To WD, or not to WD, that is the question....

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Dougie123

snip...... I went to the CAT scales on our way back from this weekends camping trip....snip

As mentioned, posting all TV & TT axle weights from the CAT scale documents are also needed to evaluate your TV/TT combination set-up.

Originally Posted by Dougie123

snip......BUT, since the truck is not level with W/D, does that mean my WD Head needs to be adjusted?....snip

A WDH's main design function is to restore the weight removed from the TV's front axle as a result of the tongue weight placed on the hitch ball...., not the 'leveling' of the TV. The WDH adjustment is focused on returning/maintaining the TV's front suspension steering and braking characteristics for the TV......, the TV's rear suspension is-what-it is.

It's common after a proper WDH adjustment for a TV's rear suspension to experience a 1" to 2" squat.

Originally Posted by artoo93

snip.....(A class V hitch has a 2.5" receiver).....snip

Actually some Class V hitches do have a 2" receiver pin box.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Curt/C15325.html

Bob

[artoo93]

Yes, there are aftermarket hitches that can be Class V with a 2" receiver (B&W also makes one) but the only factory installed hitches that are Class V that I have seen are on 450/4500 and higher trucks. The OP doesn't have said truck and did not mention having an aftermarket hitch nor having ordered anything over the standard factory receiver.

[Dougie123]

Hi All.

I tried to get the separate truck axel weights, but there were 3 rigs behind me and the cat scale person was getting impatient with all my ‘fiddling’ with the bars and hitch, etc. so I had to move on.

It is pretty easy to see In the pic that the rear of my truck is running high w/WD bars on.

I have a class V receiver on my truck, but am running 2” shank with the factory sleeve. Shank says 1000lbs max weight w/o WD.

If I go to a 2 1/2 shank for my WD Head, then I could run without the WD bars since I’ve got about 1200lbs on the pin, but I guess I need to go back to the scales and try again. Sigh....

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Dougie123

snip.......I tried to get the separate truck axel weights, but there were 3 rigs behind me and the cat scale person was getting impatient......snip

Hmm.., sounds like you were at a "single" platform scale (?), not a "three" platform CAT scale.

Originally Posted by Dougie123

snip......If I go to a 2 1/2 shank for my WD Head, then I could run without the WD bars since I’ve got about 1200lbs on the pin, but I guess I need to go back to the scales and try again. Sigh....

Your correct on upgrading to the 2 1/2" shank based on your 1,260lb tongue weight and not utilizing the spring bars......., but, utilizing the properly adjusted spring bars will aid in "maintaining" proper weight distribution while in-tow, and will enhance the function of your two friction sway bars......, especially in less then ideal towing conditions.

Originally Posted by artoo93

snip..... the only factory installed hitches that are Class V that I have seen are on 450/4500 and higher trucks.....snip

Most of the newer 'Big Three' 250/2500 and 350/3500 ton trucks now have a OEM Class V receiver hitch....., like the OP's Ram 2500.

Bob

[CampNow]

Originally Posted by Dougie123

Hi All.

I tried to get the separate truck axel weights, but there were 3 rigs behind me and the cat scale person was getting impatient with all my ‘fiddling’ with the bars and hitch, etc. so I had to move on.

It is pretty easy to see In the pic that the rear of my truck is running high w/WD bars on.

I have a class V receiver on my truck, but am running 2” shank with the factory sleeve. Shank says 1000lbs max weight w/o WD.

If I go to a 2 1/2 shank for my WD Head, then I could run without the WD bars since I’ve got about 1200lbs on the pin, but I guess I need to go back to the scales and try again. Sigh....

Yup, you need your Ram's scaled front and rear axle weights, both empty and loaded (with and without the WDH) in order to accurately calculate your effective weight distribution under all conditions. Agree, it's a pain, but you should only have to do it once.

As I mentioned earlier, we tow our our 306RKDS with a '16 Ram Cummins 3500 SRW with no WDH (or anti-sway) and have zero handling or sway issues---even in severe cross-winds.

The Ram Cummins 3500 CC SB SRW's empty axle weights are nearly identical to your Ram Cummins CC SB 2500. They both share the same FAWR (6,000 lbs.). The 3500 SRW's RAWR is only 500 lbs. higher than your 2500 (7,000 lbs. vs. 6,500 lbs., respectively).

Front/rear weight distribution on our Ram 3500 SRW with no WDH is 48/52 (approx. ~4,500/~4,900 lbs. with ~1,400 lbs. of tongue weight). The Ram 3500 SRW's front axle weight empty is ~4,800 lbs. If we adjust a WDH to place ~4,800 lbs. back on the front axle, the front/rear weight distribution then becomes 51/49 (approx. ~4,800/~4,600 lbs.). Because of that very heavy Cummins engine on the front axle, there's very little change (proportionally) in overall weight distribution with or without the WDH.

