New Trailer Towing is scary
05-17-2015, 03:45 PM
#31
Senior Member
What Cody Says.
You're around Montreal? Here's the nearby CAT Scale locations:
http://catscale.com/cat-scale-locato...dSearch=Search
Always think it's a good idea when towing at the limits to know your weights exactly. Three passes across the CAT scale will do that for you:
1) Fully loaded (full gas and all the people) truck and trailer (toys & gear loaded) with the WDH set as you like it. Get weights for all three axle positions.
2) Fully loaded (full gas and all the people) truck and trailer (toys & gear loaded) with the WDH bars released so no weight distribution.
3) Fully loaded (full gas and all the people) truck only.
Then the magic of arithmetic will answer all your questions.
You're around Montreal? Here's the nearby CAT Scale locations:
http://catscale.com/cat-scale-locato...dSearch=Search
Always think it's a good idea when towing at the limits to know your weights exactly. Three passes across the CAT scale will do that for you:
1) Fully loaded (full gas and all the people) truck and trailer (toys & gear loaded) with the WDH set as you like it. Get weights for all three axle positions.
2) Fully loaded (full gas and all the people) truck and trailer (toys & gear loaded) with the WDH bars released so no weight distribution.
3) Fully loaded (full gas and all the people) truck only.
Then the magic of arithmetic will answer all your questions.
05-17-2015, 04:09 PM
#32
OK re-adjusted the WDH as per Reeses instructions + Boulevards sujestions and found that ball height was almost 2'' to high as set by the Hitch shop.Took a 15 mile round trip ride and there was improvment then added 1 link to spirng bars and did same run and then added another link and repeated ride.I found that having the front of the truck slightly lower than the rear offers the best towing feel.I was able to cruise at 65mph with minimal sway .The pogo effect was also reduced.Now many of you have sujested going to LT rated tires in place of my P rated tires which I am willing to do if it will offer an even beter ride while towing.That being said is there a difference in going with a 20'' wheel + tire set up compared to staying with an 18'' combo.Also to answer boulevard there is a 3.5'' squat without the bars and almost level with the bars.
05-17-2015, 04:26 PM
#33
Senior Member
I would concentrate on the front wheels, not so much whether the truck looks level. You want to return weight to the front axle.
So measure the height of the front top fender well without the trailer. Then how much the front fender well lifts when you first put the trailer on the ball (w/o tightening the tension bars). Then tighten the WDH bars until that lift is reduced to one half (50%) or all the way, up to 100% lift reduction. Ford says 50%, others say upto 100%.
I'm at ~100% lift reduction, because that takes the most weight off the rear axle and puts it back on the front (and some on to the trailer axle). If I didn't do that my rear axle would be even more over-weight than it is. You may have similar troubles but won't really know until you weigh it.
With respect to tires, I would stick to 18". Less sidewall of 20" may give less squirm, but less protection from pot-holes and such. And probably stiffer ride. I went all the way from 20" to 17" wheels. But that was mostly because the 17" LT-E's were a lot less expensive than the 20".
So measure the height of the front top fender well without the trailer. Then how much the front fender well lifts when you first put the trailer on the ball (w/o tightening the tension bars). Then tighten the WDH bars until that lift is reduced to one half (50%) or all the way, up to 100% lift reduction. Ford says 50%, others say upto 100%.
I'm at ~100% lift reduction, because that takes the most weight off the rear axle and puts it back on the front (and some on to the trailer axle). If I didn't do that my rear axle would be even more over-weight than it is. You may have similar troubles but won't really know until you weigh it.
With respect to tires, I would stick to 18". Less sidewall of 20" may give less squirm, but less protection from pot-holes and such. And probably stiffer ride. I went all the way from 20" to 17" wheels. But that was mostly because the 17" LT-E's were a lot less expensive than the 20".
