Weight distrubition Problems

[GMC Hauler]

I just got back from vacation towing the travel trailer. I have been having a problem trying to get the weight distrubuted. I am using weight distrubition bars and the Reese HP Cam sway bars.

Anyway, to ensure I have enough weight in the front to steer effectively, I've had to gradually move the chains on the sway bars up to the max. The cams for the Reese Cam HP sway are almost touching the frame. This situation is just ok, but not the best.

I have also noticed that even at the max adjustment, The suburban is just barely level front to rear.

I don't have any real weight to shift around in the trailer.

The Suburban just barely sits level front to rear with nothing connected.

Is it possible that the springs are worn, or i need aux springs or air bags???

[DmaxMaverick]

Have you tried adjusting the hitch height? There's more to WD than just the preload on the bars. If the hitch height is off, it will make it very difficult to get the bars to distribute the weight correctly. Heavier the tongue weight, more critical the hitch height. How you load the Burb will have a play in it, as well. The WD's won't unload the load you have in the back. If you start off level, the WD should keep it that way. Another possibility is your bars are underrated for your actual load. You may need to up the bar ratting.

Air bags (or even air shocks) will do very little to help with the distribution of the tongue weight. They are excellent for leveling or handling heavier loads, but only very slightly help with pushing weight forward, and in some cases, can be counterproductive.

To find out if your springs are the cause of a sag, you'll need to set the front Z height, measure the rake and compare to OEM. The service manual should have the figures. Usually, they'll sag more on one side than the other. Burb's are easier to see this, because the fuel level doesn't matter. Having the springs re-arced is an acceptable alternative to new, at a price easier to swallow. "Helper" springs are just a band-aid, IMO, and will effect ride quality. Airbags are nice because you can select the spring preload according to your actual load. They're actually inexpensive compared to other, less effective alternatives.

[GMC Hauler]

I did tilt the head back away from the Suburban some, on advice from RJ. I have not adjusted the hitch height. Which way should i adjust?

Can spring bars weat out? This problem seems to have creeped on slowly. Everything was fine when I first started towing this, but hs gotten progressively worse.

[tanker]

Measure the suburban unhitched from ground to all 4 fender well tops on a level surface. Now park your trailer level unhitched, and measure from ground to frame of trailer at each end (front & rear). Once it is level front to rear, measure the ball coupler height. It would also be a good idea to weigh the tongue at this time with the trailer loaded as you would when towing. ( get the wife to put all her stuff inside!) Now with the suburban level unhitched install your hitch into the receiver and measure the ball height. Write these measurements down for future use. Hitch up your trailer and install the bars. What you want is for the suburban to go down about the same on all 4 fender well openings, like an inch or 1/2 inch etc. If the rear is lower and you can't get anymore out of the bars, you can (if you have a Reese adjustable ball mount) tilt the ball back a few degrees, then try your bars again. You didn't say how much tongue weight you have, or what weight rating you have on your bars. ie; 500lb., 750lb., 1000lb., or 1200lb., bars. Reese marks their bars with a decal with V-5 1000lb., It may be that you have a lighter bar rating than what you need. You could also check with the manufacturer of the trailer for the approx tongue weight. all in all you want the trailer level, and the suburban level when hitched. I towed my Holiday Rambler with my 95 6.5TD suburban, and its a 12,000lb. trailer with about 1400lb. tongue weight, so I use a set of 1400lb bars. Unlevel towing is a disaster waiting to happen, be safe and get it right.

[Roy W]

You've been given lots of good advice here. One final thing. After you have leveled your trailer front to rear (parking lots are good for this and I actually level it by measuring at each end), as tanker has said, measure the distance from the ground to the top of the trailer coupler. Then, with the hitch head installed in the vehicle receiver, measure the distance from the ground to the top of the ball. Now the important part: Adjust the height of the ball by raising or lowering the hitch head. A good rule of thumb is 1/2 to 3/4 inch HIGHER than the distance from the ground to the top of the trailer coupler. Use the washers with the flats on them to establish the tilt back. I usually just back off and eyeball it, until I have a slight tilt back on the hitch head. Good Luck.

