buddy sold his 2500 CTD, had it in ads here, sold off ebay.

so now, we have to use my truck to move his RV.

his load leveling hitch droops, and points down. it is in two parts, the hitch pin, and a frame all the other parts are on, and the frame is on droopy.

he had it on a 1500 when new (bought his CTD after the Hemi got tired) and he said they put it on like that, and he just left it.

it drives me nuts drooping down.
it has two large bolts on the sides to mount it to the hitch pin part,
and a "set screw" to maintain the angle it is installed at.

my question is, does the downward angle affect the weight distribution?

he is currently hooking the leveling bars in the second link on the chain,
if I level the hitch out, will he have to use the third link? first link?

we had it on my 3500, and we move it around the back yard, and it sat the same, with or without the load leveling bars installed.

we just keep that hitch on there, to protect us in the charleston traffic. that hitch is worrisome to tail gaters

(will get pics tonite)

it looks like this one, but the pics on this page are small http://www.southwestwheel.com/store/...a70230wdb.aspx

heres' a bigger pic:
http://www.amazon.com/Valley-70230-W...7681354&sr=1-1

 

No, because it is still the same point of contact. it may affect the diffculty of hooking and unhooking the coupler though if the angle is too much.

 

Best thread I've seen yet on hooking up WD hitches...

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fu...d/17730894.cfm

 

The way I set them up is the top of the ball should be 1" higher that the coupler. With the eq bars connected the ends should be between 4 1/2 and 5 1/2" off the ground. Use the 5th link from the end when connecting to the trailer.

 

This what I do and have done on every truck I have had a equalizer hitch on.

Hook the truck up to the ball, using the trailer jack, crank the truck and trailer tongue up until the bars are level with the trailer frame, hook the chain up to the link that needs just a little help with a bar.

Lower the trailer jack and your good to go. The little adjustment bolt in the head itself should be adjusted to just touch the main body of the hitch when the bars are installed.

Tis might not work for everyone and most might not agree but I have never had a problem yet and I've towed this way for many many years.

Jeff

 

it looks like his ball is an inch taller than the coupler.

Edit:
i went to that link, and that page has a link to the
Draw Tite INSTALLATION / OPERATION INSTRUCTIONS
WEIGHT DISTRIBUTING HITCH SYSTEMS
7901, 7902, 7903, 7979 (DUAL SWAY CONTROL ATTACHMENT)

There must be at least 5 links between the lift unit and the spring bar. This is necessary for proper operation of the spring bars during turns. If there are less than 5 links, the angle of the head assembly must be increased.

so that means, his head was adjusted on the 1500, and works as is,

but we shoudl take measurements on my truck, and make sure it is correct.

it porpoises a bit, too much for my liking.
i have new bilstien shocks on my 4x2 3500.
should a 31 ft (35 with tongue) RV do that?
porpoising annoys me.

pics as promised

 

I bought a used TT off a fellow this past spring, he threw in his load leveling hitch, etc as part of the sale. It has the 2-5/16th ball on it.

When I plugged it into my receiver it was angled exactally the same as your pics, I thought it was wrong also. My thoughts went to it pulling down the truck some and that slanted back angle actually angling more than it does just sitting there without weight on it??? Also puts the sway control on the same angle, but the other end of the sway control is 'square' with the trailer frame, seems it should also be 'square' with the hitch end???

Needless to say, I have another ball/drop hitch with the same size ball and I used it to get the TT home without connecting the sway control, I had no sway happening at 65-75 mph. I probably do not need to use a sway control and have noticed many who do not connect them. I still have not used the weight distribution setup when I tow the TT, it just doesn't seem correct at that angle. I wonder about the safety of the angle even though the couple makes a secure connection.

Maybe someone who understands the design function better can tell us why that angle seems to be what is used in the setup assembly, what purpose it serves at that angle??? I have seen tons of people running weight distribution hitches that are setup that way going down the road.



CD

 

CD,

this link
http://www.draw-tite.com/fitguides/pdf/N7901.pdf
has the PDF, and that PDF says the angle of the "head assembly" adjusts the horizontal position of the WD bars.

the WD bars should be parallel to the trailer frame,
and that prevents binding/hitting the trailer frame during backing / turns / hills

there's a LOT more to it than it appears on the surface,
and you should take measurements,
set the bars,

and then take it to a scale, and check the weight on each axle
-empty
-RV attached
-RV attached and WD bars connected

and then make final adjustments.

and that's what i got out of a hour or so of light reading over here.
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fu...d/17730894.cfm

since the ball is round, the angle doesnt affect too much else,
unless you need to move it up or down a set of holes on the shank,
to maintain overall height.

 

The thread on RV.net that Rahtok linked to is a good read. The heads on all WD hitches are designed to be angled backward. There is method to the madness. That tilt is designed to allow you to adjust how much tension you can put on the bars and still have them parallel to the RV frame. You adjust the amount of tension by adjusting the tilt of the head not by adjusting the number of chain links. You should always shoot for 5 to 6 links under tension.

As for sway control. If your rig is set up correctly. On a normal day you should not NEED sway control. Sway control should never be used to compensate for a bad setup. However; you should always use sway control. You NEED sway control for those unexpected occurances (blowout, wind sheer, emergency manuvers, etc.) when your rig could go out of control. It only has to happen once to put you tires up and if you're lucky, you'll live to regret not having it.