# Adjusting A Weight Distributing Hitch.



## rsm7

Seems like we have had alot of questions about hitches lately. Regardless of the brand of hitch I thought I would post general guidelines that work for me. First thing I do is adjust the ball height so that when the spring bars are installed and my truck sits level the trailer is down in the nose by a good 2 inches. This to me is critical to a good ride. I'd rather have it be too low in front than too high. When the trailer is level or up in front it teeter totters on its own axles while going down the road. Every movement is then felt thru the truck.I want the nose to be dead weight so to speak. When I load the trailer I load from the nose back. With the weight balanced toward the front the trailer follows on its own and sway is already minimized making the hitch's job that much easier. That being said I also have a 3/4 ton truck and airbags to level my truck. If you have a 1/2 ton you may have payload issues. The other thing I noticed is loose is good. I kept fidgeting with my spring bars and sway control to get a better ride. When my adjustments didnt work I would keep tightening them up. Well between that and fooling with the trailer height what I discovered was when everything was too tight I felt every movement of the trailer thru my truck. So I started loosening up my sway control and backed off a link on my spring bars and the ride got better. So now my settings are a F250 with 20lbs of air in Firestone air bags, my Blue Ox hitch head is installed in the lowest holes on the draw bar, my spring bars are installed at the tightest tension I can get without lifting the trailer with the tongue jack, and my sway control is close to the loosest setting. My rig floats down the road like a dream with one hand on the wheel.One thing that got me thinking about loosening up the sway control is that I drive a semi for a living. Whenever the rig starts to "tighten up" and handling goes away I know I need to grease the fifth wheel. That got me thinking about my TT setup. The trailer is going to move a little and if you are hitched too tight you're gonna feel it thru the truck.


----------



## egregg57

Good stuff!


----------



## Nathan

I 100% agree with this philosophy for a 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck! For a 1/2 ton, I found nearly the opposite to be true...


----------



## Bob Landry

FWIW, I don't agree with that method for any size truck. The purpose WD and sway control isn't to provide a comfortable ride, although that may be a side benefit, maybe not. The purpose of WD is to transfer the correct amount of weight from the rear to the front so that you do not experience steering issues from too little transfer or accelerated front end and tire wear from too much weight. There are two ways to determine correct weight transfer and neither intail how the truck "feels". The most accurate method is to weigh the truck both unhitched and hitched and adjust the WD bar tension to restore the weight on the front axle to original weight. The second method and the one used by many and also described in the hitch installation instructions is to measure the wheel well height from the ground unhitched and then achive the height indicated in the truck owners manual by adjusting the tension on the WD bars. If you are going to tweak the hitch by arbitrarily changing the number of links used on the chain, tilting the hitch, or changing the hitch height based on how the truck feels, you would probably be as well off not even bothering with WD. The improper setup of sway control is even more serious. An improper sway control can cause your trailer and TV to flip, and/or endanger someone in the lane beside you in the event your trailer going into uncontroled dog-wagging.


----------



## duggy

I'm going to chime in for what it's worth.

As for having the front of the trailer two inches lower than the back, I think that's pushing it a little bit. I do agree it's better to have the trailer low in the front, rather than high, but you don't want to put too much weight on the forward axle, or you may overload it, especially if it isn't an equalizing axle like the Outbacks have.

I agree with keeping the load towards the front of the trailer. Years of experience with boat and cargo trailers has taught me that the #1 cause of sway is inadequate tongue weight. If your trailer ever sways in anything other than a high gust of wind, either from Mother Nature, or a large truck, you probably need more weight on the tongue.

As for reducing the amount of weight distribution, as Nathan mentioned, it depends on the truck. 1/2 tons must have a good portion of the weight transferred to the front axle, as both axles don't have a lot of extra payload available. When you move into 3/4 ton or heavier, the rear suspension is capable of supporting a larger share of the load. No matter what, you have to make sure you aren't unweighting the front axle. It may be a more comfortable ride, but it won't be safe.

I agree that tightening up the sway control sends more movement to the TV, but if it's not doing something, there's no point in having it.

Proper setup is more about safety, than comfort!


