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......... Anyway, no need to continue my rant on this, safe travels!
Originally Posted by CheeseheadFord
Remember a dealer is there to make money aka make a sale, they will tell you you can tow just about anything with anything. Trust me you won't want to drive that camper down a 2 lane highway with 30 mph sidewinds, you'll be white knuckling at best and ending up in a ditch or worse worst case. I drove home with ours yesterday in less wind than that and the tail was wagging with my 3/4 ton, which handled it fine, sure wouldn't wanna go back and be in my F150 for it though. Gears won't address that issue, a new motor won't address that issue, only a bigger truck is going to address the tail wagging the dog issue which will happen to you at some point.
You said you were done ranting and still keep at it.
You said you were done ranting and still keep at it.
Wow, you're really going to make your first post in this thread and try to start chit, cmon dude grow up. I'm trying to provide real life feedback, I've driven a similar truck and camper as the OP, its awful to be a in a forum and provide feedback to try to help someone make an educated decision eh?
Well, I weighed my truck and trailer today. Per the sticker on the door, GVWR = 6,700 lbs. I weighed in at...6,740! Lol The trailer is loaded with pretty much everything we'll take with us. The only additional weight will be an extra person, including their clothing and food. So, I'm thinking of adding another 300 pounds. Based on how the truck handles things, I'm okay with that. I will adjust my distribution hitch and truck down the road. No more worries, lol (except when a tornado is in the area).
Thanks, everyone, for your input. It is much appreciated!
if you do, post them up. They can be quite telling.
also, tightening the hitch will move more tongue weight to the trailer, which could get you under your GVWR for the truck. But, the axle weights would tell you how much you can move around.
I re-weighed today. Yesterday's weigh was bad because...being the first time I've done something like this...I drove into the scales the wrong way...lol. Anyway, I re-weighed today and the numbers actually look better. I actually got some help to make sure I was doing it right. Looks very good to me! Very happy.
Last edited by Dave1972; Mar 24, 2024 at 08:18 PM.
Reason: Spelling
Following this post has given me thoughts of the rear axle loading. Having owned a couple of 1/2 ton pickups over the years and after maxing out rear axle loads far too often before I had an axle failure I have since went to 3/4 and 1 ton trucks for serious towing. The 1/2 ton axle is a semi floating design, only 1 rear small wheel bearing per tire with all the weight carried totally on the axle shaft / flange outside the bearing. Full floating rear axles commonly found on 3/4 and 1 ton trucks have two rear wheel bearings per tire and carry all their weight on the wheel hub that is supported on both sides by much larger bearings. The axle shaft really carries no great amount of weight, just the 2 bearings the hub runs on. I sheared off the flange on a 78 F150 9" Ford rear axle while towing a trailer hauling dirt. Trailer weighed about 7k with around 1500-1800#'s of tongue weight. When a flange breaks off an axle shaft the wheel has no real connection to the truck anymore and permits the wheel to take off down the highway looking for something to stop it. The truck looses all rear brakes due to a broken brake line and you have front brakes and trailer brakes only. My road speed was about 58-60mph when the axle broke which for a few seconds was an exciting ride getting stopped without wrecking. I repaired the truck and sold it to buy my first F250. Based on the OP's weight on the rear axle it appears to be loaded at 100%. Those 2 wheel bearings are running hot. The truck GVWR is 6700 and the truck weighs 6640. A 60 pound cushion is nothing, my beer cooler thrown in the back would put me overweight. Having a 4.6 move nearly 13k is a whole 'nother issue. Don't know what tire OP is using on the truck but if they're P255/65R17's then they too are a weak link here. My personal opinion is a P rated tire has no use on a truck towing. I wouldn't use them and would consider an LT rated tire the minimum.
Following this post has given me thoughts of the rear axle loading. Having owned a couple of 1/2 ton pickups over the years and after maxing out rear axle loads far too often before I had an axle failure I have since went to 3/4 and 1 ton trucks for serious towing. The 1/2 ton axle is a semi floating design, only 1 rear small wheel bearing per tire with all the weight carried totally on the axle shaft / flange outside the bearing. Full floating rear axles commonly found on 3/4 and 1 ton trucks have two rear wheel bearings per tire and carry all their weight on the wheel hub that is supported on both sides by much larger bearings. The axle shaft really carries no great amount of weight, just the 2 bearings the hub runs on. I sheared off the flange on a 78 F150 9" Ford rear axle while towing a trailer hauling dirt. Trailer weighed about 7k with around 1500-1800#'s of tongue weight. When a flange breaks off an axle shaft the wheel has no real connection to the truck anymore and permits the wheel to take off down the highway looking for something to stop it. The truck looses all rear brakes due to a broken brake line and you have front brakes and trailer brakes only. My road speed was about 58-60mph when the axle broke which for a few seconds was an exciting ride getting stopped without wrecking. I repaired the truck and sold it to buy my first F250. Based on the OP's weight on the rear axle it appears to be loaded at 100%. Those 2 wheel bearings are running hot.
Thanks for the info! Over my head a little. I haven’t worked on my own vehicles in years! I did replace a gas tank once on a 1980 Datsun 210…after I jumped some railroad tracks…lol…yeah…I was a meathead!
I’m gonna adjust my hitch tomorrow…gonna add some additional washers and see if I can move some weight off my rear axle.
