KiwiKen

I have a friend with a '16 F150 XLT with base towing pkg and a 28' TT and he is having issues with hobby horsing and sway. I believe he is near the max he is comfortable towing with. Trailer is an '07 Fleetwood that is prolly 8000 lbs ready to go. I've read a bit and think that some beefier tires and maybe some Bilstien 5100 shocks would help. He has 4 ply stock tires and stock shocks. Any advice or real world experience would be good. It's a screw longbox 4x4. TIA Cheers, Dave

mass-hole

What is he using for a weight distributing hitch and how is the trailer loaded(tongue weight, etc).

The tires and shocks may help but there may be another issue present causing the instability. It would suck for him to go spend $1500 on new tires and shocks only to find out that wasnt it.

KiwiKen

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I was a little skinny on details. He just installed Firestone ride rite air bags and has been experimenting with pressures. Don't know the brand of hitch, but it's one with the tension bars with chains on the end. We will head up to the scales next week and get some weight info before we make any decisions. Cheers, Dave

acdii

Replacing shocks is a must. The stock ones are horrible. Tires though, that's questionable. Best to focus on the weight distribution setup first, and scaling is a good way to do it. The bars may be too tight, and if no sway control, might want to look into adding a pair. Also get a tongue weight reading if possible.

jay1028

Tire construction should be a major concern also. I had made the mistake of mounting 4 ply tires on a tow vehicle and it was not stable. Did a lot of bouncing. Switched to 6 ply, LRC, and bounce went away. Also the 4 ply had a max of 40psi and the 6 ply were inflated to 50psi. Had to end up giving away the 4 ply to someone who never tows. ouch.

KiwiKen

Pardon my ignorance; what is sway control? Cheers, Dave

77Ranger460

He needs to make sure his trailer is loaded evenly and his hitch is properly set up before swapping parts.

KiwiKen

Ya, for sure. We'll start with a trip to the scales

acdii

https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Dist...ies/83660.html

Image wont load, so clicky linky.

srrmc

also be aware that the airbags take the weight control out of the truck. better to have the rear end down 1//2" or so lower than the front of the truck. If you pump up the air bags and level the truck you are countering the weight distribution and that is where your stability comes from.