WDH 101...

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

With our new truck, it's awesome pulling the TT as it has no troubles doing so.  I mean getting on the on-ramp is like riding a bike downhill... it is AWESOME!!   However... from time to time, I feel like maybe the adjustment is off on our WDH as (sometimes) we have this tug-of-war feeling on the road.  What I mean by this is (especially on rough cement) you feel like the the truck goes and then it "yanks" the camper.  I'm not sure if I'm explaining that well, but... I just thought it would feel a little smoother.  Tom could be right, in that it's the road.  When the hwy is smooth, I don't feel that.. but when you hit a rough patch, it's uncomfortable.

 

Truthfully, I don't think either of us really knows how to adjust a WDH.  Can someone help educate us?  We have a Pro-Pride hitch and have no issue with sway (but I think that's something different).

 

Thanks Fiends!

[bhall 115]

Have you scaled your setup yet?

Sent from my iPhone

[weekender 5]

As bhall states check your weight on a CAT scale to see how you are loaded.  Your tongue weight should be 10% - 15% of your total loaded weight.  Once you have this number look at the weight rating on your hitch to ensure the bars are not too large as that can cause some excess "bounce".  In addition if you have chains look at the set up as compared to how much the rear end sinks/raises when connected as there could be too much tension as well.

 

Now after this you will most likley prove that everything is set up correctly, but you will still have the bounce on the expansion joints on the highway.  I wish I could tell you that you can make this go away, but depending upon your tow vehicle, speed, lenght of your trailer, and a few other factors you will not.  You may improve it by slowing down over these sections, but you will still feel it.  Airbags can help to dampen this as well, but you will still have some of this.  We curently have a 2013 F250 with ride rite air bags and tow a 2011 Jayco 29QBH and we get this especially on concrete roads.  Chattanooga TN, Knoxville, TN and 1-16 between Macon/Savannah are some of the worst roads I have encountered and almost make me sick with all the "bounce" feeling everytime I go over an expansion joint.

 

Good luck in finding a solution.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Oh 1-16... The whole world hates you! And whoever decided to pour it that way should be forced to drive it. Every day.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

As bhall states check your weight on a CAT scale to see how you are loaded.  Your tongue weight should be 10% - 15% of your total loaded weight.  Once you have this number look at the weight rating on your hitch to ensure the bars are not too large as that can cause some excess "bounce".  In addition if you have chains look at the set up as compared to how much the rear end sinks/raises when connected as there could be too much tension as well.

 

Now after this you will most likley prove that everything is set up correctly, but you will still have the bounce on the expansion joints on the highway.  I wish I could tell you that you can make this go away, but depending upon your tow vehicle, speed, lenght of your trailer, and a few other factors you will not.  You may improve it by slowing down over these sections, but you will still feel it.  Airbags can help to dampen this as well, but you will still have some of this.  We curently have a 2013 F250 with ride rite air bags and tow a 2011 Jayco 29QBH and we get this especially on concrete roads.  Chattanooga TN, Knoxville, TN and 1-16 between Macon/Savannah are some of the worst roads I have encountered and almost make me sick with all the "bounce" feeling everytime I go over an expansion joint.

 

Good luck in finding a solution.

 

We have a similar set up, 2011 F250 with 2015 Jayco Whitehawk 28DSBH.  We have not weighed this combo (weighed the trailer after purchasing it, with our old TV).   The scales we went to were busy and the gal was not nice... so we only got the basic weight of the trailer (we had weighed the truck by itself before hitching up... then went back and only put the TT on the scales; the same scale for both axles).  I think in order to do a proper weight, there is more hitching/unhitching involved... but sounds like we need to do this.

[keith_h 420]

If it is always in the same area then I would say it is the road. When we go to New Bern,NC there is a one mile section of road that sets up a bucking  oscillation between my TV and TT. I have to slow down from 55 mph to 35 mph in order to keep it under control. Fortunately it is a multi-lane road so people can pass those old folks towing the trailer. Our TV and TT loaded weights don't change much from trip to trip so I don't worry about weighing. I did it when we first got the trailer but use measurements of my TV rear end sag before I hookup to determine if I am still close to my original specifications. I also measure the TV front before and after each hookup to determine that the WDH is still setup correctly. 

