17' Series Jasman's Expansion Plans - 2016 Outback 17.56-2

Base23

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Jan 17, 2016
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Hey, thanks for the reply. I found the bulletin from back in 2011 that made that recommendation but I had a look in the manual and it is ambiguous to say the least so I sort clarity for insurance purposes etc and went through the process with Jeep and the end advice was it isn't necessary and is not recommended. I'm not going to make a blanket statement and say it's not required but the advice they have provided in my instance is not to use it.

I spent a lot of time looking in to the use of a WDH on the Jeep. I also rang Jeep several times and got no real definite answer to use or not to use.
Did you get anything in writing from Jeep Australia stating a WDH is not required?

I have towed my van with out the WDH and the Jeep feels light in the front end and unsafe and all overt the place at anything over 90km/h.
I ended up buying and Andersen WDH for my van / Jeep combination and would not tow without it ever again. Makes a huge difference, I now tow at 100 + km/h and can overtake with ease and the Jeep feels solid and very stable. It is now a pleasure to tow and I feel safe.
 

Base23

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Jan 17, 2016
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Just checked out the Tare weight of your van (approx 2200kgs) and it is a lot lighter than the Basestation(fully loaded 3450 kgs), So towing your van without a WDH should not be a problem. I tow my 2500kg Nautique ski boat and trailer with out a WDH and that tows great, ball weight on that is only 200 kgs though. Basestation ball weight comes in at around 330kgs fully loaded and it a lot bigger.
Cheers
 
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Jasman

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Apr 10, 2016
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I spent a lot of time looking in to the use of a WDH on the Jeep. I also rang Jeep several times and got no real definite answer to use or not to use.
Did you get anything in writing from Jeep Australia stating a WDH is not required?

I have towed my van with out the WDH and the Jeep feels light in the front end and unsafe and all overt the place at anything over 90km/h.
I ended up buying and Andersen WDH for my van / Jeep combination and would not tow without it ever again. Makes a huge difference, I now tow at 100 + km/h and can overtake with ease and the Jeep feels solid and very stable. It is now a pleasure to tow and I feel safe.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying your wrong because I don't truly know but I've ended up where I am because I've been on the Jeep forums for years and read all the stuff that suggested I needed to run WDH over the 2,268 kgs mark but then I read a towing review on Caravan Camping Sales, a legitimate website in my view that contradicted the online opinions, see below:

http://www.caravancampingsales.com....t-2014-jeep-grand-cherokee-overland-crd-38663

I looked at the manual and it isn't really clear when it comes to QuadraLift GC's so I put the question to Jeep Australia and didn't get an answer so went back through my dealer to get them to do the inquiry for me and I got a written response via email. They recommended not to run them on my car fitted with QuadraLift but did say it was the customers choice.

Legal Disclaimer: If anyone else is reading this my advice is to seek your own answer from Jeep as this answer was supplied specifically to me about my car and use case. Raise your case with them and get it in writing for your own safety, insurance purposes etc.
 

Base23

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I am not saying I am correct either but my view on air suspension is that it is basically the same as coil spring suspension but it is just fooling you in thinking the load is balanced correctly. If you would use a WDH on a coil sprung car you should use one on the same car that has air suspension. The system uses level sensors and will just put more air in the rear air bags and reduce the air in the front bags making the front suspension sloppy with no support.
I cant remember the weights but I used a weigh bridge to check the weight on my front tyres to set up the WDH to get the load on the front tyres the same as it was without the van connected. There was quite a differance with out the WDH fitted.
 
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Jasman

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In my case I do feel pretty happy that my van will not be too far over the 2,268kg point with a tare 2184kg, ATM of 2659kg and an empty ball mass of 188kg. The ball mass is only about 40kg more than my empty Hawk and it towed like a dream and considering that when we had the Hawk we had to carry somewhere around 100kg worth of gear in the boot of the Jeep that we no longer need to carry I'm hoping it will be fine.

In saying all that, if it doesn't feel good I'll be ordering a set of McHitch bars very quickly.
 

Smirke

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May 9, 2014
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Ok, so went down today and had a look at her in pre-delivery and now I'm starting to get excited.

Check out the photos below, you'll note I've got an extended drawbar with a factory fitted jerry can holder (I haven't seen this on any others). Anyone have any idea what those clips are for on the inside of the jockey wheel?

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I'll go with jockey wheel holder.
 

Jasman

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Apr 10, 2016
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Toowoomba
Hey John,
It didn't make it home last week because I ended up in Sydney for work but it did get home today and I've already installed the first mod in the form of the McHitch 3.5t auto coupler. Here's a couple of pics to wet the appetite and I'll try to get a bunch more on the weekend.

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Jasman

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Apr 10, 2016
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Toowoomba
looks good.............

did you ask about those 2 brackets in the middle of your draw bar..............?

I did, they still haven't got a response from Jayco and dealer still doesn't know.

Very nice @Jasman

Those tools look too clean and new ;)

They are! I'm an Office Jonny who likes nice tools but don't actually get to use them much - dad was a mechanic and I guess he taught me the value of good tools and having the right tool for the job, even if the jobs are few and far between these days.
 
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dagree

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Mar 3, 2012
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A wise man your Dad!!!!! Being a son of a mechanic I was also taught the same. Still have some of Dad's tools from when he was an apprentice. Bit rusted now but still in good condition otherwise.
 
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