mark1969

Okay, you're going to tell me I should use my F350 but I want the 150 to have better manners and use it with my trailer.

I have a 2014 F150 supercrew. GVWR 7350 payload 1395 according to the sticker. It's an EB with 3.31 rear axle. My trailer is a 2015 Forest River Vibe 268rks. About 6700lbs dry with 742lb hitch weight. My truck has an ARE canopy. I'm quite a bit under what my owners manual lists tow rating at 9200lbs. Not sure why the difference on the stickers, maybe I just dont understand the ratings well.

I am running an Andersen mfg NoSway hitch with weight distribution.

Here's my issue, the truck feels squirrelly as all hell. Now of course a trailer that weighs more than the truck will have significant inputs and effect how it drives. It's stable without the trailer moving around alot but the truck feels like it's being pushed a bit side to side. Not enough to require steering input but I sure do feel it.

I have set up the WD as the instructions in the manual that came with the hitch say. I tossed the Eaz lift hitch and friction bar that the dealer put on. It was much worse with that. The Andersen stopped the porpoising altogether but the side to side feeling is still there.

I've seen lots of things listed to help but dont know where to drop cash to improve things. This is the truck and trailer I have and I need to make it work.

First off a Hellwig rear sway bar, will this improve things?

Airbag rears?

Roadmaster Active suspension?

Any combinations of the above?

KR Kodi

iTrader: (1)

Well - I've never towed with that Andersen hitch, but it's not something I'd buy to tow a heavy trailer with. I think that Eaz-Lift would be a lot better, but you'd probably need 2 sway bars.


Your trailer must weigh at least 8000 lbs wet&loaded. Normal tongue weight should be 10% to 15% of the loaded trailer weight - let's use a realistic minimum of 12%, which would be 960 lbs.


I don't know what that Andersen hitch head weighs, but let's say 40 lbs.


960 plus 40 equals 1000 lbs on your hitch - which is approaching the hitch's weight limit of 1050 with a WDH.


I looked on the ARE site, and depending on what size you have, it will weigh between 175 to 195 lbs - let's use 195 lbs.


1050 plus 195 equals 1245 lbs.


Subtract that from your payload capacity and 1395 minus 1245 equals 150 lbs remaining for people and cargo in the cab and bed of the truck - so if you're a real lightweight and it's only you in the truck, and absolutely nothing else when towing, you might be within your GVWR limit.


However, you're probably well exceeding your rear axle GAWR.


You didn't say what bed length you have, or 4x2 or 4x4, but so when I look in the 2014 brochure I can't tell exactly what your truck's GCWR is, but it looks like 14,900 or 15,100. With your truck loaded to tow, you (150 lbs), hitch head (40 lbs), and ARE (195 lbs) equals 385 lbs.


Before adding your ARE and hitch head, your empty truck weighs GVWR minus the payload capacity - 7350 minus 1395 equals 5955.


With your ARE, hitch head, and you in the truck add 195 plus 40 plus 150 to the empty weight above, which is 385 plus 5955 equals 6340 lbs.


So, your truck all loaded up and ready to tow is 6340 plus the 8000 lb trailer equals a total weight for your rig of 14,340 lbs. Looks like you'll be slightly below your GCWR.


Bottom line - in the example above, the only thing you'll be able to carry in the truck when you tow is a 150 lb driver. You're probably over your rear GAWR. You're up pretty close to your GCWR.


If you do pull this trailer with your F150, I think you need a better WDH, such as a Reese Strait-Line or Equal-i-zer, etc.
.

tony montana

I fought similar issues. I had a 2012 with the ecoboost and 3.31 rear and a payload a little more than yours. Mine was 1450. And my camper was lighter than yours weighing dry 5100. Roughly loaded I never weighed it but I guess close to 6100. Power wise with the ecoboost I had no issues. Pulled it great. But the suspension I think was at the upper limit. I had the pogo effect issue and I also felt like the camper would kind of push my truck a little to much. So what i did I bought a used king ranch f250 diesel. Went camping this week and the 250 was awesome. Never made me feel nervous towing my camper. I would suggest get the equalizer wdh. I hear it's the best and hopefully help your issue

bsboothe

Do you by chance have passenger tires on your truck vice LT tires? If so, put truck tires on and it should help as well.

mark1969

Tomorrow I will take the truck and trailer to the scales and get a clearer view of what's going on. It would be nice if the trailer dealership put a little more effort into identifying what you should tow with your TV.

In any case I will likely be over GVWR but I think I can minimize how much. Still I'm hoping for a handling band aid. I'm not towing this thing across several states I usually keep it within a couple hundred miles of home. Maybe 3K miles per year.

tony montana

Like said above, lt tires should help.

A7B2FX4

Sway bar, air bags, LT tires all will help. Watch out for the air bags if you ever hoist the truck. You're just used to the superduty being a better towing platform and pushing the limits on a F150 makes it a squirrely ride in comparison.

xcntrk

Definitely hit the scales before you do anything else. Putting your truck specs aside (payload - lack there of), you need to get an accurate understanding of the TT weight, tongue weight, weight-distribution efficiency, and load on the TV. Easiest way to do this is to get 3 scale readings; first weigh the whole setup hooked up as you travel down the road with WD fully dialed in, second relax the WD and weigh Truck + Trailer hooked up, and third detach trailer and weigh both truck and trailer on the scale but resting on separate pads (individual weights of each). Armed with data from these 3 scenarios you will have every bit of data to fully assess your weight situation.

I made a spreadsheet tool that you can use to input this data that will calculate all the numbers as well. You're welcome to use it but not required to interpret your weights.

https://www.f150forum.com/f82/traile...tility-244126/

BossHauss

Mark,


I have experienced the same problem. I have a '13 EB SuperCab w/8' bed, and same rear end gearing. I too was sold on the Andersen hitch design; thought it was innovative. I frequently tow a very similar trailer as the one you describe from Phoenix to Albuquerque, though it's about a 1000 pounds heavier, and had more than a few uncomfortable moments along the way.


I tried everything I could think of: Changing the hitch height, tongue weight, chain tension, shifted other cargo around my truck to change the weight distribution on the truck axles. Nothing helped. I suffered along this way for months, and one day a friend of mine convinced me to try his Reese WD hitch (the conventional type), and the rig drove much more comfortably, with only an occasional "wiggle" when over 75mph.


I hate to knock Andersen's design, I think it's nice. But, for me the proof is in the pudding. I suggest you borrow a conventional WD hitch from a friend, or rent one, and try it out. You may have the same experience I did.


Good luck.

mark1969

I took it to a closed truck scale today. I am right at GVWR on the truck. I had some stuff in the bed yet and the front compartment of the trailer probably has a couple hundred pounds that I can relocate to being over the trailer axles.

I was lighter in the front end than what I came up with yesterday without the trailer attached. Seems odd to me. This is a highway truck scale so it might not be super accurate I dunno it seems to lose or gain about a hundred pounds at random.

Without the trailer I was 3400 up front and 3000 rear.

With the trailer I was 3250 front and 4000 rear. GAWR says 3900 front 3850 rear. Trailer axles were at 6650.

I was on and off the scales several times and the weights were pretty consistent. I adjusted the WD hitch pretty tight and got the trailer nose up a bit but it didnt seem the weights changed much.