Siskiyou

When my truck is parked with the trailer attached I can’t move it but I can guarantee that when I am driving and that 6500 lb trailer hits an uneven spot in the road it does move. What made me start thinking about it was sometimes I would either hit an unlevel area or a truck would go by and it would be solid but other times it would start to sway and I would feel it hit something solid, that was when it took up the slack in the other direction. I thought something was loose on the suspension. If you take a look at the picture of the spacer you will see the paint worn off and that is from only about 100 miles of towing. I still have some sway but not nearly as bad and I don’t feel the banging anymore, time will tell though. I noticed the first time I put the hitch in the receiver there was about twice as much play as on my 02 Silverado, this just reduced it to the normal clearance.

8100hd

You may think the play is gone and things don’t move but it does. That big worn spot on this shank is from movement.

acdii

I'll have to look at my Husky to see the wear on it. Doesn't look anything like that after 17 years.

8100hd

You could very well have minimal play on the shank/receiver fit, consider yourself lucky. Reducing lateral play at the receiver is one less place movement can happen.

acdii

I do know my 2" hitch is sloppy, and has all kinds of wear on it, which is why I got that clamp for it. Will see how the Blue Ox one is next year, only have about 150 miles on it, but I do recall seeing wear marks already.

Siskiyou

I didn’t realize you got the Blue Ox, how do you like it and did it help any, I know you are still having problems but I am looking at the Blue Ox also.

When was your truck built I wonder if some of these issues are related to a time or plant, mine isn’t nearly as bad as yours but it is a Kansas truck built in September 2016.

acdii

I got it in September, and only did a short test drive. It was very windy that day, so not the best day to get an opinion, but it did handle predictably. The setup was spot on the first time too, returned all the weight back to the steering axle, and gained some payload back. No sway, and trying to induce sway it straightened out right away, then again, sway was never my issue, handling was, and still is. The BO has reduced the kick back to nothing.

Did nothing to correct the wandering though, thats an issue with the truck.

Truck has a build date of 4/16. It is outside the date range for the SSM for steering wander/drift/pull, but hoping there is an updated one that covers it.

The one compliant seen on the BO I agree with, those cams are a bear! I highly recommend buying a 1/2" drive long handled ratchet with swivel head and 3/4" socket for this, and keep it in the trailer. Not so much for putting the chain on, but for loosening it. Once it gets past that hump it will snap down hard and if not ready for it, you will get hurt using that included wrench.

Mike Up

I'm pretty much towing the same as you.

Never a problem towing except in high winds where I didn't have the bars pulled up enough to give adequate sway control.

Try adjusting your hitch. Sounds like it's not adjusted properly.

Read the description of my rig in my signature.

BTW, you will get blown around in such a light 1/2 ton, I got blown around in my 2012 F150 as I do in this 2016 F150. The difference is I had more side to side wobbling on the 2012 with it's 18" P-series tires. I had to go to a LT tire to make it better. The 2016 has 17" P-Series tires and does fine with them. I may go to a LT tire after these tires wear out.