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PolarisRich's avatar
PolarisRich
Explorer
Apr 03, 2018

Help!!! 2016 F150 with Blue Ox SwayPro measurements!

I recently purchased a 2018 Coachmen Apex 245BHS. I picked it up a few days ago and the drive home from the dealer was a 2 1/2 hour white knuckle nightmare to say the least! I know some of the problem was the weather that day, it was blowing steady 30 with gusts 45-50mph crosswinds. But that's not really what this post is all about! The dealer installed the Blue Ox SwayPro BXM1000 and said everything was set perfectly but after a closer inspection I noticed a few issues in the setup from what I've read online. I decided when I got home to redo the hitch setup. I think I have it setup properly but I'd like to run the measurements by everyone and get your opinions!

Here's a little info on the truck and trailer....
2016 Ford F150 FX4
Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude 275/65r/18 ( Garbage Tires I Know!) 35 psi

2018 Apex 245bhs dry weight around 4600lbs
Tongue weight is around 14% at the moment with propane and battery. Trailer is not loaded yet.

Now for the Measurements!

With the trailer level the top of the ball coupler is at 24 1/2".
Top of the ball in the receiver is at 25 1/2"
1" difference in height.

Truck tire "no trailer" measurements from ground to fender.
Front 37 1/8"
Rear 39 5/8"

Truck Measurements with the "trailer attached" and SwayPro hooked up.
Link #9, 3 1/2 links showing below rotating latch
Front 37 1/4"
Rear 37 3/4"

Link #10, 2 1/2 links showing below rotating latch
Front 37 1/8"
Rear 37 7/8"


To me Link 10 might be the better choice. The front axle is the exact same height loaded with the WDH installed as the "no trailer" height. The truck has a 1 3/4" sag in the rear but only a 3/4" difference from front to rear.
The trailer on link 10 is perfectly level to the ground when measuring font and rear points on the frame.

Now another question is about my tires!
I've done a little reading and I'm finding out that my tires are not the best for towing.
At 35 Psi I read the sidewalls are extremely soft and can cause the truck to feel like its swaying back and forth. I looked at the sidewall and it says Max Pressure 51 Psi.
Should I be running the tires at Max Pressure when I'm towing?

I'm a little scatterbrained right now so I hope this makes sense!!!
  • rbpru's avatar
    rbpru
    Explorer II
    Apr 04, 2018
    Part of the clue is 40 to 50 mph cross winds. We hit those on the Interstate in OK and TX, on our way to AZ. There is little you can do to improve that situation except slow down. I our case we chose side roads and 30 - 35 mph.

    I suppose and alternate would be an F-350 dually but I live in IN with modest 15 to 25 mph cross wind gusts.


    Drive safe
  • Mike_Up's avatar
    Mike_Up
    Explorer
    Apr 05, 2018
    Nothing is going to handle 40 mph crosswind well. Every truck and trailer combo I've had was white Knuckled with 40 mph crosswinds with Reese Dual cam or Blue Ox hitches.

    It's not the sway but the push and pull of the whole rig from the gusts pushing then stopping. The oscillation of the pushing. With soft, cushy side walls of P-series tires, your truck will wobble back and forth. With the large side surface area, a travel trailer is about the worst trailer to have in wind gusts.

    With E rated 10 ply LT tires, the stiff sidewalls of the tires will minimize greatly the wobble effect of the sidewalls, and make the truck much more stable but the rig will still be pushed from the gusts.

    The problem is when the driver reacts to the push and as soon as the gust is gone, the driver needs to react as well. This constant reaction, if over done, can result in driver induced sway.

    All said, my 2016 Aluminum F150 with the Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch offers a better and more stable tow with P-Series tires than my previous 2012 Steel F150 with the Reese Strait-Line Hitch System (HP Dual Cam).

    None the less LT tires will make the tow much much better as I've experience when I went to E-Rated 10 Ply LT tires on my previous 2012 F150.

    Living in Northern Indiana we have high wind gusts all the time. Mainly coming off of the lake (Lake Michigan) and no obstacles to break up wind coming across open farm fields.

    I will say we just had 50 mph gusts and several roads were closed last weekend to semi truck/trailer combinations due to it. I of course was pulling my trailer right off of the shore of Lake Michigan which was at it's worst.

    Driving between 45 - 55 mph, it was none eventful. Pushing me, yes, but not to an unsafe level. I definitely wouldn't tow above 55 mph with gusts that high.
  • Mike_Up's avatar
    Mike_Up
    Explorer
    Apr 05, 2018
    Running my P-Series tires over 35 psi to about 42 psi (max is 50 psi) can result in the truck jumping off to the side when hitting large bumps as the tires are over inflated and hard. The same happened to my 2012 F150 even when I had the LT tires over inflated. Once to the correct inflation, side jumping over bumps never happened.
  • busterbrown73's avatar
    busterbrown73
    Explorer
    Apr 05, 2018
    I'm surprise no one has mentioned the only known solution.

