I am trying to adjust my WD hitch with friction sway for the best ride in the TV. The TV is a Ram 2500 4x4 and the TT is a 30 ft 7k pound. Hitch is a easy lift 1000 pound round bar with friction sway. It feels like the TT is pounding the hitch on these cal freeways that are washboard or any other rough highway. The only real adjustment as I see it is the amount of tension on the bars. More angle or adjust the links on the chain. I try to keep the bars level with the tongue. Any suggestions or are there any hitches that ride smoother than others? An air bag and shock like on the 5th hitches would be nice.

I assume it was set up for you initially or have you just installed it? If it was set up for you and you are just hooking up again, did you lift the back of the TV with the tongue jack in order to get the chains on.

Bad roads are something we can do nothing about.There are some sections of I94, between Chicago and Detroit, that would make a washboard feel smooth as glass. So bad that, the wife used to wear a sports bra and hang onto her chest. We make that trip 2 - 3 times per year. Another bad one is, towing accross the state of Construction (I mean Minnesota). We do that one on a regular basis, also.I used to pull a similar sized trailer, similar hitch set up, and an F250. When my old hitch got worn out, I replaced it with an Andersen hitch. They advertise taking out some of the porpoising and bouncing. I also installed Timbren SES (couldn't pass them up, they were used, on craigslist for 40.00) on the rear. I don't know that I noticed so much difference, but, DW says she has. It's not all gone, but, she has commented on a smoother ride.Do a search for Andersen, here on the forum, you'll find some long threads. Some folks don't like them, some think they are great. It is a little soft on weight distribution, but, it meets the WD specs for my F250, and that is with a newer, heavier trailer. Maybe, just the Timbren SES, would help your situation.Maybe, there is some adjusting you could do with the hitch.Have you got scale weights to see what kind of weight your hitch is distributing?

WD hitches are not adjusted to make the truck ride better or to level it. They are intended to return the front end of the truck to the original weight when hitched to your trailer.Friction sway bars are also not intended to improve the ride of the truck. They are intended to stop or reduce trailer sway. The handle on the friction bar is tightened as far as it will go. If that doesn't help sway, the the tension is increased by the adjustment on the bottom of the bar. This is after you know the trailer is properly loaded and your tongue weight is where it should be.To try to tweak it for any other means is defeating the purpose of the system and the effectiveness of the adjustments will be marginal at best.

When I connect I have to raise the ball a few inches with the jack to get the WD bars on. It's not real tight but it is tight. The rear fenderwell goes down an inch and the front stays the same. The tongue weight is just over 10% at about 750pounds. Bars are rated at 1000pounds. Probably right, a rough road is just going to feel rough.

I pull my 35' 9500# trailer with a Ram 2500 4x4 and added Stable Loads. Though it didn't eliminate the problem, it did dampen it quite a bit. One road in particular, we were able to increase our speed from 45 to 60 after adding the Stable Loads. Even at 60, the bounce was softened a lot and overall stability improved.

Adjusting a WD hitch for the best ride | Good Sam Community

e-light
Explorer
Mar 24, 2014
CampingN.C. wrote:
I found with mine I was distributing too much weight, leaving the rear end of the truck lite. I went from 6 links to 7, allowed the truck to squat a little and she rides great now.
My 2500HD likes the weight in the back, I'm sure yours will too. 750 lb tongue weight is nothing for your truck.
Our old camper weighed about that much, barely squatted the truck at all. I would've towed without the bars, but needed them for the sway control.

This is exactly what I found on my Ram 2500. It doesnt ride as well if I take too much weight off the rear. Try to add some weight back 1 link at a time. I think you'll find that the truck does better with a little more weight on the rear.
Highway_4x4
Explorer
Mar 21, 2014
getting a new Ram 2500 next week so I start all over setting up a hitch. Ne one will have coils in the rear and a class 5 hitch, 2 1/2 inch receiver. It should ride and pull much better.
Highway_4x4
Explorer
Mar 19, 2014
There is a good possibility I will be getting a new Ram 2500 rated to tow 17K. Coil springs in the rear. It won't really feel 750TW so I will be at square 1 adjusting all over again. What fun.
mosseater
Explorer II
Mar 19, 2014
The post about adjusting for load rather than ride I would agree with, but I have found out, even though I try to load consistantly for evey trip, it doesn't alway work out that way. And, in my instance, with 1100 lbs of tongue and 1200 lb bars, the line between soft "porpoise" and harsh "shove" is pretty thin.

Given that my truck is a HD version, it's still a 150, and it tends to sprung on the soft side compared to the 250's and up. This in conjunction with shocks that might not be up to the task of max towing creates a rather bouncy ride at times. I stay near the manual lever when I see road hazards coming up. Doesn't happen often, but it does happen. I'm sure the same trailer hooked to a 250 or 350 would ride much flatter and "harder". Since I know what to look for and know what to do, it isn't a problem. But, truth be told, I've been on some pretty rough roads I couldn't wait to get off of. I've seen all of Arkansas I care to. PA does NOT have the worst roads. Not even close.
goducks10
Explorer
Mar 18, 2014
Look for used bars at an RV dealer or on craigslist. I picked up a pair for $100.00 a couple years back.
Have you tried towing without bars? That way you would no whether or not it has anything to do with the WD setup. When I had a bouncy ride it made no diff what WD or what size spring bars I used or whether I used WD at all. Just a poorly made TT.
Highway_4x4
Explorer
Mar 18, 2014
I think some 800 bars would help but can almost get a new hitch for the price of just the bars. Might take a washer out of the head adjustment.
Airstreamer67
Explorer
Mar 17, 2014
The only thing that I found to help is an Air Safe hitch, which uses Firestone airbags to isolate the trailer's suspension travels from the truck's.

Although this hitch cannot take out all the ups-and-downs of a road, it can keep the rig's tow and trailer from influencing each other as much. So, it helps a lot.
goducks10
Explorer
Mar 17, 2014
Get some 800lb spring bars. With your 2500 and only 750lbs of TW you really don't need much WD. Just enough to cover the receiver rating.
CampingN_C_
Explorer
Mar 17, 2014
I found with mine I was distributing too much weight, leaving the rear end of the truck lite. I went from 6 links to 7, allowed the truck to squat a little and she rides great now.
My 2500HD likes the weight in the back, I'm sure yours will too. 750 lb tongue weight is nothing for your truck.
Our old camper weighed about that much, barely squatted the truck at all. I would've towed without the bars, but needed them for the sway control.
campigloo
Explorer
Mar 17, 2014
I pull my 35' 9500# trailer with a Ram 2500 4x4 and added Stable Loads. Though it didn't eliminate the problem, it did dampen it quite a bit. One road in particular, we were able to increase our speed from 45 to 60 after adding the Stable Loads. Even at 60, the bounce was softened a lot and overall stability improved.