Dumb question about leveling

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

...As a guess, very few people reading this would want to go with me.

I'd probably love to go with you, as long as you're driving.

Originally Posted by Mr. Adventure

I'd probably love to go with you, as long as you're driving.

One of my driving rules is that not more than one wheel of my truck is allowed to leave the ground.

I can drive on 3 wheels, but 2 wheels will frequently result in high centering.

In a Jeep, not towing, I have had 4 wheels off the ground, but I don't consider dirt jumping to count.

Yes, i'd come along as well as long as you are driving your rig, sounds like fun.
You are a regular explorer!
Thanks.

So this weekend I found a nice level parking lot and tweaked things with my new hitchbar til I hit level (and my front bumper was within ~1/8" of where it started), and lo and behold, on a 5 3/8" drop bar I found myself in the last hole! So things dropped roughly around 3 - 4" before I hit a level rig, which seems like a lot to me!

I then hit the CAT scales and discovered a result that was much more to my liking -- ~2880lbs on the front axle, ~3160lbs on the rear axle (low on fuel, nothing else in the back), and ~3560lbs on the trailer axle (mostly loaded, with only about ~150lbs worth of clothing and food left to load) -- all well within spec -- I'm much more comfortable with this!

So - money well spent in my mind! Thanks again for the input!

John

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by HappyWDWCampers

So this weekend I found a nice level parking lot and tweaked things with my new hitchbar til I hit level (and my front bumper was within ~1/8" of where it started), and lo and behold, on a 5 3/8" drop bar I found myself in the last hole! So things dropped roughly around 3 - 4" before I hit a level rig, which seems like a lot to me!

I then hit the CAT scales and discovered a result that was much more to my liking -- ~2880lbs on the front axle, ~3160lbs on the rear axle (low on fuel, nothing else in the back), and ~3560lbs on the trailer axle (mostly loaded, with only about ~150lbs worth of clothing and food left to load) -- all well within spec -- I'm much more comfortable with this!

So - money well spent in my mind! Thanks again for the input!

John

How many less pounds are there on the front axle after you're hitched?

~100lbs -- it really clarified the fact that it was picking up the back-end a bit -- and given my front axle max is 3275lbs whereas my rear is ~4100, I can certainly better afford to load the truck rear axle than the front.

I do find this interesting - when I was towing with my Sienna, the trailer axle would routinely hit ~3800lbs or more -- the funny thing is between the fact that we don't have ~240lbs of remaining stuff to load AND the fact I've already added one or two things that I did not have loaded last year (ez-up tent and a large outside mat), it makes me wonder why things were so different when both appeared "level."

Eh, I'll have to stop once more at the scales fully loaded and see what I find -- so far though, I'm quite pleased!

Thanks,
John

With the Sienna you were probably using a WDH which moved weight back onto the trailer axle?

With the Expedition are you still using a WDH? Maybe not, so less weight on trailer axle.

Yep, still using a WDH (same one from my Sienna) -- who knows -- maybe the Sienna wasn't quite as level as I thought, although it certainly looked level -- there was a bit more variability, given I had air bags firmly inflated to ward off sagging, coupled with the nagging suspicion that I was exceeding my tongue capacity...

Looking back at old scale records for the Sienna, I was transferring about 220lbs forward to my front axle (which brought me within 60-80lbs of the limit!), 180lbs to the rear axle, and the difference to the trailer axle.

Thanks,
John

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by HappyWDWCampers

...
I do find this interesting - when I was towing with my Sienna, the trailer axle would routinely hit ~3800lbs or more -- the funny thing is between the fact that we don't have ~240lbs of remaining stuff to load AND the fact I've already added one or two things that I did not have loaded last year (ez-up tent and a large outside mat), it makes me wonder why things were so different when both appeared "level."

100 pounds difference on your front axle when hitched is excellent.

The Sienna has much softer springs, allowing more up and down travel on bumps, and it starts out a lot lower in the first place. Therefore, I'd expect ground clearance to be a bigger problem. Also, we always need finer adjustments as we approach limits, treasuring all the carrying capacity available. Most important, of course, the 3124 is a whole lot of trailer for a Sienna and I think most of us would find the combo to be limiting. Thanks for posting your adventures.

It is amazing the difference between the Expy and the Sienna -- without the airbags (and even some with them), the Sienna used to porpoise all over the place. The truck? Not a bit.

And that's fine - there's a reason I kept my van and bought an 8 year old SUV - my van does it's job very well (people hauler), it's reliable, and I'm loathe to part with it -- except for towing.

Thanks,
John