How level should your trailer be when towing?
I have my truck/trailer set up about as good as I can....but the trailer is still a little "nose high". I have the load bars tensioned so that the truck is just about perfectly level while towing.......
Forum Discussion
your trailer looks to be about 3+ inches high in the front. ****very hazardous....
easy fix, longer shank..
this is the procedure i used when pre delivering a new unit.
check the bumper height front and rear before loading. after loading, the truck should be lower and almost equal front and rear with the most drop on the back. to much drop in the front, you remove traction in the rear. to much load in the rear, not enough steerage.
that said. level your camper. measure the ball at the bottom of the frame extension, and check the frame in the back. if both ends are at say 18" drop the front 1-2" no more. this measurement is half of what your total is actually, if you re-measure at both ends... to much weight in the front will cause porpoising or rocking forward and back while traveling. stiffer rear truck shocks will help tame that problem. i used adjustable rear shocks. so i got a decent ride empty and great control while towing. say you have a 3/4 ton truck and your tongue weight is close to 700 lbs. expect about 2" to 3" drop when hooked up. so back your truck up to your trailer with the hitch already adjusted. your ball on the truck should be about 1" to 2" higher than the trailer hitch. at the top of the mount and top of the ball. if your hitch is too high, get a lower shank or a shorter shank if your ball is too low. after you adjust the shank and hook up, check to see how far the hitch dropped.. if it dropped more than 4" you may need to raise the ball mount on your truck.
to find out, raise the trailer and back of the truck (leave hitch connected). mount your ez-lift or whatever brand of hitch your using. take the weight off the jack and measure your truck. front and back to see how much the front and back dropped. you want more drop in the rear of your truck and the trailer to be lower in the front. you may need to adjust the weight load on your hitch by adjusting the number of chain links you are using on the load compensating bars.
more than a link either way, you will need to adjust the tilt of the hitch head.
re-check your bumper and frame measurements. the trailer should be where you want it, the truck should be close to level or slightly higher in the back. the truck should drop more in the back than the front. don't drive with the front of the truck high. if your headlights go in the air, your hitch isn't connected properly. you should still be able to drive at night, without adjusting your headlights more than 1/2-1 full turn.
****if your trailer is too high in the front, you will get a death sway, that you will not be able to recover. a slight amount high in the front of the trailer you may be able to recover, but you will have white knuckles every time a truck is near you and if you get any wind.
as mentioned above the bars should be close to parallel to the trailer hitch frame. also if your not going on non paved roads, i wouldn't flip your axle. as you will end up with more tire wear, due to the axle being slightly bent to compensate for axle weight. that bend is called camber.
after you get your hitch adjusted. return to the scales. mark down front, rear and trailer weight. i also disconnected my trailer and weighed my tongue weight. with these numbers and those you got before. you can determine the load distribution on your tow vehicle. after getting everything set up i painted the chain links i used, so that i would get the same link every time i hooked up. on a large trailer, having full tanks shouldn't make much difference. unless your fresh tanks and waste tanks are located at opposite ends of your trailer. if in doubt, error on having the front of the trailer low..
easy fix, longer shank..
this is the procedure i used when pre delivering a new unit.
check the bumper height front and rear before loading. after loading, the truck should be lower and almost equal front and rear with the most drop on the back. to much drop in the front, you remove traction in the rear. to much load in the rear, not enough steerage.
that said. level your camper. measure the ball at the bottom of the frame extension, and check the frame in the back. if both ends are at say 18" drop the front 1-2" no more. this measurement is half of what your total is actually, if you re-measure at both ends... to much weight in the front will cause porpoising or rocking forward and back while traveling. stiffer rear truck shocks will help tame that problem. i used adjustable rear shocks. so i got a decent ride empty and great control while towing. say you have a 3/4 ton truck and your tongue weight is close to 700 lbs. expect about 2" to 3" drop when hooked up. so back your truck up to your trailer with the hitch already adjusted. your ball on the truck should be about 1" to 2" higher than the trailer hitch. at the top of the mount and top of the ball. if your hitch is too high, get a lower shank or a shorter shank if your ball is too low. after you adjust the shank and hook up, check to see how far the hitch dropped.. if it dropped more than 4" you may need to raise the ball mount on your truck.
to find out, raise the trailer and back of the truck (leave hitch connected). mount your ez-lift or whatever brand of hitch your using. take the weight off the jack and measure your truck. front and back to see how much the front and back dropped. you want more drop in the rear of your truck and the trailer to be lower in the front. you may need to adjust the weight load on your hitch by adjusting the number of chain links you are using on the load compensating bars.
more than a link either way, you will need to adjust the tilt of the hitch head.
re-check your bumper and frame measurements. the trailer should be where you want it, the truck should be close to level or slightly higher in the back. the truck should drop more in the back than the front. don't drive with the front of the truck high. if your headlights go in the air, your hitch isn't connected properly. you should still be able to drive at night, without adjusting your headlights more than 1/2-1 full turn.
****if your trailer is too high in the front, you will get a death sway, that you will not be able to recover. a slight amount high in the front of the trailer you may be able to recover, but you will have white knuckles every time a truck is near you and if you get any wind.
as mentioned above the bars should be close to parallel to the trailer hitch frame. also if your not going on non paved roads, i wouldn't flip your axle. as you will end up with more tire wear, due to the axle being slightly bent to compensate for axle weight. that bend is called camber.
after you get your hitch adjusted. return to the scales. mark down front, rear and trailer weight. i also disconnected my trailer and weighed my tongue weight. with these numbers and those you got before. you can determine the load distribution on your tow vehicle. after getting everything set up i painted the chain links i used, so that i would get the same link every time i hooked up. on a large trailer, having full tanks shouldn't make much difference. unless your fresh tanks and waste tanks are located at opposite ends of your trailer. if in doubt, error on having the front of the trailer low..
