Weight Distribution hitch/airbags thread

That is UNbraked trailer weight. His trailer has brakes. That is saying youshould not tow a trailer heaveier than a thousand pounds without brakes.
Thats also for the model with a large gas tank.

 

Here are the manual pages.

 

page 183 shows that tongue weight needs to be 9-11 percent of trailer weight not to exceed value of stated TWR per specific model. THere's no one size fits all tongue weight. Its dictated by the packaage on vehicle, factory modifications, weight, and hitch type.

 

OP To Summarize our points:

1. As @ColoradoTJ stated...You are pushing it. Your not leaving enough room for the decreased handling of emergency maneuvers or braking.
2. Your WDH is set up wrong. Before you add bags, level the trailer and truck to eaach other using the manufacturer approved method of adjusting your WDH.
3. You need bags. Airbags purpose is to level the truck to give you maximum control while towing. Your vehicle and trailer will be the most stable when both are perfectly level when hooked up to each other.
4. No need to lift the rear if your truck sits level now. Just add bags. Adjust your WDH to level while the bags are empty. Basically bags should only come into play once everything is already set up as optimal as possible.
5. Once you hook up to the trailer you will get squat, which is fine. Now is the time to inflate the bags. Just enough PSI to level the truck and trailer. This is their purpose. THey will also dampen and increase towing comfort but mainly they are called "Leveling Springs" for a reason.
6. You can run the numbers all day but towing is subjective to skill and comfort. If your not having a good time towing may i strongly suggest you replace the truck or trailer. Prefferably the latter.

in closing you will gain loads of handling and control if you can set your WDH correctly, then add bags. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

Great talking with you sir. Hoping OP is smarter and safer after leaving here!
Computers have set us free and yet they remain our fragile masters. Hope you get it all worked out! We are in need of a new one as well. Ours crashes every now and again.

https://www.toyota.com/owners/resources/warranty-owners-manuals/tundra/2018

heres the link to the digital manual OP in case my links are garbage.
around pages 177-195 of the full manual you will find a treasure trove of info about your truck.

 

I called around a few shops to get prices on airbags. One rv place I called said if the wd hitch is installed properly you shouldn't need airbags. Took me awhile to get it set up but my Tacoma sagged less then an inch. Now I get to figure out the setup on the tundra

 

I was about to post the same question. Looking to get a 20' or less Toy Hauler for 2 small dirt bikes. I had started to look at air bags but if like everyone here says, all I need is LDH, I will go with that first.
We were looking at something like this over the weekend.
Comments, suggestions?

 

I pull a 22’ forest rivers fully loaded around 4800lbs i run firestone airbags 10-15psi and wdh with 600 lbs bars. also tows like a champ interstate speeds of 70-75mph if i have to with no worries i try to keep it 65ish for fuel reasons.. the bags help with body roll in corners

 

So the load is only transferred to the rear axle if you don’t calibrate you WDH with the bags at towing pressure. Your WDH should come with instructions on compatibility of airbags. Fill the bags to minimum pressure to get you a rake that will sit level after the trailer is attached.

if you calibrate your WDH with empty bags and then fill them after trailer is loaded your going to load the rear axle more than you should.

plenty of guys including me run airbags AND WDH. As long as you follow the manufacturer specifications you’ll be totally fine.

with that being said, if the truck don’t sag with the trailer than you won’t need airbags.

 

My suspension still sags because I leveled the truck. So I need airbags. No WDH will prevent the truck from squatting 100 percent. If you have factory rake you shouldn’t need bags but if you’ve affected your rake through suspension mods then you’ll have to compensate somehow.

 

I should add my camper is dual axle and my 7x14 enclosed trailer is also i do not use the wdh with that. My truck also has oldman emu +2.33”coils 740psi so the front is stiff

 

Single axle toy hauler, I would look very closely at the weight rating of the axle. Also check the load capacity of the tires and payload.

 

The springs on a Tundra suck!
Set up a good WDH adjust it properly use a tape measure.
Install ride rites to level out what the WDH doesn’t. Install a rear sway bar and you will have a safe Driving truck when hauling heavy loads in the bed or bumper.
And you will always be able to keep it level. Hence my first statement .
Good luck

 

For me, it was about the ride and not having any sag. I put what I thought was the best in class WDH/Sway control in one.
https://www.equalizerhitch.com/
Also, rear TRD Sway bar. I just added the front TRD Sway but have not tried since that install. taking it out this weekend.
Oh yeah, I have air bags for not sag at all.

 

This is a great video on airbags vs a properly setup WDH:

 

My comment is more related to the trailer... avoid a single axle, especially with a toy hauler. You will come close to maxing out or go over the axle weight using a WHD and the trailer will still hop/bounce.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm trying to stay lightweight on the trailer. The 2 bikes we will be putting inside combined weigh 1100lbs. We are not set on a single axle, but jumping to a double axle increases the length and I was trying to stay about 20' on the trailer. Now looking at some small double axle toy haulers.

 

I like double axle in case i have a flat or wheel bearing go bad I always see trailers on the side of the road missing a wheel or a flat more boat trailers than anything. My luck that would be me sitting there

 

Yes, of couse. If you are asking yourself “do I need a sway bar for my trailer?” because you are worried that it is just an unnecessary expense then the answer is yes because it is one of the best investments that you will ever make.
Sway bars act like dampers that work horizontally. Two sway bars are installed on opposite sides of the trailer hitch and whenever the trailer starts to move to the side, the sway bars, with the help of friction and the brakes of the trailer, will help minimize the amount of sway.

 

I was about to post a similar thread. I have a wdh set up from my Tacoma but when I hooked up to my camper it just levels out with a normal hitch ball set up. The sway on the highway did cause some concern so I threw another sway ball on the frame and all is swell.

 

Good video on the fundamentals of a WDH. I will be using an Andersen WDH on our rig.
Thanks for posting.

 

Airbags help to level the truck or accommodate a 5th wheel hitch. For more load support I add SuperSprings to my trucks. With the Tacoma and 4Runner there is a common failure of the rear leaf springs over time and they sag in the rear even with no load or passengers. With the Tacoma I have gone to a 4WD shop and had them add an extra leaf spring to the factory leaf pack and that has fixed the problem at very little cost.

With a new trailer it is a good idea to pay the $15 at a public CAT scale to get the actual weight of the trailer and the load on the rear axle before you start loading the trailer and doing so again after the trailer is loaded and water tank is filled prior to heading out on a trip.

 

this thread is invaluable, thank you

 

Same WDH I use and it works great once it is properly setup.

 

Very proud and thankful to have been able to purchase a small TT for the fam.

The seller included his hitch setup (and he had a tundra so it was already perfect height) so that was awesome.

in towing it home though i feel like the trailer didn’t have enough tongue weight. Ive towed trailers in the past to know what it should feel like.

the hitch is a Husky model with 800-1200lb side bars

the trailer is a single axle with a hitch weight of 440lbs. Even assuming my gear/tools is adding to the hitch weight, 800 seems high.

my question, are these WD bars just too heavy for this trailer or should i adjust them down a level for less tension? The trailer honestly sits fine on the truck with just the hitch ball, i really only want to wdh for the anti sway help

 

Get the tape measure out and make sure the WD is adjusted correctly. Don't assume the hitch adjustment was done correctly by the previous owner. Lots of YouTube videos to help you out.

 

I think any trailer or RV place will help you out too. I have to look into this myself as I just purchased a trailer as well.