# Wd Hitch â€“ 1,000 Lb Bars Or Higher?



## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

I currently have 1,000 lb bars for my Draw-Tite WD hitch. On our last camping trip I found that to level out my truck and trailer I have to have 6 links hanging on the chain. Imprinted on the WD hitch somewhere I recall seeing that no more than 5 links should be hanging. Here is a link to: Draw-Titeâ€™s web site. It looks like 1,000 lb bars are the max for my current application.

My T.V is a 2001 Toyota Tundra 4x4 with a 6 inch suspension lift. I bought a deep drop shank that is adjustable (vertically) and can handle this change in my vehicles height. A picture of the shank is on the same web page as above, just further down. I have style 3.

Do I need heavier duty bars? Should I look at air bags to help lift the back-end a little bit more? We hope to squeeze in one more camping trip this year, starting Friday for two nights, so I can measure my unhooked ride height (front and rear) compared to my â€œhooked upâ€ ride height to see how far off I am. If I recall, it is probably less than 2 inches difference. If thatâ€™s the case, should I even worry about it?









Thanks in advanced for your thoughts and suggestions.


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

Do you have the ball mount tilted back?? If the ball looks level, you should have it tilted back, then the bars will do more work for you and you won't need as many links.

I had my hitch work done from a dealer, then upgraded to the OB







. During the PDI, the tech and I moved the ball about a dozen times until we both agreed that it was right.

I used 5 links hanging before, now I use 3-4 depending if I haul water or not. (tank is in the front on the 28BHS)

Steve


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Herbicidal,

Let's verify what you mean by "to level out my truck and trailer". The position of the hitch on your drop shank will determine the leveling of your trailer. The W/D bars will control the leveling of your Tundra.

If the problem is eliminating rear end squat in the Tundra, you have the choices of adjusting the number of links on your chain or tilting the hitch head back further.

If the Tundra is staying 'level' with the trailer hitched up, but the trailer is out of level, you will need to adjust that with the position of the hitch head on the shank.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

Thanks for the feedback huntr70 and PDX_Doug.

Regarding the 'ball mount tilted back', I'll have to put the shank on my truck and take a look. Honestly I don't recall. I can take a picture and post.

About 'leveling out the truck and trailer', when I step back about 50 feet on a nice flat, level section of road and look at both vehicles, the trailer has just a slight nose-down attitude, which I believe is OK. The truck is squating in the rear more than I would like. Not drastically, but noticeable. So in my opinion, the trailer looks like it is sitting correctly, but the rear of the truck is low. When I go to 6 links hanging, then both the truck and trailer look pretty much level, but now the bars will hit the trailer frame, so I dropped it back to 5 links.

I have never made an adjustment to the ball angle, so that may be the area I need to focus my attention. So if washers are added, this forces the ball back toward the trailer, correct? I can't quite visualize how this would affect the WD bars... I plan on hooking up no later than Thursday evening this week, that may help me to see it all more clearly.


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

You may have to look at how they set-up. Your WD set-up may work differently than mine. I can pivot the whole "clevis" that holds the ball and sockets for the WD bars. There is only 2 big bolts that hold the clevis to the drop shank.

By pivoting the whole thing, it moves the WD bars at a harder angle, thus giving more bend when you hook up the chains. The more level the ball is, the flatter the bars stay.

















Steve


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## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

Thanks Huntr70 for that description. I just uploaded 2 pictures I took last night of the hitch.

The pictures are here and here. If I understand what you are saying, I would want to angle the ball further back towards the trailer?


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Herbicidal,

From the pix, I would say tilting the ball back is your solution.

Here is the crux of the matter, when talking about tipping the ball back, we are not being entirely accurate, and I think this causes alot of confusion. The real object is to tip the sockets that the load bars go into down, so that the bars are pointing more towards the ground. This has the same effect as shortening the chains, it requires the bars to tension (bend) much more than they would otherwise. And the more tension on the bars, the more load that is transferred to the front of the truck.

Tilting the ball back itself does nothing for you, but as the casting that holds the ball also holds the load bar sockets, adjusting one, adjusts the other as well.

