Hitch/Airbag Questions

[jetrinka]

So please ignore my blissful ignorance on this whole subject. My wife and I are thinking about obtaining a smaller travel trailer and I have a few questions regarding towing it.

The truck in question is a 2021 Power Wagon with a payload of just shy of 1200 lbs (don't laugh at me - you know you want to be this cool too)

I am not concerned at all about the Wagon's ability to tow what I think we are looking for, nor about the fact that we will likely be over the payload of the truck. The size of the trailers we are looking at will likely end up having a dry weight of about 5k and a hitch weight of about 400-500lbs. I understand these numbers go up when the tanks have water in them.

I am NOT a fan of saggy butt syndrome when towing and my questions relate to the benefits of bags alone/WDH alone/or both together. The PW as we know does not lend itself to carrying loads well....

GOAL: To tow such a vehicle keeping the factory (or close it it) rake front to back.

1: If I went with bags alone it would be a fairly simple setup with independent plumbing to each one and daystar cradles. To those that have the daystar cradles how much do the bags need to be inflated before they even come in contact to start carrying any load? Are they fairly "close" empty? To me it wouldn't make sense to run just bags if it meant the truck would need to sag a bit before they would even come into play

2: If the tongue weight of the trailer lets say is 500lbs, how much (realistically) can I remove from the tongue using a WDH? What is the typical percentage? And can a WDH be fitted to most any trailer? Google is fairly nebulous on these questions...

3: Can bags and WDH be used in tandem? I doubt I would go this route as it is seriously overkill but was just curious.

 

[LateToTheParty]

So please ignore my blissful ignorance on this whole subject. My wife and I are thinking about obtaining a smaller travel trailer and I have a few questions regarding towing it.

The truck in question is a 2021 Power Wagon with a payload of just shy of 1200 lbs (don't laugh at me - you know you want to be this cool too)

I am not concerned at all about the Wagon's ability to tow what I think we are looking for, nor about the fact that we will likely be over the payload of the truck. The size of the trailers we are looking at will likely end up having a dry weight of about 5k and a hitch weight of about 400-500lbs. I understand these numbers go up when the tanks have water in them.

I am NOT a fan of saggy butt syndrome when towing and my questions relate to the benefits of bags alone/WDH alone/or both together. The PW as we know does not lend itself to carrying loads well....

GOAL: To tow such a vehicle keeping the factory (or close it it) rake front to back.

1: If I went with bags alone it would be a fairly simple setup with independent plumbing to each one and daystar cradles. To those that have the daystar cradles how much do the bags need to be inflated before they even come in contact to start carrying any load? Are they fairly "close" empty? To me it wouldn't make sense to run just bags if it meant the truck would need to sag a bit before they would even come into play

2: If the tongue weight of the trailer lets say is 500lbs, how much (realistically) can I remove from the tongue using a WDH? What is the typical percentage? And can a WDH be fitted to most any trailer? Google is fairly nebulous on these questions...

3: Can bags and WDH be used in tandem? I doubt I would go this route as it is seriously overkill but was just curious.

1 - Yes, the install is very straight forward and simple. As for the bags, this is going to depend on which ones you go with.

2 - Yes, you can adapt a WDH to most trailers, but I don't know that I've seen a specific formula for a percentage.

3 - Yes, they can be used together with no issues.

 

[Surgdoc4]

So please ignore my blissful ignorance on this whole subject. My wife and I are thinking about obtaining a smaller travel trailer and I have a few questions regarding towing it.

The truck in question is a 2021 Power Wagon with a payload of just shy of 1200 lbs (don't laugh at me - you know you want to be this cool too)

I am not concerned at all about the Wagon's ability to tow what I think we are looking for, nor about the fact that we will likely be over the payload of the truck. The size of the trailers we are looking at will likely end up having a dry weight of about 5k and a hitch weight of about 400-500lbs. I understand these numbers go up when the tanks have water in them.

I am NOT a fan of saggy butt syndrome when towing and my questions relate to the benefits of bags alone/WDH alone/or both together. The PW as we know does not lend itself to carrying loads well....

GOAL: To tow such a vehicle keeping the factory (or close it it) rake front to back.

1: If I went with bags alone it would be a fairly simple setup with independent plumbing to each one and daystar cradles. To those that have the daystar cradles how much do the bags need to be inflated before they even come in contact to start carrying any load? Are they fairly "close" empty? To me it wouldn't make sense to run just bags if it meant the truck would need to sag a bit before they would even come into play

2: If the tongue weight of the trailer lets say is 500lbs, how much (realistically) can I remove from the tongue using a WDH? What is the typical percentage? And can a WDH be fitted to most any trailer? Google is fairly nebulous on these questions...

3: Can bags and WDH be used in tandem? I doubt I would go this route as it is seriously overkill but was just curious.

