I purchased a 2670MK a couple of months ago and purchased the WD hitch from the dealer as well. The spring bars are rated for 1,000 lbs and my tongue weight is 1,150. I went to the dealer to ask about the under weight bars and was told that, with 2 bars, they can support TW up to 2,000. I'm not sure if I believe that? Tandem axels are rated less than the total weight of the trailer e.g. 2 4400 axels should support up to a 8800 lb trailer. Is it the same with WD spring bars? The hitch itself is rated for 12,000 so no concerns there.
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Originally posted by scdock View PostI purchased a 2670MK a couple of months ago and purchased the WD hitch from the dealer as well. The spring bars are rated for 1,000 lbs and my tongue weight is 1,150. I went to the dealer to ask about the under weight bars and was told that, with 2 bars, they can support TW up to 2,000. I'm not sure if I believe that? Tandem axels are rated less than the total weight of the trailer e.g. 2 4400 axels should support up to a 8800 lb trailer. Is it the same with WD spring bars? The hitch itself is rated for 12,000 so no concerns there.
RobRob & Barb
2022 RAM 3500 Big Horn, 6.7 Cummins HO/Aisin
2022 Solitude 378MBS
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Originally posted by HuntindogBars are a lot like a pair of shoes. Too small is no good. And too large is bad as well. The right size is the right size.
Too small will not transfer enough weight. To large will give a bad ride, and in some cases can actually damage the TT frame, or cause a lack of traction for the rear wheels of the TV. The bars are wiorking springs. They MUST flex in use, whiile being strong enough to transfer the right amount of weight.
Now have said that, there are enough differences in TVs to sometimes justify moving away from the bars ratings a little. Factors such as the the TVs wheelbase, and or how strong or weak the TVs suspension is can make a somewhat stronger or weaker bar best for a particular lashup.
Fortunantly the bars usual have a fairly large weight range that they can perform well in, so one can usually get the proper bars by following those ratings.
Bars ARE rated for the pair!
If for some reason, you think that you may have a bad match,, reread what I wrote above and consider if any of it may apply to your lashup
I keep one set of bars for when I'm towing very light and another set for when I'm fully loaded.
Many hitch manufacturers are not clear on this. But from what I've read, the bars should also compensate for heavy loads that you may have in the rear of the tow vehicle. For example, if you have 1200# of hitch weight and 300# of cargo behind the rear axle, you should consider 1500# bars to tackle the load.
If the load in your trailer or back of your tow vehicle changes, you may need to adjust your chain settings or change your hitch bars to compensate and get the tow vehicle back to the proper level.
I'd recommend that you visit a truck scale with your fully loaded truck and trailer to make sure that you are not over or under adjusted with your weight distribution settings.
JimLast edited by Country Campers; 11-06-2020, 03:49 PM.Jim and Ginnie
2024 Solitude 310GK
GDRV Technical Forum Moderator
GDRV Rally Support Coordinator
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Thanks for the feedback everyone. I've reached out to Fastway to get their advice and will follow up on this thread when I hear back. Based on all of your comments I'm guessing they are going to come back with the same information2120 Imagine 2670MK
2016 F-150 3.5 EcoBoost
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I heard back from Fastway and the 2 bars together are rated for 1,000 lbs. Now I have to deal with the dealer selling an incorrectly weighted WDH and providing me incorrect information on how the weighting works on spring bars......I'm sure that will be fun!. I'll post results from that conversation.2120 Imagine 2670MK
2016 F-150 3.5 EcoBoost
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Agree the bars are too light for the OP. Air bags on the TV will supplement greatly with proper sized bars or slightly undersized bars. 1400lb (sum of both bars) bars would work well where you do not want to be at the upper limit and airbags would provide infinite adjustment for alternate loading. The pre-load or adjustment of the bars will provide the proper transfer of weight (static) where the higher capacity bars will better absorb energy when the trailer mass is accelerating down on the hitch from rough roads.
My tongue weight fully loaded with full water is 940lbs. I have 1000lb bars where the 1200lb bars would have performed better IMO. The airlift system handles the downward acceleration on the hitch and prevents contact with the jounce bumpers. An important consideration. So I made the light weight bars work with the airbags where buying a higher capacity hitch would be nice, but is not worth the cost.
JimLast edited by Guest; 10-10-2020, 10:25 AM.
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Originally posted by Huntindog
A small but important point about airbags. They do NOT transfer any weight.
Mike & Lisa
Central Florida
2021 Imagine 2970RL
1996 Chevy K3500 Crew SRW 7.4L Gas
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Good point where Airbags alone generally should not be used in place of a weight distribution hitch. Unless of course your towing a 2600RB with a one ton truck. Cases where the truck rear axle is well within its load rating could be used with bags alone to level the truck. Not the case in my half ton setup, where I use both air bags and a weight distribution hitch. Much of the weight is transferred by the hitch and ride height is adjusted with the bags.
Jim
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Originally posted by MidwestCamper View PostGood point where Airbags alone generally should not be used in place of a weight distribution hitch. Unless of course your towing a 2600RB with a one ton truck. Cases where the truck rear axle is well within its load rating could be used with bags alone to level the truck. Not the case in my half ton setup, where I use both air bags and a weight distribution hitch. Much of the weight is transferred by the hitch and ride height is adjusted with the bags.
JimMike & Lisa
Central Florida
2021 Imagine 2970RL
1996 Chevy K3500 Crew SRW 7.4L Gas
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Here is a link to a general setup of the air lift air bags with a WDH. I've used a slightly modified approach to this setup where my truck ready to tow sits in its unloaded stance. I ran across a video where this fellow is setting up very similar to the method I've used with great success.
https://www.airliftcompany.com/works...s-air-springs/
Jim
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Originally posted by MidwestCamper View PostNot the case in my half ton setup, where I use both air bags and a weight distribution hitch. Much of the weight is transferred by the hitch and ride height is adjusted with the bags.
Jim
Charles and Susan
2021 Ram 3500 6.4 Hemi, 4x4 CCSB
Andersen Hitch
2021 Reflection 337rls
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Originally posted by ckreef View Post
The WDH on the truck should be adjusted to the level ride height of the trailer. That is the first step for adjusting a WDH. Yes air bags, sumo springs, RoadMaster Active Suspension etc...... can help with the height/squat but it all starts with a WDH that has been properly adjust for the level height of the trailer. If you don't have the proper height adjustment of a WDH nothing extra will solve that problem.
I believe we are all saying the same thing. Bars transfer weight. Bags adjust ride height....of the TV. The video link I provided shows how to setup using both systems.
My half ton tows perfectly with no bottoming of my TV suspension on the worse Michigan roads, no sway, and practically imperceivable truck suck. This is due to a a set up with zero lift to the front suspension.
Jim
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