Single Bar Weight Distribution Hitch

[Gina D.]

So, the simplicity of the 13 foot Burro has blown away in the wind. Now I must do extra stuff when hitchng up, no more backing, dropping, chaining and going.

Now, as with the rest of my middle aged life, I have to do stuff to keep my backside from sagging. The 17 footer makes the Jeeps rear end sink a little too far.

It tows OK, but I want to add the safety of a WDH. Now, Having watched full growed men folks struggle with these things has made me think there is no way I can snap one of these things in place on my own.

I found THIS. It looks like it would be easier for a mini person to use, if doing the old lift the bumper with the jack thing. At the 400/4000 lb limit, it should be more than adequate for our smaller, or I should say, less weighty eggs.

With the single bar, I have an idea. Could one fashion a socket to slip the tip of the bar into thats mounted on a bottle jack? If so, could one actually PUSH the bar up with the jack instead of pull it with the lever?

I will have to wait until it gets here to see if that is necessary, but I am thinking of asking the welder/trailer guy that will install this to make me up something.

Has anyone used one of these? Are they easy?

[gerald rush]

So, the simplicity of the 13 foot Burro has blown away in the wind. Now I must do extra stuff when hitchng up, no more backing, dropping, chaining and going.

Now, as with the rest of my middle aged life, I have to do stuff to keep my backside from sagging. The 17 footer makes the Jeeps rear end sink a little too far.

It tows OK, but I want to add the safety of a WDH. Now, Having watched full growed men folks struggle with these things has made me think there is no way I can snap one of these things in place on my own.

I found THIS. It looks like it would be easier for a mini person to use, if doing the old lift the bumper with the jack thing. At the 400/4000 lb limit, it should be more than adequate for our smaller, or I should say, less weighty eggs.

With the single bar, I have an idea. Could one fashion a socket to slip the tip of the bar into thats mounted on a bottle jack? If so, could one actually PUSH the bar up with the jack instead of pull it with the lever?

I will have to wait until it gets here to see if that is necessary, but I am thinking of asking the welder/trailer guy that will install this to make me up something.

Has anyone used one of these? Are they easy?

Gina,
most of my experience has been with a standard WDH but the principal is the same. if you level the TV and the rig with the jack before locking the bar, it should be an easy do.
use the jack when un hitching as well, it takes the pressure off the bar and should reduce any surprises.
Have fun and congrats on your new egg
regards Gerald

[Charlie C]

Gina, Gerald has it right, let the tongue jack do the work for you!! It has all the leverage you need to easily hook up or unhook the WDH arms.

Here is a real basic description posted on the Casita Forum last week...WDH Hookup

Any of the WDH systems (I use Equal-i-zer) are well worth the extra 1 to 2 minutes required to hook them up. They smooth out the ride significantly, and of course level the vehicle.

[Roger H]

Gina, if the folks you've seen are struggling with a WDH, then they don't have a clue what they're doing. It's a quick and easy job that shouldn't require any "back" at all to make work. If you REALLY want to be spoiled by the height of luxury, buy yourself a power tongue jack. It's worth EVERY penny you spend and in fact makes hooking up absolutely a no-labor, no pain proposition.

Roger

[jrnutpaul]

I agree with Roger, having had a WDH on both of the 17' Bigfoot's we have owned, we found it very easy to use. It did not require any stress or strain and set up was simple. Once the chain link position was established a simple bar was used to pop the distribution bars up in place and then then jack brought everything in line. I think that the two bar system would be easy for you, and provide the type of distribution you will need for your 17'

Paul

[Gina D.]

Thanks for the Link Charlie! Thats exactly the system I have ordered.

I intend to try the system as is to find out how hard it is first, yes.

[Gary Lynch]

These work well.

http://www.supersprings.com/productguide.asp

Thanks for the Link Charlie! Thats exactly the system I have ordered.

I intend to try the system as is to find out how hard it is first, yes.

[Doug Mager]

A friend has told me that a double bar wdh set up used on a smaller egg (a13fter) could do some damage to the frame of the trailer.

HE strongly recommended the single bar set up and I think I'll be shopping for one soon. I will need to rebuild another ball mount however as the one I have for our ol' Plymouth is custom made to begin with

[Pete Dumbleton]

One can do damage to the tow vehicle and/or the trailer with just about any WDH if it is set up too tightly (too much arch) -- Given the same hitch specs (say 4,000), a two-bar system merely has two lighter bars in place of one bigger (or longer) one.