To make a long winded explanation shorter, we should really talk of tilting the load bars down, and not tilting the ball back.

Thoroughly confused now?









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

huntr70 said:


> By pivoting the whole thing, it moves the WD bars at a harder angle, thus giving more bend when you hook up the chains. The more level the ball is, the flatter the bars stay.
> [snapback]59238[/snapback]​





PDX_Doug said:


> tilting the load bars down, and not tilting the ball back.[snapback]59373[/snapback]​


Oh, THAT's what you guys have been talking about all these months. I never was able to figure out why tilting the _ball _would help ... it is a partial sphere after all. With this revelation in mind, I guess I'll have to go out and look at my setup again.

Thanks for clearing this up, Doug & Steve!

Ed


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## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

Thanks guys! It makes more sense to me now. Yup, the crux of the matter is really getting the 'sockets' below the ball to move away from a 90 degree angle to the ground to something more like 85 degrees. I'm just picking 85 out of thin air, then when the bars are inserted into the sockets, the ends with the chain links on them are actually closer to the ground. Thus requiring less links.







I think talking about this in terms of "tilting the load bars down" would be less confusing. Now I just need to tinker a bit with the adjusting bolt.


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

Yep....you guys are absolutely right.

I guess it was really confusing why we would want you to tilt a round ball!!









That is actually a much more accurate description. I haven't encountered a set-up like yours before, but by "tilting the ball" you would HAVE to tilt the whole unit, not just the ball, as I'm not really sure how you do that!!!
















Steve


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## slickaroo (Sep 11, 2005)

To tilt the springbars more I think you will have loosen the small bolt on back at bottom, take out the two big bolts on the side and there is a pin holding on some space washers in the top. you add a washer to the pin to get more of an angle then put your two big bolts back into the side holes but before you tighten the big bolts tighten the smaller bolt on the back at the bottom to tighten the washers against the shank, then tighten the big bolts, and if you need even more tilt in the bars then add another repeat and add another washer. Boy this sounds confusing I'm glad I know what I mean shy .


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## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

Thanks Slickaroo! I'm pretty sure I follow you. Your instructions will probably make even more sense when I have the whole assembly in front of me.


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

Herbicidal,
I will add this, the 26rs has the heaviest tongue weight of all the Outback travel trailers. I weighed the tongue weight at the dealer when I bought it and it was 710 lbs. There is almost no storage behind the axels so I can't balance mine any better. 15% on the tongue is the best it will do.
Packed with for all 6 of us I am close to 900lbs of tongue weight. I have a reese all the way tilted back 4 links hanging
I would be over 1000lbs TW with full Gray and Black tanks.


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## denali_3 (Mar 18, 2004)

Herbicidal,
According to the Draw Tite website regarding installation. It's noted, on level ground, level the uncoupled trailer, check front and rear wheel opening heights on your truck, check the height of your ball, while still uncoupled from the trailer. Then adjust the ball to be higher than the uncoupled trailer coupling, using the formula for light trucks/cars of 1/8 of an inch per 100 lbs. of tongue weight, should allow for truck squat. I think it also mentions something about a 15 degree ball tilt as well. Good Luck.


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## Herbicidal (Aug 29, 2003)

Thanks everyone for your input! I think I'm fairly close to having it set up correctly. Your comments and suggestions should get me there. Next month I will be getting larger tires and regearing my truck before the next camping season starts. So I'll make all the adjustsments at that time.


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

> will add this, the 26rs has the heaviest tongue weight of all the Outback travel trailers. I weighed the tongue weight at the dealer when I bought it and it was 710 lbs. There is almost no storage behind the axels so I can't balance mine any better. 15% on the tongue is the best it will do.


Believe it or not the 21RS is right up there in tongue weight also. When I had ours weighed it was about the same as yours. Like you mentioned, full black and grey tanks would push it even higher. I'm glad I weighed it before I ordered my equal-i-zer hitch as I was thinking the 600/6k would have been big enough but I needed the 100/1k setup.

Mike


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