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Old 05-23-2010, 01:04 PM   #1
Redhawk
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Default WDH question...

I hooked up the TM to the Tundra for the first time last week. With no WDH, it dropped the rear about 1.25 inches. Just pulling it about 10 miles to the house. It pulled fine and rode really nice. The front end did not feel light at all.

Hooked it up later and used the WDH load bars this time and the ride over irregular surface (dips, bumps, etc) is not real comfortable. I think the WDH is using either 1200 or 1500 lb bars. I was on link #3. Raised the back about 3/4"

Question is, if i used lighter weight rated bars, would the ride improve? And I'd still get some leveling.
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Old 05-23-2010, 04:02 PM   #2
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Originally Posted by Redhawk View Post
I hooked up the TM to the Tundra for the first time last week. With no WDH, it dropped the rear about 1.25 inches. Just pulling it about 10 miles to the house. It pulled fine and rode really nice. The front end did not feel light at all.

Hooked it up later and used the WDH load bars this time and the ride over irregular surface (dips, bumps, etc) is not real comfortable. I think the WDH is using either 1200 or 1500 lb bars. I was on link #3. Raised the back about 3/4"

Question is, if i used lighter weight rated bars, would the ride improve? And I'd still get some leveling.
I think that you might find the best results with a 600-800# rated WDH.

The key to setting up your WDH is to measure the distance from the top of the wheel well to the center of the wheel, front and rear, before hitching up the trailer. Measure again after hooking up the trailer and note the difference (just for reference). Hook-up the spring bars on the WDH then measure again.

If you had 21" in the front and 22" in the rear before hooking up the trailer, you should have ~20" in the front and 21" in the rear after applying the WDH. The point being, that the difference in drop after applying the WDH should be equal, front and rear.

I think that you will find that your measurement of drop after hitching the trailer (before applying the WDH) will be met with a measurement of lift in the front end. It is the "difference" in height that is the problem (1.25" drop in rear + .75" lift in front = 2" difference). This will cause too much road friction in the rear and not enough friction in the front, resulting in a loss of braking/steering control at some point.
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Old 05-23-2010, 08:44 PM   #3
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Thanks for the reply Wayne....much appreciated. I also found the procedure on the Reese web site for intial set up. I need to try the setup again and pay more attention to detail.

As far as the bars weight rating goes, that's what the dealer (Car Show) sold me and recommended as what works best! another set of bars cost about as much as the whole hitch did!
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Old 05-23-2010, 10:28 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Redhawk View Post
Thanks for the reply Wayne....much appreciated. I also found the procedure on the Reese web site for intial set up. I need to try the setup again and pay more attention to detail.

As far as the bars weight rating goes, that's what the dealer (Car Show) sold me and recommended as what works best! another set of bars cost about as much as the whole hitch did!
I had a 1000# rated WDH and it was too strong. At the time, I had an S10 pick-up and I was wishing that the WDH was a little lighter. When I used it with my Silverado, it was ~OK but all that told me was that a lot more weight was being added to the TM axle.

I'm hoping that others will chime in with what they are using, that they are happy with.
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Old 05-24-2010, 06:22 AM   #5
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Just wondering if you need a WDH at all with that setup. 1.5" drop at the ball isn't much. That Tundra can obviously handle quite a load, and you may not have much tongue weight as well.

Our tongue weight is about 550# and the WDH has 600-800# spring bars. Without the spring bars, the ball drops about 3.75" when the tongue is put on it. When I cinch the spring bars up to their max tension (5 links between the hook and the spring bar), the ball rises back up about 3".

With this WDH setting, the truck's front wheel well measurement drops about 0.25" and the rear wheel well drops about 0.75", and the truck/trailer handles really well. It has a well "planted" feeling ... don't really know how to describe it.

If I loosen the spring bars, the front end rises slightly, the rear end drops more, and there's definitely more of a "squirrely" feeling to the steering, especially when the spring bars are completely off.

At the other extreme, with heavier duty spring bars you could put on too much tension. Then the front end wheel well measurement could drop more than the rear, and your handling would also suffer.

So you want the front end to drop, not rise, but not to drop more than the rear end. Somewhere in between is the sweet spot.

And after getting the spring bar tension right, you want to ensure that your trailer is level. I ended up dropping the ball a notch with my setup.
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Old 05-24-2010, 08:18 AM   #6
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The spring bars should be parallel with the tongue “A” frame if it adjusted correctly.
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Old 05-24-2010, 08:27 AM   #7
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Somewhere on this forum there is an excellent primer on how to adjust the WDH. A search should find it, or maybe someone could chime in with it's location.
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Old 05-24-2010, 09:30 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by brulaz View Post
Just wondering if you need a WDH at all with that setup. 1.5" drop at the ball isn't much. That Tundra can obviously handle quite a load, and you may not have much tongue weight as well.

Our tongue weight is about 550# and the WDH has 600-800# spring bars. Without the spring bars, the ball drops about 3.75" when the tongue is put on it. When I cinch the spring bars up to their max tension (5 links between the hook and the spring bar), the ball rises back up about 3".

With this WDH setting, the truck's front wheel well measurement drops about 0.25" and the rear wheel well drops about 0.75", and the truck/trailer handles really well. It has a well "planted" feeling ... don't really know how to describe it.

If I loosen the spring bars, the front end rises slightly, the rear end drops more, and there's definitely more of a "squirrely" feeling to the steering, especially when the spring bars are completely off.

At the other extreme, with heavier duty spring bars you could put on too much tension. Then the front end wheel well measurement could drop more than the rear, and your handling would also suffer.

So you want the front end to drop, not rise, but not to drop more than the rear end. Somewhere in between is the sweet spot.

And after getting the spring bar tension right, you want to ensure that your trailer is level. I ended up dropping the ball a notch with my setup.
Are you sure about that 3.75"???? That's a huge drop. Your TV would have been pointing to the sky, like this:

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Old 05-27-2010, 04:25 PM   #9
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Are you sure about that 3.75"???? That's a huge drop.
Pretty sure. That ~3.75" at the ball translates, roughly, into only a 2" drop at the rear wheel well and a ~0.5" rise at the front. Normally there's a big gap in the Tacoma's wheel well (7"??) so the 2" drop doesn't really look like your picture.

And here's the link on adjusting the WDH:
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=2616

Sorry it took so long to reply. We just got back from 3 gorgeous days in Killbear Provincial Park on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron with our kayaks, the Tacoma and Elkmont. We now know for sure that this purchase was worth it. Oh man, what a trip.
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Old 05-27-2010, 05:53 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brulaz View Post
Pretty sure. That ~3.75" at the ball translates, roughly, into only a 2" drop at the rear wheel well and a ~0.5" rise at the front. Normally there's a big gap in the Tacoma's wheel well (7"??) so the 2" drop doesn't really look like your picture.

And here's the link on adjusting the WDH:
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=2616

Sorry it took so long to reply. We just got back from 3 gorgeous days in Killbear Provincial Park on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron with our kayaks, the Tacoma and Elkmont. We now know for sure that this purchase was worth it. Oh man, what a trip.
I just love posting that picture......you just gave me an excuse, that's all.....

BTW..... I wish you would quit putting so many miles on my future trailer.....
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