I have been towing a 24ft 5500 lb TT with my 5.3L V8 Trailblazer for over 40,000 miles. Back when I first got the hitch, the trailer and the trailblazer sat level. Now I notice that the rear sags enough to notice, and it would seem that those bars being springs might have lost some of their original tension. Does this happen?PS: I think I read all the posts on WD hitches here.

Perhaps the bars have worn where they insert into the hitch head, or the head itself has worn where the bars insert. This is especially possible if you have run without greasing those areas.I suppose it is possible that the bars themselves could have lost some of the temper or hardness but that doesn't seem likely unless they were grossly overloaded.Barney

I would be more suspect of your Trailblazer's suspension changing with age.

I grease those points, but not as religiously as I do the ball. Visual inspection indicates that if there is wear, then it is on the millimeter scale. I'll have to have someone look at the Trailblazer springs.

Maybe I should go up a link? There are 9 links in the chain, and I have been using #3, so if I went up a link then I'd still have 5. That said, my "inner voice" says "don't screw with things that are working fine, especially when you are 3000 miles from home".

On our first TT, I noticed a similar problem over time. I found out that my hitch was actually starting to fatigue and I needed more and more tension to keep it level. It finally became obvious what the problem was when I could see the hitch was bent.

do weight distributing bars weaken with age? | Good Sam Community

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Apr 23, 2015
TucsonJim wrote:
On our first TT, I noticed a similar problem over time. I found out that my hitch was actually starting to fatigue and I needed more and more tension to keep it level. It finally became obvious what the problem was when I could see the hitch was bent.

Ditto! Same thing happened to me - bent hitch head. That's when I switched from my 10 (plus) year old Reese with the chains to a new 4 point Equal-i-zer. Now that one, you "don't" want to grease!
ScottG
Nomad
Apr 23, 2015
As Barney indicated above, it's entirely likely the head is worn and has effectively lightened the spring tension.
My Reece DC is about 10 years old and the head is pretty badly worn. I'll probably have to replace it in the next couple of years.
valhalla360
Navigator
Apr 23, 2015
If you are going to tinker, do it on a short trip near home.

Unless horribly overloaded, the arms themselves will not lose strength or spring.

Best bet is your truck suspension is the weak link that needs to be looked at.
CampingN_C_
Explorer
Apr 23, 2015
Look at the simple things first.
Have you changed your loading habits?
Are the shocks original?

I wouldn't tinker on it until I got home though.
TucsonJim
Explorer II
Apr 23, 2015
On our first TT, I noticed a similar problem over time. I found out that my hitch was actually starting to fatigue and I needed more and more tension to keep it level. It finally became obvious what the problem was when I could see the hitch was bent.
Timeking
Explorer
Apr 23, 2015
Maybe I should go up a link? There are 9 links in the chain, and I have been using #3, so if I went up a link then I'd still have 5. That said, my "inner voice" says "don't screw with things that are working fine, especially when you are 3000 miles from home".
Timeking
Explorer
Apr 23, 2015
I grease those points, but not as religiously as I do the ball. Visual inspection indicates that if there is wear, then it is on the millimeter scale. I'll have to have someone look at the Trailblazer springs.
Hondavalk
Explorer II
Apr 23, 2015
I would be more suspect of your Trailblazer's suspension changing with age.
BarneyS
Explorer III
Apr 23, 2015
Perhaps the bars have worn where they insert into the hitch head, or the head itself has worn where the bars insert. This is especially possible if you have run without greasing those areas.

I suppose it is possible that the bars themselves could have lost some of the temper or hardness but that doesn't seem likely unless they were grossly overloaded.
Barney

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do weight distributing bars weaken with age?

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