Need suspension help please! Terrible sway while pulling TT

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#16

06-22-2015, 09:06 AM

9905

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Looks like someone is getting ready for new v/b springs and a hellwig.

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#17

06-22-2015, 11:16 AM

A Rodder

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Coming from someone who has done
F & r sway bars
F & r Bilsteins
F & r spring swaps
Redhead box
Etc etc.

I firmly believe a traditional sway control will not hurt the towing experience and while it may only be masking the problem it may keep you safer while being on the road until you can dial that sucker in.

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#18

06-22-2015, 11:27 AM

1 Excursion camper

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I'm still running all my factory springs and towing a 9200lb TT. The biggest fix for me was the Hellwig rear sway bar ? (My X didn't have one). It made a night and day difference in towing. Are your running "E" rated tires on your X? If not then that is a big problem. If you are then try running them at 75psi front and 80psi rear. Run max pressure in the trailer tires also. I personally don't care for the EQ brand hitch, although it should be enough for your trailer. It will take hundreds of miles of trial and error to get it perfect. It took me 2 seasons to get everything dialed in. My final fix for the sway was a god set of tires on my trailer. I went from "D" rated China bomb tires to "E" rated Carlisles and with that all my sway was gone. I now run 75 psi in my trailer tires!

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#19

06-22-2015, 12:33 PM

R.Gates

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Hi, I do have E tires on the X. I do not have rear sway bar but sounds like a good idea. Is this something I can do or does it have to be shop done? How about price?

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#20

06-22-2015, 01:00 PM

A Rodder

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Expect to pay 50 ish online and 75 at a storefront.

The small ball nerds tightened onto your existing wt dist head piece.

The ball/plate assembly gets screwed on with the ball being 24" back of center of your coupler ball center.

The screws are more like a lag screw and requires 5/16 for thinner and 11/32 for thicker pilot holes. Generally the screws will have a good shot at breaking unless you predrilled the holes to those sizes listed.

That's it. If you pull into an "RV shop" expect 60-75 bucks or so labor. If you pull into a regular hitch shop, I'd expect you to pay 30 or so labor.

For reference I charge 119 installed. But do not sell online or ship out.

Other than tighten the ball, proper drill bits and the socket to drive the screws your easy peasy.

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#21

06-22-2015, 01:51 PM

zapola6

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#22

06-22-2015, 02:49 PM

rlh68050

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I towed a 9,500 GVW TT with my 2001 EX all over the place with zero issues. Get E rated tires for sure. Good shocks (I had Bilsteins) and the rear sway bar. I had the stock springs. Make sure your suspension and steering are good too. I used a standard WD hitch as well.

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#23

06-22-2015, 03:46 PM

80broncoman

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I have a part time job delivering TTs, pop ups, and fifth wheels. different trailer every day I drive.
We deliver with mostly Ford trucks. I never use weight distributing hitch bars or sway controls .
My fav truck is close to the weight and WB of yours.
its a F250 with a 10K GVW. and it only has 3 leafs (per side of course) on the rear. It does wander a tiny bit if the wind blowing but I haven't found a triler yet that I couldn pull at 70MPH.
It does squat a little more than the other F350s we have. I have towed plenty of 8K TTs with and it never has really bad sway.
the one thing EVERY trailer i have towed have one thing in common is that the new owners have NOT loaded their "STUFF" in them yet.
I like the other replys you got about a little stiffer spring for the back.

BUT before you do anything you need to weigh the tongue of that trailer with it loaded to see where you stand.

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#24

06-22-2015, 06:19 PM

R.Gates

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Now I am not sure who's thread you are replying to. Seems ZAPOLA6 just hijacked my thread.
In my case I did weigh the rig at a CAT scale and the hitch weight was 820 with the trailer and truck loaded as if I'm on a trip, so the weights I first posted are correct. I do have E rated tires and the first time I pulled it the pressures were 75 front and 80 rear and have tried different combinations with very little difference. I have the trailer tires at 50 (max rated for the trailer). The X feels fine on the road without the trailer. Funny thing is when I was towing the trailer the faster speed I got to the better it seem to handle but still with sway, just not as bad. Even got it up to 65-68. Can't figure that one out.
I am not looking to add the little side slide sway bar. Had that on a small tent trailer and worked fine.
1 excursion camper-Sounds like there is a factory difference between Ford p/u's and what they put on excursions. I'm wondering if the Hellwig rear suspension would do all that much good for my problem.
Thanks for all the responses.

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#25

06-22-2015, 06:32 PM

mecdac

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Quote:

Originally Posted by mecdac

Do you have a rear sway bar on the Excursion?

I would go with a Roadmaster Active Suspension Roadmaster Inc. - Tow Bars, Braking Systems & RV Accessories

I would also follow young Stewart's advice and upgrade the springs.

Trailer sway is "usually" caused by too much weight behind the trailer axle. In this case it sounds like a tow vehicle problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1 Excursion camper

I'm still running all my factory springs and towing a 9200lb TT. The biggest fix for me was the Hellwig rear sway bar ? (My X didn't have one).

