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Old 05-15-2011, 12:47 PM   #1
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Drop down bars

I have a 1995 t2653 that I'm towing with a 05 f150. I purchased the trailer with the hitch included. The previous owner had a chevy as his tv . My f150 sits higher than his chevy, when towing I seem to get some front end bouncing on my truck. Is it a normal feeling when pulling something that big behind you.The hitch has a 6 hole drop down I'm wondering if I need to get an 8 hole drop down bar for towing and if this would eleviate the bounce that I feel while pulling my 2653. I also have to add that I am new to trailer camping and have not pulled trailers before. My wife and I skipped past pop ups and went from tents to big time comfort.
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Old 05-15-2011, 01:17 PM   #2
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1. Are you using a weight distributing hitch or just towing on the ball?

2. Is the trailer level when towing?

3. Is the truck level when towing?
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Old 05-15-2011, 03:10 PM   #3
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Yes to all the above, I have the Drawtight 1000 weight distributing bars. Although my truck looks level the back of the truck does drop some. I took some measurements, the unhitched measurement to the top of the ball is 21.5 inches and the level unhitched measurement of the trailer to the top of the inside of the tongue is 15.5 inches I have been told that the difference should be no more than 1 or 2 inches. I wonder if a longer drop down bar would be the answer, would going from a 6 hole bar to an 8 hole and droping the trailer lower make any difference
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Old 05-15-2011, 06:11 PM   #4
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It looks to me like you have 6" difference between the truck and trailer. If both the truck and tt tow level...something doesn't sound right.

A better measurement is ground to fender lip--front and rear fender. Measure the truck unhitched and hitched and let us know what you've got for both. My son has a '10 F150 and it rides far higher than my GMC so most likely you'll need a shank with more drop, but do the measurements first. I don't know if there's anything unique about Drawtite, but work through these pages to see if you need their brand of shank.

Also how much backwards tilt do you have on the ball? Tilting the ball back/shortening the chains is what shifts weight to the front axle of the truck and to the axles of the tt. If the front of the truck is bouncing, it could be too light, but let's start with the finder lip measurements and then see if you need a new shank. No point fine tuning something that needs to be replaced.

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Old 05-16-2011, 06:46 PM   #5
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HenryJ Here are the measurements of my truck unhitched and hitched.
Truck unhitched right front 36 1/2 inches, left front 36 5/8 inches.
right rear 39 3/4 inches, left rear 39 7/8 inches.

Truck hitched to trailer Right front 37 inches left front 37 inches.
Right rear 37 3/8 inches left rear 37 1/2 in.
These measurements are from my cement driveway to the fender lip.
Although the truck is pretty much level it is the rear end measurements I'm concerned about and this why I wonder if an 8 hole bar would be the answer. Any thoughts on this... Your suggestions would be helpful
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Old 05-17-2011, 02:25 PM   #6
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Those measurements sound pretty good as long as the trailer sits level or slightly nose down. Go to a CAT scale and get your axles weighed with and without the trailer to see how much weight is being removed from the front axle.
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Old 05-17-2011, 02:55 PM   #7
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There are 2 issues involved in setting up a weight distribution (wd) hitch. One is to transfer weight to the front axle of the tow vehicle (tv) to keep the front end from bouncing--and the headlights out of the trees--while at the same time restoring the loaded tv to close to the same attitude (angle) it was at when unloaded; and the second is to have the trailer (tt) as level as possible. While both are accomplished by adjusting the hitch, they are really two separate unrelated adjustments.

1. Your measurements indicate the loaded front fender line is coming up 1/2" and the rear is dropping 2 1/4". You also state you feel some bouncing in the front end while towing. Most likely the front axle of the tv is being unloaded by the tongue weight of the tt. The solution is to tighten up the wd bars, in single increments, by angling the ball further back and/or pulling up the chains to the next link. It's important to note that angling the ball or shortening the chain does the same thing. If you do both at the same time, it's a double dose. Angling the ball is what sets up the whole wd in the first place. The further back the ball is, the lower the ends of the wd bars will be. Pulling up the chains then also lifts up the rear end of the tv and tips some of the extra weight to the front axle. This lifting action also lifts any load in the bed of the tv, particularly what is behind the rear axle. It's pointless to set up the whole hitch with the truck empty and then drop in a couple of hundred pounds of people, and a big pile of firewood right in front of the tailgate. The firewood especially, is just like tongue weight and this extra weight again drops the rear end and throws off the whole setup. Carrying water in the tanks will also affect the setup.

There is no way you can take a hitch from one truck to another without doing a complete setup. If you are using the hitch exactly the way the previous owner gave it to you, it simply doesn't match your truck, and he may not have had it properly set up either.

Setting up a hitch involves a lot of trial and error. I don't know how Draw-Tite adjusts the ball angle, but I would start with that--add one more click, or washer, and measure the fender lines again. Try to get the front fender back to it's unloaded height--that would indicate that a certain amount of weight has definitely been transferred back to the front axle. Pull up on the chains only if the ends of the bars are not parallel to the tt A-frame. There's no reason why the bars should be level--it does look better--but if the ends are hanging down they could drag when exiting a driveway. As you add ball angle, pulling up the wd bars is going to become more difficult. This is part of the fun of hitching up a large tt--crank up the tongue jack to clear the ball, crank it down and lock the coupler, crank it up to lift the tv rear end which lifts the wd bars until pulling up the chains becomes manageable and finally crank the jack back down again. I find it's good exercise, but some people prefer power jacks.

Finally, there's nothing like an axle weight at a scale to tell you whether you got it right. My empty tv has a front axle weight of 3420 lb. and loaded weight of 3340 lb. When I adjust the hitch one more step to try and restore the axle weight, the rear axle unloads and the tires break loose in the wet. So I am still running with a front axle that's 80 lb. lighter and that seems fine for my combination. My tt has a tongue weight of 1000 lb. so, before wd, that is added to the ball and would really unload the front axle. With wd enough weight is returned to the front axle to bring it almost back to its unloaded weight. So there has been a lot of weight transfer to the front even though it is a bit lighter.

2. Somewhere in the above trial and error, but definitely before you're done, the hitch head should be positioned in the shank so that the tt is level. Adjusting the wd bars to add weight to the front axle should raise the tv ball and the tt coupler. To keep the tt level you may have to lower the hitch head in the shank. None of this has anything to do with the front end of your tv bouncing. You'll need a new shank only if you don't have enough holes to have the tt level when the wd setup is finalized. If the tt can't be levelled, nose down is better.

See JohnB's excellent advice to another member in this thread http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f7...3-a-12332.html.

Henry
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