Mechanical Load-leveling rear suspension

[TDGFordGuy]

..... So if your vehicle has been sitting, that's not a good measurement to use.
And it makes the WDH adjustment more difficult because every time you make an adjustment to the WDH, the load-leveling wants to correct it.

Many Expy owners don't realize that the "sqwating" when turned off is based on opening the rear hatch. The truck lowers down to aid in rear hatch loading/unloading. I believe it's a setting that can be turned off ("load assist" ??). When I tow the trailer and dry camp for a couple days I leave it hitched, means I cannot open the rear hatch and it never drops an inch. If your system has a leak, that's a whole other can of worms and I'm not touching that with this post.

 

[Steveooo]

I have a 2014 Expy EL Platinum w/20" wheels, self leveling rear suspension, hd tow pkg. I tow a 7200# trailer with wd Reese hitch.

Setting up the wd hitch was a real pain because you cannot turn off the self-levelling feature as recommended by the manufacture. Ford procedure is not practical because it tells you to drive the hitched unit without the wd connected which would exceed the weight limit of the receiver hitch.

I am not saying that proper adjustment cannot be done, but it is a process because the self-levelling mechanical system seems to work against the wd hitch by unloading it, allowing the front end to lift.

I got mine to zero in, but it took a while.

If you get the adjustable suspension, you can turn it off for the initial adjustment.

Best of luck.

I know this is an old thread but I'm having the same issue getting my wdh set up with the self leveling suspension system. I've read the owners manual, but like the quoted post says, that would be exceed the limit of the hitch receiver.

Any suggestions? I don't want to mess up my vehicle or camper by trying to tow it w/o the wdh bars installed. It's bad enough with them on, I can't imagine driving without them.

Some additional information:
My hitch weight is right at 800 lbs with the camper loaded. I've removed the battery and 1 of the two 20lb lp tanks. We have been driving 2 vehicles with my family and most of their stuff in my wife's vehicle. I drive the camper solo with almost no other payload. Camper is loaded well and evenly. I actually weighed items in the camper as we loaded it. Heaviest items are over the axles.

The expedition should be able to tow the camper (@7500 lbs) like I've read so many other expy owners do. I just need to get the wdh set up correctly but need some help/suggestions on how to do it. Thanks for any advice.

 

[JasonH]

Some additional information:
My hitch weight is right at 800 lbs with the camper loaded. I've removed the battery and 1 of the two 20lb lp tanks. We have been driving 2 vehicles with my family and most of their stuff in my wife's vehicle. I drive the camper solo with almost no other payload. Camper is loaded well and evenly. I actually weighed items in the camper as we loaded it. Heaviest items are over the axles.

Have you been to a scale to confirm the camper and tongue weights? Which hitch? The proper procedure with self-leveling suspension is to configure the WDH BEFORE the vehicle attempts to level. Otherwise, your rear axle weight may be too high.

My recollection is that the Nivomats increase stiffness when the vehicle suspension moves during driving. If that's the case, setup the WDH immediately after loading the ball by restoring 50% of the change in the front fender gap after the ball is loaded. Then the rear should do it's thing when the vehicle is moving. Also, make sure your tires are properly inflated.

 

[Steveooo]

I have been to the scale twice and my hitch weight was with in 10 lbs either way of 800 lbs

I have the camco R3 with 1200 lb bars. It's what I had for the hybrid camper so I just bought heavier bars. I got the 1200 lb bars instead of the 1k thinking they'd help back end from porpoising so much.

Yes, according to the ford owners manual I'm supposed to hitch the camper up without installing the wdh bars, so the full tongue weight is on the hitch. Then drive 2 miles @25 mph to allow the self-levelling shock to do their thing. Then park someplace level, unhitch, measure wheel wells, hitch up again and adjust the wdh to correctly level the truck.

My issue with that is at 800 lbs, I'm over the limit for tongue weight according to the owners manual (w/o the wdh bars installed), plus I'm really squatting in the back. Even at 25 mph I'm not sure how the 2 mile drive would go. I may get a bunch of mulch or something from lowes to make it level up just to get somewhere to start with the wdh adjustments.

 

[JasonH]

Try setting up the WDH before driving the vehicle. You have to restore weight to the steering axle and reduce the load on the rear axle. The shocks should not have much to do once the WDH is configured correctly. My rear fender height goes from 35" to 32.75" to 34" from no load to tongue load to WDH. So you can see the WDH reduced rear drop by 1.25". This is with ~700 lbs.