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This last week I borrowed a friend's Silverado 1500 to haul a trailer of bees across the state. (My '91 F150 i6 - has a water pump that needs to be replaced - so didn't want to risk the long trip in it)
The Silverado towed the trailer perfectly - no sway, no problems at all. Even ran at highway speeds of 70-75mph. No worries at all...
Once I returned their truck to them - and hitched the trailer up to my F150, I noticed a considerable sway - not necessarily to the trailer (though it may have been there, and I didn't see it in my side mirrors) - but it felt like the whole unit of truck and trailer - more from the front end of the truck is where the sway originated from... I was reluctant to get this truck/trailer combo over 55mph... Just too much movement.
Some things of note:
The Silverado's ball hitch sits about 6" lower than mine. My F150 has a flatbed and what I'd call "farm suspension" - and the receiver hitch is pretty high - so I use a drop-hitch to keep the tongue at a reasonable height when towing. Could it be the weight of the loaded trailer causing the sway on my truck? It did NOT do that when I delivered the trailer early in the summer - but the trailer weight was considerably less - now that each of the (20) beehives has an additional 120 lbs each of honey added to them. (yes - that's an additional appx 2400 lbs that was on the trailer for the return trip).
Thoughts? Worn ball joints or other front suspension components? Simply too much weight for this old tired inline 6 on an old tired chassis? Weight pulling too much on the receiver hitch and raising the front of the truck - so weird handling? Combination of all?
A number of things could be contributing to the sway of the trailer if the trailer was towed between 2 different rigs.
Sway can be caused by a lot of different things. I have used quite a few 17 chev silverado c/cab 4x4' 2500hds for towing and experienced some eyebrow raising surprises during tow trials. Even in between vehicles that are sequential vin numbers. So its not just an f150 thing..
Farm suspension (if its what im thinking) might not have as much weight as the standard box used to have. Depending on how its made, it might have too much with the toungue and making the front end light.
The drop hitch might be an issue too. The angle of the trailer might be too low and putting more weight on the tail of the truck. Or it might not be enough.
Could you show us a pic of your setup? It would go a long way to help us figure out whats up.
You bet. I'll be back to the farm in the morning and can take pics. I'll re-hitch up also for photo purposes, and will also measure the drop in the ball height after hitched.
I really think it's a stiffer rear suspension, being pressed down by the heavy trailer - and taking weight off of the front suspension - making it occasionally feel like a boat rocking on water.
Front and rear anti-sway bars are part of the trailer towing package; don't know if yours came with them or not, but they can be added on.
Back in the day I remember they used to have equalizer hitches which would help transfer weight to the front wheels.
You may just have too much tongue weight for your truck; shifting the load back or the axle forward on the trailer may be another answer.
Hi, going by your words, and what I see in your picture, I would say the trailer's tongue is too high. The trailer should be level or slightly lower in front. Six inches lower on the Chevy than your Ford could be the only problem.
Definitely a possibility. With the trailer loaded - I was afraid the jack-pad would scrape the ground when I pulled out of the field with the Chevy - even with the tongue jack fully raised. The receiver hitch was LOW compared to that on my Ford.
Springs shocks and steering all have to be in good condition to start with of course, but then tongue weight could play a factor.
Too much; or even possibly not enough. Maybe try loading the trailer different ; more weight to the back - more weight to the front.
Any way you look at it though, between the weight of that steel deck, the weight of the trailer and hitch, and the weight of the hives and honey that's a bit of an overload for any half ton.
P.S.-when you figure out the weight of a hive, is that with the bees flying or landed ? lol
Ah the age olde question of the velocity (or weight) of a bee (sparrow) - and whether it is laden or unladen.
And a fair question... Honey supers are typically weighed with no bees at all - so we can know what our honey yield will be. The brood boxes, though, will have a pretty distinct difference in weight between daytime (1/2 to 1/3 of the bees are out foraging) vs nighttime when 99% of them are back in the hive to cluster at night. One reason we typically only move bees at night - so we don't leave a homeless cluster of bees behind.
Originally Posted by Chris_1
P.S.-when you figure out the weight of a hive, is that with the bees flying or landed ? lol
I personally appreciate the importance of bees and the threats they face; my better half turns on nature shows every time I lose track of the remote:
(Have to deal with it though because her gardens offset the carbon footprint of my 24 year old truck)
Glad we've got you taking care of those little guys.
11-09-2017, 08:11 PM
Towing sway - only on F150
Hi, going by your words, and what I see in your picture, I would say the trailer's tongue is too high. The trailer should be level or slightly lower in front. Six inches lower on the Chevy than your Ford could be the only problem.