There’s got to be someone who can share a recommendation on what I can do. I have a 2015 Ford F-150. Last summer, with all the COVID crap going on, my wife and I wanted to get out to CA to see my MIL on her 101st birthday. We couldn’t feel safe flying or spending nights in motels so bought a camper to make a camping road trip and spend a few weeks visiting. The trip went well and we had a great time. My problem is hauling the camper 4600 miles with the 150. I never quite got used to the sway of the camper behind the truck, especially when semis passed or in a cross wind. The truck pulled well on the level but seemed a bit low powered when pulling up hill or into a headwind. We spent a lot of time in 5th gear (6 speed auto) and even some in 4th gear on the incline. Never close to redline but running in lower gears is what I am used to. Plus the front end seemed a bit floaty. Like some old boat riding swells across the lake. Here is my setup. F-150 super crew 4wd with 5.3L V8 gas with 40K miles. The travel trailer is 22’ long, 3400#, with 450# hitch weight. I have a Weight Distribution Hitch to pull it with. The dealer said that should take care of the swaying. I figured this was a good match when we got the camper but now think it could be better. We plan to make the trip again this coming spring and I am wondering what I can do to make the pull more comfortable. I’m considering upgrading to a ¾ ton but not sure I want to spend the $30K to upgrade. I’m wondering if I can beef up the suspension with overloads or air on the 150 and if that may help the swaying and light front end. Not much to do with the power if I didn’t upgrade but can live with that. I’m mostly concerned about the ride if that can be fixed without a ¾ ton. Any ideas??? Thanks in advance for any thoughts. Anyone else pulling a trailer who has done some tweaking to improve the ride?
Are those wts empty. Tongue wt seems high. Should be around 10%. Does the truck sit level with camper hooked up? If not you could move the ball ht to compensate.
One other thought. You have a sway bar for the hitch or just the torsion bars? You can also lift the truck higher with the camper jack stand to take out another link in the torsion bar chain. Still a lot you can try before air bags, overloads which i think you mean coil springs over shocks or an extra leaf in the springs. If I were towing only one trip a year at that distance, Id look at all of the above before going 3/4 ton
The truck and trailer are level when hitched up. The tongue weight is coming front the manufacturer website. The actual trailer weight loaded is more. Water, Luggage, equipment would add probably up to another 400 pounds. I’m wondering if heavier springs in the rear would reduce the floating or reduce the sway..
The WDH is built to reduce swaying as well as put weight to the front end of the PU. It has some adjustment for tightening the sway reduction but I haven’t messed with it since it was dealer set. Dealer set the weight distribution so the truck/trailer were level and from end of truck didn’t raise more than 1/2 “.
Air bags are probably your answer. Get a system with the on board air compressor and adjustable. I have pulled with both and air makes a difference. I have a 2015 f250. My trailer is about 3500 empty and I can't even tell it back there. But once I add about 2000 lbs or more my truck becomes a pig and can really feel the trailer. I've pulled up to 12k pounds between trailer and equipment and it still very capable. However the 3/4 ton truck is a different animal compared to what your driving now and the ride will change drastically. If your only pulling the trailer for long distance once or twice a year, might be best to stick with the f150. I think the trade off for every day driving in f250 will be off putting to some people. Plus my f250 only gets between 12-15 mpg on highway. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
You might be suprised by the wt you add. Propane tanks and battery(s) add to tongue wt and really cant be moved to balance the load. Ultimately Holts suggestion is most practical if you feel the WDH is properly set up. If you want a bigger motor, Ford makes a 7.3l gasser. Engine code name Godzilla.
The air bags sound interesting. I’ll be researching them. I was hoping someone would have some experience with them and would say something. I test drove the F250 with the Godzilla engine while pulling the trailer and it was an animal. I didn’t have the WDH on so still felt the trailer some. If the dealer would have been honest about the “Online trade offer” I would be driving it today. Thanks guys for the input!
If I add air bags do I still need the weight distribution hitch or would they interfere with each other? Has anyone added an anti sway bar and does it make a noticeable difference in trailer swaying?
I don't have any experience with the weight distribution hitch. Also what could be happening is the brakes. I believe they are completely different size from 1/2 ton to 3/4 ton. Could be miss balance between front to back brakes while loaded down? Not sure on that though. That loose feeling in the front is a weird feeling. The only time i can remember getting that feeling is when the trailer is tail heavy and it feels like the trailer is pushing you. I run a little more on the heavy side of tounge weight to counter that. It is very dangerous when that happens. Also I have electric brakes on the trailer. Does your trailer have brakes? My cousin has a 1 ton truck with bags in the rear only, using it for towing equipment. He got them off amazon as a kit and put them on his self. Only airs up the bags when towing. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
I do have trailer brakes with the controller in the cab. I can tell they make a big difference when they are needed. I will be checking with a local mechanic that handles suspension kits to check on air bags before spring. Seems to be a good solution. I appreciate all the help guys.