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strorg (05-17-2015)
06-29-2015, 04:37 PM
#34
Update : after re-adjusting the WDH and tires pressures I made a 400 mile round trip one way in heavy rain and back in great weather.Towing was much better and was able to cruise at just over speed limit with no concers.Have since switch to same size 18'' Goodyear LT tires and made another 400 mile round trip.Couldn't really tell if the tires made a difference but I am sure they didn't hurt.Next time out will be a long trip about 1200 miles round trip to eastern Canada with 1/2 the trip having lots of hills so the ecoboost will get a good workout.Havn't been able to get to CAT scale but will eventually.
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smurfs_of_war (07-01-2015)
07-01-2015, 10:50 AM
#35
Grumpy Old Man
I have towed my cargo trailer with a Reese WD hitch with dual-cam sway control from west Texas to Oregon loaded so the GVWR of my F-150 was overloaded by 700 pounds. I have towed a 5er that overloaded my F-150 GVWR by 880 pounds. I have towed a loaded gooseneck equipment trailer that overloaded my F-150 GVWR by 1360 pounds. My tires are the stock Michelin LTX P265/60R18, pumped up to 44 PSI cold. No problems towing those trailers that severely overloaded my F-150 through the Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin with the cruise control set on 65 MPH. With the 5er and cargo trailer, the rear tires were not overloaded. The rear tires were overloaded by 269 pounds each only with the gooseneck. But even with the gooseneck trailer and GCW of 27,500 pounds, the tires handled great. LT tires would not have been any better.
07-17-2015, 04:52 PM
#36
I recently made a 1700 mile round trip from Montréal to Moncton New Brunswick with the 2nd leg of the trip being through some pretty hilly highway.My 2013 F150 Screw with 3.5 Ecoboost performaed flawlessly and towing was safe and comfortable.I was cruising at 68mph on cruise and it would downshift to 3rd on the steppest hills a 4000RPM and never slowed below 63MPH in the hills.Fuel milage was 36.5 liters per 100km on the flats and 31 liters per 100km in the hills.Average round trip comsumption for 2700kms was 28.9 liters per 100km.Needless to say I am very please and contacted my Ford dealer about trading the 2013 in on a 2015 if the price is right.With the reduced weight of the 2015 it can only get better.
07-17-2015, 05:49 PM
#37
Senior Member
I recently made a 1700 mile round trip from Montréal to Moncton New Brunswick with the 2nd leg of the trip being through some pretty hilly highway.My 2013 F150 Screw with 3.5 Ecoboost performaed flawlessly and towing was safe and comfortable.I was cruising at 68mph on cruise and it would downshift to 3rd on the steppest hills a 4000RPM and never slowed below 63MPH in the hills.Fuel milage was 36.5 liters per 100km on the flats and 31 liters per 100km in the hills.Average round trip comsumption for 2700kms was 28.9 liters per 100km.Needless to say I am very please and contacted my Ford dealer about trading the 2013 in on a 2015 if the price is right.With the reduced weight of the 2015 it can only get better.
My worst case tank has been 28.4 l/100km (~8.1mpgUS). My long-term average towing the trailer in my sig has recently gone to 22.7L/100km (10.36 mpgUS) because of prairie headwinds.
On the other hand, I don't travel faster than 100kph (62mph).
07-18-2015, 09:30 AM
#38
Sure you are calculating that mileage right? 36.5 l/100km (6.44 mpgUS) on the flats versus 31 (7.6 mpgUS) in the hills seems odd, unless maybe you were travelling faster on the flats. And either way, these are very high numbers (bad mileage, low mpgUS).
My worst case tank has been 28.4 l/100km (~8.1mpgUS). My long-term average towing the trailer in my sig has recently gone to 22.7L/100km (10.36 mpgUS) because of prairie headwinds.
On the other hand, I don't travel faster than 100kph (62mph).
My worst case tank has been 28.4 l/100km (~8.1mpgUS). My long-term average towing the trailer in my sig has recently gone to 22.7L/100km (10.36 mpgUS) because of prairie headwinds.
On the other hand, I don't travel faster than 100kph (62mph).
Opps should have read 26.5 on the flats...
