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That's dry weights. Your tongue weight will be a lot higher with a wet and loaded trailer. When very lightly loaded and with the load properly distributed within the trailer, the trailer will gross over 8,000 pounds and have hitch weight of about 1,000 to 1,100 pounds. So that takes a big chunk out of your payload capacity for people, pets, tools, and other weight in the F-150.
Proper setup of the WD hitch is based on the amount of rise in the front fender well of the F-150 when hooked up and the spring bars tight. The front fender well should be zero to one-half inch higher with the trailer than without.
After you get the spring bar tension adjusted to result in the correct front fender well height, the rear end of the F-150 will take care of itself. If you don't like the stance of the F-150 when hooked up correctly, then you may want to add air bags to adjust the height of the rear end of the pickup when towing. That means you're probably overloaded over the payload capacity of your F-150 when towing. That 1,000+ pounds of hitch weight is no joke and is sure to put some sag in the F-150s stock rear suspension.
Im doubtful im overloaded - but you're right i should verify. I have myself and my wife, 2 x 15lb dogs and thats it in the truck. Add a good 80lb for the WDH (which you get back no?) The rv maybe has 3-400lb of stuff in it and i never dry camp so dont haul water.
It just concerns me how much it drops the back end - every video I watch says it doesn't do that, it drops 1-1.5 inches etc - its dropping an easy 4?
I almost got the hdp option and wish i had now - i would have gone for a 250 but it wouldn't have fit in the garage at work!!!
Ill make sure i measure the wheel wells before I next hook the trailer up and with it hooked up - and will report back.
Most popular are FireStone RideRite air bags. Cost depends on how you change PSI in the bags from only a few pounds loaded to a bunch of pounds when loaded for bear. Least expensive is a simple Shrader valve for each bag. Next up is a single Shrader valve on the back bumper to air up or deflate both bags at once. And the luxury system is an on-board air compressor and a computer that allows you to change PSI from the dash.
Q
Can I add a “T” fitting to inflate both air springs equally?
Yes, but adding a “T” fitting will not allow you to level side-to-side and will allow air to go from one side to the other, which sacrifices some of the stability that the Ride-Rite kit adds. Firestone does not include "T" fittings in the kits for this reason.
Q
Do I have to add an air compressor?
No, the kit comes with 2 inflation valves, one for each side of the vehicle. The inflation valves are the same as are used on a tire. When you check your tires monthly, check your air spring pressure as well. You can add air using any means you would use to inflate your tires. Your local Firestone Tire and Service center provides free compressed air to their customers.
In all honesty, after reading this entire thread, the OP and all others need WAY more information than provided about the truck, trailer and hitch.
I too have the Husky Centerline TS hitch and it is a basic, but very capable hitch....when it's set up correctly.
Fwonfiddy:
What is the year/make/model of your trailer?
What is your Centerline hitch rated for 600-800lbs or 800-1200lbs?
How many washers are set between the shank and ball assembly?
PM me if you'd like more info or the spreadsheet.
The reason I ask is that from the looks of it, there doesn't appear to be much tilt on the ball and the perches that the trunnion bars sit on look to be mounted a little low. This set up doesn't allow the trunnion bars to have enough tension and do their job....resulting in a sagging rear end.
Through this entire thread, there is no mention of the front fender height of the truck with: no trailer, trailer loaded without trunnion bars connected, and then with the trunnion bars connected.
The height from with no trailer and then with the trunnion bars connected should be nearly equal. The rear will drop a bit; however, only a couple inches at most.
Attached is a snapshot of the spreadsheet I use at the scale to determine proper set up. To get proper weights I had to take the truck through 3 times with the trailer connected 2 times.
My overall guess is that the hitch was "set up" by the dealer per Husky's conservative recommendations. Once the trailer is loaded with gear, batteries, propane and a few gallons of fresh water for travel, then you can get an accurate hitch set up.
At this point, I wouldn't even consider airbags until you know your hitch is dialed in.
Trailer weighs loaded between 6500-7k. Hitch weight falls between 650-800 lbs loaded. My truck payload is 1800 lbs. My squat was a full 3" rear. Upon set up of the hitch the front was exactly at 1/2" higher then the rear. Its supposed to squat the rear to the overload leaf spring, that's why it's drops so much.
It's a balance act between your TV dropping it's back end and your TT being up too high at the tongue. Neither is a good situations as far as I'm concerned. Hey Mikeup.....with the additonal tension link on your hitch..is your trailer now too high at the front? It appears your trailer is nice and level in this picture.
It's a balance act between your TV dropping it's back end and your TT being up too high at the tongue. Neither is a good situations as far as I'm concerned. Hey Mikeup.....with the additonal tension link on your hitch..is your trailer now too high at the front? It appears your trailer is nice and level in this picture.
This is where you can take advantage of the adjustable height on the shank.
Upon delivery, the dealer had set the tongue on my trailer 4" higher than the rear. During the drive home, the trailer felt like it had some sway and wanted to wander a bit. I do think part of this was that it was higher and cutting through the air causing some unnecessary turbulence.
Once home, I made sure the tension was set right and then dropped the ball 2" on the shank to make the trailer completely level to the ground. Just that one adjustment made a noticeable difference in how the trailer towed.
The initial set up of the WDH is quite a bit of fine tuning; however, once set up correctly, they are pure magic.
08-11-2017, 12:37 PM
