ProPride Adjustment of WD Bars

[DeltaRon]

TV is 2015 Chevy 2500HD Duramax. TT is 2015 FC 28 Rear Queen. Once hitched to 3P, how do you adjust WD bars? Do you measure from ground to bottom of bumper on
both TV and TT at all 8 corners or just front of TV and back of TT? Should all points be equal and if not adjust WD bars up or down to equalize? Just trying to get safest ride.


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[rodsterinfl]

The WD bars are adjusted via the jacks. The rise is based on weight. Mine is 5" up. I got that by measuring my truck center of wheel well height, hitching up and adjusting the jack height until I was within 1/4" of original height on my front wheel wells. Ford states that it cannot be lower than original and my adjustments higher on the jacks did not really change the front so I have settled on 5". Others I have heard measure back trailer ground height, etc. That way, I know I have most of the weight back on the front for safety and better pulling. The rear squat is, well, what it is- about an inch 1/2 lower. Considering my 1000 pound tongue, that is pretty good.

[SteveSueMac]

The best way to be sure is to hit the scales. The amount of adjustment is based on your truck's recommendation for FALR (front axle load restoration). I'm pretty sure (but check your manual) in your situation, it wants 50% FALR meaning, if you pull 500# off the weight of the front end by connecting your trailer, you want 250# of that put back on the front axle.

My setup (27FB flying cloud with tongue of 1080#) and Chevy 2500 Duramax requires about 6" of lift on the WD arms as measured from the top of the A frame to the bottom of the sleeve that rises on the WD arms when you tighten them.

Also note - I used to use an 18v Impact wrench to tighten the WD but I broke a pin by doing that. The manual wrench is just fine :-)

Good luck!

[rodsterinfl]

After reading SteveSueMac's post I realized I left out something. I lift my truck up with the tongue jack once hitched and make the WD adjustment then lower the tongue jack and truck and measure. The CAT scales I used to verify my distribution of weight- all but 20 lbs back to front and it is at an 1/8" of original well height not 1/4".

[cwf]

On our 34' I am at 4-1/2" cranked up on the WD bar adjusters.

First... The scales.. Find one..
Do it. You must know how your AS weighs to proceed safely.

Now, there are many "factors"... The hitch head tilt, loading of TV, squat of AS torsion axles... That make each setup "unique".. And to have things set is a "fine tune/tinkering" activity.

For instance, I changed tires which "raised the truck"... Because I had new tread and slightly taller. This raised the Tongue of the AS putting more load on rear axle/tires... And the rear tires actually ran warmer than others when this change made.

To resolve, I adjusted the hitch stinger height and tilt... Once you learn the process it
Only takes about an hour to pull out tools, measure, adjust, stow tools.

Then re weigh. Once you do this a couple of times it will be easy to understand how you affect things with adjustments.

[ghaynes755]

A ditto to Channing. It isn't just the height of the jacks. Also the trailer, once you think you have it all dialed in should be nearly level. That can be measured from the bottom of the trailer frame front and back.

[Arcticfox]

Originally Posted by rodsterinfl

The WD bars are adjusted via the jacks. The rise is based on weight. Mine is 5" up. I got that by measuring my truck center of wheel well height, hitching up and adjusting the jack height until I was within 1/4" of original height on my front wheel wells. Ford states that it cannot be lower than original and my adjustments higher on the jacks did not really change the front so I have settled on 5". Others I have heard measure back trailer ground height, etc. That way, I know I have most of the weight back on the front for safety and better pulling. The rear squat is, well, what it is- about an inch 1/2 lower. Considering my 1000 pound tongue, that is pretty good.

Just for clarity. Do you measure your wheel well height before or after you put the things you would normally carry in the box of your truck (camping ready)? I'm asking because I thinking that would effect you wheel well height.

Thanks

Doug

[ghaynes755]

I measure after the truck is loaded to go without the trailer for the base height and then go from there.

[Arcticfox]

Originally Posted by ghaynes755

I measure after the truck is loaded to go without the trailer for the base height and then go from there.

Thanks that is sort of what I thought but I felt it should be clarified

[DoublTrouble]

Be careful with that P3 wrench. I smashed my finger showing off and not keeping an eye on the "socket". I like to use the AS stab jack crank too...

[gecko]

Although we use an Equalizr with our 2009 28' Interationsl and 3500 Sprinter combo, we follow similar steps as recommended by Equalizr techs. Perform adjustment with TV and TT with usual gear/water onboard.

