Dave,

I've adjusted and re-adjusted several times and leave my WDH at the same setting in all conditions but will slow down during excessively windy conditions. The problem begins when the dealer (with good intentions) makes adjustments on an unladen trailer. Once we load up and add full water most of the time, the hitch just was not doing its job. The rig was porpoising, and the truck would bottom out on occasion on the horrible Michigan roads and truck suck was present. I had theorized to add as much weight to the front of the lightweight truck to plant it since the steering also felt a bit light and resulted in a bit of oversteer. This would translate to the trailer.
To overcome all this, I moved the hitch higher up to level the nose and to put some weight back on the axles and off the hitch. I moved from 5 to 6 washers to increase the load on the bars and finally added air bags to further transfer more weight to the front end and to increase rear suspension travel. Also added E rated Michelin Defenders and Bilstein 4600s. Tire pressure while towing was adjusted to 45psi on the front and 50 psi on the rear. The end result is no truck suck, a ride that is comparable to running empty ( on a normal road) and increased suspension travel on the truck to handle the worse conditions. Wind gusts and cross winds are typically not an issue at my 62-64 mph but if we experience enough to begin moving the rig about, I will slow to 60mph which makes a significant improvement.

I also use the Equalizer sway bracket jackets which will reduce some friction on the hitch so with tightening the bars, I was able to get that friction back to dampen unwanted motion.

Probably more information than what you were looking for but I want to share this setup which has worked so well for us.

Jim

Guest Jim, I don't think airbags help transfer load back to the front, as it just lifts the rear of the truck, unless you are lifting it enough to change the hitch weight from the trailer b/c of the following. Leveling the camper does help as the COG is above the hitch / axle line thus lifting the nose results in moving the COG of the unit rearward.

And yes, Our TT was the same way, dealer setup with nothing was horrible. Even their instructions of using the jack to lift the truck to make setting the bars "easy" was not a good idea. Sounds great in theory, but the high potential to overload the jack is extremely easy to do.

I found that If I had the fresh tank full (heading out for boon docking (ish) at the hunting lease vs coming home with the tank drained was 1 link difference on the Blue Ox. The chain style WD hitches seem to make it a bit easier to adjust the load.

Guest Jim, thanks for your input, that is exactly what I am looking for, certainly not too much info. We use the Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch and have done so for 5 years and near 30,000 miles, had a Resse in the past and believe the sway pro works better for me. I generally add one or two clicks on the strap-teks for wind which is much more convenient than the chains were. Howard and others seem to really like them so gave them a try and am glad I did so. Our last trip (about 2650 miles towing) was a real challenge with wind the whole time with 15 to 25 all days, one day with 30 to 35 steady head winds with 6.5 mpg leaving me happy about the long range fuel at 36 gallons, and another day up to 45 mph in the Columbia Gorge and approaching it. That day required slowing to 50 as well as an early long lunch break, which is great advise any time things get dicey, and adjusting the hitch 2 clicks tighter which helped with wiggle and push but certainly stiffened the ride. For us the Sway Pro, properly set-up, provides a good stable ride with little to no truck suck. I am eagerly awaiting the time when the factory tires wear out and can be replaced with the LTX Defenders that I have used for years. Many folks seem reluctant to share their hitch settings and philosophies for why they do things a certain way so am hoping to hear more.

Again, thanks, hard to get too much info for sorting.

Dave

Jlawles2 edit to thank for his input also, I was typing

Joseph,

There actually is some weight transfer but I could not say how much. Drag racers will tune front spring rates to aid in fast weight transfer at launch to the rear drive axle as an example. Basically the same thought as moving the CG in leveling the trailer to remove some weight from the hitch.

The half ton GM trucks seem to be tighter with jounce bumper clearance which makes tuning a bit more of a challenge. They tend to ride better empty and can handle a load well, but can also let you know your in Michigan with heavy tongue weights.

Jim

Dave,

I wish the Equalizer was adjustable with something like the strap-teks. The best I could do is set it up to a reasonable compromise between traveling loaded and unloaded. The airbags can be adjusted somewhat which helps. Loaded I air them to 45psi and the truck sits off the secondary spring in its unloaded stance.

Jim

Guest Jim, GM 3/4 and 1 ton trucks ride on the front stops by design. Get one up off the stops and it gets squirrelly. Front end stability goes right out the window.

I found not always slowing down with wind helps. Sometimes you need to pick up the speed (truck driver actually taught me this one). You need the net resultant of the 2 speeds / forces to point forward.

Hi Joseph,

The jounce bumper contact I had on my truck was on the rear. I'm aware of the front A arm pads on HD GM trucks where the first time I saw them thought it was odd, but understand they are intentional by design. I've not heard of speeding up in high winds before.

Jim

Jlawles2 Guest Actually I have heard about increasing speed to reduce affective side forces from the wind. This theory is equivalent to the difference of a slow aircraft and a fast one while traveling in a cross wind or a slow bullet and a fast one as lateral displacement is a function of speed and time and also somewhat weight. Higher speed equals less correction, just ask my varmint rifles. Having a thorough understanding of this from years of shooting and flying the thought of speeding up when the wind is blowing while towing gives me the willies. I guess the speed theory explains why the big rigs blow past me all the time?

Dave

I shoot at Camp Perry where one time we had a 25mph cross wind. Was shooting a yard to the left to be on target at 325 yards. If was really fun where the ballistic calculators are also fun gadgets. But the relative speeds of a bullet or a plane with respect to wind gusts may not work out as well as something moving as slow as a TV and trailer. Slowing down has worked for me to gain stability where I'll continue to do this based on my experience. No disrespect but speeding up would also give me the willies. I also fly RC planes and love aircraft.

Jim

Jim, I agree with slowing down in the wind while towing and will continue to do so. A travel trailer has the ballistic coefficient of a shoe box!

Dave

Not always does speeding up help with the winds. A lot of that has to do with setup. It's and experiment that one has to be comfortable with while traveling. It does not always take a lot of change in one factor to make drastic changes in the results.

Jim, I'm shocked (pun intended) that you have aftermarket shocks on your truck and air bags. I thought you were of the opinion that truck characteristics were immutable and only genuine factory parts were tried, true and tested At least that is what you told me in another discussion.

Just pulling your chain brother...

Jeff,

LOL. I do believe in keeping my GM truck all GM, but when I installed the heavy E rated tires, things changed a bit. I figured the factory shocks were no longer tuned to handle the increased unsprung mass so I went with the Bilsteins. Its widely known the aftermarket will have higher damping rates so customers can feel a difference in putting on their shocks. So I used this to my advantage. The bags are also an aftermarket product so you have every right to do the rolleyes.
With the bags and tires, I have improved my trailering but the parts have somewhat compromised my factory ride and I've also taken a slight fuel economy hit with the higher inertial loads. So to mess with the truck with aftermarket parts does have consequences. If I were not towing heavy, I would be installing the OEM shocks and tires.

Jim

Jim

On your Sierra, did you put the Bilsteins in the rear and the front? or just the rear. You mentioned you went with the 4600. Since you put airbags would you have not benefited more with the 5100 that can be adjusted for lift?

​​​​​​​Pierre