Well it sounds like I have been doing it right to me. I do have a lift on my truck so when I did it the other way(drop trailer on ball completely then just bolt on chains.) by the time I arrived to my destination the weight of the trailer would move the hitch down. So now I do it the other way and pump up my air bags to about 50-60 lbs and cruise!!!!
9 out of 10 trailers I see going down the road have a very poor hitch set up. The trailer frame is supposed to be the same distance from the ground when measured both in the front and back. In other words, level. The tow vehicle is also supposed to be level. I see too many rigs with the front of the trailer nose down and the front of the tow vehicle nose up! Now many people just think they can grab an extra link or two of chain on the WD hitch. It is not just that easy. The WD bars should be hanging parallel to the frame, not pointed up towards the sky. And under no circumstances should the ends of the WD bars be able to touch the frame of the trailer.
There are three adjustments. One is the height of the trailer ball on the tow vehicle. If you level out the trailer while not connected to a vehicle, you can measure from the ground up to ball socket of the trailer. Let us say that measurement is 19". You then adjust the ball on the tow vehicle to be 1/2" to 2" higher depending on how stiff the rear suspension of the tow vehicle is. When you add the trailer, the tow vehicle will settle to a little below level. Then installing the WD bars will bring both back to level again.
The next adjustment is the angle of the head. This is adjusted by removing the two large bolts and adding or removing washers that go on a pin that adjust the head angle. There is usually a jam nut that takes up the slop and then you can tighten the two large bolts. You need to adjust the head angle so that when the WD bars are installed, the WD bars a parallel to the ground and also the frame of the trailer as it is also parallel to the ground. All of this should be done with you standard load in the trailer.
The final adjustment is how many links to "drop". You really only want to drop two or maybe three links. If you are dropping more than you are using, then you probably should adjust the head of the hitch and add washers to the pin. I actually like to set it up so that my WD bars are actually pointing down a little in the back so that I can grab one more link if needed for a really heavy load. The WD bars will still be parallel.
Sorry about the rant. Improper hitch set up is a pet peeve of mine. I look at every trailer that goes by me or is going the opposite direction of me. Many are VERY unsafe!
Good luck!
Jim and Deanna
Tiffin Allegro 35QBA 2007 Carson Trailer 22' Titan TH Trailer Toad
Me, Wife, Boy/12, Boy/9, Girl/7
1985 Toyota 4Runner FIVE quads, THREE kids, TWO motorcycles, ONE wife, ONE dog, ONE cat!
V10 man wrote: The way I do it is, once the hitch is on the ball, I flip the latch then raise the tongue(and back of the truck) up 3-4" or until my whimpy electric jack stalls out. Then I hook up the bars and then lower the jack. This places the preload on the bars.
time_to_go_now wrote: And, on a related subject, hitch set up.
9 out of 10 trailers I see going down the road have a very poor hitch set up. The trailer frame is supposed to be the same distance from the ground when measured both in the front and back. In other words, level. The tow vehicle is also supposed to be level. I see too many rigs with the front of the trailer nose down and the front of the tow vehicle nose up! Now many people just think they can grab an extra link or two of chain on the WD hitch. It is not just that easy. The WD bars should be hanging parallel to the frame, not pointed up towards the sky. And under no circumstances should the ends of the WD bars be able to touch the frame of the trailer.
There are three adjustments. One is the height of the trailer ball on the tow vehicle. If you level out the trailer while not connected to a vehicle, you can measure from the ground up to ball socket of the trailer. Let us say that measurement is 19". You then adjust the ball on the tow vehicle to be 1/2" to 2" higher depending on how stiff the rear suspension of the tow vehicle is. When you add the trailer, the tow vehicle will settle to a little below level. Then installing the WD bars will bring both back to level again.
The next adjustment is the angle of the head. This is adjusted by removing the two large bolts and adding or removing washers that go on a pin that adjust the head angle. There is usually a jam nut that takes up the slop and then you can tighten the two large bolts. You need to adjust the head angle so that when the WD bars are installed, the WD bars a parallel to the ground and also the frame of the trailer as it is also parallel to the ground. All of this should be done with you standard load in the trailer.
The final adjustment is how many links to "drop". You really only want to drop two or maybe three links. If you are dropping more than you are using, then you probably should adjust the head of the hitch and add washers to the pin. I actually like to set it up so that my WD bars are actually pointing down a little in the back so that I can grab one more link if needed for a really heavy load. The WD bars will still be parallel.
Sorry about the rant. Improper hitch set up is a pet peeve of mine. I look at every trailer that goes by me or is going the opposite direction of me. Many are VERY unsafe!
Good luck!
Man that was alot of great info! I live in Downey I see your in La Mirada, Next time I hitch up i am driving to your house for a final inspection!!! Thanks for passing on the knowledge
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