Airlift 5000 bags are easy to install and make a huge difference. Manual fill is all that’s needed. 10 pounds in bags when empty makes for a better ride and depending on trailer weight 30 to 50 will level everything. Keeping everything level and loading weight forward prevents sway.

 

[BikePilot]

I would probably give it a shot as the truck is, that's a really light load and it may not sag too much.

 

[Brutal_HO]

Air bags will level the rear but can actually take weight off the front axle if used without a WDH.

That said, 500lbs is probably not a big deal unless you have a lot of weight in the bed also.

 

[jetrinka]

Air bags will level the rear but can actually take weight off the front axle if used without a WDH.

That said, 500lbs is probably not a big deal unless you have a lot of weight in the bed also.

Very informative video

 

[john221us]

Tongue weight, properly loaded, should actually be 12% to 15% of the total (loaded) trailer weight, so you are probably looking at 600 to 750 lbs of tongue weight. You might get by if you don't put much in the bed. I just upgraded to a 3/4 ton after 3 seasons of towing a 4,600 lb dry (probably 5,500 loaded) trailer. It is ok 90% of the time, but get a good head wind and you will be white knuckling it.

 

[jetrinka]

Well we bought a trailer. It’s a 4900 gross weight 22 footer. Unloaded is 3720 with an unloaded hitch weight of 400. Love the trailer and can’t wait to pick it up!

The dealer is going to source a Husky center line TS hitch and set it all up on delivery day for me. I think the truck should pull it nicely.

 

[whitexc]

Your wagon will pull that trailer just fine. Congrats on the new toy and have fun! If you are new to camping set up in your driveway a few times to get the hang of it and figure out what you "need".

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[UglyViking]

As others have said, I'd try and tow it without anything beyond a WDH and see how it is. I don't know how often you plan on towing, but if you see more sag than you'd like you can look into Timbrens as a quick option. They are maintenance free, which is nice, and can be installed with hand tools in about 15-30 mins. I used mine towing from the north east to Montana and back in July and noticed an improvement in stability, not a ton but a little.

I also have the Husky centerline TS and while it does a good job reducing sway, it's terribly noisy when you're pulling into camp. Sounds like two whales going at it and at least for me it's really embarrassing as it draws looks. If you decide to go with it make sure to double check the install. I noticed with my install that there was no way to get the "L" brackets (where the bars sit for weight distribution and sway control) forward enough. They were either way too close, or they were too far back, my propane tank mount and battery mount prevented the correct placement. This lead to any turn greater than say 40 degrees almost guaranteeing popping out the bars. Got caught in upstate NY where I had to make a tight turn, one side popped, then I fixed it and had to do another turn and the opposite popped. I have only used this system, so I can't speak for other systems but I'm overall not sold. Beyond it's sway control (which is solid when comparing it to my standard ball hitch) it's a mess.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

You truck will drag that along like its not there and the hitch weight is almost nothing i would not waste time with a WDH but i never use one unless i have no choice i have run 1750LBS tongue weight without a WDH no problems. Not everyone has the same feel and every trailer is different…

 

[jetrinka]

As others have said, I'd try and tow it without anything beyond a WDH and see how it is. I don't know how often you plan on towing, but if you see more sag than you'd like you can look into Timbrens as a quick option. They are maintenance free, which is nice, and can be installed with hand tools in about 15-30 mins. I used mine towing from the north east to Montana and back in July and noticed an improvement in stability, not a ton but a little.

I also have the Husky centerline TS and while it does a good job reducing sway, it's terribly noisy when you're pulling into camp. Sounds like two whales going at it and at least for me it's really embarrassing as it draws looks. If you decide to go with it make sure to double check the install. I noticed with my install that there was no way to get the "L" brackets (where the bars sit for weight distribution and sway control) forward enough. They were either way too close, or they were too far back, my propane tank mount and battery mount prevented the correct placement. This lead to any turn greater than say 40 degrees almost guaranteeing popping out the bars. Got caught in upstate NY where I had to make a tight turn, one side popped, then I fixed it and had to do another turn and the opposite popped. I have only used this system, so I can't speak for other systems but I'm overall not sold. Beyond it's sway control (which is solid when comparing it to my standard ball hitch) it's a mess.

Yeah I agree about checking out the install. I also read about noise issues and a lot of people seem to solve them by ensuring the bars are lubricated in the right spots. We will see. It’s all a learning experience! Lol. Pick up the trailer not this Saturday but the next

 

[jetrinka]

8 in a V - you sit to pee??

Lol picked up the trailer and it tows soooo nicely. At nearly 4K empty the Hemi just chugs happily along. Although I’ve never had a weight distribution hitch I can say the truck/hitch combo tow this thing nicer than my 3500 gross utility trailer fully loaded without the WD hitch.

I’ve also never had a trailer with brakes and I’m absolutely loving it.

I had a set of bags in the garage ready to go but I’m sending them back as they aren’t needed.


The picture makes the trailer seem nose high. On level ground it’s perfectly level