Dialing in WDH 14,120 Gross Weight

First trip to the CAT scale.

Right at/above max GVWR. Before and after picking up the camper.
looks like I need to do some dialing in on the Equalizer WDH.

Empty


With Camper

 

480 pounds over? Your front axle looks pretty damned close. Can you get 300 off the tongue?

 

Moved up the L brackets on the WDH and re-weighed.

Looks a little more evened out from the rear axle to the trailer axle. Missing a passenger a passenger during this visit.

 

Keeping the weight on the front axle is the main thing. The rest will just land where it does. You've done well! Hows it tow?

 

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback! It actually tows really well, the equalizer WDH is squeaky with lots of creaks, but I’ve read that they are notoriously loud during towing.

 

Yep, i have the same hitch. Very noisy. You can get the plastic pads that go on the bottom friction area which help quite a bit. I'll also put a little grease on the friction points which helps too. The friction is what provides some of the ant-sway though, so you still want some.

 

I zoomed in on picture to see the hitch angle. I'm planning to raise the ball one notch up to bring up the front of the trailer a little more (hopefully level), and may remove one more washer since I raised the L bracket as high as I did. It was very very tough to get the arm onto the L bracket with the equalizer tool, and then secure it with the pin.

 

If you add one washer you'll see the trailer level more. Are you using the tongue jack to raise the trailer before prying in the spring bars? I do but have to raise it much more to get them off.

 

I have already removed one washer to help with the weight distribution. I think I was level before. I’m worried if I add it back there will be too much tension on the arms, since I raised the L brackets. Hence, why I planned to raise the ball to offset. Thoughts?

 

Have you read the WDH manual? I believe the spring bars are to be parallel to the trailer frame.

 

I'm thinking the L bracket should be lower and the hitch head needs more tilt to accommodate the additional weight distribution need.

 

I have not read through the manual, I purchased it used and the previous owner provided a very long walkthrough on proper setup, however I did not have this truck at the time. Since then, I've watched several of the equalizer youtube videos on on fine tuning the WD which focused on the washers. I either overlooked the arm needing to be parallel, or missed out on the info when researching different instructions online. You are probably right.
As far as prying the bars in, typically I set the hitch down on the ball until fully seated (and no further), and then pry the bars on.

 

Latch the coupler then lower the jack enough to easily pry the bars in place.

You really should download the manual and do it right. There's some satisfaction in knowing you've adjusted it right instead of trusting some YouTube video that posts videos to get clicks.

 

That probably goes for trusting random people on the internet as well, haha. I'm going to research it a little bit more in the manual, make applicable adjustments and reset everything and re-measure/re-weigh.

 

Truth. Manual should be the first step in setting it up. Then advice from others with experience to dial it in if needed.

 

See if you can get some cargo shifted to the rear. With your trailer weight having about 750 pounds on your tongue would be about right

 

Agreed and agreed.

You are on the right track; the manual should give you some good info to dial it perfectly. It usually takes a couple of tries to find the sweet spot, especially with all the built in adjustment of that hitch.

 

Read the manual, dropped the L brackets and leveled the sway arms, added washers to the hitch.

Was able to lift the hitch with the jack after it was coupled this time and set the arms much easier.

820 lbs. tongue weight, about 280 lbs. over listed 7,200 lbs. GVWR payload capacity, and under 4,400 lbs. axle ratings.

Total gross weight @ 14,000 lbs. with me and a full tank of gas.

 

Those are pretty good numbers there.

 

I would agree. Weight transfer looks great - front weight is restored, some weight is pushed back on to the trailer axles. Should make for a comfortable towing experience.