I finally made it to the lake this last weekend and tryed towing triple (Truck, Camper, Boat). It actually pulled pretty well but I am looking onto a couple of things for saftey. I know theres at least one person on here (RVpuller) who also does this, and maybe a few of you other knowlagable guys could give me a hand.

It towed comfortably at 60mph, it seemed to get a little squirly after that. I currently have a WD hitch for between the truck and the camper with a standard bumper hitch between the boat and the camper. What I'm think of doing is adding a sway bar between the boat and camper. Is this the right place to add one???? Will it make a noticeable difference in handling??? The reason I would do it back there is because the camper seems to trail real good but the boat has a tendecy to wiggle a little when hitting bumps or when going around sweeping highway corners which then pulls the camper around a little bit and the sway bar should help this. or should I be placing it between the camper and the truck??? or should I have one on each or should I have two on the camper and one on the boat????

Also it's real unnurving not being able to see the boat at all. I actually stopped at one point to make sure it was still back there. I cann't see it at all when driving into or away from the sun. when driving sideways to the sun I can see the shadow but it still isn't ideal. I dont want to spend a bunch of money so my thought is to make removable reflectors that stickout enough so I can see them in my mirors. I know two poeple that have cameras, which might I say are pretty nice, but are a bit expensive for my needs. what have the rest of you guys done so you can see what your third trailor is doing???

Lastly the setup I'm running is of course a 03' F250 CC SB V10 3.73LS - 87' 27FT Wilderness TT - 88' 17FT Alumacraft Boat.

 

My dad has towed a 25' airstream with a ford E-250 conversion van. Last week we towed our utility trailer behind the airstream and it handled quite well, but my dad is pretty good at triple trailoring(he drives gravel trucks, most of the time with 2 cobra trailers). We do have a backup camera on the airstream, with the montior in the van.

 

You can find the cameras quite cheap on ebay. A camera and monitor will run about 2-300.

 

SLE, I am right there with you! I have an 02 F250 CC, PSD and tow a 30' FW (#9000) and have a bumper hitch on that that I tow a 19' fiberglass (#3,000) boat. The boat trailer is 8' wide so when it is swaying around back there as yours does at least I can see it. Even though you think that your FW tows really nice, the rear is really swaying back and forth a bit. This swaying is compounded by the boat trailer. It has to do with all of the pivot points.
I also tow a utility trailer behind the FW some times and I can't see it and have pulled over to make sure it is there a few times, so I know what you mean. I purchased a set of snow plow markers (bright orange with reflectors on the tops) from my local snow plow shop and mounted them on a angle bracket so I could angle them out at about a 45 degree angle. The stick out just enough that I can see the reflective tips beyond the FW. It really is peice of mind being able to see it back there. I too have thought about mounting a camera, but all of the wiring scares me a bit. If you ever tow the boat trailer without a boat behind your truck or when you are backing it in to retreave it, you will appriciate being able to see it.
Let me know if you decide to go the anti sway route and how it works for you as I have scared a few people with the swaying boat...

 

SLE, I have one question. I am a newbie so please bear with me as I have been trying to learn how to use this site.
Why did you post this question in the V10 portion in the performance engines and troubleshooting area of the forum rather than the Superduty area?

 

Thanks for the advise so far guys, esmarkey I posted this in the V10 forum since I spend most of my time in this forum and I know for sure of a couple of fellow V10ers that have a triple setup. I have had poor resposes in the towing forum, even though this should technically be there, where I end up knowing more about the answer to my own question than the guys trying to help, not saying anything bad but like I said I was sure there were a few in the same boat as us down here. They're also a swell buch of guys and a few a very knowlable ones.