[jspringator]

I was reading a post on RV.net the other day where they said Reece recommends at least 5 chain lengths under tension. Apparantly they can get hung up and damage the dual cam in tight backing. Tilt the head down until you get 5 links.

You don't really know what your WD is doing unless you weigh each axle--once cinched up and one not. You need at least 10% of the trailer's actual weight on the rear with the chains cinched up to help prevent sway.

[GMC Hauler]

This is all great advice. Unfortunately, the wife has the Burb out of state right now, and is having transmission problems. When i get it back, I will post as to my findings.

Thanks for your help thus far

[HowieE]

Don't be discouraged. Setting up a Reese Hitch can take hours in order to do it right. Depending on the vintage of your head will determine how you set the head angle. The older heads have grooves, at the top, on each side that accept grooved plates that the bolts go through. This system allows you a very good means of tilting the head angle. The newer system uses a set screw like bolt at the bottom of the head. Backing off on this bolt allows the head angle to be increased. This is a very poor system in that it has little range to allow for wear in the trunions and thus you have to buy new parts more often. If you are touching the trailer frame with the hanger you have to tilt the head back more to drop the rear ends of the sway bars.

To answer your question about wear. Yes parts wear and the most likely place is the trunion tops and bottoms, the round points on the top and bottom of the trunion that fit into the head. On heavier trailers it is a good idea to oil these, a few drops, with every trip. Also the accepting faces in the head will wear. Even if you set up your hitch each spring it is possible to have enough wear in one season to warrant additional action. I carry a pair of 1/2 in thick plates that I can put under the hangers on the trailer frame to lift the hangers, if I feel the system as worn and don't have time for a readjustment. Do not oil the face of the cams. If any thing Reese says Vaseoline but never oil.

As long as we are on the subjet of set up I would mention an area that all to many towers over look when seting up a tariler. Tire pressure of the truck. The door panel on your truck, if it's a 3/4 ton or larger, may say 80 psi.
This is the max and generaly grossly overinflated. To find your tire pressure take your truck and trailer, once you have finished seting it up, to a scale. Weigh the front truck axle, weigh both truck axles. Go online to the tire manufactures web site and find the proper pressure for each axle with that load. You will be suprised. Totaling 16.540 lbs my Sub gets 45 lbs in the front axle and 55 lbs. in the rear, and even thats a little over the chart. What ever you do do not ask the kid at the tire store. Also I take an additional measurement of the front axle without the trailer. I use the compairisons of the front axles as a check. I like to apply about 175 to 200 lbs to the front axle once the hitch is set up. This and the proper tire pressure insures good steering control. Too much air and too little weight will result in swing ans sway as you go down the road.

[Inspector]

I used to have the duel cam set up when I was towing from the bumper. A very simple starting point that I was told of was, if you have a two axel trailer, was to measure to the ground from the frame between the axels. Take that measurement as the disired level of the ball platform or flat of the hitch in the reciever. The center measurement between the axels of the trailer will remain relitivley constant no mater what the orintation of the trailer is.
Some trailers have the water tank fwd of the axels and can throw alot of weight on the hitch. In that case you may have to consider air bags or overload springs to bring the rig to level.
Never the less what Tanker and Howie have related is the best info you can use as they have extensive experience with bumper pulls.
Denny

[Onebigcanuck]

Don't know if this would apply but in my days pulling with WD hitch, a friendly camper suggested hooking up to the tow truck then use the trailer lift jack to lift the truck before putting the bars on. I found I could never have used the lever to get the tension that high. My truck was then level front and back. I eventually installed a power jack on the trailer.