Tinkering with dropping the cash and buying a Hensley Arrow. Gotta chew on that some more tho.
If you are looking at a Hensley, also look at pro pride. They are two different versions of the same thing designed by the same person. Research the history of the two companies if you are curious. The pro pride is usually significantly cheaper.
as a cheaper alternative I’d offer the Reese straight line DC. The Hensley and pro pride are functionally different and make sway literally impossible. The straight line works so well, though, that it makes sway practically impossible. Must experience with it is good enough that I’d recommend it to anyone. I’ve never seen the side of the trailer in the mirror no matter how much cross wind or what just passed me. It will move around, but the whole rig moves as a unit rotating around the front axle- the same as you would see with the Hensley or pro pride.
Go back to the scale and get a scaled weight of your truck with no trailer. That is the most important weight to get your hitch set. Need the front and rear axle Weight without the trailer. That will help.
If you are looking at a Hensley, also look at pro pride. They are two different versions of the same thing designed by the same person. Research the history of the two companies if you are curious. The pro pride is usually significantly cheaper.
as a cheaper alternative I’d offer the Reese straight line DC. The Hensley and pro pride are functionally different and make sway literally impossible. The straight line works so well, though, that it makes sway practically impossible. Must experience with it is good enough that I’d recommend it to anyone. I’ve never seen the side of the trailer in the mirror no matter how much cross wind or what just passed me. It will move around, but the whole rig moves as a unit rotating around the front axle- the same as you would see with the Hensley or pro pride.
Go back to the scale and get a scaled weight of your truck with no trailer. That is the most important weight to get your hitch set. Need the front and rear axle Weight without the trailer. That will help.
Thank you very much! That's GREAT information. My hitch is a Husky. I just got off the phone with Husky...was originally requesting literature on how to properly adjust the tilt. After speaking with the person for a few minutes they informed me that...my hitch should have double sway bars since it's practically 34 feet long. I think I'm just gonna upgrade but, not sure what I'm going to upgrade to. I'll check out the products you recommended. Thanks again!
They asked who my dealer is/was so they could contact them and let them know about the double sway bars.
34 feet is at the upper end but not over the top.
mine is around 36 end to end and I’ve been really happy with the Reese.
consider also that I was towing it for years with the short wheel base expedition and it was just never a problem. Always performed above my expectations.
the husky centerline ts it just an average hitch. Nothing bad but nothing outstanding. Just a 2-point friction hitch akin to the fastway e2. At 34’ you could easily justify an upgrade with a half ton pickup imo.
if you can find a husky centerline HD, consider that one as well. Very good hitch, very expensive when new, and I think they priced themselves out of the market as they don’t make them anymore. A pain to hook up but extremely effective.
curt true track is worth a look as well. Not as good as the Reese, but better than what you have.
34 feet is at the upper end but not over the top.
mine is around 36 end to end and I’ve been really happy with the Reese.
consider also that I was towing it for years with the short wheel base expedition and it was just never a problem. Always performed above my expectations.
the husky centerline ts it just an average hitch. Nothing bad but nothing outstanding. Just a 2-point friction hitch akin to the fastway e2. At 34’ you could easily justify an upgrade with a half ton pickup imo.
if you can find a husky centerline HD, consider that one as well. Very good hitch, very expensive when new, and I think they priced themselves out of the market as they don’t make them anymore. A pain to hook up but extremely effective.
curt true track is worth a look as well. Not as good as the Reese, but better than what you have.
serving ideas.
Okay...I'm totally confused now. I guess I am overweight a bit. I weighed my truck only today - see the pics below. Sheesh...why does this have to be so hard!
You aren’t over weight on the total but you are at you max rear axle weight.
with the trailer, you are at 6640 so 60 lbs short of your GVW.
but you are also 140 lbs lighter in the front with the trailer hooked up.
Adding some angle or moving your bars up a notch would help move more weight off the rear and onto the front, and will also move some tongue weight back to the trailer axles. All positive things for your situation.
Make some adjustments to tighten up the hitch and see how the weight shifts around. Moving 140-150 lbs back to the front will make a world of difference I think. You will no longer be at the rear axle max and will creep slightly farther away from your GVW max as Weight shifts back to the trailer.
you’ll still be very near the max for your truck no matter what.
your 4r75 transmission will be happier with a cooling upgrade as well. I don’t think you got the big cooler with the 4.6. Looking for the HD cooler for a 5.4 truck would be worthwhile.
You aren’t over weight on the total but you are at you max rear axle weight.
with the trailer, you are at 6640 so 60 lbs short of your GVW.
but you are also 140 lbs lighter in the front with the trailer hooked up.
Adding some angle or moving your bars up a notch would help move more weight off the rear and onto the front, and will also move some tongue weight back to the trailer axles. All positive things for your situation.
Make some adjustments to tighten up the hitch and see how the weight shifts around. Moving 140-150 lbs back to the front will make a world of difference I think. You will no longer be at the rear axle max and will creep slightly farther away from your GVW max as Weight shifts back to the trailer.
you’ll still be very near the max for your truck no matter what.
your 4r75 transmission will be happier with a cooling upgrade as well. I don’t think you got the big cooler with the 4.6. Looking for the HD cooler for a 5.4 truck would be worthwhile.
