When hooking up my weight distribution hitch chains, I have a lot more tension on one side of the hitch, than I do on the other side. When hitching up the chains with the tension bar, one side is very easy to flip the lever up with the bar. There is no 'real hard' tension. The other side has a LOT of tension. Is this normal? When I originally got it set up at the dealer a few months ago, both sides seemed to have the same amount of pressure.Thanks for any help you can offer.

When you hook up...are you parked in a straight line...? i.e. is the tow vehicle and trailer straight on with each other?If parked at an angle, one side will have less tension.

Or if the TV is off tilted vs. the TT. Mine is always like that when I'm hooking up due to the truck being tilted to the driver side due to the driveway.

The 2nd one is usually easier than the first.

ChooChooMan74 wrote:The 2nd one is usually easier than the first.I use to think that. But it seems that now. It is just the opposite, and doesn't matter which side I do first. the second side is harder.

Terryallan wrote:ChooChooMan74 wrote:The 2nd one is usually easier than the first.I use to think that. But it seems that now. It is just the opposite, and doesn't matter which side I do first. the second side is harder.yep, that's the same with when hooking up the bars on our Equal-i-zer hitch.The second is harder because the first took all the slop out of the hitch and receiver assembly. When both are in the latched position the tension on each arm is the same. The fact that it doesn't matter which side is done first, you get the same effect, makes my point. The same would be true with just bars and bars with chain hook-ups.

Weight Distribution Hitch | Good Sam Community

11 Replies

rexmitchell
Explorer
Aug 26, 2016
mtnbbud wrote:
When I bought my trailer, the guy who sold it to me said to hook up the ball to the hitch and then jack up the hitch a bit. This makes it a lot easier to cinch down those bars. (Do this after you've already figured out what link of the chain to use.)

This is what I do. It makes a huge difference on the back when trying to get those bars in place.
myredracer
Explorer II
Aug 25, 2016
Chaz59 wrote:

When I originally got it set up at the dealer a few months ago, both sides seemed to have the same amount of pressure.
Thanks for any help you can offer.

You have figured out the bar tension, but getting a dealer to install and set up a WDH is not good. It's a really good idea to learn how to do it yourself. The dealer may not have properly torqued nuts/bolts, the bars at the right angle, the correct number of chain links under tension and there may not be the correct amount of weight transferred to the steer axle.

There is an excellent sticky on WDH setup in the towing forum.
mtnbbud
Explorer II
Aug 25, 2016
When I bought my trailer, the guy who sold it to me said to hook up the ball to the hitch and then jack up the hitch a bit. This makes it a lot easier to cinch down those bars. (Do this after you've already figured out what link of the chain to use.)
Chaz59
Explorer
Aug 21, 2016
thanks guys ,the tow vehicle is not parked in line with TT, problem solved.
fla-gypsy
Explorer
Aug 21, 2016
When parked in a straight line on level ground they should be similar tension after hooked up.
Walaby
Explorer II
Aug 20, 2016
Yup,mine the second is harder too, and doesn't matter which side. Always been that way, with two trailers, so I figured it was quasi-normal.

Mike
3oaks
Explorer
Aug 20, 2016
Terryallan wrote:
ChooChooMan74 wrote:
The 2nd one is usually easier than the first.

I use to think that. But it seems that now. It is just the opposite, and doesn't matter which side I do first. the second side is harder.
yep, that's the same with when hooking up the bars on our Equal-i-zer hitch.

The second is harder because the first took all the slop out of the hitch and receiver assembly. When both are in the latched position the tension on each arm is the same. The fact that it doesn't matter which side is done first, you get the same effect, makes my point. The same would be true with just bars and bars with chain hook-ups.
Terryallan
Explorer II
Aug 20, 2016
ChooChooMan74 wrote:
The 2nd one is usually easier than the first.

I use to think that. But it seems that now. It is just the opposite, and doesn't matter which side I do first. the second side is harder.
ChooChooMan74
Explorer
Aug 20, 2016
The 2nd one is usually easier than the first.
braindead0
Explorer
Aug 20, 2016
Or if the TV is off tilted vs. the TT. Mine is always like that when I'm hooking up due to the truck being tilted to the driver side due to the driveway.