07-18-2015, 10:46 AM
#39
I disagree with those that say you need LT tires. Since you now have them, they won't hurt, but they won't do any better than the correct size of P-Series tires pumped up to 44 PSI cold.
I have towed my cargo trailer with a Reese WD hitch with dual-cam sway control from west Texas to Oregon loaded so the GVWR of my F-150 was overloaded by 700 pounds. I have towed a 5er that overloaded my F-150 GVWR by 880 pounds. I have towed a loaded gooseneck equipment trailer that overloaded my F-150 GVWR by 1360 pounds. My tires are the stock Michelin LTX P265/60R18, pumped up to 44 PSI cold. No problems towing those trailers that severely overloaded my F-150 through the Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin with the cruise control set on 65 MPH. With the 5er and cargo trailer, the rear tires were not overloaded. The rear tires were overloaded by 269 pounds each only with the gooseneck. But even with the gooseneck trailer and GCW of 27,500 pounds, the tires handled great. LT tires would not have been any better.
I have towed my cargo trailer with a Reese WD hitch with dual-cam sway control from west Texas to Oregon loaded so the GVWR of my F-150 was overloaded by 700 pounds. I have towed a 5er that overloaded my F-150 GVWR by 880 pounds. I have towed a loaded gooseneck equipment trailer that overloaded my F-150 GVWR by 1360 pounds. My tires are the stock Michelin LTX P265/60R18, pumped up to 44 PSI cold. No problems towing those trailers that severely overloaded my F-150 through the Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin with the cruise control set on 65 MPH. With the 5er and cargo trailer, the rear tires were not overloaded. The rear tires were overloaded by 269 pounds each only with the gooseneck. But even with the gooseneck trailer and GCW of 27,500 pounds, the tires handled great. LT tires would not have been any better.
07-19-2015, 03:19 PM
#40
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: North Central West Virginia
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I recently purchased a loaded 30' dual spread axle enclosed car trailer +/- 4300lbs empty and 10000lbs loaded to pull behind my 2013 F150 FX4 ecoboost.I had a Reese part number 61009 1200lbs Hitch and roundbar leveling system installed by a shop and they leveled everything unloaded.I towed the new trailer for the first time and it was a little scary as when got to 50mph the front of my F150 was very unstable and steering was weird,I also had the pogo effect.I read up a little on this site after that outing and got a few ideas but do not want to spend money that won't cure/help the problem.I put on the factory 275-65-18 Goodyear tires and wheels which have less than 100 miles on them that came with the truck and no they are not LT's as I was running 22' wheels and tires before purchasing the trailer and knew I could not tow with these.
I have since increased the air pressure to 42lbs which seemed to help a little but still I will not run over 50mph.I need to get this sloved as I have a couple of long distance runs to make shortly and do not want to have to drive at 50mph.I am thinking about adding a airlift 5000 load leveler kit which I think will cure the pogo effect and also transfer more weight to the front tires.My prevoius set up was a 08 F450 pulling a 48' 2 car ensclosed trailer with which I could run 75mph while sleeping.
Any help would be appreciated
I have since increased the air pressure to 42lbs which seemed to help a little but still I will not run over 50mph.I need to get this sloved as I have a couple of long distance runs to make shortly and do not want to have to drive at 50mph.I am thinking about adding a airlift 5000 load leveler kit which I think will cure the pogo effect and also transfer more weight to the front tires.My prevoius set up was a 08 F450 pulling a 48' 2 car ensclosed trailer with which I could run 75mph while sleeping.
Any help would be appreciated
Sounds like too much tongue weight from my experience. I hauled with a hot shot company for around 2 1/2 years and have experienced what you're describing. (early on in my job) Recently I purchased a 2013 FX4 with the 5.0 and had a bobcat (7000lbs) on a dual axle 20' trailer. I was loaded with approx. 30% tongue weight and approx. 70% of the weight over the axles. To be honest I'm not sure what the total weight was, but the truck handled amazingly. No pogo effect, no signs of under steering or any light feelings in the front end. Good luck on fixing the hauling issues and be safe! I know that feeling is definitely an uncomfortable one.
