level riders

what he said... and there's no way you should go near your tow ball max (or use a WDH) away from bitumen due to rougher conditions.

Get some weight off that ball!

Hi Peter and others,

I also am not wanting an arguement, however want to add to the discussion.

It is my understanding that 'level rides' work by transferring some of the load back via the tow bar to the front end of the car.

Clearly if weight is taken off the hitch area it must go somewhere, and that means the front end/suspension. This may not seem too bad, and when on level to relatively level roads is normally not a concern, however once more serious undulations are encountered then (my understanding is) the weight transferred to the front end is subjected to a multiplier effect.

Depending on the multiplier, there is the potential to momentarily overload the front end, and if this is repeated often enough then there could well be serious consequences.

My guess is that this is why some car manufacturers specifically advise not to use them.

So in the example Peter has used that 80kg needs to be multiplied by whatever the 'lever' ie load leveller dictates (depending on how it is adjusted)etc.

Hope this is of interest to you.

Rgds,

Rob.

Hi all

When tow vehicle and van are level the bars transfer x amount if you drive though a large dip front of vehicle up rear down front of van down rear up the load on the bars goes up 10x all this load is transferred into hitch then bolts that hold towbar to vehicle plus into the draw bar were the bars attach and if the bars are taken past there amount of spring bend they stay bent.
A lot of people with WHD use there jockey wheel to make it easy to connect bars ( lift after connecting van hook bars with no load drop jockey, bars are pre loaded )
Reversing is okay unless you put vehicle and van at right angles some bars will bind on drawr bar.

I still use and would not tow at speed on highway with out them would have to be a a track with large whoops or wash outs to cause probs then I would take them off and be driving to the conditions. some servos need to be watched drive in and out at as much angle to reduce the dip ( not both back wheels in toghter)
Vehicle Navara D40 Van Safari 236 van gvm 3000kg tow ball weight around 280 kg depends on how much water on board carry up to 240 litres
cheers Phil.

Thanks John.

I now uinderstand that it is not "rough roads" that are the problem but dips & creekcrossings etc where the vehicle nose and rear of trailer are up and their other ends are down.(obviously exerting much greater pressure on the bar and it's attachment points)

Peter