weight distribution hitch on 1997sl problem

i bought a 1997 2720sl and have not use it yet however my vehicle is a 2002 chrysler voyager and would like to puy a weight distribution hitch on the 2720sl however the propane tanks lay down and there is no room to mount the frame bracket for the wdh ...has anybody else had this problem and found the answer ken.

Ken
You will have to make sure the hitch works on your TM. I wouldn't purchase the hitch until checking that out. I had to go to the next-up model on my '04 3326KS to get one that clears the tanks. It has horizontal tanks but not the swing-away tongue. I have the cut-out in the front of the front slide and the tanks are mounted above the tongue but laid down. I am not sure how yours is. The torsion bars for weight distribution run outside the trailer tongue and along side it.
Bob

Originally Posted by BobRederick

Ken
You will have to make sure the hitch works on your TM. I wouldn't purchase the hitch until checking that out. I had to go to the next-up model on my '04 3326KS to get one that clears the tanks. It has horizontal tanks but not the swing-away tongue. I have the cut-out in the front of the front slide and the tanks are mounted above the tongue but laid down. I am not sure how yours is. The torsion bars for weight distribution run outside the trailer tongue and along side it.
Bob

.................................................. .................................................. ........the problem is the frame brackets from the weight distribution hitch and the propane tanks if that was your problem what is the name of the wdh that you bought..ken

Ken

The frame brackets were my initial problem, too and the reason dealer swapped to the next higher weight model. Something hit the tanks when the torsion bars were set.

My hitch has the lable "Husky" on the bars. Likewise the anti sway slide is labled "Husky". The bars are also labled "501 - 800# for two bars". I run the chains in the 3rd link (2 hanging loose) and it appears quite good. This has little tension on the bars and they can be put on relatively easily without lifting the hitch above travel position.

My hitch was thrown into the deal at no added cost by dealer. I didn't even get the instructions for it. I do know that on initial installation and for the trip home (2000+ mi) the chains were on the 4th link (3 hanging). That put a huge overload on my front tires and ruined a $230 Michlan. I had to learn how to level the truck myself after getting home. I have automatic levelers on the truck and that baffled the dealer techs. Had me baffled too, for a while.

Whatever you get, I recommend trying it before buying for the reasons above. I wanted the Equal-I-Zer brand but dealer didn't sell it and I didn't dare buy it before driving to get the trailer.

Bob

[Bill]

Originally Posted by BobRederick

I run the chains in the 3rd link (2 hanging loose) and it appears quite good.

Bob - Three links between the tip of the springbar and the hook on the snap-up bracket is not enough. You should have about 5.

As long as you are towing straight, it doesn't matter. But if you have to make a sharp turn - in a crowded parking lot, for instance, or getting into a tight campsite - the springbar on the inside of the turn is suddenly too long, and the bar on the outside is too short. The tips try to move forward or back to compensate, but they are constrained by the length of the chain. Does that make any sense? A sketch might help if needed.

At any rate, one of the symptoms of too-short chain is "groaning" - the springbars make a groaning sound in a tight turn from the enormous stress put on them. A Search on the word "groan" will turn up discussions on this board.

You need to increase the number of links. But if you simply snap up on the 5th link instead of the 3rd, you don't get enough lift, so that is not the answer. The secret is to lower the tips of the springbars toward the ground. Then you can lift up from the 5th link, and get the same force that you had before on the 3rd.

How to lower them? The forward end of each springbar is set rigidly into the ballmount. If you tilt the ballmount backward, the springbar tips drop toward the ground.

With the TM unhooked, take a look at your hitch ball. I bet it is pretty close to vertical - straight up and down. To most people, this instinctively feels right. But in most cases it is not. It should be tilted backward a bit. On most hitches, the tilt is adjustable, generally by removing the upper of the two huge bolts and selecting a different setting of a washer or a grooved grating of some sort. As you tilt the ballmount back, the springbar tips drop toward the ground. Now when you snap them up, you end up with more links in the chain between the tips and the bracket hooks to get the same force. Of course, if you drop the tips too much, they approach the ground, which is not good..

My thanks to the folks at Reese for patiently explaining this to me when I was struggling with it a couple or three years ago.

Bill

[Denny_A]

Originally Posted by Bill

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if Bob is dropping 2 links, that means all of the rest of his links, 5 or 6 or 7, are in tension. If the tips of the bars are directly below the brackets on the frame, then he has plenty of reserve for tight turns.

Denny_A

I think you're right, Denny, thanks for straightening me out. The semantics of "dropped links" has always baffled me, especially since manufacturers can (and do) put different numbers of links in their chains, and the number of slack links has no bearing on anything.

You are right - 5 or 6 or 7 links under tension is great. No groans! Sorry, Bob.

Bill

Originally Posted by keneagle11

i bought a 1997 2720sl and have not use it yet however my vehicle is a 2002 chrysler voyager and would like to puy a weight distribution hitch on the 2720sl however the propane tanks lay down and there is no room to mount the frame bracket for the wdh ...has anybody else had this problem and found the answer ken.

I had the similiar problem when I got my TM. The brackets fit just under the tanks, but I could not secure them upright without hitting the propane tanks. The first brackets I tried to mount to the frame of the TM were "box" type and the square arm hit the propane tanks. The local dealer where I bought my hitch had different mounts that where not the "box" type and they fit perfect. Just swapped out brackets. I have a hidden hitch.

CastleRockCamper

I bought a 1,000 lb WDH on ebay before I went a couple hundred miles to take delivery of my TM from a private seller.

What I do now is connect the ball hitch, jack up the front of the trailer (truck comes up with it) then attach the bars of the WDH. With the trailer and truck at that angle the WDH bars have little weight on them. It's easy to flip the chain connectors over by hand past the tight clearance with tanks and clip them in place. With the full weight on them I needed the pipe like tool that came with the WDH to muscle it over, but there was not enough clearance to accomplish the task before the tool hit the tanks.

I also need to loosen the bolt on each of those brackets on the trailer frame to get them out of the way before I can slide the living room out.

It works, but I sure wish I had bought a different WDH. It sounds like the WDH's most people on this site are using have much shorter bars than my 30 inch ones. In hindsight, I also don't think I will ever need the 1,000 lb capacity and would be fine with a 750.

Jim