YES! Buy the Andersen weight distribution hitch system. https://www.ebay.com/i/154204694857...1291&msclkid=cb581de093351d1f4f0e42195943be26 I had 2015 F150 extended cab 3.5 Eco. It was a great truck - and had more tow capacity than your V8, BTW. Anyway, I had a 6400 DW camper that I regularly would tow 250 miles one way. Prior to getting the Andersen system, I had the same experience as you with the rocking and swaying, especially when going over 60mph - even on a fairly straight level road it would sway pretty hard at times. So I read up a lot and keep coming across people raving about the Andersen system. Figured $500 is expensive but not as expensive as a new F250. Anyway, best damn thing I ever bought. You can dial that thing in so good I was driving 75mpg with complete ease and control. Pro tip- keep a lithium powered impact driver handy. After you get hooked and tightened up, head down the road maybe 5-10 miles then stop, get out, and re-tighten the chains. Do that and you will be good to go coast to coast. All that said, my current 2013 Expedition has the 5.4 and the max tow which means it has the bags. That thing tows like a dream I don't even need the Andersen system or brake assist.
Sorry, I missed the part where you commented on being underpowered. I assume you are using the "tow" setting? Since I had the 3.5 Eco this is not exactly apples/apples but I also experienced a fair amount of downshifting/running for long periods of time in 5th and sometimes even 4th - and that's only with an appx. 800' in total elevation change in my normal 250 mile trip. I can't imagine going over the continental divide; you must be screaming on the way up. It is what it is, I guess. I don't experience it quite as much with my Expedition with the 5.4. However, I think it's geared a little lower than the F-150 was. Unloaded, the F-150 got about 22mpgs on mostly flat ground without wind as long as I kept in under 75mph. When towing I was only getting about 10mpg. The Expedition only gets about 17mpg unloaded in optimal settings; but "only" drops down to about 12mpg when towing the same camper on the same route.
Doodles, yes it screamed a bit now and then. Uphill grade in the mountains I just picked a semi to follow in the slow lane and kept the rpms in control. Most times I could pass the semi and pick one that was moving a bit faster and keep up with it. 5th and 4th gear I sort of got used to as the trip went on but still didn’t like it. I only hit 3rd at the very end of the incline one time. That was really screaming. Guess I should have gotten the higher torque 6 cyl in 2015 but didn’t intend to pull the bigger camper at that time. Our tent camper at that time pulled like a dream. My wife however wanted a hard side with a bathroom for the long trip we had planned. I have to admit, I don’t really enjoy most of the public restrooms either. Overall the trip went pretty well. 12 days camping and 3 weeks visiting once we got there. Worst part of the trip was getting into the LA area during the rush hour on a Friday pulling the camper when we got to CA. Those people are CRAZY drivers.
I used to have a hybrid hardside camper with the pop out tent sided ends- best of both worlds when it was just me and dad hunting. I think it was about 2800lbs dry. Then got married and when my wife started hunting with us I decided to get one with a dedicated bedroom for obvious reasons....
Throwing more weight to the front, or basically reducing the amount of sag you get in the rear end, will definitely help with the front end feeling "floaty". Air bags in the rear would definitely help with this, and also bumping your load levelers a notch tighter will help too. Also, depending on miles on your F150, front end wear can also contribute to that floaty feeling when weight is set on the back. Ball joints getting out of spec, etc., should be checked. My old 01 Dodge Cummins would really get that floaty front end feeling if I didn't set the load levelers tight enough on the trailer, and also when the track bar in the front end of the pickup was starting to get too sloppy. If you only have the load leveler bars but not the sway bar that links between the stinger and the trailer tongue, then adding that helps to mate them up nicely. The sway bar definitely helps. I've read nothing but good about the Anderson system, but haven't tried it myself. Not much will get rid of the up/down swaying, like when you hit a dip in the road.
I don’t haul a camper but I plow snow with extreme weight in the front and back. I’ve never used airbags but know guys who have and they talked me out of them and into Timbren blocks. Look into Timbren suspension kits. Guys said air bags are great until you have problems. The Timbren blocks don’t break or give. Worth a look. Good man for making that trip for family. Best of luck to you. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
