bstar1952

Wanted to post this as there are a lot of threads on this and other forums about the poor towing experience with the '15-'18 F-150's. I posted back in January on my first tow with my F-150, https://www.f150forum.com/f82/first-...-3-5-a-406145/. That trip went fairly well but I was still a little concerned when I continually read threads on how poorly the newer aluminum body, lighter weight, trucks tow. Since my original thread, I've installed a set of Bilstein 5100's and a Hellwig Sway Bar to the rear of my truck, this is in addition to a set of SumoSprings and Cooper LT tires I had already installed. Feel that the Bilstein shock upgrade was a great improvement over the OEM ones as the truck just feels better planted. Honestly not for sure how/if the Hellwig improved the towing experience, but when solo you can really tell the difference on rough roads and I'm glad I installed it. Possibly, the most important thing I did was readjust my Equalizer hitch as I felt I might have had to much weight on the front of the truck. Adjusting these hitches is a little time consuming; but in my opinion, the dividends are well worth it. Truck and RV are practically level when hitched. Anyway, just returned from another trip and I was delighted with the towing experience and am no longer concerned whatsoever. Truck pulled my 32', 7800#, Jayco travel trailer very, very well. No sway or other "white-knuckle" moments at all. Yes, I get a little push/pull from passing semi's and strong winds pushed us a bit, but I can honestly say it was no worse than towing with my previous HD truck and power-wise it was much better. Gas mileage has also improved now that I've put more miles on the truck. Towing I average a little over 9 and solo I get right at 20 - makes me a happy camper! I always stay under 65 when towing. Now I just have to set up the Blis so that it covers the trailer, which I forgot to do. So, my conclusion is with a few minor and relatively inexpensive suspension upgrades and a properly set-up hitch, these trucks make excellent RV pullers. Of course, this is my towing experience and my opinions. I do wish more folks would post about their positive towing experiences, might help those who, like me, are worrywarts. Thanks for reading and "Cheers".....

l3rian

I just towed/hauled about 7800lbs from the beach in NC to Iowa. I drove 22.5 hours straight through by myself. Not a single issue. If it wasn't stable, I couldn't have been able to do that. It was in an 18 foot by 8.5 foot wide enclosed trailer with a little bit of weight in the bed. I haven't done anything to the suspension on my truck. It does feel just a tad bit squishy in the rear, but I attribute that to the tires. My next set will be e rated for sure.

Siskiyou

Static2606

Deleted, wrong topic. why does it load a new topic when I scroll to the bottom. That is the dumbest feature ever!

acdii

All the towing problems I had with the 2016 were a combination of factors. One, the new design requires a much better WDH, but more important, it requires a properly functioning EPAS. The entire towing issues were directly related to the steering gear not functioning properly. The only issue I had with the 2018 were over rated spring bars for the hitch. Once I got the correct bars, it towed rock solid. Everything stock too.

Of course the best fix was just buying a truck with more than enough payload and mass for the trailer. Now I have two trucks, one that is my favorite daily driver and just looks so damned good in Magma Red, and the other is a down right beast 2012 F350 with a tuned and deleted Powerstroke and pulls like Hercules.

8100hd

While I’m glad the OP as able to solve his issues the way they went about it is not the best. Instead of replacing and adding accessories to the hitch and truck one should look first to the trailer to resolve stability problems. A hitch or TV can only resist the forces acting upon them, so fix the problem at its source. The trailer. You see this same scenario repeated continuously on truck and RV forums most never fix the source of the problem but spend thousands to cover it up.

johnRC

Tell me more. Proper loading of contents, better tires...what other stability problems can you address on the trailer? I'm genuinely curious and looking to learn more.

8100hd

Loading is the key to stability not just the proper tongue weight but distribution across the entire length. All heavy items should be centralized close to the axles and as low as possible. The unfortunate thing is that the trailer manufacturers don’t always put storage locations in the right places. Front pass thru and front under bed storage is common but certainly not ideal. Keep things off the rear bumper even the spare tire. Some floor plans are inherently better then others for stability yet few choose one for stability reasons. Front and rear kitchen floor plans should be avoided. Ford gives good general guidelines to follow proper trailer loading in the towing guide and yes you can improve even a RV TT by changing loading. Good tires will help, having axle ratings and tires with a decent reserve rating helps as well. Many manufacturers are using axles that barely cover the GVWR of the trailer.

acdii

Very true on axles. Axles usually are 3500 pound on 7600 GVWR trailers, the balance taken by the tongue. My last one was 7600 with 7K axle combo. My new one is 12K axle combo and near 14K GVWR, balance taken by the pin. Another cause of instability are the axles and lack of decent suspension. They normally come with a cast equalizer between springs, and tabs welded to the frame to attach to. In some cases these parts start to wear and cause play in the suspension which can cause the trailer to wander, increase tire wear, heat, etc. and cause the TV to be unstable.

A couple things that can help mitigate this is to replace the equalizer with a dampening one and heavier shackle straps along with wet bolts. https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Lea...BoC0FwQAvD_BwE

8100hd

This becoming more of a problem that’s caused by cost cutting measures in the RV industry. My current 12 yr old 8500 lb GVWR Jayco has 2 5k rated axles under it. If you are traveling the highways and get behind some of these trailers you can see the axles straining, the trailer tires bowed inward at the tops. These long ultra light designs also introduce problems. The weight to side surface area ratio increases the potential for instability. Because they are so light weight they use small diameter lower rated tires as well. They just don’t build them like they use to.