Based on the above numbers, we elected to not use a WDH. Realworld driving backs up the numbers---very little difference in handling. The WDH does reduce sag/squat slightly (~1/2 inch) by moving 300 lbs. from the rear axle to the front axle. For us, that's not reason enough to haul around a 100 lb. WDH everywhere.

When we removed our WDH, we started using a 2.5", Curt 45456 forged ball mount with our '16 Ram 3500 SRW OEM Cat V receiver. It's rated for up to 2,700 lbs. of tongue weight and 20,000 lbs. of tow capacity. Although this ball mount is rated for 2,700 lbs., important to note the OEM Cat V 2.5" receiver on the late model Ram 2500/3500 trucks are only rated for 1,700 lbs. (with or without a WDH).

[ASTMedic]

Originally Posted by Dougie123

Hi All.

I tried to get the separate truck axel weights, but there were 3 rigs behind me and the cat scale person was getting impatient with all my ‘fiddling’ with the bars and hitch, etc. so I had to move on.

It is pretty easy to see In the pic that the rear of my truck is running high w/WD bars on.

I have a class V receiver on my truck, but am running 2” shank with the factory sleeve. Shank says 1000lbs max weight w/o WD.

If I go to a 2 1/2 shank for my WD Head, then I could run without the WD bars since I’ve got about 1200lbs on the pin, but I guess I need to go back to the scales and try again. Sigh....

Ya you should have been given a sheet with front axle, rear axle and trailer axle weights on it. This way you can see how the weight moves from front to rear with bars on or off

Dont stress the scale. Get the CAT app on a phone and you don't even have to talk to anyone and your sheets are sent to your email.

Easiest way to get the 3 weights is to pull on with your bars hooked up on your first pass. Pull off and drop the bars but put them in the bed of the truck then pull back on. Then pull off and unhook your trailer and drive back on the scale. I guess if it was a really slow scale you could do the first two and never leave the scale but driving off just seems better. By leaving the scale each time you're not being "that guy" holding up the line.

Stop stressing the ride height of the rear end fo the truck. Unless it's squatting crazy hard then it's a non issue. You do want your TT level though so it's evenly distributing weight over both the axles but that's adjusted with the ball height of the hitch. If you get the WD hitch dialed in so your front axle weight is correct and your TT is high or low then adjust your ball on the shank accordingly.

To me (a probably most others) the critical things to be looking at with the scale results are: Not being over TV capacity when loaded and hooked up. Returning your front axle weight to the unhooked weight with the WD hitch correctly setup. That the correct percentage of tongue weight for the loaded weight of the trailer. That the trailer axles aren't over loaded.

[Mad5581]

Astmedic is spot on. Few things to keep in mind is no 2 setups are the same. Truck trailer, passengers. So what works for you may not work for others and the other way around. Most important is to not exceed manufacturers weight limits. On hitch, truck, Axles (truck or trailer) and maybe most importantly your tires. Just dont worry too much about the small stuff. If you dont want to and feel comfortable not using your WDH then go buy the proper hitch for the weights you have (always try to get 1 class higher then really needed (ie your 1200lbs hitch weight get a hitch that's good for 2000lbs) if the truck side of the hitch is good for 1700lbs then you know your truck is the limiting factor in your setup and it's at 1700lbs. Hitches are cheaper then trucks so just make sure you are using the right tools and you should have many safe fun miles and trips, with few issues. Issues happen all you can do is try to minimize them.

[thenne1713]

1) WD adjusting videos from MFR are available on YouTube, check 'em out; 2) WD moves weight from behind rear axle to between axles and can greatly affect steering too, more weight behind rear axle lifts front wheels (bad); 3) WD and sway control come in when you need them, NOT just leveling, but watch youtube dashcam videos of Truck/car/TT losing control/ jackknife/ rolls when trailer sway causes control loss. (They thought) they were "fine" until too late, when they lost it... **** I recall riding shotgun in PU as teen hauling old roofing where driver had to hit brakes to make front wheels hit ground to turn, otherwise he could go lock-to-lock without turning *** :-(

[abrahamseven]

What’s WD ?

[artoo93]

Originally Posted by abrahamseven

What’s WD ?

Weight Distributing

[thenne1713]

(more fully explained) the (systems) of bars/ springs that attached between tow vehicle and a Travel Trailer to change the Weight Distribution on the Tow to provide better control.