adjusting WDH

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muchocheko

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Hey everyone. I've got a Husky WDH from an old tow vehicle. We've moved it to several vehicles without adjusting it because I never knew I needed to.

I was getting more sway in my trailer and recently found out through weighing everything that even with the WDH, my front axle was 160 pounds lighter than when I had no trailer hooked up

I just recently set it up for my Ram 1500, using Husky's instructions and ended up lowering the ball about two inches.

My question is would that be enough to change the weight distribution to the front more, or is it a matter of tilting the hitch ball also? Husky's instructions did not address that, and they didn't reply to my email.

I do realize I need to go back to the scales, just curious if I'll need to make more adjustments before heading to the scales.
Thanks!
 

crash68

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Tilting the head more will make the WDH transfer more weight to the front. You can ballpark the adjustment if you take a good measurement of the front wheelwell height before you hook up the trailer and then get the front back to the same height adjusting the WDH hooked up. Using CAT scales is the best.
As for the rear end squat, some will be resolved with the WDH but if the trailer is on the heavy side a set of airbags are suggested. You'll need to readjust the WDH if you add airbags. I'll run enough air pressure to not quite level the truck before adjusting the WDH.

(corrected misspelled wording)
 
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csuder99

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I know I'm gonna ruffle some feathers here :D but 160 lbs less on the front axle is not bad, depending on the trailer it might be even too little. Back in the last millennium trucks had rear leaf springs which behave differently from the more common coil springs nowadays. "Another manufacturer" has detailed setup instructions for WDH and depending on model recommends to restore between 25 % and 50 % of the lost front axle weight. Cranking up the WDH to get all weight back or to get the truck level makes the rear axle somewhat "light" which increases sway.
 
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muchocheko

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I should have included the weight information in my original post:
Truck alone:
Steering axle 3480
drive axle 2480

Following weights are with trailer, but BEFORE I lowered the hitch ball:

Trailer attached without WDH
Steering axle 3200
Drive axle 3380
Trailer axle 4160

Trailer attached with WDH
Steering axle 3320
Drive axle 3200
Trailer axles 4200



Curious if lowering the ball made any difference at all or if I need to tilt the hitch. After adjustments and hitching up the trailer, the front was still the same height as it was without the trailer, so sounds like I'm making progress, but gotta get it back to the scales.
 

2003F350

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See, this is EXACTLY why I don't like the WDH w/integrated sway control. Maybe I don't fully understand the system, but to me it sounds like when you put more weight back on the rear axle, you're reducing the amount of friction in your sway control system. Which may not get you anywhere, because now you're doing one thing to reduce sway, but by doing it you're also reducing your ability to fight sway.

Give me two separate units, a WDH and a stand alone sway bar. I can set the hitch properly, then put the sway bar on and go for a drive and adjust the sway bar as necessary. Once it's set it'll be a long time before it needs adjusted again, and it is literally an extra two clips to install/remove when you're hitching up or unhitching.

Your axle weight numbers look good, though. I don't think you need to adjust the distribution any further.
 

crash68

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I should have included the weight information in my original post:
Truck alone:
Steering axle 3480
drive axle 2480

Following weights are with trailer, but BEFORE I lowered the hitch ball:

Trailer attached without WDH
Steering axle 3200
Drive axle 3380
Trailer axle 4160

Trailer attached with WDH
Steering axle 3320
Drive axle 3200
Trailer axles 4200
With these numbers I would be inclined to lighten the WDH to get the front and rear weights the same. You would be at about 11.5% tongue weight(560lbs tongue).
Might be worth to double check using scales but it might not move much.
 

csuder99

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According to my trusty hp calculator the trailer weighs only 4760 lbs with 600 lbs tongue weight. That's borderline for even needing a WDH with a full size truck. The WDH is probably the ubiquitous 10k version which is designed for twice the weight. I'd try without the spring bars or set the hitch up with very little tension on the bars.
 
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muchocheko

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@csuder99 Spot on regarding the WDH. Originally was used for a trailer almost twice the weight as our current trailer.

