brulaz

Interesting.

I routinely tighten these as hard as I can with a dedicated wrench. Makes the whole rig more stable and never any warning lights. But I do have to un-tighten them when un-hitching or I can't swivel the bars out of the way.

Maybe the 2015's have a more sensitive warning system.

Elyislander

Now you've got me thinking, brulaz...I'm going to go back to Equalizer's site and make sure what I'm doing is correct.

When I reassembled the hitch head, I assumed that it was a "torque it once and forget it" type of scenario, perhaps with a check on the torque after every few trips. But you may be correct that it is intended to be torqued with every trip.

I found that the minimum torque value on their site seemed tight enough but also allowed the hitch head sockets to move back and forth.

I did find some wear/galling in the hitch head itself that I ground away (my hitch was used as was the camper) so maybe that was the cause of the sticking problem? Either way the left pull and warnings are gone after I cleaned up the hitch. Maybe its time for a new hitch head soon.

Another couple of interesting things I found through this experience:
* The warning messages would still appear even after I turned the advancetrac system off (via button on dash, turned it off after starting truck and before 1st warning message was thrown)
*Cruise control does not work after the warning messages are thrown
* Steering angle on the display does not show up after warning messages are thrown

sunofabeach

the thing with towing a trailer is that you need to understand your truck and it's limits. that also means knowing the ACTUAL weights.


all 3 axle weights
tongue weight
GCWR


this guy provided none of this info and relied on a RV dealership to tell him that his hitch was set up correctly. probably the same one that installed it for him.


just by the small amount of info that he did give, you know that the set-up was wrong. he didn't even know what his actual payload on the truck was.


the truck should be able to handle that trailer easily, if it was equipped properly.

AussieCanadian

Sorry to revive an old thread, but I read through this and wanted to respond for the benefit of other F150 owners who may be suffering the same issues..

I just sold my 2014 XLT Screw 4x4 for this very same reason (MAJOR stability issues when towing). It wasn't the trailer swaying, but the truck being pushed all over the road by the weight of the trailer. It's a problem that I feel is unique to towing travel (or wide box) trailers, and I have actually read in Ford's documentation cautioning owners about "frontage" area of any trailer being towed - presumably for this very reason.

Admittedly, I had a 2014, and I didn't have the max tow package, so that may have been a factor, although given the OP here did - it suggests this problem maybe inherent with many configurations, and could (stress 'could') be worse in the 15's as they're lighter trucks.

My truck just wasn't stable towing at all. My TT is 5,800lbs loaded (4,700 dry), with a 600lb hitch weight. I used a Reese Dual Cam WD hitch and w/sway control and tried adjusting over and over with different settings and heights, before I realized that it was nothing to do with the hitch setup, but was obviously the truck. Point proven when I towed the same trailer with my friend's 2013 RAM 1500, and it was night and day difference (very stable - thanks to the Ram's multi-link coil sprung rear end which provides more lateral stability.

For any F150 owners with the same issue, here is what I did, before finally deciding to trade it:

1) Installed new LT Tires (Load Range 'E') - I used Cooper Discover AT/3's, and aired to 65lbs when towing
2) HD Rancho 9000XL (or Bilstein 4600/5100)
3) Hellwig Rear Sway Bar

The above 3 changes made a big difference, but the truck still 'waggled' when towing. In the end I traded and now have a 2016 Ram. The payload on the Ram sucks admittedly, but it is FAR more stable, with not a hint of the instability that the Ford showed.

Jason_Larsen

Can you post your unloaded and loaded axle weights?

AussieCanadian

Hi there,

I actually weighed several times when we went out camping, and all were slightly different (depending both on hitch setup AND how I packed the TT and what I had in the bed, EG firewood, cooler etc), here is a sample of 1 outing which I found in our travel diary.

Front Axle: 3,480lbs
Rear Axle: 3,670lbs
Total GVW: 7,150lbs (GVWR was 7,350 on my truck with the 5.0)
Total GCW: 13,070

I was under on ALL my ratings - yet still had handling issues. I think the truck was well balanced front to back (using the WD hitch), but the settings didn't really seem to make a difference... I think in the above setting I may have been a little light in the front, and probably had too much in the truck bed, but then again, using the WD bars to push more weight to the front didn't seem to help drastically...

It's unfortunate, because other than the towing stability issues, I loved the truck... on paper, it should have pulled my setup with ease...

AussieCanadian

Just to add... I never actually weighed the truck unloaded, but loaded weights are posted above (didn't see the need to weigh unloaded)... I only ever weighed it when we had the trailer hitched up (mostly because the scales were on the way to campgrounds!)

sunofabeach

I'm towing a 33' travel trailer that weighs 7300lbs fully loaded and there is some movement but nothing I would classify as "sway". my truck is a 2014 XLT with max tow and ecoboost, 147" wheelbase.


I'm also using the Reese Straitline WD hitch with the dual-cam anti-sway and I agree that getting it set up was kind of tough, but once it's done, it is pretty good.


you do need all 3 weights to know for sure what tongue weight is though.


truck only
truck and trailer without WDH hooked up
truck and trailer with WDH hooked up


that will tell you whether you returned enough weight to the front end or if you put too much onto the front.

brulaz

Think many half-tons don't have the suspension to handle the weights they are rated for. Most people like a soft ride and don't really push the truck's limits. So that's what the manufacturers give them.

But if you do push the limits, I, and others, have found that you have to upgrade the suspension and tires to get a reasonable ride. After that, all is good as long as you stay close to the weight limits.

AussieCanadian

100% agree with this. I strongly considered a 3/4 ton upgrade, but the reality is that over the course of a year, 80% of my mileage is done when NOT towing our TT, so the gas costs and ride quality I believe are both factors to be carefully considered.

Good advice though - I agree that a "beefed up" 1/2 ton can be turned into a very solid tow rig. I spent $2000 CAD (shocks, tires, stable loads) which made a big difference, and adds another safety cushion - provided you stay close to the weight limits of course

That said - I decided to switch to the RAM, partially because my lease on the F150 was up, and part because I found (from a tow test) that the multi-link coils provide some extra lateral stability when "towing a genuinely heavy load" - I got that quote from this article which compares the 2015 F150 and Ram 1500 towing the same trailer:

http://www.edmunds.com/ford/f-150/20...el-part-1.html