# Newbie - Weight Distribution ?



## Irish Camper (Jun 9, 2008)

Hello! What a great site! I have been a "lurker" for several months and have used the information contained within to help me in my purchasing process!! I have recently purchased an '08 23rs and have also recently upgraded our TV to a '08 Toyota Sequoia (5.7L). Included in my setup is an Equalizer Hitch and a Prodigy BC. We have successfully completed our first couple of outings and are overall very pleased with the TV/Camper Combination. However, this past weekend, I felt as though our 23rs was putting excessive weight on the rear axle, which caused an occasional feeling of "lightness" on the front axle while driving. We made a few adjustments for our return trip and these seemed to help. These adjustments included carrying our luggage and other misc. items in the rear of the camper while traveling, rather than in our TV's trunk. Is it possible that an adjustment to the Hitch height or an adjustment to the Equalizer Hitch would provide additional weight distribution to the front axle? Or, are there any additional suggestions to help to distribute the weight? Thanks in advance for your help!!!!!!!


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## Rob_G (Feb 16, 2006)

Irish Camper said:


> Is it possible that an adjustment to the Hitch height or an adjustment to the Equalizer Hitch would provide additional weight distribution to the front axle? Or, are there any additional suggestions to help to distribute the weight? Thanks in advance for your help!!!!!!!


Yep... that's exactly what the WD system is for, to equally distribute weight to both the rear AND the front axle of your TV. What you want to do is to move the Equal-i-zer brackets attached to your TT frame up one hole. This is the equivalent of moving chains on a conventional system. Throw everything together and see how it rides. If you don't like that, move it up another hole. It will get to a point though where it's just too hard to put the bars on, that's when you lower it back down to where it was and them BAM... there's your sweet spot.

If you look at the pic in my sig, you can see how my rear end is a bit lower than my front end. Well, that was when the dealer set it up. I got it home, made the adjustments, and now it's nice and level.


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Hi Irish Camper









Welcome to Outbackers!

Can you first answer these questions...

First, which number hole is your "L" bracket set for? 
There are 8 holes and ours is set on the 3rd hole from the bottom
Second, on your hitch head, how many washers do you have in there?
I believe we have 5 or 6 on ours...

The simplest adjustment you can make is to raise your "L" bracket on the trailer, which will force more weight to the front of your tow vehicle.
If your "L" brackets are maxed out (as high as they will go), you can add washers inside the hitch head which will adjust the angle by tilting the hitch ball away and towards the trailer. As you hitch up and add the w/d bars, the angle of the ball (or the back end of the truck) is forced back up. Each washer added is giving your "L" bracket room to adjust to where you need it.

You can also check out the installation instructions here: Equalizer Hitch

I hope this helps!


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## wtscl (May 22, 2007)

I also installed Firestone Airbags on my '04 Tundra. They are rated up to 3000lbs and they REALLY help with the sag and the bounce from the tongue. I have also started loading more gear in the rear of the TT to bring some weigh off of the tongue.

Enjoy.


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

wtscl said:


> I also installed Firestone Airbags on my '04 Tundra. They are rated up to 3000lbs and they REALLY help with the sag and the bounce from the tongue. I have also started loading more gear in the rear of the TT to bring some weigh off of the tongue.
> 
> Enjoy.


Be careful how much weight you put in the back of the trailer, you don't want to have to light of a tongue weight or you will experance a lot of sway. So keep your tongue at 10 to 15% of the total trailer weight. I too have the equalizer and my dealer did not set it up right (most dealers don't) so take some tools and a tape measure and find flat place like a big parking lot and using the directions make the adjustments until it is right. Good luck.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

And yes, the WD hitch _does_ lift up the rear of the TV.


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## hpapa4 (Apr 11, 2007)

Congratulations on the new Outback and of course welcome to Outbackers.


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