Airlift 5000 airbags and WDH
Wife and I are thinking of going back to a travel trailer from a truck camper and had some concerns with airbags combined with WDH. We had a 2010 prowler 33 foot TT a couple years ago and when we were...
Forum Discussion
If the air bags and WDH setup are improper, then YES. They will conflict with each other.
Many people forget that Air Bags (or Timbrens), is to ONLY improve the Vehicle's rear suspension. WDH with proper bars and properly set links are for the Trailer's Tongue weight. From the white board physics "zone" view, both areas are completely different. And if used together improperly, they will conflict with each other.
Here's how to set both air bags and WDH properly.
With NO trailer connected, load the rear of the vehicle as if going on a normal camping trip. re: Kayak's on the roof, some peddle bikes, some fire wood, many by your tool box that contains a cooler and tools. Now, take for a drive. Again, drive with NO trailer connected. If the rear of a pickup feels like "mush", add another 5 lbs of air. Then, drive around again. Keep driving around and keep airing up 5 lbs intervals until the rear of the Vehicle looks and feels right. Once it's "perfect" (with NO trailer connected), write down the number of air lbs in the air bag. Could be 25. Could be 30. Each vehicle is different.
Now, here comes the secret.
Let most of the air out of air bags. Only leave 5 lbs in them. Connect Pickup to the Trailer and connect WDH as well. The rear of a pickup will go DOWN. This is normal. Keep adjusting the WDH until the connected trailer's "stance" looks good. Now, add previously recorded air back into the Vehicle's Air Bags. This will get your Tow Vehicle and Trailer to the scale.
At the legal scales, adjust the WDH system until proper amount of weight is distributed across the Tow Vehicle. Record the air bags lbs. Record the WDH adjustment (like number of links or number of showing threads). Put this paper in your TV's glove box. Next time your load up Tow Vehicle and Trailer with similar loading, use the same adjustments.
Remember Air Bags is to remove "mush" feeling in the rear of a loaded vehicle. WDH is for Trailer's tongue weight. Both can be used together - if set properly...
This works for me…
Many people forget that Air Bags (or Timbrens), is to ONLY improve the Vehicle's rear suspension. WDH with proper bars and properly set links are for the Trailer's Tongue weight. From the white board physics "zone" view, both areas are completely different. And if used together improperly, they will conflict with each other.
Here's how to set both air bags and WDH properly.
With NO trailer connected, load the rear of the vehicle as if going on a normal camping trip. re: Kayak's on the roof, some peddle bikes, some fire wood, many by your tool box that contains a cooler and tools. Now, take for a drive. Again, drive with NO trailer connected. If the rear of a pickup feels like "mush", add another 5 lbs of air. Then, drive around again. Keep driving around and keep airing up 5 lbs intervals until the rear of the Vehicle looks and feels right. Once it's "perfect" (with NO trailer connected), write down the number of air lbs in the air bag. Could be 25. Could be 30. Each vehicle is different.
Now, here comes the secret.
Let most of the air out of air bags. Only leave 5 lbs in them. Connect Pickup to the Trailer and connect WDH as well. The rear of a pickup will go DOWN. This is normal. Keep adjusting the WDH until the connected trailer's "stance" looks good. Now, add previously recorded air back into the Vehicle's Air Bags. This will get your Tow Vehicle and Trailer to the scale.
At the legal scales, adjust the WDH system until proper amount of weight is distributed across the Tow Vehicle. Record the air bags lbs. Record the WDH adjustment (like number of links or number of showing threads). Put this paper in your TV's glove box. Next time your load up Tow Vehicle and Trailer with similar loading, use the same adjustments.
Remember Air Bags is to remove "mush" feeling in the rear of a loaded vehicle. WDH is for Trailer's tongue weight. Both can be used together - if set properly...
This works for me…
