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Amount of Squat with weight distributing hitch

eaglerugby04

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Does anybody on here know the amount of squat I should expect with a stock Rubicon and a WDH? I bought my camper used, came with the hitch, last guy never used it. After reading some things on here and watching a few videos it looks like the setup on this is a lot more involved than the initial attach that occured when I purchased it. I was curious what everybody thought was in the tolerable range and if I should also add some air bags. Not taking this thing cross country or anything but do want to make sure it is as safe as possible. It is a 28ft Jayco that weighs in at 6200lbs. I know it is on the heavier side for this truck, but with needing a bunkhouse most of my options are in this range. This is also why I want to make sure the hitch is optimal.

Any help and ideas are much appreciated.

Overall rig with where the WDH is currently sitting after me adjusting it. Seems better than before, camper is for sure more level then before. All stabilizers and jacks are off the ground, just not by much in these photos
Jeep Gladiator Amount of Squat with weight distributing hitch 1595199754519



Closeup of the hitch/tongue

Jeep Gladiator Amount of Squat with weight distributing hitch 1595199884430



Truck is still a tad to low as shown by here. I can adjust the hitch up, but feel like it should lift with the bars in place If I get it just right

Jeep Gladiator Amount of Squat with weight distributing hitch 1595200022030


I placed a bubble level on the support bar. It is under tension here as expected Not sure if it should be more level or at a steeper angle.

Jeep Gladiator Amount of Squat with weight distributing hitch 1595200207803
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EugeneTheJeep

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sgtkersh

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Essentially, you shouldn’t have any squat. That makes the front end flighty and harder to control in bad situations. The purpose of the WDH is to distribute the weight evenly between all the axles, truck and trailer. It essentially should be level from front to back. That is hard to dial in, but the only real way is to follow those instructions and measure/weigh your axles. The best way is to go to a truck weigh station and get accurate weigh measurements. Barring that, you need to find the most level piece of ground you can, like a parking lot, break out your tape measure and adjust until the vehicle and camper are level.
 
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eaglerugby04

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Thanks I was reading over this yesterday night. I am close, but there are a few things I for sure need to tweak.

Essentially, you shouldn’t have any squat. That makes the front end flighty and harder to control in bad situations. The purpose of the WDH is to distribute the weight evenly between all the axles, truck and trailer. It essentially should be level from front to back. That is hard to dial in, but the only real way is to follow those instructions and measure/weigh your axles. The best way is to go to a truck weigh station and get accurate weigh measurements. Barring that, you need to find the most level piece of ground you can, like a parking lot, break out your tape measure and adjust until the vehicle and camper are level.
This thing is a pain to dial in too. With the giant bolts on it, I only have pipe wrenches that fit it. Good to know I am on the right path, Have been measuring. I am guessing that the amount of squat that gets rid of the rake is all I should have, right? Or are you saying rake should still be there?
 

sgtkersh

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Thanks I was reading over this yesterday night. I am close, but there are a few things I for sure need to tweak.



This thing is a pain to dial in too. With the giant bolts on it, I only have pipe wrenches that fit it. Good to know I am on the right path, Have been measuring. I am guessing that the amount of squat that gets rid of the rake is all I should have, right? Or are you saying rake should still be there?
No rake. Level front to rear is what you are looking for. Having the back end high with the rake can be as bad, then the backend is flighty and hard to control downhill in particular.
 

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eaglerugby04

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No rake. Level front to rear is what you are looking for. Having the back end high with the rake can be as bad, then the backend is flighty and hard to control downhill in particular.
Thats good to know, I think I am closer than I thought then.
 

azeeb

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I disagree with the level rake advice. Like EugeneTheJeep said, focus on the front wheel measurement. Your rear is going to squat some. Hopefully not more than 1-2", but that is a big trailer for a gladiator. Not much you can do about that. What matters is you restore weight to the front axle so your steering isn't light. Measure the fender height on the front when the truck is unhooked from the trailer. When you hook up the trailer, you want the WDH applying enough pressure to bring the front back down to the same unloaded measurement.

