GEN 2 Weight distribution hitch issues

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demerson3814

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Today I spent about 4 hours trying to get my Raptor setup to tow our SxS's. It is a 20' SureTrac tandem axle - trailer, two machines and gear are ~6000lbs.

I have a Equalizer 10K WDH. I tried 10+ setups and it wasn't able to get it dialed in.

The front barely moved even without the WDH bars (no trailer was ~40.25", with trailer the worst was ~40.625"). The back squatted ~2.5-3" without the bars. The best I could get the back was to about 1.75-2" of squat with the front the same as pre-trailer. Is this expected? I even over adjusted to the point that the front was below the original height - same issue in the back. Any ideas on how to get this dialed in?

Another headache was the live shocks. I'd get things set up and measuring right, and then start the truck and put it in gear the the shocks would soften and it would squat more.

The final insult was the hitch slots for the safety chains - they are tiny with no room for the clevis hooks on the trailer. Any ideas on other options? I think any clevis hook would need to be very small to fit the slots properly.
 

Loufish

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I'm going to ask, please don't think I'm messing with you...have set up a WDH system before?...Did you use the tongue jack to lift up the trailer to help get more pre-load on the bars?...
 

Johnkn

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I've always liked this video, except close that damn door with the chime. LOL

This illustrates Loufish's comment.

 
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demerson3814

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@Loufish the equalizer hitch doesn’t use chains, it uses brackets on the trailer frame and spacer washers on the hitch head to adjust the weight transfer. And yes to get the weight bars attached you have to crank the jack way up as in the video you posted.

For folks that have an Equalizer, how many spacer washers are you using? I tried 4, 5, and 6. 6 seems too much it was pushing the front lower than unloaded, but not lifting the rear enough.
 

bmexline

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Have you checked your tongue weight on the trailer? Going by memory, I think 15% of the trailer weight +/- 3% is desirable. You might be able to get what you want by adjusting the weight distribution of your trailer if you have too much tongue weight.


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demerson3814

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I have a tongue scale on order to check that. My F350 doesn’t even know the trailer is there and the trailer is well balanced with the tandem wheels.
 

bmexline

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You will have to get your loaded trailer weighed also obviously. It might be fine but I wouldn't discount it. Otherwise, I'm a little surprised by this thread. I know the Raptor, especially the '19 with the live shocks isn't really designed for carrying much of a load. That said I've used an equilizer hitch on several previous trucks with different trailers and I would have thought this would be a simple thing especially for such a light trailer.
 
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demerson3814

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I thought it should be pretty simple to setup too. Hasn’t turned out that way so far. Like others my hitch is angled down. I wonder if that is messing with the hitch angle relative to the trailer.
 

bmexline

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I thought it should be pretty simple to setup too. Hasn’t turned out that way so far. Like others my hitch is angled down. I wonder if that is messing with the hitch angle relative to the trailer.

If anything I would think that would put more weight on the bars.


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