Is my setup any good?

So, I took the plunge. I left behind my ridonkulously expensive apartment in the city, and bought a travel trailer and a truck to go see the country in. It's not like I had many other viable choices. I'm thinking of heading south for the winter, but towing the trailer has been... nerve-wracking so far.

1997 Ford F-250HD 7.3L PowerStroke Diesel, 2x4 (in surprisingly good condition, gets 16+mpg)
2010 Eclipse Milan 25RKS TT (6500lb dry weight afaik)
A regular old ball hitch, rated at 7500+lbs working load
A shifty, generic-looking brake controller that requires manual application of trailer brakes with simultaneous truck brakes :/

On my first towing adventure ever (getting the trailer out of the lot), I discovered that the plug on the trailer doesn't like to stay seated in the socket on the truck, so I made it most of the way to my parking spot without trailer brakes. That was pretty terrifying, but doable. My second adventure (from parking lot to trailer park) went much the same way, but with a piece of paracord to hold the plug in its socket. I also noticed during this trip that the trailer bucked up-and-down and swerved side-to-side a LOT. This may have had to do with the fact that the rear-most grey tank (it sits well behind the rear axle) was 3/4 full, and the other tanks were half-full. I have been on a couple short trips since then with mostly-empty tanks (except the fresh tanks, which have been half-full), and still had some stability issues. I also noticed that applying the trailer brakes when I'm driving just seems to lock them up, and I don't even know how I would adjust them. Did I get too much trailer for my truck? Or do I just need to shift things up more towards the axle/front of the trailer? How in tarnation do I adjust the trailer brakes? Do I need an expensive new brake controller? Should I give up on the idea of ever going boondocking due to sloshing tanks? Do I need a weight distribution hitch???

So many questions, and only so much money.

18 Replies

nickthehunter
Nomad III
Oct 11, 2016
A trailer that sways with a umbilical cord that won't stay plugged in is a very dangerous combination. You could very easily lose the truck and trailer in a rollover accident.

RV'ing isn't cheap; you should have checked it out before you took the plunge and dumped the apartment

Now get a brake controller that works like it is supposed to, a weight distribution hitch, sway control, and new whatever so your umbilical cord stays plugged in.

You need to spend some of that rent money you saved and do things right before you end up with a catastrophe on your hands.

If it was anywhere around April 1, I would swear this whole post was some kind of stupid joke.
Grit_dog
Navigator III
Oct 10, 2016
Lots of good info here.
Yes a wdh and anti sway can/will improve the towing experience but you may as suggested, not have enough tongue weight, because even if you're a little tongue heavy, that truck should handle it.
Every brake controller I've seen for almost 30 years is adjustable to an extent. You first have to adjust "plumb" for lack of a better word on the controller as the older controllers are inertia activated and the "bubble" like a Mercury switch needs to be at the right angle.
Are you able to gently apply the brakes manually? If they immediately lock up with just a little travel on the lever, then the controller may be faulty.
Good news is the trailer brakes work well if you can lock them up.
Knowing you're on a budget, I wouldn't go whole hog on an expensive new hitch setup until you figure out the problems. Under normal conditions you should be able to pull it with little sway or bucking.
Lots of rvnet pros on here in WA. Petition the group, maybe someone could take a look at your setup.
I'll give you a hand if I can work it in and you're around south King County.
Having someone relatively qualified and impartial (not looking for a paycheck) will do volumes for getting you set up good.
You got a pretty good truck sounds like and a good trailer, jsit needs some tweaking.
Good luck!
Alabama_Jim
Explorer
Oct 10, 2016
Check to see if you have the proper size ball on your hitch and you also need a good weight distribution hitch with stabilizer bars.
camp-n-family
Explorer
Oct 10, 2016
I you want to travel the country and have a comfortable drive then don't cheap out on the hitch and brake controller. Get a decent wd hitch with built in sway control, Equil-I-zer or Reese dual cam are most popular as is the Tekonsha brake controller.

With a 5 year old trailer you're going to want to get the bearings and brakes serviced and possibly new tires as most only hav a 5 year lifespan, regardless of tread left.
ncrowley
Explorer II
Oct 10, 2016
I would get a weight distribution hitch with sway control no matter what the setup. You could have a totally balanced set up and I would still recommend them.
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Oct 10, 2016
WDH.......YES
Tekonsha Brake Controller....YES

Go to a CAT Scale (trucker station/FLying J etc) and get truck trailer comb weighed and then just truck weighed (drop trailer in back of parking lot---reweigh free Total $10-$12 for weights)
With ALL weights you can set up WDH for better ride/tow

Trailer umbilical cord plug should be held in truck receptacle by tab on cover that goes in notch/slot on cord
Replace so cord doesn't come unplugged
Trackrig
Explorer II
Oct 10, 2016
First off, you do not have too much trailer for the truck. That truck will tow your trailer and larger ones if you decide to upgrade later.

Yes, you should have a weight distribution hitch. They've available on Amazon (free delivery) for a reasonable amount of money. Here's a reasonable $180 option.

Do you have load range E tires on your truck, if not get some.

It sounds like you need a better brake controller that's adjustable. Again on Amazon, there a lot of them. Most of them are plug-n-play whereas you just plug them into the trucks wiring harness though they may not be available for an older truck.

What I'd do, is take the trailer and truck to an RV dealer and have them install a good brake controller, check/grease the wheel bearings adjust the trailer brakes (could need new brake shoes) and then make sure the newly installed brake controller plays well with the trailer brakes.

Then install the new WD hitch you bought and see how it all works from there. You make have to make adjustments, but yo need to take care of these basics.

If the electrical plug in on the truck or the trailer need to be replaced, the RV repair shop can do that also relatively cheaply.

Bill
DrewE
Explorer III
Oct 10, 2016
A better (or at least properly working) brake controller would, in my opinion, be an essential. There are reasonably decent ones available for not excessive amounts of money. You should certainly be able to apply them without locking them up; a decent (or even not so decent) brake controller will have some sort of a gain or sensitivity control to adjust this. You want a proportional brake controller, not a time delay one, if at all possible; there are several ones available for less than $100 online. (I don't know enough to recommend any specific models.)

Your handling issues do sound, at least in part, like they might possibly be due to insufficient tongue weight on the trailer. The only way to know for sure is to do some weighings to determine the trailer weight and the tongue weight and your truck axle weights. Those numbers, and the axle and combined weight ratings, would help inform what sort of changes would be most sensible to make and what tire pressures you should be using and so forth. Without them, any attempts at diagnoses are pretty much just stabs in the dark. (They'd also help tell if you do have too much trailer for the truck or not.)

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Is my setup any good?

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