towing with new 2017 platinum
07-31-2018, 10:06 AM
#51
BRONZE FIRE KING RANCH
2017 rear shocks.
Trash those rear shocks and throw on some Bilstein 5100's. You should have asked or even looked in the 2015 up section. The rear shocks on our trucks are junk. So much so that Bilstein went of national backorder due to the amount of 15 and up people replacing their shocks.
07-31-2018, 10:31 AM
#52
Tongue weight shoud be about 12-13% or 1056-1144 lbs.
Towing a trailer that big needs careful loading. You will likely have to take everything out of the bed and put it in the front end of the trailer. Remember, for every 100lbs you remove from the truck and place in the trailer will be substantially less weight on the TV and help you achieve the proper tongue weight.
The 1200 lbs bars are likely the best bet. Let’s say you get the tongue weight to 1100lbs, then ADD the 100 lbs of the WDH, puts you at 1200 lbs on the tongue. Just put your family in the cab. Everything else in the trailer.
Most find that anything over 7500 lb wet and loaded trailer is too much. What does you hitch say? 1050? 1220? 1320? Just curious.
You are not alone. You are right at the limits of your truck. But since you previous truck did it, then I think the problem is how the weight is loaded and how much the trailer actually weighs. JMO
I would address these issues FIRST before putting more money into the setup.
Last edited by jcb206; 07-31-2018 at 10:34 AM.
07-31-2018, 11:27 AM
#53
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its all about wind. I have an aluminum car trailer and tow my cat skidsteer, total weight with the trailer is 10k, with 1000lbs of tongue weight. This tows fine, granted its heavy and feels like a brick but it does not exhibit the same wandering charcateristics and pucker factor that i get with the camper.
07-31-2018, 01:15 PM
#54
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900 lbs of tonuge weight on a 8800 lb trailer (have you weighted the trailer?) seems light.
Tongue weight shoud be about 12-13% or 1056-1144 lbs.
Towing a trailer that big needs careful loading. You will likely have to take everything out of the bed and put it in the front end of the trailer. Remember, for every 100lbs you remove from the truck and place in the trailer will be substantially less weight on the TV and help you achieve the proper tongue weight.
The 1200 lbs bars are likely the best bet. Let’s say you get the tongue weight to 1100lbs, then ADD the 100 lbs of the WDH, puts you at 1200 lbs on the tongue. Just put your family in the cab. Everything else in the trailer.
Most find that anything over 7500 lb wet and loaded trailer is too much. What does you hitch say? 1050? 1220? 1320? Just curious.
You are not alone. You are right at the limits of your truck. But since you previous truck did it, then I think the problem is how the weight is loaded and how much the trailer actually weighs. JMO
I would address these issues FIRST before putting more money into the setup.
im weighing the tongue weight with the Sherline scale (so i assume its pretty accurate) and i measured it all different angles to ensure the tongue weight didnt change. I have not actually weighed the trailer but i think the number i gave was slightly high, according to the specs of a new one online its 8300lbs. The wd hitch i have is the equal-i-zer brand 1200/12000, so i assume it would say 1200 on it. i agree that there are no more real issues to improve the towing other than tire, which i dont believe is the true cause of what im experiencing. I firmly believe the issue is the EPAS on this truck acts differently than my previous 2012
07-31-2018, 01:32 PM
#55
NO, and no, as they could not find a problem, and are unable to duplicate it. My solution is going to be to replace the truck, too many other issues besides the EPAS. I did switch to a 1400# Blue Ox which got all the weights right where they should be, and it did tow better, but still has that strange wandering problem over expansion joints.
08-01-2018, 09:22 AM
#56
BRONZE FIRE KING RANCH
5100 shocks
its all about wind. I have an aluminum car trailer and tow my cat skidsteer, total weight with the trailer is 10k, with 1000lbs of tongue weight. This tows fine, granted its heavy and feels like a brick but it does not exhibit the same wandering charcateristics and pucker factor that i get with the camper.
08-02-2018, 10:47 PM
#57
im weighing the tongue weight with the Sherline scale (so i assume its pretty accurate) and i measured it all different angles to ensure the tongue weight didnt change. I have not actually weighed the trailer but i think the number i gave was slightly high, according to the specs of a new one online its 8300lbs. The wd hitch i have is the equal-i-zer brand 1200/12000, so i assume it would say 1200 on it. i agree that there are no more real issues to improve the towing other than tire, which i dont believe is the true cause of what im experiencing. I firmly believe the issue is the EPAS on this truck acts differently than my previous 2012
I have had zero issues towing with my aluminum F150. Just think you should try to get the tongue weight to 12-13% and see where you stand. JMO of course and it’s your truck.
EDIT: What year, make and model is the trailer if you don’t mind me asking?
If your Payload is 1548 and you have 600 lbs in the Cab and 200 in the bed, you have 748 lbs left for the hitch. Minus the 80 lbs for the hitch, you are left with 668 lbs. Not 900 and not the 1000-1100 lbs needed for tongue weight. If the the tongue is light, it will never handle well. Again, your truck.
Last edited by jcb206; 08-02-2018 at 11:06 PM.
08-07-2018, 02:38 PM
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If you are using a scale, then I am sure it’s accurate. But that doesn’t fix the issue that a 8300 lb trailer (you should weight it) will have at least 1000 lbs on the tongue. You will be very close to your Hitch rating, RAWR and likely GVWR with 600 lbs in the Cab and 200 in the bed.
I have had zero issues towing with my aluminum F150. Just think you should try to get the tongue weight to 12-13% and see where you stand. JMO of course and it’s your truck.
EDIT: What year, make and model is the trailer if you don’t mind me asking?
If your Payload is 1548 and you have 600 lbs in the Cab and 200 in the bed, you have 748 lbs left for the hitch. Minus the 80 lbs for the hitch, you are left with 668 lbs. Not 900 and not the 1000-1100 lbs needed for tongue weight. If the the tongue is light, it will never handle well. Again, your truck.
my trailer is a 2012 rockwood signature ultralite, 8312ss. according to specs online its dry weight is 7000lbs and gvvr fully loaded is 8500. Specs also say the tongue weight is 884lbs, which confirms my scale saying 900. We dont fill up the water tanks and i cant imagine we bring along more than 500-600lbs of stuff which i always put in front of the axel, other than kids bikes on the back bumper. As for your math above i dont have anything in the bed of the truck so im right at the trucks capacity. To sum this all up the main reason for the thread is why my 2012 towed the exact same rig better with less steering problems? The only thing that makes sense to me is either the EPAS system changes (i believe the old truck was hydraulic) or the fact the truck is 700lb lighter. My guess is that both of these play into the issue.
Last edited by toynaround; 08-08-2018 at 09:52 AM.