KR_FL72

Ok. I'm perplexed, concerned & in need of feedback from other F-150 owners that have also experienced significant trailer sway while towing a BOAT. I just bought my 2012 F-150 Supercrew w/ 5' box and equipped w/ 18" 4-ply Goodyear factory supplied tires. I pulled my 5,000 lb boat twice this week & experienced noticeable trailer sway issues both times while travelling down the freeway at 65-70 mph. Front & rear end of truck seems to move left & right opposite from one another without any other passing vehicles. I experienced the same issue the very next day in addition to an even worse event. I had slightly corrected my direction while travelling at 70 mph only to have the truck go into a violent trailer sway situation with the sway control feature fully engaging brakes & instrument panel hazard warnings... Sway situation was bad enough that a serious accident could've easily occurred had I really had to swerve to avoid something in the road!

The truck is at the dealership getting checked out at the moment, but the ford service tech's are telling me this isn't a common problem so their not sure of the cause!? They said I may not have enough tongue weight on the boat trailer for loading the rear suspension? Boat & trailer weigh 5,000 lbs with 150-200 lb tongue weight. Rear end compresses exactly 1" when loaded with the boat.

I can say that I really like everything about my new F-150...except for this safety issue that has me concerned about putting my family in the truck while under tow. Ford states that the Trailer Sway Control feature is a Ford feature that prevents an "event" from occurring, but I'm not so sure about this feature & why the F-150 would even need it! Trailer Sway Control may not be an option with Chevy or Toyota 1/2 ton trucks, but I think that's because they may not need such a thing? I say that as I've pulled this same boat for the last 11 years with all my former 1/2 ton pickup's including 1999 & 2002 F-150's, 2005 & 2008 Silverado's, 2010 LTZ Avalanche, and my current Toyota Tundra company pickup. Never been an issue before! Why in the heck am I now experiencing trailer sway with my 2012 F-150, and what can Ford due to correct the problem?

I really do like this F-150 truck...but I might just have to put her on craigslist & go back to a boring...but bulletproof Silverado if I can't pull my boat down the freeway! Then again, who would want to buy a pickup truck that can't pull a boat?

Steve Osborne

trailer follows level? diff trucks diff hitch heights
your tongue weight seems low at 200 for 5000lbs

MadocHandyman

Your tongue weight is way under where it should be. Generally is 10 - 15% if weight. You should be at least 500 lbs on the tongue. The front end of your trailer is floating around back there. ^ and what Steve said, make sure the trailer is level.

EricTheOracle

As has been said, not enough tongue weight.

Belushi

^ def not enough tongue weight. Pulled my boat all summer in my 11 5.0. Approx weight of 6300 lbs. never ever had any sort of trailer sway and generally pulled at 70-75 mph. Squats trucks about an inch and that's with superspring. But my trailer is also perfectly level too.

xcntrk

This is the root of your problem. 200# tongue weight on a 5000# trailer is only 4% and should make any rig sway. That thing is just dancing on the trailer axles with nothing to keep it straight.

The perplexing part however, is why haven't you had this problem all along, it should have plagued your other tow vehicles in the same way! Despite that point, get the tongue weight up by moving the load forward. Can you shift the boat up further on the rails to increase the tongue weight? You need to be above the 500# mark.

Personally I use a tongue scale to ensure my loads are properly distributed which gives me nice sway free ride:

byte

neat scale... lack of weight on the front, but at high speeds the front of the boat will also lift like an airplane wing


http://www.sherline.com/lm.htm

F-250,LD

The lack of tongue weight can be a real issue.

Also, the P series tires will allow more sidewall flex than a LT tire will. A quick test that I would do is, put the max air pressure (marked on the tire sidewall) in all the tires and go for a spin. Tires are rated to run all day at max pressure without issues. If it's very hot out, the air pressure in a tire can increase by ~5%. Anticipate this and run down that 5% on hot days.

How many miles are on the truck? The shocks could be worn out. I have replaced the stock shocks (IMO, total junk) on my new truck at 3000 miles. The truck just felt too soft and I didn't like the lack of control on the stock shocks.

The combination of low tongue weight, worn shocks and tires could be your issue.

gsxr1216

IMO the stock goodyear GSA tires are complete garbage when it comes to towing and stability. I pulled my car hauler once with the OEM tires and it was not a fun experience at all with all the sway and that trailer even had a weight dist hitch and swaybars on it also. I went to E rated tires and the truck handles tons better now. The OEM tires are great if you use your truck like a grocery getter, but not much else.

Tongue weight can also be an issue, but if you had it setup similar on other trucks with no issues I would really lean towards the tires being your issue.


Did you have P rated tires on your other ½ ton trucks you pulled this boat with before?

modru2004

seeing as he JUST bought the truck i don't buy that the shocks are worn out already. not unless hes hit a curb or something and blown the seals. thats possible.


but low tire pressure, incorrect tongue weight, unlevel trailer any or any combination of those are the primary suspects. wont' know for sure until he replys back.