WDH with air suspension, no standard answer?

the_happiestcamper wrote:
What I've found that works best for me - I move the ball under the tongue and turn off the TV. I put the tongue on, winding the jack off the ground. I let it sit for about 30 minutes. I go back and without turning on the TV, I jack it back up (attached) and add the bars and let it back down. Any other way and it just doesn't feel right.

After you add the bars and let it back down, how does the front-end height compare with the unhitched height and how does the rear compare with unhitched.

After you then start the engine, does the rear-end height change?

Have you ever measured the axle loads 1) before hitching and 2) after hitching with WD applied and engine running?

Ron

What I have found works best is what happiest said pretty much as well. What I do is measure the front wheel well to the ground. Then I hook up to the ball and leave the vehicle off for a bit. With the vehicle off I attach the spring bars, then start the truck and let it do its thing. Remeasure the front and make sure its within 1/2 inch of unloaded.

I have yet to find a definitive answer on exactly what to do. I've tried multiple different ways, this one seems to work the best.

Mine says this in the manual:

If a weight-distributing hitch is being used, it is
recommended to allow the shocks to inflate,
thereby leveling the vehicle prior to adjusting
the hitch.

But the idea of that is somewhat short sighted. Right now my truck is off in the parking lot. The shocks are inflated. Will they inflate more when I start it? I don't know. The truck runs a quick check when its started of the system, in which the compressor runs. But it can also open a valve to let some pressure out. So how does it work exactly? I have yet to really figure it out.

Does GM mean that my truck should be running and then I should adjust? Or does it mean that you should let the shocks inflate, shut it off, load on the trailer and then adjust?

There are many different angles to look at it. I've yet to find a specific answer. My truck is a 2007 tahoe with the autoride suspension.

Any new news on this? Did all the searches and this was the best one I could find but its a bit old so bumping it to the top.

I just traded in my 2014 Ram 2500 megacab and now have a new 2016 Ram 3500 CC longbed dually with the auto level air suspension. Still have the same TT and WDH and need to adjust/reset the hitch to the new truck and the truck owners manual is no help.


(small back ground story)
Got the new truck simply because I was able to get a bigger better new truck with a smaller payment thanks to the equity I had in my other truck and one day we plan to up grade to a big 5'er toy hauler. Getting the 5'er is still more than a couple years away so I have to make the WDH work with the new truck.

Appreciate any new advise that has come to light about these auto leveling air suspensions.

Robert

One thing not pointed out here is that the air suspension generally only affects the REAR axle.

WD adjustments only concern the FRONT axle. You are looking to return the front axle to some function of the unloaded height, regardless of the height of the rear axle.

Try this test: Measure your front wheel well height. Hitch up and measure it again. Start the truck and let the air leveling do its thing. Measure a third time.

Bet you $5 paypal that the front measurement after the air suspension levels the rear is closer to the hitched height than the unhitched height, if not dead nuts the same.

In a nutshell raising and lowering the rear of the truck does little to nothing for the load on the front axle.

The common sense approach to this would be:
1. Hitch up.
2. Let the air suspension level the rear.
3. Adjust the WD hitch for proper front ride height.

After that unless you have a major change in what you tow or how you load it, you can just go ahead and snap up the bars and hit the road.

I have an older Tahoe with the Nivomat style self-adjusting shocks that can't be disabled. When I first set it up I had to adjust it a few times to get the weight transfer right to the front wheels, but once I did it's been perfect ever since and I just hook it up and drive. It does a decent job of self-leveling, even when towing. I can tow with the passenger compartment empty or put a bunch of heavy stuff in back over the axle, and after a few miles it will pump itself up right back to level. The only weird aspect of it is that after you unhook it rides too high. If you unhook, go drive around, and then hook back up, sometimes there won't be enough throw on the tongue jack to clear the jack shoe off the ground because it has pumped itself down. I solve this by either bouncing up and down on the hitch until it pumps up, or use a block under the jack that I can skid it off of.

Reviving an old thread...

I'm getting my 2006 Yukon Denali XL ready to tow a 2019 Jayco X23E:



The truck has the Z55 AutoRide self-leveling suspension option. However, I changed out the factory suspension for Arnott's replacement suspension kit that removes the AutoRide option but keeps the self-leveling feature.

After reading this thread, my plan is to use the front fender measurements to get things close enough, then head to a CAT scale to get unhitched and hitched axle weight measurements. The dry tongue weight spec for the X23E is 620lbs. My goal at the CAT scale will be to have the front axle around 100lbs heavier hitched versus unhitched with the air suspension self-leveled to its happy place in both cases.

FireRob wrote:
I just traded in my 2014 Ram 2500 megacab and now have a new 2016 Ram 3500 CC longbed dually with the auto level air suspension. Still have the same TT and WDH and need to adjust/reset the hitch to the new truck and the truck owners manual is no help.

The RAM owners' manual does have a discussion on how to set up the air leveling system and weight distribution hitches. Look in the section titled Recommended Distribution Hitch Adjustment.