From what I was told, (My neibor installed them on his F-150) they level the vehicle when loaded), he swears by them. I was also reading about the Timbrens These!. Just a little support for the van, like I stated when towing I have 0 issues with handling and braking, I just want to level it off a little better.
I should be moving TT back to storage today, after I get it all hooked up Ill snap some pics.
2005 Ford Expedition XLT (The Gas Guzzler)
2011 Nissan Sentra SR (The Gas Saver)
1999 Sunline Saturn T24
1 Wife
3 Kids
1 Dog!
Airbags simply level the vehicle with a heavy load. They do nothing for WD. They are great for towing 5th wheel trailers, or carrying motorcycles or other heavy loads in the truck though.
If you are towing a travel trailer, they will raise the rear of the truck back up to keep your headlights aimed correctly but will not help at all with the possible overloading of the rear axle, tires, or hitch. All that weight is still back there pushing down even though the air bags are pushing the rear of the truck back up.
In most cases, air bags are not needed at all if you use a WD hitch.
Barney
2004 Sunnybrook Titan 30FKS TT
Hensley "Arrow" 1400# hitch
2002 Ford F250 Super Duty, 7.3L PSD Visit our website here
Steveque wrote: ---If you guess right, the trailer should be about 1/4 inch lower in the front than the back and the front and rear of the van should be somewhere close to the unloaded heights but both will be lower than the unhooked heights.
Chevrolet specifies that the front of the tow vehicle should be at the same height before hitching and after hitching with WD applied.
In effect, they are saying that the load on the front axle should be approximately the same "before" and "after".
If the front is lower than the unhitched height, you have transferred too much load to the front axle.
Since approximately 75% of the tongue weight will be carried on the TV's rear axle, the rear will drop below the unhitched height with WD properly applied
-- unless the TV is equipped with rear air bags or air shocks.
Ron
Returning the front to the unhitched height seems to be the recommendation from all of the truck makers, including Toyota. I would be interested to know if this line of thinking is "backwards compatible" for the older TVs or if it's only applicable to the newer trucks, maybe because of improved suspension.
Returning the front to the unhitched height seems to be the recommendation from all of the truck makers, including Toyota. I would be interested to know if this line of thinking is "backwards compatible" for the older TVs or if it's only applicable to the newer trucks, maybe because of improved suspension.
I honestly do not think it is possible with my current TT and TV Combo.. I can get it close but not exact..
Returning the front to the unhitched height seems to be the recommendation from all of the truck makers, including Toyota. I would be interested to know if this line of thinking is "backwards compatible" for the older TVs or if it's only applicable to the newer trucks, maybe because of improved suspension.
I honestly do not think it is possible with my current TT and TV Combo.. I can get it close but not exact..
If you have the correct WD hitch, you should get the front back to the unhitched height and shouldn't have more than 1-2" drop in back.
Air bags are only good if your back end sags without the trailer attached.
In a previous post, you estimated that your loaded TT weighed 6000-6500#. If so, the loaded tongue weight could be in the range of 800-900#, which would mean your 600# bars are not adequate.
What is the TT's GVWR? The ratings should be on a plaque attached to the left front side of the TT.
For your van, what is the wheelbase and what is the longitudinal distance from the rear axle to the ball coupler?
These values, along with the tongue weight, determine how much load transfer is required.
It also would be very informative if you could post the wheel well heights before hitching and after hitching with WD applied.
With the WD applied at the maximum bar loading you can obtain, is there a noticible curvature to the WD bars? It would be very informative if you could post a close-up photo showing the curvature of the loaded bars.
In a previous post, you estimated that your loaded TT weighed 6000-6500#. If so, the loaded tongue weight could be in the range of 800-900#, which would mean your 600# bars are not adequate.
What is the TT's GVWR? The ratings should be on a plaque attached to the left front side of the TT.
For your van, what is the wheelbase and what is the longitudinal distance from the rear axle to the ball coupler?
These values, along with the tongue weight, determine how much load transfer is required.
It also would be very informative if you could post the wheel well heights before hitching and after hitching with WD applied.
With the WD applied at the maximum bar loading you can obtain, is there a noticible curvature to the WD bars? It would be very informative if you could post a close-up photo showing the curvature of the loaded bars.
Ron
Ron,
6-6.5K loaded is only a guesstimate (Probably way off too, but I always over estimate everything, prepare for the worse type deal) The GVWR on the plaque states 5500 I do believe. Also like I stated earlier as well, the pic in my sig was really a quick just attach it and let me dump out the original owners poo out of the tank.. I have since adjusted everything to the best of my knowledge and it does sit a little more level now. I just want to know if there is anything else I can do to better the situation.. After reading this thread, I really have to get this combo on a scale..
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