Wrong WD bars effects?

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Dcm1379

Active member
Joined
Apr 16, 2018
Posts
37
Location
Ontario, Canada
I posted a topic earlier RE: towing 7000# TT with Dodge Ram 1500
I am experiencing an unstable tow seems floaty like the trailer just doesn't want to settle in and ride nice behind the truck.
Checked tongue weight of about 840# Trailer is gross weight of 7500# currently don't know the exact weight but certainly could not be over that or at least better not empty weight is 5800# according to Starcraft.
So with everything that I have verified is right or wrong hitch seems setup right, tongue weight should be ok, One thing that I have found wrong is when the dealer installed the hitch they put bars rated for 501 to 800# tongue weight. I am over that and still almost empty trailer,  my question is would the under rated bars be a possible cause for the unstable ride in the trailer?
 
Dcm1379 said:
would the under rated bars be a possible cause for the unstable ride in the trailer?

That certainly could be the issue.  The spring bars are maxed, so the tongue weight is not being properly distributed to the front axle of your truck... your rear end is overloaded and taking up the brunt.  And keep in mind your tongue weight will only increase as you load stuff into the trailer.  I'd recommend heading back to the dealer to get those bars upgraded to at least 1000# capacity... that should stiffen things up, assuming the hitch is adjusted properly as you mentioned.
 
Stiffer bars will dampen some of the up and down movement, since they won't be as heavily bent on the initial setup they will unload faster on the up stroke and their greater stiffness will provide more support on the rebound.  With the 800 lb bars maxed out there is less resistance to up and down movement at the hitch since the bars are more heavily bent to start with so they'll stay fully loaded over more of the travel.
 
Thanks guys for the responses  That was my thoughts seems to do alot of moving around back there which only enhances when other factors come into play trucks, wind etc. Not saying heavier bars will solve all the movement but it will go in the direction of helping to solve it.

 
Is this a new trailer? Have you filled your water tank and loaded up your camping gear.  The jumping around could be the trailer's suspension.  The trailer may be too light right now.
 
That was another thing I thought of and no the water tank has not even had water in it, That was another idea heavy the trailer the more it weighs the less likely it will get pushed around.
Sometimes simple things work.
 
I'll disagree slightly with the others because I do not believe the spring bar difference is significant.  Also, as you load the trailer, the effect on tongue weight is not always an increase because weight (water & gear) placed behind the trailer axle actually reduces tongue weight and weight over the axles has no effect at all. Furthermore, a Ram 1500 should be able to handle 800 lbs of tongue weight even without a WD hitch, though the back end might lower a bit more than preferred.  The only effect of the spring bars is to transfer some of the tongue weight from the truck rear axle to the front, htus relieving the rear suspension of some load. If the truck and trailer ride fairly level, the bars you have are adequate.

You stated the trailer seems "floaty" and doesn't "settle in".  Is there any actual sway back & forth? Some trailers don't handle as well empty as they do more heavily loaded, i.e. the trailer balances better with some water and gear onboard. If the fresh water tank is at or behind the axles, try carrying a few hundred lbs of water and see what effect that has.

Is there any porpoising, i.e. the trailer pitching forward &  down followed by a yank upwards and back?

What about trailer tire inflation?  Most trailers have barely adequate tires for the loaded weight, so the tires probably should be inflated for max load. And what about the truck tires?  They too probably need some additional inflation for the loaded truck weight. And are the tires on that Ram LT or P (Passenger) tires? Many half ton trucks now come with passenger tires for better ride comfort, but LT is better for loading.
 
Tire inflation is up on truck and trailer , tires on truck are LT, Water tank is just in front of the trailer axles so it will add some tongue weight but more so just weight to the trailer, Does not seem to porpoise that much it does but not for very long ( couple times then smooths out)
We will be heading out in a couple weeks I will load the water tank and see how that goes .

 
How did you determine an actual tongue weight of 840 lbs if the trailer hasn't been weighed yet?  Or is that from a brochure? If a brochure weight, you are basically clueless about actual, since it is unknown what that brochure tongue weight represents.

Do you have the set-up manual for that WD? If not, get the manual from the dealer that installed it or download a copy online. Re-do the WD set-up to make sure it is tuned right. It's not a big deal if you follow the instructions. We also have a generic WD set-up article in the RVForum Library, based on leveling out the trailer and truck suspension. All you need is a tape measure.
 
Well looked all over for an actual tongue scale and could not find one so I seen the bathroom scale idea tried it weighing myself first and it seemed fairly accurate so that is what I used on the tongue of the trailer to get the weight, I just dont know the full weight of the trailer is that I am relying on Starcraft website, might be right might not be I dont have a scale around the area.

I do have the manual for the hitch as well as I have watched numerous videos on youtube on setup, I just last weekend leveled trailer in Parking lot and verified everything is according to what the manual says and it is within a 1/4"  I am going to guess that would be close enough. The only thing that was off just a bit was the distance from the ground to the bar when it was disconnected, but if I took a washer out then it would to close to the tongue, so I thought it would be better to leave the washer in and have the extra tension on the bars should I need it.
 
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