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Old 10-24-2005, 11:31 PM   #1
Jim-NY
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Default Is my WDH properly adjusted?

I think I adjusted my WDH right, but I would like those of you with more knowledge on the subject to examine the empirical data below and tell me for sure.

On my first real vacation with the TM in September, I stopped at an Irving truck stop and had them weigh the TM and TV. (BTW- they did it for free as long as I didn't need a print out of the weights.)

The 2720SL and Ridgeline pickup were loaded for a 12-day vacation. Propane full, water and holding tanks empty. We brought most of our food for the trip with us including a couple cases of water and other beverages and perhaps 150 lbs of red oak firewood. I found I could pound on cylinder shaped half gallons of Edy's French Silk ice cream and make them fit nicely in the freezer ...But I do digress...

Here are the results of the weigh in:

Ridgeline (attached to TM with WDH)

Ridgeline Front Axle = 2,580
Ridgeline Rear Axle = 2,820
Ridgeline Total = 5,400 lbs.

TM (Attached to Ridgeline with WDH)

TM Right Wheel 1,720
TM Left Wheel 1,720
TM Total 3,440

Before we left on this vacation, I measured the Ridgeline fender heights without the trailer and adjusted the WDH in an attempt to get it back to the same plane. My WDH is the type that is adjusted by the number of links hanging off the brackets. It is not precisely adjustable and I had to make a choice between 3 links and 2 links. I went with 2, leaving a little more weight on the rear axle and allowing the front to point up slightly rather than putting the extra weight on the front axle. The Ridgeline manual does not recommend using a WDH because of potential improper adjustments. I figured without a WDH the front would definitely be higher, so I thought I should err on the side of leaving the nose up a bit.

The numbers below indicate that, even using the WDH, the front axle of TV had 27 pounds LESS on it than with the trailer than without. This is 525 pounds under the GAWR. The rear axle had 933 pounds more on it, which is 425 lbs. under the GAWR.

Ridgeline alone as per Honda specifications:
Front =2,607 (58%) Rear 1,887 (42%) Total 4,494

Ridgeline as weighed with TM attached and WDH:
Front = 2,580 (48%) Rear 2,820 (52%) Total 5,400

It looks to me like the WDH was properly adjusted. And with a GVWR of 10,088 lbs., I could take 1248 lbs. more ice cream and firewood next time - as long as I am not going to high elevations.

I left the scales thinking it was looking good. In hindsight, I might have tightened the WDH one link and re-weighed. But then I was pushing my luck getting them to weigh me several times so I could get right and left wheels of TM already for free. I guess I could have paid them confused:

Please, be honest and tell me if I am all wet on this. I am counting on you to keep me from damaging my truck with the WDH as Honda warns of.

BTW - The truck pulled this load at low elevations with ease. I have no plans to go the Rockies anytime soon, but I am dying to find out how it will do under those conditions.

Jim

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Old 10-25-2005, 08:27 AM   #2
Bill
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Jim -

Somehow the weight of the Ridgeline increased by almost 1000 pounds - 4494 to 5400! This seems like a lot to me - I would have expected about 2/3 of the TMs tongue weight, or 300-400 pounds. I suspect the difference lies in the phrase "per Honda specifications". That being the case (the fact that I don't see a true weight of the Ridgeline, measured at the weigh-in) leaves me concluding that the weights don't tell me much.

On the other hand, your choice of chain links to re-establish the same plane on the Ridgeline, seems correct. So I think you've done it right.

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Old 10-25-2005, 11:13 AM   #3
Jim-NY
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Default Let me clarify

Bill,

The “per Honda specifications” is the published “curb weight” without people, cargo, weight of hitch and other accessories, or tongue load. We know some of the nearly 1,000 lbs of weight gain on Ridgeline is the non-factory accessories, passengers, and cargo, but doesn’t the WDH transfer weight from the TV to TM? Beyond seeing that the WDH pull weight up off the rear axle of the Ridgeline and transfers it to the front axle of Ridgeline and TM axle, I am having trouble understanding the weight transfer dynamics. It seems the distance of the axles from the ball would dictate the percentage of the weight that would go to each axle, but I would need to use one of my “lifelines” on that question.

I should have, but I did not weigh the Ridgeline and trailer separately. As a result, I don’t know the tongue weight. There may be a mathematical solution to solve for the tongue weight by knowing the axle weights if I measured all he lever lengths. It gets too complicated for me with multiple fulcrums. I have been away from doing math for over 30 years and I don’t even want to think about it.

Jim


After I originally posted this I thought about it some more. We probably can't calculate the tongue weight because we don't know how the weight in the trailer and truck cargo is distributed.
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Old 10-25-2005, 04:50 PM   #4
Bill
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Jim -

I was making two points, and in re-reading my own post, I can see that I didn't make either one very clearly.

First, trying to compare Ridgeline published weight without TM, to Ridgeline actual weight with TM, doesn't tell me anything, since I don't know how much of the weight change was due to adding the TM, and how much was due to adding accessories, passengers, cargo, etc.

Second, knowing the actual (measured) weight of your rig is a good thing. But it is not the proper way to adjust the WDH. The proper way to adjust the WDH is to return the tow vehicle to its original unloaded plane. If I understand you correctly, this is exactly what you did, so you should be good to go.

Re-establishing the original plane means bringing the front and the rear of the Ridgeline down by the same amount. If you have to choose between "half a link too much" and "half a link too little", I think you have chosen correctly. Bring the front down, but not quite as much as the rear. You are still bringing the front down, so it is carrying more weight than it did originally. It is NOT being unweighted (perhaps the most important thing to avoid).

I hope this is clearer, but I'm not sure ...

Bill
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Old 10-25-2005, 07:49 PM   #5
Denny_A
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Default To know fer shur.......

...........you need to do the following. Assumes you take the whole rig to a scale ( three separate in-line scales preferred).

a) place the connected-for-towing TV on one scale and the trailer on another. Weigh each.
b) disconnect the trailer and place all its weight on one scale and weigh it.
c) weigh the truck... both axles on same scale.
d) drive forward so that each truck axle is on a separate scale. Weigh each axle.

Here's the info gleaned:

1) Trailer weight
2) Load on trailer tires when connected with WDH to truck.
3) Total weight of truck.
4) Distribution of weight on each axle whilst disconnected(nearly impossible to have the trailer connected and achieve this) .

What can you do with the numbers?

  • trailer weight decrease represents lbs carried on the hitch.
  • truck down force increase is that from the tongue. Same number.
What's missing here? Tongue weight and new truck axle (indivdual) load when connected. If connected properly, assume approx 2/3rds of the tongue weight is on the axles(split approx equally). If it's not possible to use the scales to place the trailer tongue on one scale and the wheels on another, then here's a method to weight the tongue at home before connecting.

http://www.rumseytruck.com/product/putnamwt.htm (self explanatory)

Example: Trailer weighs 3800 lbs. Tongue weight (measured before departure) 600 lbs. Trailer connected to TV weighs 3400 lbs. Therefore 400 lbs is on the TV. ASSUMES 2/3..1/3 weight redistribution. As long as the TV squats whilst maintaining its original plane, that assumption is close enuff for 'gumint' work.


If this was unclear, then nevermind.


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