Trailer front wheels warmer, WDH the cause?

[bbells]

Question: Will having the WDH set too tight cause extra weight on the front axle of the TRAILER? I followed the directions for re-setting up my weight distribution hitch and now the tires on the front axle get much warmer than the rear axles and the tire pressure increases (of course). The tire pressure goes from 50 to 70+ pounds. I know that is still a safe place to be, but it would be nice to know what is going on so I can reduce the problem. Outdoor temps affect this a little, but do not seem to be the cause of the problem. This did not happen before I 'tightened' the WDH more. I setup the WDH so the differences between the front and rear height of my Toyota Tundra are about equal to what they were without the trailer. I went from my previous 3 links unused to 5 links unused. I have checked for dragging brakes, moved weight from the front to the back of the trailer, checked the wheel bearings and re-greased them. None of which made any difference at all. I am checking the pressure with both my Tire Minders and a hand psi tester. I am checking the temperature with both a laser and the Tire Minders. I have moved the Tire Minders to other tires and still have the same problem with the same axle. It appears something changed when I changed the WDH. Could the WDH be too tight? Thanks for any help!
TV: Toyota Tundra
Trailer: North Trail, 4600lb dry weight, dual axle.

[lbrjet]

50 to 70+ is not good.

[BurbMan]

horton333 wrote:

jmtandem wrote:

It's not the WDH system. Either the front end is in a downward attitude or there is bearing/brake maint. issues.

X 2

x3

And what controls the "downward attitude"? The WDH system of course....

Tightening the hitch by taking up 2 extra links like he did sends hitch weight forward to the truck front axle and rearward to the trailer axles.

If the trailer is level now, that would indicate that it was pitched down in the front before. A nose-down trailer will put more weight on the forward tandem axle and cause the forward wheels on that axle to run hotter. Tightening up the hitch like you did to level the trailer should have taken weight OFF that forward trailer axle, you are seeing the opposite effect.

I would suggest checking the equalizer links between the axles. They can freeze up over time with rust and not pivot as they should to allow the trailer's weight to load each axle properly. This happened to me and the fix is to either take them off and clean/re-grease or replace them. The cheap plastic bushings used in the suspension also wear fast and cause issues.

Unless the equalizers are free to rotate they won't adjust to the new hitch setting and will cause the uneven axle loading you are seeing.

To check,jack up one side of the trailer at a time and remove both wheels on that side. With the trailer supported by the frame, jack up one of the axles and observe any movement in the equalizer, then repair/replace as necessary.

You can search the archives for several pic-heavy posts from myself, JBarca, and LAdams on trailer suspension maintenance and repair.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

The tire pressure goes from 50 to 70+ pounds.

That doesn't sound right. a 20+ lb spread?

When I crew chiefed for race teams I checked tire pressures hundreds of times; maybe thousands of times and I have never seen a pressure spread like that. At most I have seen maybe a 7 PSI difference. This is with tires so hot you can't put your bare hand on them.

Are you sure there isn't a bunch of water in those tires?

[bbells]

Unfortunately, I already checked the brakes and bearings, and moved everything from the front of the trailer to the back (no fluids in trailer either). The trailer is level, I made sure of that when I re-setup the WHD. Plus, I have a hard time believing the WHD plays no part since it did not do this before I changed the setup. Unless, of course I had some kind of damage that I didn't notice and an axle is bent or something. But then I should see unusual tire wear. I will do a test by putting the WHD where it was and post the results. That should eliminate the wHD as the cause of the problem.

[horton333]

jmtandem wrote:

It's not the WDH system. Either the front end is in a downward attitude or there is bearing/brake maint. issues.

X 2

x3

[jmtandem]

It's not the WDH system. Either the front end is in a downward attitude or there is bearing/brake maint. issues.

X 2

[ScottG]

It's not the WDH system. Either the front end is in a downward attitude or there is bearing/brake maint. issues.

[Artum_Snowbird]

I would have to suspect that tire flexing causes heat. If you have more weight on the front tires instead of the back, that would cause the tires to flex more. Take it to a vehicle testing scale and experiment with weights and links on your chains.