    The OP had the same sentiments I had when I hitched my 1/2 Ton Yukon XL Denali during our first season to a 35 foot travel trailer by way of a Blue Ox Sway Pro. It did ok for the first couple of local trips. But...no so much when any significant wind was present. Towing through a wind storm with uncontrollable sway one July afternoon will forever stay in my memory. A normally 3 hour ride home took 5 hours as I couldn't drive faster than 40 mph. After this hair raising white knuckle experience with 35 MPH crosswinds, I knew it would be the last time I would drive with a Blue Ox.

    So, it was either upgrade to a new $50K HD truck or find a different sway solution.

    I choose the cheaper route...a Hensley Arrow.

    The Hensley solved it completely and provides a completely relaxed towing experience. Lateral trailer sway is now non-existence in ALL driving conditions.

    For kicks and giggles, I reverted back to the Blue Ox for 1 trip when I upgraded TVs to a 3/4 ton RAM megacab. I only upgraded TVs as I ran out of payload with my Yukon. Instantly, the 'sway control' hitch brought back white knuckle memories. I was dumbfounded as I assumed the 160 inch wheelbase of my new 3/4 ton truck would inherently curtail trailer sway. My former Yukon XL was limited to 130 inches from axle to axle. The tail was wagging again when passing trucks of any substantial size. The Blue Ox attempted to control it but you could still feel it in the steering wheel.

    With the HA, that feeling never exists. Lateral forces on the sides of the trailer are carried over the entire rig, keeping the trailer in perfect alighnment with the TV. There is never a sway condition.

    Since using the Hensley on two long distant trips from Michigan to Florida, the ride is extremely relaxed cresting a mountain, passing 100 ft semi's, and movin through 40 mph crosswinds. My DW (who has never towed before) has been in the driver's seat for about half those miles. We almost forget we're towing a 35 foot travel trailer.

    Again, you really have to pull with a Hensley in order to understand how well it works.

    Good luck.
  • Mike_Up's avatar
    Mike_Up
    Explorer
    Apr 05, 2018
    busterbrown73 wrote:
    I'm surprise no one has mentioned the only known solution.

    The OP had the same sentiments I had when I hitched my 1/2 Ton Yukon XL Denali during our first season to a 35 foot travel trailer by way of a Blue Ox Sway Pro. It did ok for the first couple of local trips. But...no so much when any significant wind was present. Towing through a wind storm with uncontrollable sway one July afternoon will forever stay in my memory. A normally 3 hour ride home took 5 hours as I couldn't drive faster than 40 mph. After this hair raising white knuckle experience with 35 MPH crosswinds, I knew it would be the last time I would drive with a Blue Ox.

    So, it was either upgrade to a new $50K HD truck or find a different sway solution.

    I choose the cheaper route...a Hensley Arrow.

    The Hensley solved it completely and provides a completely relaxed towing experience. Lateral trailer sway is now non-existence in ALL driving conditions.

    For kicks and giggles, I reverted back to the Blue Ox for 1 trip when I upgraded TVs to a 3/4 ton RAM megacab. I only upgraded TVs as I ran out of payload with my Yukon. Instantly, the 'sway control' hitch brought back white knuckle memories. I was dumbfounded as I assumed the 160 inch wheelbase of my new 3/4 ton truck would inherently curtail trailer sway. My former Yukon XL was limited to 130 inches from axle to axle. The tail was wagging again when passing trucks of any substantial size. The Blue Ox attempted to control it but you could still feel it in the steering wheel.

    With the HA, that feeling never exists. Lateral forces on the sides of the trailer are carried over the entire rig, keeping the trailer in perfect alighnment with the TV. There is never a sway condition.

    Since using the Hensley on two long distant trips from Michigan to Florida, the ride is extremely relaxed cresting a mountain, passing 100 ft semi's, and movin through 40 mph crosswinds. My DW (who has never towed before) has been in the driver's seat for about half those miles. We almost forget we're towing a 35 foot travel trailer.

    Again, you really have to pull with a Hensley in order to understand how well it works.

    Good luck.


    Nope, Blue Ox does really well in the wind with my light 2016 F150 compared to my Reese HP Dual Cam system (Strait-Line) with my Steel 2012 F150. Seems the Reese was more prone to sway with very high winds (40+ mph) where the Blue Ox wasn't when properly setup.

    Sounds like your Blue Ox wasn't setup properly. Never had any sway with the Blue Ox except when it wasn't setup properly and didn't have enough tension on the spring bars to keep sway from happening.

    Of course pulling a 35' travel trailer with a short Wheelbase, 130" Suburban SUV is a combination for a bad pull to begin with. Then a 1/2 ton where the axle rating and payload most likely could be overloaded by such a heavy tongue weight of a very large 35' travel trailer.