 

One other thing to ask is where your holding tanks are in relation to the axles. If they are behind the axle and you are not traveling empty you will move weight from the tongue to the rear which can result in bucking. Ours are behind the axle so I always dump my tanks even if they have next to nothing in them before traveling.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Yep, even with my tiny trailer, those roads that have those expansion joints can cause this harmonic/bucking at certain speeds. It's rather unnerving.  There was a stretch of I-20 between Birmingham and the state line that was really bad. Fortunately, they have recently repaved that stretch with asphalt.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

If it is always in the same area then I would say it is the road. When we go to New Bern,NC there is a one mile section of road that sets up a bucking  oscillation between my TV and TT. I have to slow down from 55 mph to 35 mph in order to keep it under control. Fortunately it is a multi-lane road so people can pass those old folks towing the trailer. Our TV and TT loaded weights don't change much from trip to trip so I don't worry about weighing. I did it when we first got the trailer but use measurements of my TV rear end sag before I hookup to determine if I am still close to my original specifications. I also measure the TV front before and after each hookup to determine that the WDH is still setup correctly. 

 

One other thing to ask is where your holding tanks are in relation to the axles. If they are behind the axle and you are not traveling empty you will move weight from the tongue to the rear which can result in bucking. Ours are behind the axle so I always dump my tanks even if they have next to nothing in them before traveling.

 

Thanks :)  We travel with empty tanks.

 

 

Yep, even with my tiny trailer, those roads that have those expansion joints can cause this harmonic/bucking at certain speeds. It's rather unnerving.  There was a stretch of I-20 between Birmingham and the state line that was really bad. Fortunately, they have recently repaved that stretch with asphalt.

 

Thanks for the feedback Carol...  that's helpful.

[Disneyfrank 4]

I too own a propride p3, awesome hitch, and experience "the bounce" from time to time.  It is dependent upon the road surface.  However I have been able to lessen the effect by backing off on my wd bars.  I experimented a bit and found I was cranking them too much.  The nice thing about a the p3 is that the wd spring bars are adjustable, use your tounge jack to make adjusting much easier, just a simple turn of a wrench.  I tow a grey wolf 26 dbh , tip to tail just under 32', with a ram 1500.  Ram could use some more suspension but air bags fixed that.

 

frank

[Disneyfrank 4]

as for setting up wd, easy,

1attach trailer,

2  use lounge jack to lift trailer to point where spring bars are lose

3 crank bars up to say 8" (just a random number, crank them a little and measure spring bar to top frame and use that as starting pt)

4 lower jack completely

5 measure distance from top wheel well to ground for front and back tires

6 measurement should within 1/2"

7 repeat steps and readjust

 

if rear is still low crank the bars some

if rear is high let off on the bars

 

use a sharpie and mark the vertical bar or  mark the crank tube so next time no guessing required

when hitching up just crank bars to your marks and lower lounge, all set

 

 

frank

[Disneyfrank 4]

sorry my spell check made tongue into lounge  

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

as for setting up wd, easy,

1attach trailer,

2  use lounge jack to lift trailer to point where spring bars are lose

3 crank bars up to say 8" (just a random number, crank them a little and measure spring bar to top frame and use that as starting pt)

4 lower jack completely

5 measure distance from top wheel well to ground for front and back tires

6 measurement should within 1/2"

7 repeat steps and readjust

 

if rear is still low crank the bars some

if rear is high let off on the bars

 

use a sharpie and mark the vertical bar or  mark the crank tube so next time no guessing required

when hitching up just crank bars to your marks and lower lounge, all set

 

 

frank

 

This was helpful... thank you!! :)

[CJHokie 43]

Yep, even with my tiny trailer, those roads that have those expansion joints can cause this harmonic/bucking at certain speeds. It's rather unnerving.  There was a stretch of I-20 between Birmingham and the state line that was really bad. Fortunately, they have recently repaved that stretch with asphalt.

Yeah, when we had a pop-up, there was one part of the road in our 'hood that did that every time.

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

One other thing to ask is where your holding tanks are in relation to the axles. If they are behind the axle and you are not traveling empty you will move weight from the tongue to the rear which can result in bucking. Ours are behind the axle so I always dump my tanks even if they have next to nothing in them before traveling.

