Not enough tension on dealer installed wdh?

[Dead_Sportsman_]

Hi guys!

I just picked up my first TT. My rv dealer put me into a nice curt equalizer hitch setup. This is the first time I'm towing something this size that requires a wdh setup. I am a bigger guy and am able to hook up the sway bars by hand without much effort and do not have to use the ram jack to lift the back of my TV to do it.

My TV is a 2015 Yukon Denali XL with auto load leveling and anti sway breaking. The TT is a 2018 33' with dry weight about 6 k gvw of 8k.

After starting the TV, auto load leveling turned on and it looked to me like the hitch was set a little high causing the TT to pitch back some. The dealer tech told me it would be fine once I started adding cargo weight to the new unit. Driving home I noticed a little bucking on a rough road and at over 50 mph I also felt some ocasional pushing my TV side to side. There were 15 to 20 mph winds that day. Is this normal for an empty TT or is the hitch too high and/or not enough tension on the sway bars?

The TT is in winter storage now so no measuring or photos until Sping.

Thanks in advance.

[bid_time]

You need to re-phrase the title of your thread to get a better response. The key is, you have a Yukon with Auto Leveling, that's a big deal. The dealer won't know squat about how to set it up. But if the title of your thread was phrased better, I'd bet you would find a couple of people with all the knowledge you need to guide you on how to set up the WDH on it.

[Mark_and_Linda]

When you get your trailer out of storage and loaded, then adjust what you need too. The dealer where I bought my travel trailer set my WDH up. I installed my own brake controller and then after my trailer was loaded...I had to redo my hitch. When my trailer is hooked up the front fender to the ground measures the same as it does without the trailer connected. I have to jack up my trailer tongue to put my bars on, level ground no problem, front of vehicle higher at certain spots...becomes a problem.

[Passin_Thru]

Adjust it your way. If it doesn't feel right mess with it. My friend who worked for For a dealer said people cam in during the summer at 90 degrees and still ahd the heat on . They didn't want to mess with it they said.

[rbpru]

It is important to remember, the dealer only knows the TT and published rating of your TV.

They do not know if you are a minimalist or a person that attends anvil conventions and displays his large anvil collection.

It is up to the individual to determine the end use and suitability of their TT and TV combo.

Fortunately their are folks on the board who can help you learn what questions to ask or consider.

Good luck

[rbpru]

I left the dealer with the WD hitch at seven links with TT empty. I use 8 or 9 links with TT loaded.

The hitch manual says the TT and TV should be level. So I adjust for level or the TT a bit nose down.

I have never had a sway problem.

[Lwiddis]

“I'll take it back into the dealer with my concern about hitch height and weight distribution in Spring.”

Why? They didn’t consider the GM air suspension the first time and air suspension is very common...on every Chevy/GMC Tahoe/Yukon with the trailer package. I’d do it, and did, myself.

[Dead_Sportsman_]

Thanks for all the quick responses!

I think my suspicion has been confirmed. The hitch height and weight distribution should have been setup with the TV on and auto leveling engaged. It was not. I unhooked the swaybars by hand easy enough without extending the ram jack.

I also apreciate the comment about weight for my TV. It was something I spent a fair amount of time researching. What I came up with is it is not a drive train issue as I have the 6.2 liter lt1 corvette engine (insert Tim Allen man grunts), 4:20s in the back, and slotted roters. But instead it's a suspension/hitch weight thing. Too bad they don't make 3/4 ton Yukons any more...

After much soul searching I opted to pass on the 5800 pound dry weight 28' with 1000 pounds of cargo I was considering. Instead for about the same dry weight I got 15 instead of 14" wheels. That gained an extra 1000 pounds of cargo capacity. They way I'm looking at it is that adds design margin not more stuff I can haul. I like to camp light and have no intension of loading heavy or carrying water beyond the dump station.

I'll take it back into the dealer with my concern about hitch height and weight distribution in Spring.

Appreciate the advice!

[clarkbre]

From what the OP said, it sounds like there are 2 systems working against eachother: the WDH and the air suspension.

The WDH may be set up perfect for when the air system isn't on; however, when you turn the TV on and the air system engages, it throws off all WDH adjustments.

With the TV off, the trailer could be sitting perfectly level and the trunnion bars set perfect to restore the stock weight to the front axle. This will always put some load on the rear axle.

Once the TV is turned on, it senses a lower rear end and engages the air to lift the rear of the vehicle. In theory, this is great...except it throws off the hitch height and likely takes load off the front axle and puts more weight on the back axle.

This can be shown in the following video:
The Difference Between Using Weight Distribution and Air Bags to Level Your Load

I would suggest setting up the WDH with the TV running so that the air suspension is enabled as it would be rolling down the road.

Your last step is to take it to the scales. Doing so, you're specifically looking at the front axle weight without the trailer hooked up to the TV and then the front axle weight when the trailer is hooked up with the WDH engaged. The weights should be close to equal with the trailer level or slightly nose down and with a tongue weight of 10-15% of the overall trailer weight.

[budwich]

pictures of the setup (with and without levelling) may help the forum quickly point you in the right direction.

[wnjj]

Seems like you should be setting up the hitch with the load leveling on. What does your owners' manual say about WDH applications?

[Lwiddis]

When I moved to a TT I experimented with the link selected by the dealership...one link up and one link down. Settled on one link less but still need bar and slight tongue jack raise to put in place. Experiment.

Rjxj, yup I believe he’s at least maxed out if not over. 8,300 max for two wheel drive.

[sch911]

Sounds like you need to make it tighter. It should only be possible to hook up the WD bars when the tongue is raised wit the jack.

[azrving]

Isn't that Yukon maxed out at about 8,000? Have you had it to the scales when ready to travel?

[DutchmenSport]

The higher you crank the tongue jack up, the easier the bars attach. I never use the cheater bar to attach the bars on L brackets on my Equal-i-zer system. And my old Reese that had the chains on the bars, I never used the cheater bar either. I could just simply flip up the catches on the tongue very easy by hand. The secret is to jack the trailer tongue up high. Once attached, when you lower the jack, tension then increases on the bars and distributes the weight to the front of the tow vehicle.

Here again, the higher you crank the trailer jack up (while hitched), the easier the bars attach.

When tow vehicle and trailer are in this position ... easy ... ^ When they are in this position, .... cheater bar is essential: \/