Dirttracker18

All of this assumes is correct loading. If I am correct, and most people load car trailers improperly, then the tongue weight may in fact be much higher than the usual 15%.

You can't just drive a vehicle onto a car trailer right to the front, hook up and go. This is what almost everyone does thinking it must be correct. The overwhelming majority of the time your tongue weight will be far to high.

350rs

I did some studies last night, I am thinking of getting a Eaz-Lift Elite 800 lbs WDH. Any feedback on this brand or it doesn't really matter as long as getting the right tongue weight capacity?

If WDH still cannot level the low beam properly, I will do more research on the spring helper or air bags.

Thank you all for the help!

smokeywren

That's a cheap WD hitch. It meets the definition of a WD hitch, and it will probably work as good as the better WD hitches to distribute the tongue weight. So if your only desire is to bring the headlights back down to earth for nighttime towing, then that one would probably work.


You want the spring bars rated for more than any hitch weight you might have. Because your hitch weight with a properly-loaded trailer will be about 800 pounds, I'd go for the 1,000 pounds rated hitch instead of the barely adequate 800.


Cheap WD hitches do a decent job of weight distribution, but they aren't very good for sway control. I want very good sway control, so I won't tow with a cheap hitch. The better WD hitches with good sway control cost about twice as much as that Eaz-Lift. Check out these 4:


1] Equal-I-Zer
2] Blue Ox Sway Pro
3] Reese Strait-Line (not the less expensive Reese hitches that are not a Strait-Line)
4] Husky CenterLine HD 31390 (not the cheaper Husky hitches)


Any of those 4 complete with adjustable shank and spring bars will cost around $1,000 MSRP and over $400, and probably over $500 at Amazon or eTrailer dot com. I tow my 7,000-pound cargo trailer with a Reese Strait-Line trunnion bar hitch. No trailer sway under almost all sway-causing conditions.

vanion2

You need to know your tongue weight to be able to determine if the 800# WDH is enough. Either buy a scale or find your local truck scale and measure just the tongue weight on your loaded trailer. You want your WDH # rating to be higher. Brand name takes 2nd place to proper weight rating.

If you have your WDH hitch setup properly then you should see no more than an inch in rear sag while eliminating any front sag/lifting. You should easily be able to adjust your headlights for that. I would still recommend some sort of helper (air bags, spring helpers, or Timbren/Sumo bump stops) because the WDH can make the truck ride harsh. The helpers will help reduce rear sag while making the ride some what smoother when loaded.

I am sure it was mentioned above (I skimmed most responses) but your tongue weight + you + passengers + cargo + fuel must not exceed your payload weight (the yellow number highlighted on your driver's side door). Otherwise you are overloaded and in the event of an accident (your fault or not) your insurance will hold you liable and pay nothing. Using a WDH, helpers, etc does not increase payload capabilities and make sure your tires are aired at max PSI ratings cold before towing. And my final advice is make sure your trailer has electric brakes if you are towing over 1000# and you have a brake controller setup properly (refer to your owner's manual for proper setup if you have the Ford brake controller).

I tow an RV usually once a month and while it's a PITA to dial everything in the legal requirements I do it because I want my family and myself to arrive at our destination as safely as possible. Good for you for asking and learning.

mass-hole

I had this problem just loading my bed up to go camping and was the main reason I bought air bags. I moved from MA to UT and had my truck filled to the brim with crap and got flashed the first night on the road.

A trailer is a different animal and you should try to get it back in line with the WDH as others have suggested. If that doesnt totally do it then air bags will work, but please be aware of how you are affecting the WDH with air bags. If you set the WDH up first and then inflate the bags you are reducing the tension on the bars and reducing the weigh distributing effect and band-aiding it with the bags. You should really be pre-setting the ride height of the truck first and then setting up the WDH based on the additional help of the air bags.

atwowheelguy

I have the EAZ-Lift Elite 1000. The hitch plus one anti-sway friction bar weighs 82 lbs. It works well with my 27.5' toy hauler with tongue weight varying from 780-920. With one anti-sway friction bar, I have not had any sway issues. Yes, the big trucks push my rig around a little, but it's no big deal.

You really need to WEIGH the tongue, not guess at it. There is a way to cobble together a system with a bathroom scale to do it.

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-...ue-weight.aspx

350rs

found Husky 32218 Center Line TS with Spring Bars - 800 lb. to 1,200 lb. Tongue Weight Capacity from Amazon, good quality with reasonable price. I will measure the tongue weight before I order it.

350rs

The sticker doesn't include the tongue weight. Max load is 1500 lbs.

vanion2

I am not clear on what you are saying here. In my quote I said you need to add the tongue weight with everything else loaded into the truck. All that counts as payload.

And your max load is 1500# if you are driving a stripped down regular cab, 2wd, short bed. My payload on my SCrew FX4 is 1111# because power everything, leather seats, sunroof, Sony sound system, 4wd, etc. If I drop a tongue weight with 1000# on my F150 then I wouldn't be able to drive it because my tank would have to be empty and I would have to drop 45# of weight.

Feel free to correct me if I am wrong but tongue weight is definitely considered payload.

Ricktwuhk

So the yellow sticker on your door jamb says "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 680 kg or 1500 lbs?

You do understand that where your headlights are pointing is a symptom of the problem, not the problem, right? If your headlights are pointed up, then that means that your trailer (and truck bed) is pushing down on the back of the truck, and the weight shift is removing weight from the front of the truck. In other words, your front tires are potentially skating on the surface of the road with inadequate weight to safely control your truck.