Read the instructions several times and set it up properly, then mark the correct chain link so it gets reset properly every time (presuming you don't redistribute the load).

Gina, if you jack it up enuf first, you can lift the bar with your toe...

Be sure to lock up the WDH hitch head, because that's the most expensive part to replace!

[Gina D.]

I am not installing it or setting it up. I know better than to experiment or try a learning curve on something that can be potentially dangerous to property and.. me!

I am having a pro do it.

[Lizbeth]

If I can work one and I can, it shouldn't be a problem for you Gina.

The Boler is the only travel trailer we've had that didn't have one.

[Patrick M.]

I wonder how long before you're eyeballing electric jacks?

[Gina D.]

as soon as I win the lottery

[Pete Dumbleton]

I am not installing it or setting it up. I know better than to experiment or try a learning curve on something that can be potentially dangerous to property and.. me!

I am having a pro do it.

Just like tongue weight, if you do it with the trailer empty, you may have to re-do it when the trailer is loaded -- I suggest you read the WDH instructions a couple of times and then have the pro show you how to do it, after the pro installs it.

BTW, there are ways to set up a tongue jack so that you can use a cordless drill or impact driver with a socket attached to do the work; likewise, for automotive-style scissors jacks used as stabilising jacks.

[Robert Scallan]

Gina, if the folks you've seen are struggling with a WDH, then they don't have a clue what they're doing. It's a quick and easy job that shouldn't require any "back" at all to make work. If you REALLY want to be spoiled by the height of luxury, buy yourself a power tongue jack. It's worth EVERY penny you spend and in fact makes hooking up absolutely a no-labor, no pain proposition.

Roger

Roger, a question please, Gina says that the rear of the Jeep sags a little....would air bags in the rear of the Jeep fix this problem....just a short shot of air (10-30lbs) will greatly help the ride height. What do yu think...lots easier.

LIFE IS GOOD!

[Roger H]

Robert, first and foremost, I am NOT a hitch or suspension 'expert' and I don't hold myself out as such. I just have lots of miles under my tires towing a variety of travel trailers with a variety of tow vehicles over the years.

Airbags would level the tow vehicle, but not do anything about the weight on the axle nor deal with any of the subsequent handling issues that potentially arise as a result of that weight.

There's an excellent discussion about weight distributing hitches here:

What does a Weight-Distributing Hitch do...

Roger

[Brian B-P]

Airbags would level the tow vehicle, but not do anything about the weight on the axle nor deal with any of the subsequent handling issues that potentially arise as a result of that weight.

Actually, while I agree that added air springs (including bags in the coils) do not change the load on the axle, they do address some of the handling issues, by increasing spring stiffness, including roll stiffness. My Sienna certainly handles better with heavy loads in the back (even without a trailer) with the air added, but is better without the air when empty. It's a matter of being able to adjust the suspension to the load.

I'll leave WD hitch issues to that other discussion.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Air bags or helper/overload springs would indeed level the body of the TV, but unlike a WDH, they don't redistribute weight to put the suspension back where it was designed to be.

That said, as Brian has pointed out, they will improve handling to some degree because the suspension in the rear is stiffened and doesn't tend to wag about as much.

But, these devices are only dealing with one single aspect of the suspension system (rear springs) -- They are not helping front springs, steering, toe-in, caster/camber, torsion bars, tires or axle capacity -- The weight, and all of its effects, is still right there on the rear of the vehicle.

BTW, air springs or air bags come in two flavors; one goes inside coil springs and the other go 'inside' leaf springs -- Both kinds supplement the original springs and are adjustable.

Helper, or overload, springs are usually additional leaf springs that come into play when a sufficient load sinks the original past their normal range.

[Greg Janke]

I just bought a Reese single bar hitch and finished a 4 day 400 mile trip. Honestly, I see no apparent value from having the hitch. I towed my 17' Casita with a U-haul hitch and ball before.

I went through the set up procedure according to the instructions and measured all the spots they tell you to on the vehicle and trailer before AND after installing and adjusting the WDH. It didn't raise the level of the rear of my TV, didn't lower the front of the TV, and only raised the hitch height about 1/3 inch!

$400 down the drain. So much for WDH's (at least the single bar variety). Anybody want to buy some snake oil?

Greg

[Gina D.]

Mine maks an incredible difference with my Jeep Liberty. What are you driving? You May not need it!

I paid 285 and another 30 to have it installed.