Quote:

Originally Posted by R.Gates

Now I am not sure who's thread you are replying to. Seems ZAPOLA6 just hijacked my thread.
In my case I did weigh the rig at a CAT scale and the hitch weight was 820 with the trailer and truck loaded as if I'm on a trip, so the weights I first posted are correct. I do have E rated tires and the first time I pulled it the pressures were 75 front and 80 rear and have tried different combinations with very little difference. I have the trailer tires at 50 (max rated for the trailer). The X feels fine on the road without the trailer. Funny thing is when I was towing the trailer the faster speed I got to the better it seem to handle but still with sway, just not as bad. Even got it up to 65-68. Can't figure that one out.
I am not looking to add the little side slide sway bar. Had that on a small tent trailer and worked fine.
1 excursion camper-Sounds like there is a factory difference between Ford p/u's and what they put on excursions. I'm wondering if the Hellwig rear suspension would do all that much good for my problem.
Thanks for all the responses.

The RAS and Helwig are both sway bar systems and both work, even though I have a Helwig, for your situation I would go with the RAS.

Yes, the Excursion and SD pickups have different springs.

Good to know that you already have "E" rated tires (I did not inquire because I could tell from your pics) and that you already are certain of your tongue weight.

Others may 'chime in' but I don't believe that "axle wrap" will cause the type of sway/wander you are describing.

TOM? Where is WE3ZS?

Last edited by mecdac; 06-22-2015 at 07:05 PM. Reason: punctuation

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#26

06-22-2015, 06:34 PM

WE3ZS

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Quote:

Originally Posted by R.Gates

Hi, I do have E tires on the X. I do not have rear sway bar but sounds like a good idea. Is this something I can do or does it have to be shop done? How about price?

Quote:

Originally Posted by A Rodder

I think you two are talking about two separate things, both good valid items for the job at hand but different.
R.Gates, Yes adding a rear sway bar to an EX without one is a huge step in the right direction, it made a significant improvement on my EX back when it still had the stock suspension and was pulling a 9500lbs toyhauler. Expect to pay about $200 for a Hellwig rear anti-sway bar and it is an easy enough driveway installation job with just hand tools. Their instructions used to suck, don't know if they are any better these days. There are a few installation threads here to help you with the install and plenty of users here to give advice with any issues.

I think A Rodder is giving you very good and accurate info on an anti-sway bar (friction device) to be added to the WD hitch setup that you have. I used to also use one on the toyhauler with a Draw-Tite WD hitch and it did help with that setup. I later upgraded to a Hensley Arrow sway elimination WD hitch and it is a world apart as far control and comfort over the old setup I ran. Adding the friction sway control bar is super easy for a do-it-yourselfer.

I too would suggest that you run your EX's tires at higher pressures, I used to run at 80 PSI with my stock sized rubber, and currently run at the max sidewall pressure of 65 PSI on my 35" load range E tires.
If you could post a couple of pictures showing the entire Ex and trailer while hitched as well as one that shows the entire WD hitch setup loaded we may see something more to have you recheck or adjust for a better experience.

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#27

06-22-2015, 06:39 PM

Misky6.0

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A crewcab pickup has a much longer wheelbase that the excursion. The soft steering in the excursion/superduty in combination with the shorter wheelbase of the Ex makes sway a bigger problem in the Ex vs a crewcab pickup.

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#28

06-22-2015, 07:05 PM

WE3ZS

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Quote:

Originally Posted by zapola6

Wow... My exact issue... I will watch this one with great interest. I’ve gotten so much help out of here…. Thanks to all….

Picked up the new trailer this weekend (7500lbs Dry / 33 foot long) got it up to 53MPH and a big puckered up spot on the driver’s seat cushion where the lower part of my anatomy grabbed hold.... The trailer sway took me to the shoulder, I was expecting issues but WOW……

Trailer sway can be one of the most scary events that you can face on the highway. Do not panic and hit the trucks brakes if it occurs, activate the trailer brakes HARD with the manual slide controller, that should calm the situation down.

2000 V10 Limited 4WD Bone Stock... 134K running 285 X 16 D load rating tires... I certainly have more power than I can use right now. Truck drives reasonable not towing, slight play in the wheel and sway, so prepared for steering issues (rod end / ball joints) and steering gear box, I have made the adjustment on the gear box, fixed a lot of the play issue.

I knew I was going to have to do work to it... Decided I would drive it 1st with the trailer and then start spending money from there. I have done a lot of the easy work myself. I’m now approaching a skill level issue. So it's going to the shop tonight for a suspension and steering inspection, just to make sure I haven’t missed anything, while it’s there a Hellwig. Do front sway bars help at all? Or are they a separator that separates a fool from his money?

The EXs all came with pretty decent front sway bars, so you really shouldn't need an upgrade there, just inspect the front bar's end links for wear and play as well as the axle mounted rubber bushings, all are easy driveway fixes.

As soon as I get the truck back I will get measurements with trailer on the WD hitch and off of WD. With the trailer on and off the WD hitch last night, the truck looked like it had no squat at all, so I am questioning tongue weight.

Cat scales are everywhere and are the perfect setup for us to get exact weights as they use 3 scale pads for steer axles, drive axle and trailer axles. CAT Scale Locator | CAT Scale for the 3 passes over the scale that you will need expect to pay less than $20, it's agreat deal! Then follow this writeup on setting up a WD hitch here RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Towing: Travel Trailer Hitch Set-up Procedure

Then E rated tires, I’m probably going to go Michelin and back to 265’s, has 285 on it right now with 3.73 gears. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

With your close to 9k TT your truck will be happier with the shorter (than 285s) stock 265 tires and those 3.73 gears. For serious towing chores the V-10 loves to rev and deeper gears are the single biggest towing performance improvement you can make. My other power adders helped (tuner and headers) but the gear swap was the big one!

I will post progress.

Thanks Again.

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Feel free to start your own towing modification and performance thread, so it will be easier to keep both of you guys issues and solutions straight for everyone involved.

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