Increasing my payload
#31
Senior Member
It seems to me, that if you load the trailer to the max, and in such a manner that you decrease the tongue weight, you will have a terrible sway problem
I parked a 900lb Goldwing in the garage of our MXT303 and took off for Idaho going the long way on mostly 2-lane roads. The only place where there was a hint of sway was in South Dakota going in to a headwind that was bending large trees over. It seemed to be pushing the whole rig around as a unit. Now that is with a ProPride hitch with 1,400 lb bars. I set the hitch weight at 1,100 lbs.
As an aside that drive through SD east to west is mostly uphill and knocked our MPG to 6.6. OUCH!!
But, I am just spit-balling here, no actual experience.
I parked a 900lb Goldwing in the garage of our MXT303 and took off for Idaho going the long way on mostly 2-lane roads. The only place where there was a hint of sway was in South Dakota going in to a headwind that was bending large trees over. It seemed to be pushing the whole rig around as a unit. Now that is with a ProPride hitch with 1,400 lb bars. I set the hitch weight at 1,100 lbs.
As an aside that drive through SD east to west is mostly uphill and knocked our MPG to 6.6. OUCH!!
But, I am just spit-balling here, no actual experience.
And, yes, there's not much you can do when the wind moves your whole rig around. We too have found that the Prairie winds are the worst. Always get my worst mileage there. The Rockies are a piece of cake after two days of fighting Prairie headwinds.
#32
Senior Member
The one thing with the Propride hitch is that it is significantly heavier than your average friction based WDH. It's almost a catch-22 in that those who need the ultimate sway benefits of this hitch, are likely hauling loads larger than their vehicle was intended to support and therefore don't have the additional payload to spare in order to carry the heaver hitch. The other oxymoron withe the Propride is that it's so heavy that naturally the additional tongue weight will help to curb trailer sway. So even without the fancy "pivot point projection" capabilities of the hitch, slapping a 200lb Anvil to the front of your trailer is going to inherently help control sway due to the increase in tongue weight.
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brulaz (09-23-2014)
#33
I read this whole thread and only one person made the connection that the GVWR is specified at the lowest rated component...which, I believe, is the factory tires. To make your truck safer for your currently "overloaded" status, trade-in the tires for Load Range 'D' or 'E' rated replacements. Yes, the ride will be firmer (loaded and unloaded) but the towing experience will be much improved.
#34
Best way to tell ball weight is to put the receiver in, place a known weight on the ball and measure how far the truck dropped. Where you measure is not important just so long as you always use the same spot. In my case I used me. I weigh 200 pounds and standing on the ball I dropped the fender 1/2" which equates to 1/2'' drop per 200 pounds. I placed my trailer on the ball and it dropped 2 inches for a ball weight of 800lbs. The WDH raised that 1" so I moved about 400 pounds. Standard weight transfer is 20% rearward and 80% forward so I moved about 80 pounds into the trailer and about 320 forward into the truck. You can use this to see how much weight was taken off of the ball when you put your 'toy' into the hauler. Its not scientific but it will get you in the ball park.
200 pounds overloaded is nothing to worry about despite claims to the contrary. Being unstable is definitely something a worry about so get that part solved and enjoy yourself.
200 pounds overloaded is nothing to worry about despite claims to the contrary. Being unstable is definitely something a worry about so get that part solved and enjoy yourself.
#35
I read this whole thread and only one person made the connection that the GVWR is specified at the lowest rated component...which, I believe, is the factory tires. To make your truck safer for your currently "overloaded" status, trade-in the tires for Load Range 'D' or 'E' rated replacements. Yes, the ride will be firmer (loaded and unloaded) but the towing experience will be much improved.
#36
I still have the factory 20" Bridgestone Dueler H/L- when I towed the boat to the Florida Keys this summer, I was 300lbs over payload - and had no issues at all.
#37
Senior Member
Then, in my opinion, you probably aren't going to be "overloaded"! Get out there and buy that trailer already!
I still have the factory 20" Bridgestone Dueler H/L- when I towed the boat to the Florida Keys this summer, I was 300lbs over payload - and had no issues at all.
I still have the factory 20" Bridgestone Dueler H/L- when I towed the boat to the Florida Keys this summer, I was 300lbs over payload - and had no issues at all.
Reference:
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas...F-150_v1-1.pdf
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Engineer Guy (09-25-2014)