Mike_LA
US Gulf Coast
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Joined: 11/20/2004
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Torsion Axle suspension.
In these type axle, when the suspension cords go bad, the trailer tend to squat over time.
As the cords start to deteriorate, the overall ride quality drops.
Have you checked?
How much clearance is there between the top of the tire and the fender well?
Are there any signs of the tires coming in contact with the fender well?
Mike
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jmtandem
western nevada
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Joined: 01/18/2006
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H and E,
Try a different hitch first. Then pull the trailer with a different tow vehicle. If in both cases the results are the same, then maybe look into the squat of the axles. Most torsion axles will last at leaat twenty years so unless you have a defect somewhere, the axles should not be the issue. You said you pulled with an Escalade and it was much better. The Escalade does not have as stiff a rear suspension your truck has. Then you added Equalizer spring bars at 1200 pounds. Those are more 'bars' and less 'spring' bars. Between the stout suspension on your truck and the 1200 pound bars the ride would be extremely stiff and I suspect you would feel bumps. (For your tongue weight you could probably get away with using no spring bars if your receiver was strong enough to handle the non WD loaded tongue. You still would want a sway feature, however). You might try using lesser spring bars (600 or 800) but try a totally different hitch and see if that helps with the problem.
What weight are you trying to redistribute with the hitch? Surely your truck does not squat nor are you overloading the rear axle with this tongue weight. You have a heavy diesel engine sitting on ther front axle, why add more weight to that axle? Lastly, why add two hundred or so pounds to the trailer axles with this hitch if you don't have to?
(I have used an Equalizer 1200 hitch in conjunction with a one ton truck. The truck can easily handle a tongue weight such as yours without any weight distribution hitch. When I used the 1200 pound bars the spring bars were so lightly loaded as they did not really need to be used as they had little, if any, affect. I have found the Equalizer four point hitch to be more for light duty tow vehicles and almost irreveleant for stout trucks. Add to that the fact that there has to be some pressure on the spring bars for the sway feature to work. Why redistribute (by the hitch) any weight to front axle (on a heavy diesel engine that needs no more weight added to that axle) and to add about 25 percent of the tongue's redistibuted weight to the TT axles, axles that you already think are having issues.)
* This post was
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ExRocketScientist
Laurel, MD
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Joined: 11/11/2010
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Great animation Mike LA. Hopefully this will help the OP check this and perhaps eliminate another variable (or find the problem).
jmtandem has another good point. The transporters that deliver these things from the factory use big heavy duty trucks, 1 ton duallies at a minimum, and no weight distribution at all (and no sway control). That is why, as someone mentioned in another thread about trailer sway, if the design of the trailer was such that it had too little tongue weight when it left the factory, the transporter would turn around within a few miles of the factory and return it.
ERS
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H & E
North Texas
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Joined: 10/05/2006
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Thanks all
I did go to the book on the axels and the angles are where they are supposed to be according to the installation instructions. The wheels are a long way from anything they can hit. When I move the trailer from home to the storage shed, which is 27 miles from the house, I do not use the equal-i-zer bars on the hitch. The trailer is empty and does pull better. I have not tried pulling it loaded with the bars off. I will try that next time we go on an outing with it. Next planned trip is in July to escape the Texas heat for a couple of months.
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jmtandem
western nevada
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Quote: I will try that next time we go on an outing with it.
Be absolutely certain the receiver on your truck can handle the weight of the tongue without the weight distribution hitch. Usually there are two values on the receiver, a max weight using a weight distribution hitch and a max weight not using the hitch. Good luck!
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ExRocketScientist
Laurel, MD
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And let us know what you discover. The information will likely help someone else in the future.
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jmtandem
western nevada
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Quote:And let us know what you discover. The information will likely help someone else in the future.
ExRocketScientist,
Absolutely, this will be valuable infomation for anybody coming along later. By the time H and E gets this sorted out he will be the 'go to' guy for others that might have issues with torsion axles on his model trailer.
H and E,
You might spend some time in the Airstream forums, they use torsion axles and there is considerable information about virtually every aspect of Airstreams including the pros and cons of the controversial Equalizer hitch as it relates to Airstream trailers. If nothing else it is a good read on a cold winter night.
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