hitch set up

[chrismoore701]

I have an 18 silverado and I have a wdh. It seems like the back of the truck skates around a little. I tried to loosen the chains one (1) link and didnt help. They were pretty tight. Should I try to make them tighter?


I did not seem to have this issue with my 09 silverado


thanks
Chris

[Rcgreat]

I am not an expert, I will say that when I was not comfortable with the way my trailer towed I went back to the install manual for the WDH in redid everything. It was much better have that.

[RogerR]

What is your brand of hitch? Andersen have chains but so do some bar type hitches.

In my case and I assume most others the purpose of the hitch is to transfer weight from the rear tires to the front to maintain safe steering and braking.

Is your problem there is so much weight gone from the back that it is driving oddly??

One thing to do is to weight your back and front axles without the trailer attached and with them attached to see what the hitch is doing. But I wonder exactly what your problem is as I have never experienced or read about so much weight off the rear to cause driving problems.

[16WhiteColly]

Here you go. This works great!

David's RV Tips: Hitch Setup

[Jagiven]

Have you weighed your setup? If not, I would strongly consider taking the three CAT scale measurements when fully loaded with a full tank of fuel.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...v-tt-3871.html

Another item I found that really affected me was the tires. When I changed my OEM TV tires, I put on a different brand but same spec. The combo did not pull very well. I tried a few different tire pressures. I found an extra 10 psi in the back tires and an extra 5 psi in the front tires greatly improved the towing experience. I have now upgraded tires again, to LTs, and I still run the elevated tire pressure, and it tows very nicely. Never tried the OEM recommended pressures.

Also check your TT tire pressure before towing (every trip). Always make sure they are filled to the max tire pressure noted on the side walls. I experienced some bad handling first trip out one spring when I did not check the pressures. I was down about 5 psi, on the cheap TT tires when we got to our destination. Even little sports cars was pushing me around.

[DocBrown]

How tight the bars are is not the way to check them, or validate that it's setup correctly.

Page 346 of the Silverado 2016 manual says, "When using a weight-distributing hitch, measure distance (2) before coupling the trailer to the hitch ball.
Measure the height again after the trailer is coupled and adjust the spring bars so the distance (2) is as close as possible to halfway between the two measurements". Check your manual, I'm sure the verbiage is the same as we have the same generation of truck.

Jagiven brought a point about tire pressure. I'm assuming you have a 1500 series truck. If you have the stock tires, they are "P" rated. With my trailer (4500# loaded) the "P" rated tires are fine. With the longer, heavier trailer you have, you may want to consider LT tires. The sidewalls are stiffer and won't wobble as much.

[chrismoore701]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

How tight the bars are is not the way to check them, or validate that it's setup correctly.

Page 346 of the Silverado 2016 manual says, "When using a weight-distributing hitch, measure distance (2) before coupling the trailer to the hitch ball.
Measure the height again after the trailer is coupled and adjust the spring bars so the distance (2) is as close as possible to halfway between the two measurements". Check your manual, I'm sure the verbiage is the same as we have the same generation of truck.

Jagiven brought a point about tire pressure. I'm assuming you have a 1500 series truck. If you have the stock tires, they are "P" rated. With my trailer (4500# loaded) the "P" rated tires are fine. With the longer, heavier trailer you have, you may want to consider LT tires. The sidewalls are stiffer and won't wobble as much.

Well damn, I just got new tires

[mrmom]

FYI, I have a 2019 Suburban with p-rated tires. I have found that if I air up the rears to 44 psi (cold, max) my trailer (6000 lbs loaded) tows much better with no sway. Might want to try that as well as double checking your WDH setup.