I need some help please

[DJ18]

We got a new truck, well, not new, but new for us. my husband is of the "hitch it up and drive" school of thought, except he doesn't drive due to some vision problems. neither does he do much hitching up because he has a bad disc in his back. I don't mind doing it at all, in fact I kind of like it. But I can't figure some stuff out here.

So the new truck has 20" wheels. Our old truck had (I think!) 16" wheels. The man we bought our Avion from set up the WD hitch on that truck for us. It's a Reese WD hitch, and towing the Avion was very nice the way he set it up.

I've gotten a lot of help from the facebook Avion group, but I need more! Here are my questions, and I'm sorry for the long and probably boring post!

I figured the ball had to be lowered and since we have neither the tools or the strength to do this, I took it to a trailer business and asked them to lower it, which they did, buy about 2". I hitched up the trailer and towed it a few miles and it felt too high, and the steering felt vague and wandering. so lowered it another 2". it is now what I believe to be the right height, but the way it was set up before, the ball shank was at a slight angle away from the truck and now it is more of a 90 degree angle, straight up and down. I know this matters, but don't know how much.

then we got the trailer level, hitched up and all appeared to be good. It felt more stable to tow, and I've been very curious about the weight of the trailer and truck, so finally went to a truck scale with the trailer hitched up and then with the unloaded truck alone. we are within all our trucks weight limits, but I am dismayed to find the front axle is 100# lighter with the trailer hitched up than it is with the unloaded truck. The unloaded truck rear axle is 800# heavier. I need help with knowing how to balance the tongue weight properly.

I am reluctant to go back to that trailer business I went to. They were too busy with horse trailer and farm equipment to bother with an RV. If my hitch needs to have the height or angle of the ball shaft changed, I need to take it somewhere like U Haul or another trailer service place. If the angle isn't a big deal, I can adjust the WD bars and weigh it again. my limited physics sense says the bars need to be under more tension to push the front axle down. But I called a friend at a trailer sales, and he said less tension should balance the load.

I've measured and weighed and checked level till I'm confused and would really appreciate advice. thanks!

[silverloaf]

Debbie-
I went through a lot of angst when I installed and calibrated our new WD hitch. It took me a while to process how it physically worked.

There are a number of websites with videos that explain the set-up. Do a search under "setting up a weight distributing hitch".

First, don't worry about the weight difference before and after. More important is getting the tow vehicle to the same level with and without the trailer. Start off with a tape measure. There is a cat and mouse game for the first-time set-up.

The rear axle acts like a pivot point (think teeter-totter). When weight is applied to a conventional hitch, the downward force pivots on the rear axle, which causes the front end to rise.

In a WD hitch that is properly calibrated, the torsion bars on the hitch transfer the downward force of the trailer's load on both it and the vehicle, rather than just the rear axle alone. Think of the result as a large stiff pipe that runs from front to rear.

Put the tow vehicle and trailer on level ground and unattached. Go to any front tire on the truck and measure the distance from the top of the wheel well to the ground. Jot down the result. Do the same at a rear tire. When the trailer is attached and hitch is properly set, there should be little difference (no more than 1/2") between them.

Hook up the trailer and set the torsion bars and springs. Most hitch makers do not recommend less than 5 exposed links. Target 5-7. Measure the wheel well heights again. Adjust the chains to compensate.

Before connecting the trailer, level the floor from front to back. Measure the height of the ball pocket to the ball height. This will give you a rough idea as to how high or low the ball must move.

Remember, The ideal plane of the trailer should be level or ideally slightly downward toward the front. This will improve stability for the tow vehicle and reduce the effects of wind on the trailer.

[DJ18]

Thank you, we will go somewhere level tomorrow and start again! At least we know how it’s supposed to work now.

[silverloaf]

Sounds like a plan. Keep me posted. If you get confused, send me a private message and I'll give you my cell phone number.

[DJ18]

Thank you so much!

[DJ18]

I took the hitch to U Haul today, and they lowered the ball to the last hole on the shank. The trailer is looks better in that lowest position. then I took it to a large lot, which wasn't exactly level, but very close. Un hitched, the truck was 38 1/8 at the rear left wheel well and 35 5/8 at the front left wheel well. Hitched up on the 3 link from the end, it was 37" rear left and 35 1/2 at the front left. I didn't weigh it today. jacking it up high enough to get the 4th link is going to be tricky!

[silverloaf]

Debbie,

I'm a little surprised the read end dropped 1-1/8". Ordinarily, this tells me you need to decrease the number of chain links between the bar and the hook on the trailer frame to raise the rear end. However, both Reese and Curt do not recommend going lower than 5 links because of the stresses imparted on the hitch system. Something is amiss here; maybe weak springs/socks are contributing. I would call Reese Tech Support ( (609) 406-0073) and ask them for assistance.

The before and after dimensions up front are well within the 1/2".

[DJ18]

sometimes I feel this trailer is a pandora's box.
when I tried raising the hitched up tongue high enough to tighten the bars, the ball kept popping out. I thought I was just raising it too high, but remembered it had done this a few other times. it is an odd style of coupler, and I looked on e-trailer to identify it. it is there, item CA-5335-B. we watched the video, and saw how the lever is supposed to lock the ball on, and realized ours was not moving like that. so I got under there and saw a lot of old grease and sand mixed and packed into every cranny. gouged and scraped with picks and hooks and pulled out a lot of this stuff till clean and sprayed silicone lube in there. now the lever actually moves similarly to the video. while under there, I noticed a slight dent in the lip around the underside of the edge of the cup.

I'd gotten in the habit of not lowering the tongue all the way down when hitching up, and I can't do that. in order for the ball to be firmly held, it needs to be lowered all the way so that the lip is at the bottom of the ball. then a hitch pin with enough thickness helps keep it tight. probably we need a new ball coupler, but this thing is welded on, and I don't know where to go to get it removed and a new one welded on.

We have a spare WD hitch that came with another trailer, but we've always used an entry level reese WD hitch on the Avion. today I discovered that the reese bars are much harder to get on than the EaZ lift elite bars. they are the same length of bar and chain and fit in the hitch, so hope that makes life easier and they are truly interchangeable. same weight ratings on both. I've hitched and unhitched the Avion so many times today, it is becoming second nature!

Thank you so much for your help!!
I've posted most of this on the Facebook group and gotten help, but I am about to delete my facebook account. the ads and the spammy junk is just getting to be too much.

[silverloaf]

If your Amish welder is as good as you think/say he is, replacing the coupler should be a no-brainer. Generally, it's a matter of cutting the weld lines with an angle grinder and welding on the new one.

Based upon your experience with the current coupler, I would make this a top priority. This includes a new ball.

[DJ18]

I'd have to do with a cowboy welder.....
I'm beginning to feel too old for an old camper.

High pressure washed out the grit and grime. with more of the old hard grease and sand out, the lever now clicks down in the back and locks into place. we raised it as high as the jack would go and the ball didn't drop out. now that we are aware of how it is supposed to work, we can visually see the locking lever is in place.