WD hitch school

[schmism]

Ok so i brought home my very first WD hitch for the back of my new E350.

While there are many vids out on youtube to document how to setup your WD hitch (even one for an E350) they all seem to feature a fixed tongue weight trailer (aka RV) So setting head tilt and bar tension (by takeing measurements on wheel wheels of the tow vehicle) seem to be a constant every time.

But how do you make said adjustments when your towed load may vary in weight and therefore vary in tongue weight.

One time i may only have 5000lbs behind me (3K payload and 2K trailer) vs others were i may have 7K behind me and perhaps even 9 or 10K.

Tongue weight would (in theory) change from 500lbs to as much as 800-900lbs Obviously the more tongue weight the more squat to the rear of the van and more bar i need.

Without a WD hitch one would get used to gauging tongue weight based on the amount of squat on the tow vehicle. So if i packed on a 400lb implement on the tongue of the trailer i could still set the right amount of squat based on how far i drive on to the trailer to achive the right tounge weight.

but with a WD hitch that seems to all go out the window as bar tension would seem to change every time your tongue weight changed.




in short do i have to "setup" the hitch everytime i come up with a different combination of loaded items on my trailer?

 

[Runner]

I'm a complete newbie to WD hitches myself, but my plan is to just eyeball it and change which link in the bar chain I use, based on the weight (choke up on it for more weight, back off for less). I'm sure there is a more scientific way to do it....

 

[Dmace]

Set-up your hitch for the average tongue weight (around 700 lbs in your case) then put a small colored zip tie on that chain link. If your weight is less, set the chains 1-2 links longer and if it's more tighten up the chains by 1-2 links. The head tilt shouldn't change enough to need adjustments unless your changing tow vehicles. This is assuming you have a "chain" style WD hitch like the one Runner pictured above.

 

[schmism]

so after 3 hours of futzin around with the hitch, ive got it setup (i think)

One odd thing came up.

I got things adjusted and went to clip up the chains (yes mine has chains) and the right side on link 7 i could almost do by hand by just rotating the chain holder up. The left side on link 7 required a cheeter bar as seen in setup vids and had significantly more force on that chain.

What would account for this? (other than a difference in the length of chain)

 

[Runner]

A picture might help.

I think the bars can be bought in different spring rates for different tongue weight situations. Are you sure the bars are the same rating?

Is it possible that the hitch is mounted at a slight angle (left to right) on the tow vehicle?

Could the trailer tongue be bent/warped?

 

[timswi]

A picture might help.

I think the bars can be bought in different spring rates for different tongue weight situations. Are you sure the bars are the same rating?

Is it possible that the hitch is mounted at a slight angle (left to right) on the tow vehicle?

Could the trailer tongue be bent/warped?

Yup..Trailer has to be level and the weight even when setting up WD ...At least the first time.

 

[Rancher Ed]

More than likely they are just not on flat ground. If the tariler and the tow rig are not level relative to each other (the trailer tilted to one side more than the tow rig) one side of the tongue will be higher than the other making it harder to attach that sides chains.

Ed

 

[mbrule]

A picture might help.

I think the bars can be bought in different spring rates for different tongue weight situations. Are you sure the bars are the same rating?

Is it possible that the hitch is mounted at a slight angle (left to right) on the tow vehicle?

Could the trailer tongue be bent/warped?

Not being perfectly straight, and / not level, will cause more force on one or the other bar....

 

[schmism]

Ya i took it for a drive around the "block" and afterward it seemed to have evened out.

A lesson in figuring out tongue weight. (set at just shy of 600lbs)

hears the preliminary setup

 

[Skyco]

re: different amount of effort for each bar, the 2nd bar to go up is always easier than the first since it takes a big portion of the weight. So did you try them in different order?
BTW I've never fooled with the head tilt on many hitch setups over the years..if the ball isn't the right height raise or lower it on the drawbar. I only use adjustable drawbars for this reason. I only have ever needed to pick a different chain link to adjust.
I once warned an elderly gentleman out west at a gas station that his setup was wrong and he may lose his brand new travel trailer....the shop that did it put so much back tilt in the head it looked to me like the coupler was about to pop off the ball at any second. He didn't have a clue nor did the installer apparently. 1 nice dip into a parking lot and the coupler would have exceeded how far it could go on the ball, either something bends or worse it pops off.