[letsgo]

The thread on tire pressure failed to mention TIRE SIZE which is critical to tire pressure.
For example I have to run 76psi front, and 80psi rear, tires are 245/75/16 this gives me tracking when towing 10,000#, otherwise the truck tires are low and will build up excessive heat.
NOTE that I do adjust tire pressure as the road surface heats up maintaining 76, 80psi. excess pressure in my tires will cause the truck to wander.
I also maintain max. tire pressure on the trailer, and adjusting as the day gets hotter.

good luck

drive safe

[DmaxMaverick]

Letsgo

Which tire pressure thread are you referring to? All recommendations have been a % of max, according to rating and load. Regardless of the tire size, the % formula is the same, and works.

Also, do not adjust pressures because of heat. As heat increases, so does the pressure. If your tire is at max cold pressure, after an hour of hwy driving, the pressure can be as much as 30% OVER the max cold pressure. This is fine, and within design. The air in the tire will expand at a much higher rate than the rubber. The tire manufacturers and DOT take all factors into consideration, and determine the max cold pressure according to what it will be when hot. That's one reason why larger volume tires can have a higher weight rating at a lower pressure. Tire pressure isn't a result of the manufacturer's declared ability of a tire. The tires are designed IAW DOT requirements, for a specific weight rating.

[letsgo]

For my tire size the optimum truck tire foot print would be 8" long when that foot print is reduced in length, to 4" through excess tire pressure from (air expantion createated by road surface high temperatures eg. 105F) the truck and trailer start wandering, also the tire braking surface contact is dangerously low, so stability is what I look forward to. When I say I put 76# in the front tires and others say they put in 45# in the front , then we need to qualify that statement with tire size and weights and road surface temperatures.

Oh since I carry 76us gals. I had to increase my no load tire pressures to 65# front and 60# rear, to maintain my 8" foot print front and rear, and a comfortable ride.

One of many instruments I carry in the truck is a digital surface temperature gauge, whick I constantly use, I want to see all tire temperatures within 2 degrees of each other, thus I can monitor bearings, brake drag or brake failure, and pressure differentials.

did we meet in Holbart AZ.???? 2yrs ago.

good luck

drive safe

[GMC Hauler]

I think i see the problem...

When i bought the hitch, I bought it and the weight distrubition bars from a friend who had a 20 ft travel trailer. The bars were almost new, with only a few thousand miles on it.

I bought a 30 ft trailer. per the scales it weighs 8500#. the weight distrubition bars are only rated for 800 lbs. When i started towing, i used only 4 links on the chains. It did swerve some. I eventually got up to 5 and 6 links slowly. The trailer hasn't changed, and there is no difference in loading in the suburban. I then put on the reese cams on. that caused the chain links to jump 1. Again, over time, I have to increase the links to maximum, 9.

I think the bars are underrated, and my continued use has stretched them.

Any recommendations on what size bars I should get now?

[ronniejoe]

Get ones rated for at least 1,000 lb. tounge weight.

[upsguy]

You need to get WD bars based on your trailers tongue weight, not the gross trailer weight.

After I got the height and angle of the hitch set correctly, what I've read, and the way I hookup to my wife's suburban, is to jack the trailer up about 2" after getting the ball in the coupler and locking it, then hookup the WD bars, then lower the trailer.

Go to RV.net to find lots of info and advice, not just on towing, but everything that has to do with RVing.

[GMC Hauler]

You need to get WD bars based on your trailers tongue weight, not the gross trailer weight.

After I got the height and angle of the hitch set correctly, what I've read, and the way I hookup to my wife's suburban, is to jack the trailer up about 2" after getting the ball in the coupler and locking it, then hookup the WD bars, then lower the trailer.

Go to RV.net to find lots of info and advice, not just on towing, but everything that has to do with RVing.
I understand. The tongue weight is 850 according to the sticker, so i am slightly overloaded on the bars without adding personal stuff to it. I am probably going to go with 1200# bars. I want some margin to make them last long, but not too much that they are difficult to load up.

I am going to my local mom and pop RV dealer. They give me a military discount and their prices are good already.