Finally hit the scales

Ron Gratz wrote:

handye9 wrote:
Your interpretation is correct. I called Ford. Apparently, for 08 F250, they were more concerned with measurements than weights. I was told to "do the measurement front and back, hitch up, and measure again. Front should be no more than (plus or minus) 1/2 inch of unloaded measurement and rear should not be any higher than unloaded measurement."

One interpretation of what you were told by Ford is that zero difference from unhitched is optimum and up to plus or minus 1/2" deviation is acceptable.

If that's the case, then it's up to you to decide whether you want to settle for "acceptable" or try to get more load distribution to get closer to "optimum".

Ron

That's true. As long as rear end is lower (they don't say how much) and front end is plus or minus 1/2 inch of unhitched measurement. That's what is in the owners manual. If plus 1/2 inch is acceptable, that is not 100% FALR, and, any minus measurement would be over 100%. I have the 1/2 inch at 45 - 50% FALR.

Except for 100% FALR, my scale numbers look good, my measurements meet Ford specifications, and overall, the ride is smoother than with my old hitch. I still have a little wiggle with bow wave. More from mini vans than big rigs. But, getting rid of all of it, would be impossible. I did the scales out of curiousity, mostly, and started this thread to see if my calculations were correct. I think it was you, who asnwered that. The rest, kind of blossomed.

I still have the old hitch, and, I took it along today. After hitching up and measuring with the Andersen, I did the same with the Drawtite (1200 lb) trunion bar hitch. Front of the truck was 1/4 inch (over the plus or minus 1/2 inch) higher than with the Andersen.

I don't know what to think about that hitch salesman. According to him, anything less than 110% FALR is bad weight distribution. I didn't have the heart to tell him that GM is onboard with 50% on some of their trucks. He has a Chevy and appears to be a little partial.