What exact issue or issues are you trying to address with these changes? That will dictate what to address first.
Does the Fastway offer any sort of built-in sway control?
What are your scaled axle weights? And scaled tongue weight?
How much squat does the EX have when hitched?

 

Thanks for the reply! I definitely realize how vague my OP was. I was trying not to turn this thread into so many on the forum. I am mainly trying to address maneuverability lack of confidence. And now that I go to detail my tow set up (squat, tongue weight, etc.) I kinda know where I should start You see, looking at your signature and so many others, the issues that I really have are true when there is no trailer behind me. My ex feels floaty. Its too big to feel so floaty and soft.

I have minimal squat with my current hitch, but the dual cam setup of Reese seems to be a poor mans Pro Ride ( I can't justify that price tag right now). I see that you have spring swapped your Ex. I also am looking for an in-between to doing that. I was thinking that as a first step perhaps I should invest in a RAS system to see if that firms up the rear enough as a start then move forward?

If you only wanted to throw about 5-6 hundred on a significant mod, would that be a good first step??

 

I would think you want to get the truck driving like you want by itself before working on towing characteristics. What do you know about the shocks on the truck now? Are all the suspension parts tight and working properly? Do you have a rear sway bar?

If you are patient, persistent, and willing to travel you can usually find a used ProPride or Hensley on craigslist for around $1000.

 

Yeah, sounds like you do need to get the big wagon sorted out first before we start trying to improve the towing comfort. Floaty is not a confidence inspiring feeling in something as big as the EX. Have you or a competent shop gone through the entire frontend to check for worn components? How are the tires? Quality brand of the correct weight rating inflated to at least the door sticker pressure (assuming stock size) Have you tried small pressure adjustments in the tires to see how that affects the floarty feeling?
I replaced my springs mainly for the increased ride height as I wanted to run 35"s as I think that size tire just looks "right" on these trucks to my eye. It does handle its towing chores better with the modded pickup springs, but for a stock-ish EX air bags would be a great mod to help with a heavy tongue weight trailer. Bags are nice because of their simple adjustability and ability to help support temporary additional weight on the rear.
In my opinion, any Weight Distribution hitch with built-in sway control is a solid step up over any basic WD hitch without.
Eric is right, I found my used Hensley Arrow on Craigslist for $650 several years ago. Have logged over 40K heavy towing miles on it since and it's been great, well except when I broke it, but that was pretty much my fault.

 

IMO, if the truck is handling the load fine and squat is minimal skip the truck mods and buy a ProPride. It will change everything about your towing experience, is transferable from truck to truck and trailer to trailer.
I did all the $500 mods and the pivot projection hitch made the most difference of any of them. I have a Hensley Arrow but I wouldn't recommend the hitch to anyone with the PP 3P as an available option. The HA is out dated and inferior in every way to the 3P but if the price was right I would get a HA.
I am also not a fan of the Hensley Mfg company and there practices.

 

Pro-Pride!! It is an investment that continues to pay off.

 

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I have yet to hear of anyone with either of the "elite" WD hitches say anything contrary to the feedback just given here. Making some adjustments to the truck seems to resonate most with me right now. I have a brand new set of 285's all around and to be honest, I have no idea how they perform as I got them mounted before the shutdown of camping trails. This all in abstract as I sit on my hands without the ability to run some valuable testing on the road. There is a noticeable diff to the Ex with the new tires, I have them inflated to 75, 5 below max at the moment. Would inflate to 80 as normal when hitched.

The suggestion of getting the front end looked at seems to be sage advice given my biggest issue is the soft steering input and bump steer characteristics Ive rec'd at times. The rear does not seem all that bad to me. I am going to also replace my shocks with the Bilsteins that many seem to rave about. Open to opinions though, of course!

 

Calling all travel trailer owners. We need a thread for TT's so we can see what options are out there that are working well for those of us that are looking for options!

 

Doesn't this thread qualify for that based on the thread title?
Here is a great option, home made of course, prototypes I guess...
What I call my winter time not in use tank vent caps. Or what ever you want to call them...

 

If you don't wanna ask that in this thread, you'd have to post that question over in the travel-trailer forum, in the Towing Forum section just below the Excursion forums Super Duty / Heavy Duty section.

Stewart

 

Thanks Stewart! Will do.

 

Well isn't that nifty!!

Lord I need to get my camper back up to snuff. Window blown out, vents blew off, linoleum cracked (heat I guess). I guess I have "time" during this quarantine, but not really....she's been under cover for 2 years now and we're itching to get out.

 

Excursions are "special" and definitely different towing beasts than the pickups, we have our own set of challenges.

 

I bought the T/T new December 2018, used it 4 times in 2019, which for me is a decent amount given the free time I have avail. I figured while it sits in the winter months and when in not in use, why not allow the tanks to vent and dry. They get flushed very well prior to sitting.

 

Actually some liquid in the black tank is not a bad thing, keeps the poop pyramids down. Oh wow, this really is an RV forum now.
One thing to think about is bugs. I have heard that when camping at a full hookup to leave the gate valves closed until emptying on black and grey tanks, the reason is bugs crawl up the pipe and get into the camper. I know there is a screen there but gnat type bugs might get in.