Yeh, I may just do the swaybar thing a trial since I've been able to find them for around $50. we'll see I've only got one more trip planned for this year so it may be a next year project since I'll have to weld up the swaybar ball to the camper hitch. I'm not quite sure how I would do it on the WD hitch as I have no room for the extra ball????? I'm still thinking it should go between the boat and camper since the camper tows great without the boat and doesn't move an inch. I figure since the boat is causing the camper to get squirley if I stop the boat from wagging around it will transfer to the camper. If I do it the opposite way the and place it between the truck and the camper the boat can still sway around quite a bit.

The snow plow marker idea is just what I was looking for. I was going to rig up some removable refeltors but those markers would do the job just right. I'm also going to run everything across the scale to make sure my tongue weights are in the proper range as I know this makes a big difference on how a trailor will handle. The whole rig handles exceptionally well and I was pleased but I'm still a bit tenative going down any large hills very fast as this is where most of the guys have a problem so I end up slowing up to about 50-55 before cresting the hill so if I do have problem I can power out of it and not be going 90mph at the bottom.

We'll see if we get a few more responses on this subect since we could both use a little bit of advise.

 

SLE Its had to stop all the sway when pulling doubles and with a TT it will happen no matter what you do. The distance from you truck axle to the TT will magnify any sway movement in the truck and then the trailer will magnify it even more because of the axle to hitch distance. With a 5ver the pin is in front of the axle so the only movement or sway is caused by the trailer axle to the hitch. Over time it will improve because your driving habits will improve and so will your confidence when pulling two.

I use a spring loaded car antenna and a fishing float so I can tell what the boat is doing, I have it adjusted so I can just see it when looking in the mirror. Its getting a little rough looking but its got a lot of miles on it, I had to silver solder one of the joints to hold it in place. You can also see that I built a bracket to hold it forward when not in use.

Denny

 

I've read where ppl have bought the wireless camera from x10.com and mounted it on the back of the trailer. I for one would not tow two conventional trailers in a row but rather a 5ver and a trailer.

 

Why not? My dad does it when he needs to tow the airstream and our enclosed single axle utility trailer. Can't pull a 5ver with a van.

 

I had no problems for the most part and the whole thing towed quite well at around 60mph, I was just looking for a little bit more control when going 65-70mph. As far as towing two conventional trailors it quite common around these parts although many do run FWs. I would say theres maybe a 70/30 split between FWs and TTs towing triple, this is just an obseritive guess by watching the veicles that pass by on the hwy and looking at whats sitting around at the camp ground. It really isn't all that different than these big rigs towing three shorties, yes they wag but it quite manageable.

Thanks for the input RVpuller, do the antennas bounce around quite a bit when cruising down the hwy or are they fairly stiff? I only ask as the roads around here are a bit rough and it may get a bit anoying watching them bounce on a continuous basis. I can see good and bad with both a spring loaded guide and a fixed guide. I think it may come down to just trying each to see what works better. I like the fact that the antenas will bend if for some reason you clip something and the fact that you don't have to remove them when not towing it behind the FW. I'll have to go up to the hardware store and do a little research and get some Ideas know that I have a base to work off of.

The camera Idea is not out of the question but I really don't want to spend any more money on this camper as pretty soon I'l have more into it thatn its worth. I figure I'm already going to have to replace both batteries in short order, I just replaced all four tires, I still need to get a spare and a rim, I've had to sand and paint the front bumper, the rear bumper, the step, and the frame. I also had to do some welding and fabricating on the rear bumper to setup the hitch for the boat, I also still need to rewire the boat lights coming off of the camper as the last owner just wired it for temporary use and its very finiky. And of course the inside is a bit dated since it is a 87' model, so by next spring it'll have new flooring, seat coverings, window treatments and I would venture to say new walpaper/paint all as a requirement by my wife. I'm perfectly happy with the inside but unless I plan on going by myself I have been told that it needs a little updating/cleaning. Heck when I bought it I just wanted something to get me out of the weather when it wasn't so nice outside, next thing I know It'll be nicer than the house, go figure.