So, to lessen the tension on the bars, I just add one chain link correct?

Thanks to all for the help on this. I haven't found much info on the internet and it's frustrating.
 
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muchocheko

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Your axle weight numbers look good, though. I don't think you need to adjust the distribution any further.


This is my biggest point of confusion... at what point are the numbers good? when my front end height is the same hitched and unhitched, when a certain percentage of weight is on the front axle, etc?

The front axle weight with an attached trailer (with and without the WDH) also confuses me. From what I read, the WDH should put more weight on the front axle, not take weight away.

Or am I completely misunderstanding that?
 

csuder99

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There are two different limits that the WDH needs to operate in between. It should put some weight back onto the front axle because if the front gets too light the vehicle will understeer heavily. On the other hand it should not move too much weight from the rear axle to the front axle because that causes the rear to lose traction first and leads to jackknifing.
As noted above, one other major truck manufacturer has recommendations as to how much weight to restore in the front, between 25% and 50% depending on the truck. SAEJ2807 uses 50% FALR (front axle load restoration) for one of their tests as well.
In any case for a modern truck with rear coil springs it is not advised to restore all lost weight to the front. In your case the steering axle is 3480 lbs without a trailer, 3200 lbs without the WDH (280 lbs down) and 3320 lbs with the WDH (160 lbs down, 120 lbs restored). These are good numbers, 40 some % restored.
The other aspect is that the spring bars are likely a bit too stiff for a fairly lightweight trailer. Imagine using I-beams instead of spring bars, you could get the weight distribution right but at a larger dip in the road the rear wheels would be literally hanging in the air. Spring bars allow the rear of the vehicle to dip somewhat, but the stiffer the bars the less the vehicle is able to keep contact with the road. Hence the oversteer if not set up correctly.
Setting up a WDH often requires some trial & error. The manufacturer gives a starting point, but many factors like truck weight, wheelbase, load in the bed etc affect the setup. FWIW, when I switched from a 1500 to a 2500 I made the chain one link longer and while there is barely any tension on the bars it will keep the front from unloading too much on undulating roads.
 

GsRAM

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Tilting the head more will make the WDH transfer more weight to the front. You can ballpark the adjustment if you take a good measurement of the front wheel height before you hook up the trailer and then get the front back to the same height adjusting the WDH hooked up. Using CAT scales is the best.
As for the rear end squat, some will be resolved with the WDH but if the trailer is on the heavy side a set of airbags are suggested. You'll need to readjust the WDH if you add airbags. I'll run enough air pressure to not quite level the truck before adjusting the WDH.

This is good info, but your measuring front fender height, not wheel height. Wheel height is a fixed number based on tire size, distance from ground to a point on the fender (I typically use 6 o'clock on the wheel opening when I do it) is what you want to check and get back to as close to unloaded height as possible.

Really your numbers are pretty close. Tilting the hitch head back will increase tension on the weight bars and transfer more weight to that front axle if that's what your after.

Lowering the ball will increase tongue weight and should help with sway. Maintaining a trailer level or just slightly nose down attitude is important. Nose high attitude increases sway
 

crash68

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This is good info, but your measuring front fender height, not wheel height. Wheel height is a fixed number based on tire size, distance from ground to a point on the fender (I typically use 6 o'clock on the wheel opening when I do it) is what you want to check and get back to as close to unloaded height as possible.
Good catch, meant to type wheelwell height. I blame autocorrect...lol
 
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muchocheko

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Thanks to everyone for your input. Will take it to the scales, drive it around and tweak it from there.
 

HeyTheresTony

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Some of these responses are very helpful - thank you. I just upgraded from a midsize truck to a 2015 Ram 1500 and haul a travel trailer around. Where are you getting the axle weights for your numbers? I went to the local dump and they just weigh the whole truck.

I assume, maybe, a CAT scale? TIA.
 

csuder99

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CAT scale is probably your best bet, dumps and quarries just weigh the whole vehicle or trailer. I don't think CA has any weigh stations that have scales operational when the station is closed like OR has.
 
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