I've never noticed the shudder before but I have had black crap on my dipstick. The oil on it looks good, but there will be some black crud when I pull it out.

 

Just brought my 2018 6.2 2 weeks ago and noticed the same thing. Shudders backing into the driveway, usually when I get hung up on the rolled curb. Curious as to what others find. It would be cool if Ford figured this issue out and it just required a refresh or something. Definitely a terrible feeling when it shudders.

 

I have backed our 9K travel trailer into campsites probably 5 times now with no shudder but the last time I backed into the storage facility I definitely noticed it. What the hecks going here? You guys think it might be some kind of axle wrap ?

 

It kinda feels like the traction control but I turn mine off everytime I get in the truck so it cant be that.

 

My '18 6.2 CCLB did this to me last weekend a couple times while backing up on a fire road. I might have been in 4hi. I thought it was odd but did not try to replicate yet.

 

Same thing with my 2018 250.
backing into site then once home, backed down long driveway fine but then turned it around on the yard and same shudder. Like a bad u joint type of vibration . Very momentary.
I had the wdh on but no friction bar. Going to try maneuvers again tomorrow without wdh.
I'll advise .

 

New info.... After testing!
Here are measurements of rear and front wheel well. Kind of surprising.
Camper ON- no wdh back 42.75 front 43
No camper at all- back 44 front 43
Camper ON with wdh back 43 1/8 front 43
The front measurements are thebsame throughout

Now.... With sprint bars on, I drove camper to front yard (very large area) and then turned and backed into the stone driveway. The shudder was replicated twice . Each time, there was a decent amount of moaning throughout the wdh spring bars and seemingly all along the frame of the camper. Seemed tight and needed more gas to back up.

Without the spring bars on, after several passes, I was unable to replicate the shudder. It was smoother, no groaning and barely needed gas to back up.
My conclusion is that the wdh system I have, Pro Series , should not be used while backing. This contributed to the shudder condition probably due to the increased torque throughout the TV, wdh and TT. May be causing an axle wrap or something .

I feel better that my new beast's trans isn't screwing up.

 

I have heard about some WDH that should not be engaged when backing up. Your test is interesting, but I still don't understand how a WDH can't be used in reverse. I've only dealt with Blue Ox and Andersen hitches on my F-350 and neither of those caused a problem.

 

I'm not sure why it would make a difference either. Need an engineer or physics major to come online!
The only thing I can figure is how the weight gets distributed through the frames of both vehicles .
Like I said, as we all have heard it, there was considerable moaning and groaning from the bars.
I had the trucks front wheels turned right, so trailer heading off left.
I'm thinking the torque and weight of that was twisting through both vehicles causing twisting on the axle?
Don't know. All I know is that without spring bars, backing was smoother and effortless. No groaning, needed less power, no shudder.

 

What about when you turn the truck to the left so the trailer goes to the right? I _think_ that would put more weight on the passenger/rear tire than the other way. By transferring weigh off of the passenger/rear tire it would allow it to spin. I think I've managed to spin that tire going forward when turning right and the WDH is cranked up. It's possible I'm transferring too much weight to the front tires with my WDH setup.

 

You know , I didn't try that simply because how the front yard and driveway is laid out. Once I got the shudder doing it that way x 2 I didn't try the other way.
What year is your 350?
Ford claims that 2017+ SD's wdh aren't necessary. I'm thinking that is the case since measuring the front wheel well with camper, without camper, and then with and without wdh. The front end stayed at 43" throughout. So maybe wdh's can screw up the distribution to the wheels if too aggressive or not aggressive enough.
I think for more local stuff I won't even use the spring bars but will still probably use them for any long haul for the sway properties

 

My F-350 is a 2017. In my opinion, Ford saying that a WDH is not necessary is misleading. Sure, the truck seems to be able to handle the 1450 lbs of tongue weight. But get it out on the highway at 65 MPH and it's not a fun experience.

The front springs on my truck are a +1 rating due to having the camper package. My front end didn't come down much with the WDH fully configured. The springs are just that stiff.

When pulling in town (under 45 MPH) I don't use the WDH. I can definitely tell that it isn't there. I get a lot of bouncing.

 

I agree it might be a little misleading as well. Sort of like saying the F150's with the 3.5 EB can pull 13k. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!

 

 

You should be able to back up with a WDH with spring bars engaged but if you have friction sway control it should be removed before backing to prevent binding. Always remove mine before backing into a site or storage facility. The only time I've experienced the shudder is backing my camper [9200K] in the storage facility which is all gravel, but not every time. When I experienced it the camper got kinda "stuck" and I had apply a little more throttle in reverse. I've never felt it while backing into a site with a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete or backing from a hard surface onto a gravel surface which leads me to believe that some kind of axle wrap is occurring when the extra torque is applied on a soft surface. I've never felt it with a no load situation.