2001 F250 Super duty Crew cab, 7.3 long bed. 37' Fleetwood gear box 5th wheel. 15000lb loaded. Took it out on the road for the first time last weekend. Anything above 60MPH the front of the truck wanders. When passed by an 18 wheeler or if there is a side wind the truck wanders to a scary degree. Was a very uncomfortable trip! I moved the load in the trailer to as rear as possible (2400lb race car) While improved ride still very unstable.

Any sugestions would be greatly appreciated. Air bags? Additional springs? shocks? I am new to this and while I have read all the post I can find on the subject have found numerous different points of veiw.

Mark

 

well first, if your trailer weights 15000 lbs you are overweight buy about 3000 lbs or more.
for the sway, you might not have enough weight on the truck (pin weight), try moving some weight in your trailer forward. how full were your fresh water tanks? 2400 lbs is alot of weight behind your trailer axles.

 

IMO, the trailer is swaying because the rear axle is way overloaded. You could try moving the 5th wheel forward to distribute the weight more evenly over the front axle. But this will add more overweight to the front axle.

Bottom line, you're to<!>wing a semi-truck load with a light duty pickup. Seriously, you need to get a more professional rig. I'm talking F550, F650, Freightliner, GMC, etc...

Welcome to FTE and thanks for joining us in the To<!>wing forum!

 

As already mentioned, you are overloaded. The only way to correct the problem is to buy a bigger truck. I would suggest an F350 dually MINIMUM for that trailer. I believe 15K# is within the limits for the 2005 models.

 

DAMN 15k, that is flippen heavy. are you sure of the weight? was the hitch installed correctly. a hitch that has the center pin behind the rear axle will cause the same problem you are describing. those hubs are usually only rated to 65 mph, as well as those ST tires you have. any faster, then you are likely to have a seperation issue with your brakes and hub. i have seen it, dont think it wont happen to you.. get the truck rear axle on the scale with the trailer loaded and on the truck, and weigh it. aslo weigh the truck rear axle unloaded and the trailer fullt loaded. you should see no less than 20% and no more than 30% tounge weight. adjust your load to fall within this. and if you really do weigh 15k, and want to tow with this 250, God bless you, cause your gonna need it!!

Kurt

 

Just an accident waiting to happen. You are so overloaded on your rear axles I hope you don't have an accident but I don't know. The guys are right get a bigger truck.
An F250 with a diesel has very little payload anyway.

THMO
fknipfer1

 

i think your stuck in between a rock and a hard spot. either sell the trailer and buy something that weighs less or buy a truck that is more adequate for the job. i'm thinking F-450 would help a lot but i think you would be truly pushing it. you can get a lower GVW F-550 that is rated at 17,500 instead of 19,500 like mine i was gonna order. You can get a 350 dually bed and put on the 450 or 550 and keep the pickup look or you can get a horse puller bed that has room for a air compressor, generator, transprt fuel tank (50 gal to 150). i recomend a F-450 and no smaller for you. they're just as good riding as yours if you put airbags on them. hope this helps out. i'm not gonna get on your case for being overloaded because there isn't any point to cry over spilt milk. it's in the past and you understand it's not safe to tow it with the 250. just get a bigger truck when you get the funds or sell your trailer (sucks because you just got it). well hope this helps you out.




Drive It Like You Stole It!!!

 

I agree. You need a bigger truck or a smaller trailer. You're wagging around on the road partly because the truck is sagging in the rear and the frontend doesn't have the right angles in the alignment anymore and your steering is probably real light. I see it all the time out at the desert where I go riding. 3/4-ton trucks overloaded with big 5th wheel toy haulers and sagging in the rear. Whoever sold you that huge trailer didn't do you any favors if he knew what you were intending to pull it with. He should have advised you on a lighter weight trailer for your truck. Your truck's braking ability is probably decreased too because of how out of balance it is on the front and rear axles.

