Question about WD Hitch

Smoke em if you got em. Thats my opinion. It really all depends on how much tongue weight you have on the trailer, and if the front of the truck comes up more than a couple inches. Also just look at the entire rig from a distance and if you see noticeable dip in the middle, use them.

I have air bags also but I had the same question recently and it was explained to me like this:

Air bags will raise your rear end to level the pickup but the weight remains concentrated on the rear axle. WD Hitch will shift weight off of the rear to the front (axels).

I hope I'm correct and right!

Use the bars would be my suggestion. You want to get the weight back onto the steer axle.

Funny...so let's firs think about this. You hook up your trailer your front wheels are in the air, 4x4FF and I hook some pipes to the rear bumper and we lift as hard as we can to level the truck back out. Westend wants to drive away, 4x4FF and I would rather drink beer than ru n with these pipes in our hands so we chain them to the A frame of the trailer

That's your WD bars I action.

So...if all your doing is lifting the back end to level out the trailer, corecting the geometry and redistributing the load on the tow vehicle...

What will the bars do the the air bags won't ?

Exactly nothing.

Sorry, double post

MudChucker wrote:
Funny...so let's firs think about this. You hook up your trailer your front wheels are in the air, 4x4FF and I hook some pipes to the rear bumper and we lift as hard as we can to level the truck back out. Westend wants to drive away, 4x4FF and I would rather drink beer than ru n with these pipes in our hands so we chain them to the A frame of the trailer

That's your WD bars I action.

So...if all your doing is lifting the back end to level out the trailer, corecting the geometry and redistributing the load on the tow vehicle...

What will the bars do the the air bags won't ?

Exactly nothing.

Sorry, but that's not correct. Air bags and WD bars do very different things.

Air bags alone do not change the amount of weight on the front or rear tires. They act as a second spring in parallel with the metal spring, between the frame and the axle. Since the metal springs (with the bags) are now carrying less weight, they flex less, so the rear of the truck rides higher. But the rear tires still see the same total load.

WD bars also take weight off the rear metal springs, but unlike the air bags, the WD bars will also take that weight off the rear tires and transfer that weight to the front springs and tires.

In other words, air bags change rear ride height and rear spring rate, but not tire loads. Only WD bars change front or rear tire loads.

MudChucker wrote:
Funny...so let's firs think about this. You hook up your trailer your front wheels are in the air, 4x4FF and I hook some pipes to the rear bumper and we lift as hard as we can to level the truck back out. Westend wants to drive away, 4x4FF and I would rather drink beer than ru n with these pipes in our hands so we chain them to the A frame of the trailer

That's your WD bars I action.

So...if all your doing is lifting the back end to level out the trailer, corecting the geometry and redistributing the load on the tow vehicle...

What will the bars do the the air bags won't ?

Exactly nothing.

Sorry... but nope...

with airbags... the pin-point center of the load is still centered behind the rear axle...

With bars... the load is transferred somewhere forward of the rear connection point... thus loading the front axle more...

Air bags would actually make it slightly worse... raising the vertical height of the fulcrum point of the load... causing more 'prying force' on the truck frame... especially in a turn or side load...

It's geometry...

Nate

Thanks guys!!!

I think you pretty well answered my question. I'll go ahead and use them.

Steve

Below is a post I made in the towing forum yesterday in response to an OP that had severe sway problems with a moderate sized trailer on a decent truck. I thought air bags could be his problem.

Do you have air bags? I've seen the scenario more than once ( especially with on board compressors) where the driver loads the weight distribution with the bags under low pressure. They then air up the bags to level the truck and go higher than the unloaded height. This has the effect of unloading your weight distribution bars. If your hitch has anti-sway incorporated with weight distribution then the anti-sway effectiveness goes away. It also stiffens the rear suspension creating a fulcrum which unloads the front tires. The trailer is now nose high and starts to sway, the driver freaks and adds more air to the air bags making things worse.

Your weight distribution system should bring your hitch up to 1" below your unloaded height. Your air bags should be deployed to raise the truck to unloaded height only.

I was following my son and his trailer was dancing all over the place. I called him over to the side of the road where we unloaded the air bags and increased his WD springs by a link. Completely different tow. Many think air bags are a panacea, they aren't.

To the OP: What does Ford have to say on the requirements for WD on your F-250? I would follow their advice.