acdii

Some may already know my dilemma with towing with my 2016. I have done everything I can think of to make it stable while towing. Replaced all the shocks with Bilstien 5100's, added Sumosprings, tore down and reset my hitch, twice, Measured everything, and everything comes up perfect, yet, the truck oscillates.

Thats the only way I can actually describe what it is doing. It isn't swaying since the entire rig is moving as one. It moves left, moves right, moves up and down, best way to describe is a long boat on a lake between swells.

I had my wife focus her attention on the back of the trailer, lining it up with the edge of the mirror and can feel the truck move, but the trailer is locked in, not moving. If it were sway, the back of the trailer would move first, then the truck and that is not what is happening.

On the Interstate, if I get passed by a truck, the entire rig moves as it should, same with passing, but I also can feel cars pushing against me, which I didn't feel with the 2014. Crosswinds are also as expected.

I have a Husky Round bar, with 800# bars, and a single sway bar attachment. This setup worked fine for the 2014. One of the things I notice is that after making a turn, the steering wheel is offset a bit. If I make a left, it cants a bit to the right, and if I make a right, it is off to the left. I have tried different tensions on the bar, with no change in the overall issue, just that when loose I get sway, so I know it is working. I don't think adding a second one will do any good since the trailer is locked in.

The truck is a 2016 Lariat Screw 5.5' bed 4WD FX4 EB 502a with 1580 # payload, a bedrug and topper.

Wheel well heights

Empty

front, 37 1/2"
rear 39"

loaded, no bars

front 37 5/8"
rear 37 1/2"

Loaded with bars

front 37 1/2"
rear 37 3/4"

I have tried going up a link, and going down a link, neither of which made any difference. In fact going up induced sway going above 65 MPH.

My weights are as follows,

Bars disconnected

Front axle 3000
Drive axle 4060
Trailer axles 5400
Gross 12460

Bars connected

Front axle 3160
Drive axle 3800
Trailer axles 5480
Gross 12440

Compared to the 2014

No bars

Front axle 3000, same as 2016
Drive axle 4560
Trailer axles 5200
Gross 12760

Bars connected

Front axle 3180 (there is a variance on the scale of 20-40 pounds depending on axle placement, so pretty much identical)
Drive axle 4300
Trailer 5280
Gross 12760

The differences in weight are minuscule, The trailer gained 200 pounds on the axles since the first trip out with it, and roughly 100 pounds on the ball. The ball last year before our trips was 720#, today it weighed in at 820#, this is with a full FWT, and it is unknown when it gained 100 # since we added things prior to our Utah trip which was after the initial weighing.

The 2014 handled the trailer very well, no complaints other than the high 3.15 gears and the drone created from the engine. Expected push pull from passing semi's and the push from crosswinds, and it was rock solid on the road, no matter how rough it was.

The 2016 however, completely different story. Very unstable. I traveled on the same roads this year that I did last year, so a direct comparison.

I am running on the wheels and tires that came off the 2014, same travel trailer, same hitch, the only difference is the truck itself. Same wheel base, same engine, same body style, but a 4 WD vs a RWD, so it sits a bit higher.

I know the hitch is setup correctly, the weights proof that out, so I am at a loss what else to do.

When it comes to the two aforementioned hitches, I am reluctant to experiment with 6-700 dollars and find out they didn't solve the issue, so am asking if there is something in these hitches that will keep the truck from oscillating. I don't know what else to look at anymore.

untraceable

Misread post

similar issue. Only thoughts are E rated tires and possibly adding a rear sway bar. The steering is possibly a culprit. Brother has a hard time getting used to it when we switch drivers

BarmanBean

iTrader: (1)

Subbing to follow this. We are about to hitch up a new-to-us trailer for the first time with our '15, interested to see how it will tow. We will be hitching up with an Equalizer hitch.

Just to rule it out, do you think you could possibly find someone local to loan you an Equalizer or Blue Ox hitch to rule that out as a possible fix? Also, what about overall alignment?

untraceable

Trying a different hitch is a pretty intensive endeavor.


I seem to get great weight transfer with the Blue Ox, but I don't think its any solution for the open ocean feeling in the wind.

acdii

If I could find one, I would definitely try it out to see if it resolves the issue, a nice try before buy would be great. I just had the truck aligned two weeks ago, the right toe was out of spec and it pulled to the right, now it's back to normal.

Today was my first day driving to work with the Sumosprings installed and they really do help the ride and handling, that back is well planted now.

I just wonder if this generation is very sensitive to sway and needs all the help it can get. What worked fine on the previous gen is not enough on this one, which is pretty bad for Ford.

BarmanBean

iTrader: (1)

I've read a lot of your posts here and there...what is your tongue weight / trailer weight again? Aren't you at like 11% TW? Could the solution also be finding SOME way to gain additional TW to get to 13% or higher?

acdii

It's all in the first post, but the TW was 820#, which is roughly at 13% now. Last year, with the 2014 I was at 720# TW, which was roughly 11.5%. The trailer was at 6300# last year, and 6400# yesterday when scaled.

I really cant get it anymore perfect than that, and adding more weight will put me over GAWR on the rear.

8100hd

Do you know what the truck axle weights are by itself? If you have the weights what is the percentage of front axle load recovery once WD is applied? Ford says you should only recover (25%) of the rise at the front wheel wells with the WD applied and you have recovered 100%. The rear measurement shows that it's down only 1 1/4 in. from unloaded height which also hints that the rear axle is too light. I think you try at least a test with the rear axle heavy. You state you have a "topper", is that a cab high cap or a tonneau cover? Did you have the topper on the 2014? The weight of a cab high cap and bedrug will add about 200-250 lbs weight.

acdii

I dropped the WDH to one link, which made the problem worse. It also increased the rear weight to 80 pounds over GAWR. Front went up 100#. I could also attach the bars with all the weight on the ball using one hand, and hardly any effort. At 2 links it is the closest I can get to stable, 1 link I can feel it being too light on the front, and 3, too heavy. There is a 3/8" difference between no bars, and 2 links. 1 link is 1/8" difference.

One thing I thought of today. The spring bars are 800 pound bars, which were fine when the TW was 720#, but now its over 800#, so wonder if that is the reason for the issue.

8100hd

There's another thing that stands out to me and that's the high rear axle weight. From actual scale weights I've seen your truck only has 2300-2500 on the rear axle empty. Yet your scale weights indicate you still have 3800lbs with WD applied. The CG doesn't shift that much to transfer that kind of weight from the front of the truck so where is that 1300lbs + coming from? Is the bed loaded with camping gear? Is the hitch weight excessively high? This is why I asked if you have unhitched truck scale weights. How did you weigh the tongue?