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Help on changing WD hitch setup

uavmx

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My trailer was setup to tow with my Jeep Grand Cherokee and I feel like the Jeep hitch height was a little higher and I had less “bounce” on bumps than what I get in the truck. It makes me think my setup isn’t right on my F150. According to the computer it says it’s only squatting 1 degree or so. Parked level I feel like it looks like the truck is squatting too much and the hitch height it too low. See pics:

Ford F-150 Lightning Help on changing WD hitch setup 557E94AE-777D-4A40-9342-DF8373AC8B02

Ford F-150 Lightning Help on changing WD hitch setup 12B49C12-E5CC-4CD6-A0FD-9076704FECA4

So my question is if I want/need to adjust it, should I 1) raise the WD bars to be higher, thus lifting the rear a little 2) raise the ball height by flipping the drop hitch over, then assume the WD bars are back to a correct amount or 3) do both flip the drop hitch and adjust the WD bars?

This was with pretty minimal weight in the trailer, tanks we're empty, my standard camping gear inside

it’s a lot of work, so I’m trying to save myself some time playing around with the setups! Appreciate any thoughts

Ford F-150 Lightning Help on changing WD hitch setup 2F61464C-7989-4DE9-9A41-B6842AEB7040
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Sundancer330

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What you need to do is take measurements at the front and rear wheel wells in the same spot. You should have less than one inch different between the front/rear. If the back is low go the next link on the WDH and check again. I use my electric jack and raise it way up coupled to the truck , make it much easier to tighten the chain
 
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uavmx

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What you need to do is take measurements at the front and rear wheel wells in the same spot. You should have less than one inch different between the front/rear. If the back is low go the next link on the WDH and check again. I use my electric jack and raise it way up coupled to the truck , make it much easier to tighten the chain
I'll take some measurements. I don't have a chain, it's a bar, the Reese steadiflex. That's why it's not so easy to adjust I have to unbolt the mounts and put them back on
 

chrisp993

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The point of the WDH is to transfer weight off the rear axle and onto the front axle (and also the trailer axles). So, since fender height is a proxy for weight on that axle, the goal is to bring your front fender height back toward its unladen position - this might end up similar to Sundancer330's advice, or might not .....

Anyway, find some nice level ground and measure the front fender lip height with trailer disconnected, then measure with trailer connected but WDH bars *disconnected*. Let's say the difference is a lift of the front fender lip by 2", your goal is to adjust the WDH bar tension so that when they are connected, the majority, say 75% or 1.5" of this 2" is removed and you end up with the front fender lip only raised 0.5" from it's unladen position. Do not put so much tension in the WDH bars that the front fender lip is lower than unladen position!

Once you've got the WDH set up correctly, check if your trailer is level - if it isn't, you need to adjust your ball height. Once you've done that go back and check that the WDH is still removing 75% of your front fender lip difference - I don't know your setup but its possible that ball height may interact with the WDH bar tension some how?

That's it! May seem complicated but it's really 30 mins of hooking/unhooking at most.

Also described on p371 of the Owner's Manual, although Ford don't make the any specific recommendation for how much of the front fender lip you should be aiming to remove.
 

Sundancer330

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I watched a Reese video on how to install this WDH but there doesn't seem to be any adjustment. My equalizer WDH has chain on the end of the bar which allows adjustment to put weight back on the front of the truck. Maybe I missed something but I didn't see anyway to adjust.
 

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uavmx

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The point of the WDH is to transfer weight off the rear axle and onto the front axle (and also the trailer axles). So, since fender height is a proxy for weight on that axle, the goal is to bring your front fender height back toward its unladen position - this might end up similar to Sundancer330's advice, or might not .....

Anyway, find some nice level ground and measure the front fender lip height with trailer disconnected, then measure with trailer connected but WDH bars *disconnected*. Let's say the difference is a lift of the front fender lip by 2", your goal is to adjust the WDH bar tension so that when they are connected, the majority, say 75% or 1.5" of this 2" is removed and you end up with the front fender lip only raised 0.5" from it's unladen position. Do not put so much tension in the WDH bars that the front fender lip is lower than unladen position!

Once you've got the WDH set up correctly, check if your trailer is level - if it isn't, you need to adjust your ball height. Once you've done that go back and check that the WDH is still removing 75% of your front fender lip difference - I don't know your setup but its possible that ball height may interact with the WDH bar tension some how?

That's it! May seem complicated but it's really 30 mins of hooking/unhooking at most.

Also described on p371 of the Owner's Manual, although Ford don't make the any specific recommendation for how much of the front fender lip you should be aiming to remove.
Thank you very much. Is there a way to setup/determine the right hitch height as the starting point? I would think that's the foundation to then figure out the WD setup....
 

chrisp993

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Sundancer330 - my WDH also has chains to adjust how much or little weight gets transferred. The Reese unit seems a kind of one size fits all? I prefer to have the option to adjust.

UAVMX - since the trailer will sag the truck rear, I'd start with truck and trailer level and set top of ball about an inch above the top of the coupler. Then when hitched up, the weight will sag rear to level (hopefully) and in so doing will flex/tension your WDH enough to put appropriate weight onto other axles
 
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BLoflin

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Pg 42 of the 2021 Ford RV and Trailer Towing Guide pdf has a good step by step with pics for setting up to tow with WDH. Which is a little different then the pg 371 of Owners Manual.
Ford F-150 Lightning Help on changing WD hitch setup Screenshot 2021-05-17 110951
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