also moved my "L" brackets to the farthest distance from the ball. I believe that they all should be set there. The longer distance gives the spring bars more leverage and more room for flexibility.

[m.hony]

I would think L-brackets closer to the ball would have more effect- more lift, more pressure on the weight bars-

[subfan1]

More pressure on your trailer as well, not good on a equalizer hitch.
Raise the hitch head one more hole and your there. The truck now doesn't look like its squating or low in the back now. From your picture you posted


Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

[m.hony]

I'm not going to move the L-brackets- just a contrasting thought to what someone had posted-
Hope to raise the ball one notch today.

[xrvr]

To the OP, it's great you got it right. Now go out confidently and camp. Good job. Jim

[BoldAdventure]

I think you need a 3/4 ton. You're just trying to tow to much with such a little truck.


:P




<runs and hides>