2014 F450. Front end and steering wheel shake violently when braking while towing a 20,000 pound trailer down a long and steep highway grade. It does not happen when towing my 12,000 pound trailer down the same highway. Could I be setting off the ABS braking system?

 

you are over the max trailer towing limit for a 2014 f-450. whats your tounge weight and have you checked on how to adjust your trailer brake controller.....it obviusly should have a different setting for the two different trailers.

http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/g...typu_sep11.pdf

 

Both my trailers are gooseneck hitches. The 2014 F450 has a tow rating well above 20,000 pounds with a gooseneck hitch. I do use different trailer brake settings for the trailers.

 

Over the 10 years I have had this 20,000 pound trailer I have hauled it with a F350 and 2011 F450 that I have owned. I never had this shaking on either of these trucks.

 

Look up 'Death Wobble'. You probably need a front end inspection and a good alignment.

 

I would inspect the rotors. You need less braking to stop a smaller trailer so when you hook up the big boy you use more braking to stop it. If you have the diesel than use the exhaust brake. It helps a lot.

 

I assume you have the brake controller set at maximum when pulling the heavy trailer. It sounds like the truck is doing most of the stopping work. The first thing I'd check is the brakes on the trailer to ensure they are all working properly.

 

Trailer brakes are working well and set at maximum. I wonder if the Stock Ford Brake Controller is the problem?

 

If your steering wheel vibrates and shakes, your rotors are most likely warped and need to be resurfaced. The vibration would not be as prominent when you are not hauling or towing with significant weight.

 

ABS would feel more like a hum in the truck, versus a vibration in the steering wheel.

 

Going downhill with a heavy load is fine until you use the brakes, then the front end starts shaking, including the steering wheel.
When you step on the brakes, does it feel like the truck dives?
I just feel like all your weight is being shifted to the front axle for whatever reason.
Or that the front end suspension isn't up to the load for some reason, such as ball joints or tie rod ends that are normally ok, but are overwhelmed in that particular situation.

 

I took the truck to a Ford dealer for service about 4 months ago and told them to check the rotors and front end. They said everything was OK. I guess I will have to take it back to Ford so they can have another look. This issue never happened with my previous Ford trucks while hauling the same trailer.

 

This is a wise next step, CowboyTuff. How many miles are on your truck? I'd like to see what I can do to assist as well.

Crystal

 

Approaching 25,000 miles

 

I took the truck to Ford for service and for them to check out the front end shaking issue. They could not find anything wrong. Last weekend I drove the truck and trailer over the very steep grapevine and it shook violently when applying the brakes while going down hill. The front end is also violently shaking at times without the trailer. I am looking for streets near the Ford service center where I can recreate the shaking so I can take one of their service managers for a ride.