You hitch looks like an E2 fastway. Do you know what pound rating the bars are? You may have trouble getting enough weight distribution with that hitch and a trailer that big. I had an E2 hitch with 1000lb bars, and I just recently scrapped it in favor of a blue ox sway pro with 1500 lb bars. I was never a fan of my E2. The setup is a pain in the rear, like you are finding out. Also the noise drove me nuts. I like the Blue Ox a lot better. No noise, and setup is dead simple. If you need more weight distribution you just take up another chain length.
 

sgtkersh

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I disagree with the level rake advice. Like EugeneTheJeep said, focus on the front wheel measurement. Your rear is going to squat some. Hopefully not more than 1-2", but that is a big trailer for a gladiator. Not much you can do about that. What matters is you restore weight to the front axle so your steering isn't light. Measure the fender height on the front when the truck is unhooked from the trailer. When you hook up the trailer, you want the WDH applying enough pressure to bring the front back down to the same unloaded measurement.

You hitch looks like an E2 fastway. Do you know what pound rating the bars are? You may have trouble getting enough weight distribution with that hitch and a trailer that big. I had an E2 hitch with 1000lb bars, and I just recently scrapped it in favor of a blue ox sway pro with 1500 lb bars. I was never a fan of my E2. The setup is a pain in the rear, like you are finding out. Also the noise drove me nuts. I like the Blue Ox a lot better. No noise, and setup is dead simple. If you need more weight distribution you just take up another chain length.
That is not really correct and if you read the reference instructions you will see that you could over correct and put too much weight on the front axle. If you reintroduce any rake, then you have likely put too much weight on the front axle. You are shooting for half way between the uncoupled measurement and the coupled measurement with a goal of having the trailer level at the tongue. A perfect setup is the vehicle is level from front to back.

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azeeb

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I think we are kind of in agreement.

My rubicon sits pretty level even when unloaded. I think the rubicons have taller front springs. If I tried to make it sit level with a load on the back, I would have have to apply way too much weight distribution, and I would be overloading the front axle. The front fender height would be well below the unloaded height. Maybe the other gladiator models have more rake unloaded than mine.

If the the front fender height is the same as unloaded, then the weight on the front axle will be approximately the same as unloaded. This is what you want, and it will be true regardless of the how much the rear squats, or how level the truck is. The front axle doesn’t have a whole lot of extra load carrying capacity. The rear axle is meant to carry most of the weight.
 

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Check this video. As the jeep passes the dash camera, freeze the pain and check the squat. It looks as though the front is a little high. Stay with the video and you will see him loose it.

 

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EugeneTheJeep

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Careful here. Rubi front fenders are higher up. There is a factory rake with the back higher unloaded. Squat an inch and a half In the back with a heavy tongue weight and it’s level. But the front fenders will still be higher because that’s how they’re built on a Rubi.
 
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eaglerugby04

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Careful here. Rubi front fenders are higher up. There is a factory rake with the back higher unloaded. Squat an inch and a half In the back with a heavy tongue weight and it’s level. But the front fenders will still be higher because that’s how they’re built on a Rubi.
Thanks for confirming. Thats what I thought I was noticing. The fenders did not seem equal. The guide is helpful. I need to take the time and get some really acturate well marked mesurments and really dig into this tomorrow.
 

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The more level, the more better, yes it can be a pain to dial in. 6,200 lb is a lot of weight for the Pentastar to pull. Is that dry weight? As I'm sure you know you're adding to that the weight of the WDH hitch itself, passengers, cargo, propane, water, passengers...
 

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Buy an Equalizer brand and read the instructions.
 
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eaglerugby04

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The more level, the more better, yes it can be a pain to dial in. 6,200 lb is a lot of weight for the Pentastar to pull. Is that dry weight? As I'm sure you know you're adding to that the weight of the WDH hitch itself, passengers, cargo, propane, water, passengers...
It is a decent amount. That is the dry plus full propain according to the sticker. Don't plan on going out boon docking so my water tanks will be empty most of the time. Also will not be traveling more than probably an hour or two with this since I know it is close to the max. Passengers are luckily only 3 kids. Cargo won't be much for most trips, mostly just long weekends.

I know I am coming close to the numbers, but still under. Trying to get this WDH near perfect.
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