Quote:
Originally Posted by sirtate
The bars should take some heft to load them, or else they aren't helping.
Imagine you are standing holding the bars with your hands like a wheel barrow with the trailer hooked up. Now, with your gorilla arms, lift up. It will take weight off the rear axle, and put it on the steer. It will also put weight on your feet, right?. Now stand on the trailer A-frame... You'll put more weight on the trailer axles too. If it doesn't take a few hundred pounds of force to do it, you aren't transferring much weight.
With a WDH, you have the benefit of having a high tongue weight, without overloading of the rear axle, and keeping steering traction.
The question is now; what is your tongue weight?
And; what is the gross weight of the trailer?
Aim for over 10 percent tongue weight.
It seems that the trailer is too light up front, perhaps.
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I know how the bars work and yes the front is too light.
I was just curious if others don’t require a bar to install the equalizer bars???
My last trailer never required a bar and after about 30000 miles of every interstate and mountain pass I never had a sway problem.
So saying that the bars are not working is I believe wrong.
I believe the bars would load up as required in dips in the road as I traveled.
Otherwise they were unsprung or slightly neutral.
I might add it does require some effort without a bar as did my older trailer but a bar on is absolutely not necessary.
I believe my other trailer was balanced and loaded correctly as I toured with it for three summers.
My new trailer a Windjammer 2618 cannot be loaded with many options for weight. Once I hit the scales and possibly adjust my hitch height (probably have to lower it to increase some tongue weight my only option would be to run with minimal water in the tank (which is behind the axels) and keep 1/3 tank of grey water to increase tongue weight.
Moving cargo is not an option with this trailer. I believe the axels could have been moved back a couple of inches when manufactured. (Or I could buy a couple of hundred cans of canned beans and load the font cupboards)
First time over the scale on day one.
truck weight trailer attached..........7106
Trailer axel truck attached.............6688
Total..........................................137 94
Truck and trailer Combined weight max..........15000
Because this trailer was purchased on holidays and some things are not required I won’t have an opportunity to take some weight off the truck till I get home in a month or so. But I am under the gross combined weight for the truck.
These numbers are just a start as the fun now begins.
I guess I am quite surprised to have an issue after 40 years of trailer pulling.