One a side note the V10 tows the whole load without even a hint of a struggle even with the 3.73 rear gear and the larger tires I've added. There are two large hills on the way to our most fequented fishing hole and the I've now found out what everybody means by the beutifull music of 10 singing a 4000 rpms, its like music to my ears. I only have one complaint, the 4R100 wants to shift back to 3rd long before I ever get close to the top of the hill so once it downshifts I have to manually pull the shift lever down to 2nd inorder to keep it from upshifting prematuraly as it cann't pull either of the large hills in 3rd without loseing 5-8mph. overall I was quite happy with the performance of the V10.

 

SLE, I hope this doesn't come through twice as I tried to send it and it disappeared. Like I said, I am a newbie to the site.
The car antenna sounds like a good idea, and my cost less than the plow markers, but I can tell you that the plow markers take a lot of abuse as I have them on my...... plow. I am always hitting braches and stuff trying to clean up my drive in the woods.
The more I think about it, the anti sway bar makes sense, the best way to mount the ball is on a load equalizing hitch mount, but probably pricey. I have one from another application and just may try it if I can get another plate to mount to the trailer.
What state are you in? I am from Michigan and they only let us pull doubles with a 5th wheel with an endorsment on your liscense. They also only let us pull a max of 65'
I amy be a F E W inches beyond that. what re the restrictions in your state?
P.S. I have pulled the triple rig from MI to FL 4 times now and I know what you mean about going down hills!

 

We'll see what I find at the hardware store this week, I've got my mind turning now. I don't know where you can find a plate for your camper but I cann't imagine they can be to expensive since a whole antsway bar system can be purchaced for well under $75. Give it a try and keep us posted, by the way your not the only one new at the triple towing game, I haven't rode in this rodeo to many times myself.

I live in North Dakota and our state laws are pretty relaxed as far as this goes. State Law says it cann't exceed 75ft (I'm at 68'), You need to have lights on all trailors, Saftey chains need to be inplace between all vehicles, and the second trailor must have trailor brakes. That is it. We don't need a special endorsement on our license or anything like that. I see a whole lot of people that are far exceeding the 75' length limit but the DOT and state patrol won't bother you as long as your being respectfull and not doing anything stupid. I know part of the reason many of the fuys run FWs vr's TT in a triple setup is you will gain atleast 5'-6' of camper length, since the hitch is eliminated and the FW overhangs the truck. this alows you to have a larger camper without exceeding the length limit.

Lastly I'm pretty tenitive on hills since thats where most of the guys tend to have problems. What happens is the boat pushes against the camper, which inturn pushes against the truck. The camper usually will stay fairly straight since the camper brakes keep it from pushing against the truck to much but very few boats that are under 18' have trailor brakes. So the boat pushes against the camper and forces the back of the camper out to one side or the other and now all the sudden you have the begining of a swaying rig. It helps to have a heavy camper and a lighter boat so the boat has less effect on the camper. I have not had the expereince of trying to stop a swaying rig but from hersay and a logical look at it they say that if it begins to sway not to push on the brakes as it will only make it worse. I've been told that you're suppose to stand on it which will pull tension between the three and straighten it out. There is a catch 22 here though, you HAVE TO HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO DO THIS!!!! I know someone that was towing a 29ft FW and 20ft Glasstron witha half ton Chevy that lost his boat. He went down a hill the boat began to sway so he did as many say and stood on it, the ol 5300 didn't have enough to pull the threee into tension and instead caused more of a whipping effect which launched the boat off of the trailor!!!! If your load is more than what the truck can accelerate with a any speed the best is to just let off the gas and cost untill thigs streightn out. The probelm is you only have one chance to find out if you made the right decision. I best quit write as I begining to make myself nervous about this.

 

The antenna doesn't bounce all that much, I also considered something a little more rigid but I wanted it to give if I hit something or someone. My boat isn't all that big so I don't need brakes, it only a 14.5 ft and weighs 950 lbs loaded now the 5ver trailer is a different story.

Denny