1. Find a level surface
2. Measure height of front wheel wells from ground before hitching up.
3. Hitch up without WD engaged
4. Remeasure height of front wheel wells
5. Nite the difference between front wheel well height with before and after.
5. Adjust trailer until it's level using tongue jack, measuring at front and back.
6. Raise attached tongue as necessary with jack and engage WD arms. Then retract jack.
7. Measure the height of the front wheel wells. They should now be between 50% of the difference in the heights in 2 and 4 or closer to the height in 2--1/4 to 1/8 inch from unloaded height is usually good. But never past original height--that would mean you've actually raised the TV's rear wheels slightly off the ground--not a happy!
8. Re measure to make sure trailer is level. If not, either adjust tilt of the ball, or the height of the ball and height of WD brackets.
9. If 8 was necessary, begin the process again and fine tune.
10. Test drive. Make further adjustments to feel the difference and dial it in. You'll only have to do this once--worthy heroine to get the very best balance for handling for your particular combo.
11. For added safety, weigh. You never want the front wheels of the TV to take more load with WD engaged than they do with the trailer unattached. Again, that would mean you've transferred too much weight to the front by taking weight off the rear. You will effectively have reduced holding at the rear of the truck and tongue of the trailer--not happy!!!

[DC Bruce]

Just completed our first trip with new combination (FC 27 FB twin, GMC Sierra 6.2 1500 crew with max trailer tow package, Pro Pride with1400 lb bars). Nothing too challenging: picked up trailer at Colonial Airstream in NJ, camped at Turkey Swamp park in Monmouth County and then home to DC. The Colonial people did a nice job of setting up the hitch. Trailer and truck were level using 5 1/2" of lift on the jacks. Hitched and unhitched with no drama 3 times in 3 different locations. No perceptible effect on truck steering with trailer attached and no effect when semis passed me in adjacent lane going 10-15 mph faster. Only issue was a certain bouncing effect on back roads. The GMC suspension is under-damped, even empty. Another 1/4 inch on the hitch jacks reduced the effect to an acceptable level. I limited my speed to 60, per the suggestion for those running the Goodyear tires. Other than accelerating from a stop, engine speed remained at 1800 rpm for all grades on the trip (admittedly not much). Next trip will be to the Blue Ridge. Unqualified endorsement of the PP hitch from me. The setup trick appears to be in the drop of the stinger from the hitch receiver and the use of the number of washers to adjust the angle of the stinger relative to the ground (not parallel but pointing at a down angle when not connected to the trailer).

[dkottum]

The amount of w.d needed varies with load in the trailer (especially in the front) and truck bed (especially in back). A longer wheelbase truck needs more w.d. tension than a shorter wheelbase. A longer stinger needs more w.d. tension than a shorter one.

With our Ram 1500 I turn the jack screw to return the front of the truck wheel well to it's empty height, the back will be what it will be. The trailer should as level as possible. If not the receiver drop bar needs to be adjusted to level it.

Use the tongue jack to lift the rig up when tensioning the bars, easier on you and the screw jack assembly.

A stop at a truck scale will tell you if truck or trailer axles are overloaded and a good idea at least the first time. If so, you're carrying too much stuff for the truck. The choice is less stuff or heavier duty truck.

[slowmover]

Good report DC Bruce. And running it across the scale with three passes is also good. First, hitched and tensioned. Second, hitched but untensioned. Third, tow vehicle solo.

All on the same day.

Full fuel, full propane and fresh water. Loaded as if for a trip. CAT Scale, three pad so as get separate axle readings. It will also reveal tongue weight.

Consider this as baseline. A reference, as time tends to make the vehicles heavier.

[kry226]

I use the trailer's stabilizer jack wrench on my ProPride WD jacks and it works well as I count by turns, and not necessarily inches, which enables me to get where I want without measuring with a third hand. Standard set-up for me is about 50 turns. Works for me, maybe not for others.

But since it's not very practical to hit a CAT scale every time you hitch up, I let the trailer tell me if that starting point is good. Sometimes when I'm traveling a little heavier, 50 revolutions aren't enough, and I still get a little instability on a bump or in a curve. At these times, I crank an additional five turns and all is right in the world as the rig finds it's rails again. I've never had to go above 55 revolutions and I've rolled close to gross more than once.

YMMV.