Curt WDH Setup Question

North of 49° · 02-23-2015, 10:29 PM

In anticipation of the delivery of our new Jay Flight 24FBS, we had to get a new weight distribution hitch. The one we used with our old Starcraft hybrid was great for that trailer, but since the 24FBS weighs more, I though we should have a little more margin of safety. I managed to find a good deal on a Curt 800/8000 hitch, and I'm setting it up as much as I can before we take delivery, and learn how to use the hitch, since it's slightly different than the Reese hitch I had before. I'll do the final adjustments when we take possession of the new trailer.

I do have a question, though, that's not covered in the manual, and Google hasn't helped out much, either. In the photo below, what is the bottom 5/8" x 1-1/2" bolt for? This is the one on the bottom of the head assembly, in the middle of the photo. When I leave the bolt loose, the head has a lot of backward tilt with seven washers on the adjustment rod, but when I tighten the bolt all the way down, it pushes the head out at the bottom and almost completely eliminates the backward tilt.

I don't have the main bolts torqued down yet, but I'm guessing that this would help the problem. But my main question is what is this bolt for? Is it for adjustment? Or to hold something in place?

Thanks.

**WVDusty** · 02-23-2015, 11:01 PM

You should tighten that bolt after the proper amount of washers are installed.

goducks · 02-24-2015, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WVDusty

You should tighten that bolt after the proper amount of washers are installed.

x2. And 7 washers are a lot. JMO but try 5 to start with. You should have plenty of tilt with 5-6 washers. I found that by going to 7 it was hard to get the coupler to release because of the angle of the ball.

DocBrown · 02-24-2015, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goducks

x2. And 7 washers are a lot. JMO but try 5 to start with. You should have plenty of tilt with 5-6 washers. I found that by going to 7 it was hard to get the coupler to release because of the angle of the ball.

x3. Also the washers are for small adjustments, the chain links are for bigger adjustments. As said, try 5 washers first. Check your tow vehicle's manual for the front fender height specification when using a W/D hitch.

goducks · 02-24-2015, 11:44 AM

FWIW, one washer equals one chain link.

DocBrown · 02-24-2015, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goducks

FWIW, one washer equals one chain link.

That's not my understanding, nor my experience. Just saying, as I just went through this when I got my Sierra and had to reset the entire thing up all over again. One chain link more was far too much, one extra washer tilted the ball just enough to make it perfect.

goducks · 02-24-2015, 12:46 PM

One washer drops the bar ends 1-1/2". Pretty close to grabbing another link.
http://manuals.adventurerv.net/Eaz-L...structions.pdf

Russ661 · 02-24-2015, 02:03 PM

I have no experience with your brand of hitch but on my Equal-i-zer that bolt is used to take out any play in the tilt adjustment of the hitch head. If it is not snugged down the hitch head will begin to move and eventually loosen. Not a good thing. My advice would be to snug it down good after verifying the tilt is as you need it to be.

North of 49° · 02-24-2015, 08:08 PM

Thanks for the tips. I'm just playing around with it right now, figuring out how everything goes together. Better I do that now than later when I don't have the time or the tools.

According to the link that Goducks provided (thanks for that BTW), I set the head angle, then install the bolt, then torque everything down? That's what I was doing and it pushed out the bottom of the head, eliminating the angle that the washers provided. I would think that installing the bolt would the the last thing to do, after everything is torqued to spec.

On my old Reese hitch, the angle was set by using those off-centered hex plates.

North of 49° · 02-24-2015, 10:19 PM

Okay, I took another look at it. Four washers will give it a very slight "forward" angle, tilted toward the tow vehicle. Here's a bunch o' photos:

Level on the shank:

Level on the head:

Here's the bolt on the bottom, tightened down:

Does this look right? Of course, I won't know the exact number of washers needed until we take possession of the trailer and do the proper measuring. And of course, nothing is torqued to spec yet.

Yeah, I know my workbench is a mess.

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