JARHEAD

Is the descriptions found online a decent way to adjust the hitch? Or is there a shorthand way of doing it?

SOhappy

Not that I'm aware of, just follow the instructions. It's a pain but you only have to do it once (per truck and trailer). I've seen some uh, pretty out-of-whack installs that still seem to work though...

KATOOM

When I set up the ones I had, I used the trailer jack to stabilize the truck and trailer connected and get an idea of where to adjust the hitch head for proper truck/trailer levelness. Then I would release the jack and tighten the bars until I achieved the level I wanted. Depending on how heavy the tongue is, you may have to tighten the bars up a lot. My favorite WD hitch was the Equalizer hitch. No chains but just bars that rested on hangers.

alboy

On the one i had you could tilt the hitch head back up to 15 degrees, the more tilt put more wt to the front axel, the handling was fantastic,31 ft outback TT pulled by a 04 Toyota 4 runner v8.

JARHEAD

Never knew more tilt did that. Makes sense though.

Totallyrad

I've done it similar to KATOOM but I ran the jack down until the trailer and truck/car were just below level, that way when I got the right tension it only moved about one link in the chain.

Rednax

The "purpose" of a WDH is to restore the Front Axle to the same weight it carried before the trailer was attached. This keeps braking and handling as the facory intended. And, by leveraging some of the tongue weight back onto the trailer axles, the braking from that sector is improved . . the end result being that the truck Rear Axle is carrying the "minimum" necessary (which keeps cargo payload level high.

Use a certifed public weight scale. CAT Scale is nationwide (about $9 for first weigh, and $1 for each re-weigh that day on that rig).

All the hitch adjustments are about the above. One can work with height adjustments to rough it in (do this at the house), but the scale is the only way to dial it in (at the scale house; most all truckstops [but need a three pad scale]).

See the Towing subforum on RV.net for any number of examples of how to do it right. If you want those pro's to help you then provide:

Manufacturer FF & RR empty #'s
FAWR, RAWR, GVWR, GCWR
(and same for trailer: empty & loaded Tongue Weight, plus GVWR)

and then

Can do it yourself via the ever-handy Ron Gratz chart:


Weighing #1 -- TT attached and Weight Distribution Activated

Let Front Axle Load be "FA1"

Let Rear Axle Load be "RA1"

Let TT Axles Load be "TT1"

Then, while in same position on scales, take
Weighing #2 -- TT attached and Weight Distribution Not Activated

Let Front Axle Load be "FA2"

Let Rear Axle Load be "RA2"

Let TT Axles Load be "TT2"

Then, drive off scales and drop TT. Return to scales and take
Weighing #3 -- TV only -- TT Not Attached

Let Front Axle Load be "FA3"

Let Rear Axle Load be "RA3"

From the above values, you can calculate:

TV weight = FA3 + RA3

Gross Combined Weight = (FA1 + RA1 + TT1)
- should also be equal to (FA2 + RA2 + TT2) if scale weights are correct


TT Weight = Gross Combined Weight - TV Weight


Tongue Weight = (FA2 + RA2) - (FA3 + RA3), or


Load Transferred to TT Axles
when WD System in Activated = TT1 - TT2


Once you get it in just right, any further adjustments are really minor inc comparison (as with tire pressure): you have a baseline to change things for when the vehicles have more or less weight in them. A quick trip across the scales is a normal feature of best performance towing.

Don't listen to dipshits who claim you don't need a WD hitch, or that the trouble taken is more than needed.

.

KATOOM

I'm not sure if half of what you just mentioned was already factored in my simplistic method, but it sounds as if I'm just happy I got it to work right at all.

Rednax

"Level" has little to do with it.

The trailer ought to be level, but it may not be perfect (barely nose-down trumps nose-high, but each of them unloads one or another of a tandem or tridem axle trailer: brake lock and tire tread problems).

"Level" for the tow vehicle has little meaning at all. One needs to measure fender height before and after to even come close to roughing in a WD hitch. Restoration of FA load to the unhitched value is the first and most important number to achieve in adjusting a WD hitch. Moving a good percentage of the tongue weight back onto the trailer axles preserves tow vehicle load capacity and improves trailer handling . . but one needs first to know that a TT has at least 12-15% tongue weight present.

And, there is nothing complicated about acquiring weight numbers to work a formula. Fill it in, add or subtract per the chart. I'll be glad to help.

Keep trailer tires at cold maximum sidewall pressure, and use the "WD hitch applied" scale values to do the tow vehicle tires, and check that the trailer tires still have a 12-15% reserve load factor with WD applied correctly (as overloaded, old age [5-years], or cheap tires are the source of blowouts).

One needs to understand that once hitched that the WDH is a steering component . . your rigs ability to handle steering (and braking) related problems is intimately tied to how well the WDH is set up. Plus, once done (and the occasional check) the range of possible adjustments is then down to a minimum: short trip or extra-long vacation. Know the best tow vehicle tire pressures and WD adjustments and enjoy a light burden as the man behind the wheel. No more white-knuckle driving is the goal.

.

Doj Dewd

I just went through all this with my new TT and Blue Ox SwayPro hitch. There is more to it than most people realize!

I have scales close to my house so was fortunate to have that aid in my process.

The tilt doesn't actually add more tension per say, it just tips the bars down away from the clamps on the TT frame allowing you to have more useable chain length. I ran out of usable chain length initially and wasn't even close to enough tension - tilting the head allowed me to pull the proper amount of tension without having the bars interfere with the clamps.

A trick I learned, (very close to the hard way!), is to couple the hitch and ball together initially. Lock them together, then extend your tongue jack and start raising your trailer (and hitched truck). Raise it quite a bit, then pick a chain link and pull the tension. Pulling tension here should be relatively easy. Once both sides are clamped, retract your jack and you will see the bars start to load up. You now have a lot of tension, but the process should have been easy. Just be sure to repeat in reverse order before un-hitching or your leverage bar might hit you hard!

Scales are the best bet to get it dialed in, just keep using the next link until you get your front axle weight near your unloaded truck weight. If you find your weight is distribution is good, but trailer nose is high low, you need to raise or lower the hitch head accordingly … and then possibly repeat the tilt and link settings to get it just right!