Recommended Way to Raise and Lower Weight Distribution Spring Bars

Question:

Towing a 6000 lb travel trailer, tongue wt 800 lbs, with a 2016 Ford F-150 XLT 3.5 L Ecoboost. Ride Rite Airbags. Blue Ox Sway Pro BXW1000 professionally installed. Drivers side bracket it 28inch from center of coupler to center of rotating latch, due to obstruction of battery platform. Passenger side is at 28.5. Even so, chains are almost perfectly straight up and down when latched. Using 9 links to get that nice gentle bow in the wt bars. My problem: Its always easy to latch and unlatch the chain on the drivers side, but the passenger side is always very hard to get on and off. Why just the one side? Doesnt matter if Im level or not, air bags inflated or not, which side I do first. Takes all my strength to get the chain on, and getting it off is... Well, it goes gently, gentle, and then WHAM, the wrench flies out of my hand as it and the chain swing around so fast you cant even see them move. Surely this isnt normal. What am I doing wrong here?

asked by: Flo

Expert Reply:

What you described can be pretty dangerous if you're not careful. One tip to make connecting/disconnecting the bars easier is to use the trailer jack to raise the tongue of the trailer with it connected to the tow vehicle so that you'll be installing the bars with significatly less spring bar tension. I would highly recommend you use this method and not continue using your method where the wrench flies out of your hands.

Having uneven spring bar tension is not a great sign. Especially to the extreme you mentioned. Does the trailer sit level side to side? Is it possible to get the chain hangers at the same distance from the ball?

expert reply by: Jameson C