pismo beach sand with wd bars and airbags. few questions.

PM me before you go, my son lives about 3 miles up Grand Ave and has a pretty killer 4WD that can pull you out, might cost you a beer or two.

Way better than paying the beech tow guy.

"Back in the day" when my BIL went there a lot he'd call a buddy of ours that lived in Oceano with a Land Cruiser and he'd hook him up right past the ramp and just tow him in as he knew he'd get stuck so didn't bother trying. That was the days of truck campers though.

When we go to Pismo (2-4 times a year) I air down all the tires (truck/trailer) to 30psi and I leave the bars hooked up until I find my spot. Never have had a problem doing it this way for the last 8-9 years. Shoot on good days I dont even need to engage the 4wd.

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The truck's receiver will have two ratings: One with dead hitch weight and a second using weight distribution. Some Class V receivers may be able to handle the weight without the use of weight distribution, but you will want to watch how much you load up the rear axle so you do not go over your wheel capacity.

Ideally, you want to adjust your WDH for proper balance and then use your air bags to do any final leveling out.

Unhooking the torsion bars will apply the full tongue weight to the tow vehicle and also allow for better articulation over uneven ground. Some of the frame tongue issues have been traced back to overly tight WDH setups or using them while off-road. I feel the short distances at low speeds will allow you to safely unhook the bars even if it is over the receiver capacity, but others may have a differing view.

Once on sand, you may find it easier to off-load your toys and drive them rather than tow them to your camp spot.

Have camera ready. Seems like lots and lots of people get stuck at Pismo. :)

Strabo wrote:

jackxclan wrote:
Larry unhook the bars that will unload weight from the trailer to the truck. air down and go for it.

X2

X3 Air the trailer down also

i usually never unhook my bars unless i am going down some dirt roads with some major ditches. I know alot of my buddies unhook at the dunes (glamis) but we usually camp off the wash road so i dont unhook..never been to pismo but it looks like theres some elevation changes for sure, so as above unhook, air down. i run about 50-55lbs of air and then load the trailer so i get a bit more when you adjust for the trailer weight. Not only do the WD bars help with weight, they also help with sway when you run the hwy.

jackxclan wrote:
Larry unhook the bars that will unload weight from the trailer to the truck. air down and go for it.

thats what Im thinking too Mark. Ive heard two different things. Stay hooked or unhook.

Y-Guy wrote:
1) Yes you need the bars even with the bags. Your hitch probably states that as well, certain weight up to # without WD and above that you need WD. Deflate the air bags unhooked, use a measuring tape to measure the top of front bumper and rear bumper to ground. Now hook up, use WD bars and measure again, adjust air bags so you're level and should be the same measurments as without the trailer or equal for front/rear bumper.

i put about 35-40 psi in my bags. Trailer sits level. No WD bars driving around block. No faster than 25mph.

So I should hook up. Measures front and rear bumpers. Then tighten bars to level. Add air in bags?

jackxclan wrote:
Larry unhook the bars that will unload weight from the trailer to the truck. air down and go for it.

X2