I am by no means an expert on this and just getting my new hitch adjusted properly, but my owners manual for my trailer recommends towing with at least a half a tank of water in the rear tank. Our trailer is 34ft with a rear kitchen floor plan so most of the weight goes to the tongue (under bed storage, outside storage compartments, lp tanks, black, and one grey holding). I can feel a difference in towing when the front is loaded and the tanks behind the axles are empty. I keep the grey and black tanks drained and about half a tank of fresh water depending on the amount of stuff I have crammed in the front, and it seems to be a better ride. Each trailer is different though and each person loads a trailer differently, if it's only doing it on certain roads that may not be a problem. If it's doing it all the time try adjusting weight in the trailer around a bit.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Thanks Derek :)

[rtguy007 74]

Nacole,

Setup on a wdh is critical for proper towing. I am not familiar with the setup on the p3 but am with the equalizer. I can tell you if you add to much weight to the bars on an equalizer, you get exactly the reaction you describe. The added tension causes the bars to stick when maneuvering and adds to the bouncing effect.

When I finally stopped letting the dealer adjust it and bought the tools to do it myself, I discovered that my dealers service department way over tensioned the bars. Took about 45 minutes to tear the entire setup down, readjust per the manual, and torque everything back down. Now rides smooth as silk down the road. There are still some areas I have to slow down on but they are few and far between.

You may want to call pro pride. I have heard they have great phone service. They may be able to tell you what you are experiencing is normal or something out of adjustment.

[TN22.....Brady 22]

This picture always comes to mind when folks mention over tensioning their WDH.

 

 

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TKy730WJ1Uk/URQn-VpBKXI/AAAAAAAABaI/GX8LIfUgWcg/s680/WDH+Pic.jpg

[dblr....Rennie 224]

This picture always comes to mind when folks mention over tensioning their WDH.

 

 

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TKy730WJ1Uk/URQn-VpBKXI/AAAAAAAABaI/GX8LIfUgWcg/s680/WDH+Pic.jpg

 

I remember those adds it was about the cars with front wheel drive, probably the first American car equipped with front wheel drive.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

This picture always comes to mind when folks mention over tensioning their WDH.

 

 

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TKy730WJ1Uk/URQn-VpBKXI/AAAAAAAABaI/GX8LIfUgWcg/s680/WDH+Pic.jpg

 

Haha... that's funny.   When we hook up, I always stand back to see if the trailer looks level (we use a level too, but man if that level still seems off b/c when I eye it "level" doesn't always look "level").

 

 

Nacole,

Setup on a wdh is critical for proper towing. I am not familiar with the setup on the p3 but am with the equalizer. I can tell you if you add to much weight to the bars on an equalizer, you get exactly the reaction you describe. The added tension causes the bars to stick when maneuvering and adds to the bouncing effect.

When I finally stopped letting the dealer adjust it and bought the tools to do it myself, I discovered that my dealers service department way over tensioned the bars. Took about 45 minutes to tear the entire setup down, readjust per the manual, and torque everything back down. Now rides smooth as silk down the road. There are still some areas I have to slow down on but they are few and far between.

You may want to call pro pride. I have heard they have great phone service. They may be able to tell you what you are experiencing is normal or something out of adjustment.

 

Thanks Ryan... we may need to call Sean at ProPride.   

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

When I finally stopped letting the dealer adjust it and bought the tools to do it myself, I discovered that my dealers service department way over tensioned the bars.

It surprises me how little most travel trailer dealers/service people really know about WDH, if it's not the brand the sell (and sometimes even if it is) they tend to know nothing about them. Plus they usually set them up with an empty tv and trailer.

I decided to go with the equalizer for budget reasons but did spend a lot of time on the phone with Sean while trying to make my decision, I'm sure he can help talk you through through it.

[stockboys10 2]

Maybe you need to look at a bigger truck? 

[BigTom 76]

Most dealers and service centers do not use a WDH. They use a large enough truck to handle the load, you never see a mobile home transporter using one have you.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Maybe you need to look at a bigger truck? 

 

Nah...maybe we just need a huge 5th wheel to balance it out  

[stockboys10 2]

Nah...maybe we just need a huge 5th wheel to balance it out  

But then you get the back and forth chucking..... 

 

Our TT actually towed pretty well on the 2500 without the WD hitch all together. 

[bhall 115]

Maybe you need to look at a bigger truck? 

 

Nah...maybe we just need a huge 5th wheel to balance it out  

Not with that diesel equipped 250. Power isn't your problem. Payload would be. :)

Sent from my iPhone