----------



## rsm7

Bob if the truck is sitting level, which it is because I've measured my wheel wells before and after, the steering is perfect, and there is no sway, then whats the problem? I've "towed" a million miles in my lifetime. I think I can recognize a good setup when I feel it. Thing is whether you believe it or not you can overhitch the trailer. If the trailer is going to sway it can be safer to let it move and then come back in line as opposed to your truck and trailer moving on one axis as though they are one. Same is true with a semi. If a gust of wind blows the trailer off track you want the truck to stay straight or else you're gonna be in the ditch. A little bit of sway is not bad. You cannot, and shouldnt even try, to eliminate all of it. When the spring bars are overhitched you end up with no rear suspension because again you are trying to form a straight "beam" between the truck and trailer. There has to be some movement up and down on the ball. Overhitching causes shaking and vibrating that will eventually shake the interior of your trailer apart and a bad ride. And the only way your trailer is going to go into an uncontrolled dog wagging as you call it is if it is loaded wrong or too big for the truck. I've towed thru blizzards and never lost control of a trailer.


----------



## Nathan

A 1 ton truck with 1000 lbs on the hitch will tow just fine. I wouldn't reccomend it because you won't have sway control and the hitch isn't rated to carry that wieght, but you don't need the same degree of WDH than you do with a 1/2 ton truck. I've towed the same trailer with both trucks, and the 1/2 ton needed 1200 lb bars and the 1 ton needed 800 lb bars. TW was around 1000 lbs.


----------



## rsm7

Nathan said:


> A 1 ton truck with 1000 lbs on the hitch will tow just fine. I wouldn't reccomend it because you won't have sway control and the hitch isn't rated to carry that wieght, but you don't need the same degree of WDH than you do with a 1/2 ton truck. I've towed the same trailer with both trucks, and the 1/2 ton needed 1200 lb bars and the 1 ton needed 800 lb bars. TW was around 1000 lbs.


Exactly right. I pointed out in my original post a half ton would have payload issues. Depends on the size of the trailer. But remember with a smaller trailer some of this could still apply to a half ton. Every configuration of truck and trailer will be different. And I never said I have *no* weight transfer or sway control. Sorry if it came out that way. The manual *should* be read and it is the best place to start. I've read mine several times. And a scale is a good idea. But your weights will always change depending on loads in the trailer, truck, and whether or not you have water on board. Some adjusting will be necesarry. I pull alot of trailers, at work I pull doubles, and I can tell the weight pretty good just by the ride without ever even pulling onto a scale. I can even tell if they're excessively heavy in the nose or the tail. On a semi the fifth wheel adjusts forward and back, same thing with rear tandems on the trailer. Sometimes they have to be adjusted by the driver to make the load scale legally. other times they are simply adjusted for driver preference with many different settings being legal. The other thing is I believe comfort *is* a safety issue. A bad ride on a long drive adds alot of fatigue and stress on to the driver. So yeah, I'm going adjust my trailers by "feel", along with common sense, the manual, and experience. If the trailer follows as it should and my truck behaves as it should then I think I got it dialed in pretty well. To everyone else reading I apologize if I sounded a little snippy in my last response but I did take offense to the insinuation that I may be unsafe or careless. Anyone who thinks that needs to spend a night on an ice covered Ohio turnpike with me and a set of doubles/triples and then they can decide if I know how to keep a trailer straight.







Sometimes the written word doesnt always come out as intended. Its alot easier to just sit around and talk about stuff, like at a campfire, with beer!


----------



## RVdogs

rsm7- thanks for starting this thread. You've brought up several good points and obviously have a lot of towing experience to share with us. I think a lot of us get wrapped up in the manuals and forget to use a little common sense and lose sight of our objective.

Bob, duggy, and Nathan- as always, thanks for the input and discussion. It helps clarify the issue and reminds some of us that we aren't professional drivers and should pay heed to the manufacturer's recommendations for the best possible outcome.

I'm always pleasantly surprised how civil the Outbackers forum discussions are conducted, even with polarized opinions. So little chaff and so much wheat!


----------



## rsm7

Thank you RVdogs for your kind words. Everyone here is right and points out very valid information. There's nothing here that is dead wrong. I'm not sure there is a perfect setting for every driver and every configuration. I think you have "in tolerance" and "out of tolerance". For every adjustment there will be a give and take. For example adding tongue weight may minimize sway but overload the rear suspension and raise the front end of the truck. Alot of people say tongue weight should be 10-15% of trailer weight. On an 8000lb trailer that equates to 800-1200 lbs. Again there's "in tolerance" and "out of tolerance". Gain in one area and lose in another. Some of it will be driver preference. Or it might be road conditions, or weather. I might add that I'm anal about the way my stuff rides. I cant stand sqeaks, rattles, vibrations, off center steering etc etc etc. Its like tuning in an old radio. I'll adjust out of tolerance one way, bring it back, then go the other way, until I get it just right. If that makes any sense?


----------