Here's some numbers for ya: An '01 F250 has a GVWR of 8800 lbs and a diesel crewcab wieghs over 7000 lbs empty. That leaves only 1800 lbs or less for hitch, people, gas, other cargo, and then the trailer. Your 15,000 lb trailer probably has a pin weight of 2000 lbs or more. The trailer pin weight alone puts your truck over it's GVWR. If you put your loaded truck and trailer on a scale, you will likely find that you are over your rear axle weight rating, and more importantly, your rear tires' rated load capacity.

An F250 with a diesel has a GCWR of 20,000 lbs. A 15,000 lb trailer plus a 7500 lb truck equals 22,500 lbs. I would venture to say that all loaded for the trip, the truck weighs closer to 8000 lbs. The estimate above of 3000 lbs overweight on the whole combination is probably pretty accurate, if the numbers you are providing are at all accurate. I would weigh the whole thing just to see what it really is.

Also, when towing 15000 lbs, you really don't need to be going much over 60mph anyways. I don't know where you are from, but here in California the speed limit for trucks towing trailers is 55mph. Most trailer tires and axles are not made for high speed either, as Huskyhauler mentioned. You need alot more stopping distance with that much weight and the risk of an accident is greatly increased with high speed. Read the post here on this forum titled "sobering story about a guy who was towing overweight and over the speed limit". I posted that link for situations just like this, so you can see what the REAL dangers are of your towing situation. Please don't endanger the lives of everyone on the road. No offense to you, but... get the right truck for the job.

Alright, I'm off my soapbox now...

 

thank you socal for the reassurance. i hear and see to many people towing well over 75mph. it is scarry most st trailer tires are rated for up to and including 64 mph, thats it. no more, no less. was passed by a hunter towing a trailer today on I17 doing in excess of 85+ mph. i was doing 72-75 and he blew my doors off. sure it was a tent trailer, and could be stopped by putting your arm out the door, but come on, what are 10" tires rated at. at putting truck tires on a trailer to pick up "speed and height" is highly unrecommended. trailer tires are designed for trailers, with stronger sidewalls, and heavier ratings. truck tires are for trucks.

Kurt

 

Mark, Check all of your tire pressures first. Get all up to max pressure and all on trailer equal. Unequal pressures can cause some of the action that you posted.

try it and let us know

John

 

Shoot, who cares about tire pressure(no offense), this guy flat out needs a bigger truck for that load. or a smaller trailer. the tires are better to be flat that way he won't be able to move. lol. anyways the Real answer to this whole thing isn't airbags, tire pressure or better tires or anything. he NEEDS a bigger truck and we have all agreed on this.




If You Ain't Good In The Saddle Lord She Won't Be Satisfied!!!

 

Why don't ya go out and buy him one mr. gotrocks? (no offense either) What you think he needs and what he can pay for just now with all of the payments he has already may not be the same.

Until such time comes, he might need to make do with what he already owns, using it as carefully as he can.

John

 

Unfortunately, "making do" in this case is very dangerous due the the extreme of the situation. That is WAY too much weight for this combination and there is no safe way to make do.

 

i believe you need to think about Saftey BUDDY! How would you like that rig to get out of control and kill him/his family and you/your family. wouldn't be very nice now would it. use your head and don't get verbal with me. As johnsdiesel said, it's VERY dangerous to make do with what he has now. he's better off letting the trailer set for a while until funds are plentiful enough to get a bigger truck. i didn't say a new truck i said bigger. if he had to get a 95 insteasd of his present superduty well it's a bigger truck. We can't make any decisions for this man. it's his choice to tow with his current vehicle and risk the lives of his loved ones and risk getting caught by the law and be fined. his choice not ours.

PS. if i had the money to buy him a truck i would, just to keep the road safer for me and you!




If You Ain't Good In The Saddle Lord She Won't Be Satisfied!!!

 

thanks aaron. we need someone to say what we want to. i agree if the trailer really weighs as much as he says, it is time to get a new truck. end of story!

Kurt