    A Megacab Ram 3/4 ton, would be worlds better pulling a 35' trailer trailer just by wheelbase alone when sway is concerned.
  • PolarisRich's avatar
    PolarisRich
    Explorer
    Apr 05, 2018
    I believe I didn't have enough tension on my Spring bars! I'm sure there were many other factors in play on that first trip and with me being a newbie I should have pulled over to the side and tried going up one link to add more spring pressure to the bars! As for the tires I've read many other post that have the same pressure as Mike has suggested running them at 42 PSI. I just want to say thank you to everybody for the comments and suggestions this is really helping me understand and inform me on other choices that I'm sure will be made in the future!
  • Mike_Up's avatar
    Mike_Up
    Explorer
    Apr 05, 2018
    PolarisRich wrote:
    I believe I didn't have enough tension on my Spring bars! I'm sure there were many other factors in play on that first trip and with me being a newbie I should have pulled over to the side and tried going up one link to add more spring pressure to the bars! As for the tires I've read many other post that have the same pressure as Mike has suggested running them at 42 PSI. I just want to say thank you to everybody for the comments and suggestions this is really helping me understand and inform me on other choices that I'm sure will be made in the future!


    My trailer dry is 5050# and wet about 6500#.

    I have 8 links on top of the slot, hanging over, on the rotary latch with 3 1/2 links showing from the bar to the bottom of the rotary latch under tension.

    This works "perfectly". I initially only had 7 links hanging and 4 1/2 links showing under tension and that was not enough. It left my trailer nose and truck rear noticeably low, and allowed some sway with very bad 40+ mph crosswinds.

    1 link made a "world of difference" pulling the trailer nose and truck rear up, and putting more tension on the spring bars so that the bars has some curve to them.

    I was told that these bars need to be tensioned where you see them bend or they don't do their job very well with sway control.

    I will say when I said that 42 psi caused the truck to jump to the side over large bumps, that was when the truck was solo. Not sure about towing, but I've never had issues with the truck solo aired to 35 psi to 40 psi. So "I" wouldn't air my tires over 40 psi cold solo or towing.
  • busterbrown73's avatar
    busterbrown73
    Explorer
    Apr 05, 2018
    Mike Up wrote:
    busterbrown73 wrote:
    I'm surprise no one has mentioned the only known solution.

    The OP had the same sentiments I had when I hitched my 1/2 Ton Yukon XL Denali during our first season to a 35 foot travel trailer by way of a Blue Ox Sway Pro. It did ok for the first couple of local trips. But...no so much when any significant wind was present. Towing through a wind storm with uncontrollable sway one July afternoon will forever stay in my memory. A normally 3 hour ride home took 5 hours as I couldn't drive faster than 40 mph. After this hair raising white knuckle experience with 35 MPH crosswinds, I knew it would be the last time I would drive with a Blue Ox.

    So, it was either upgrade to a new $50K HD truck or find a different sway solution.

    I choose the cheaper route...a Hensley Arrow.

    The Hensley solved it completely and provides a completely relaxed towing experience. Lateral trailer sway is now non-existence in ALL driving conditions.

    For kicks and giggles, I reverted back to the Blue Ox for 1 trip when I upgraded TVs to a 3/4 ton RAM megacab. I only upgraded TVs as I ran out of payload with my Yukon. Instantly, the 'sway control' hitch brought back white knuckle memories. I was dumbfounded as I assumed the 160 inch wheelbase of my new 3/4 ton truck would inherently curtail trailer sway. My former Yukon XL was limited to 130 inches from axle to axle. The tail was wagging again when passing trucks of any substantial size. The Blue Ox attempted to control it but you could still feel it in the steering wheel.

    With the HA, that feeling never exists. Lateral forces on the sides of the trailer are carried over the entire rig, keeping the trailer in perfect alighnment with the TV. There is never a sway condition.

    Since using the Hensley on two long distant trips from Michigan to Florida, the ride is extremely relaxed cresting a mountain, passing 100 ft semi's, and movin through 40 mph crosswinds. My DW (who has never towed before) has been in the driver's seat for about half those miles. We almost forget we're towing a 35 foot travel trailer.

    Again, you really have to pull with a Hensley in order to understand how well it works.

    Good luck.


    Nope, Blue Ox does really well in the wind with my light 2016 F150 compared to my Reese HP Dual Cam system (Strait-Line) with my Steel 2012 F150. Seems the Reese was more prone to sway with very high winds (40+ mph) where the Blue Ox wasn't when properly setup.

    Sounds like your Blue Ox wasn't setup properly. Never had any sway with the Blue Ox except when it wasn't setup properly and didn't have enough tension on the spring bars to keep sway from happening.

    Of course pulling a 35' travel trailer with a short Wheelbase, 130" Suburban SUV is a combination for a bad pull to begin with. Then a 1/2 ton where the axle rating and payload most likely could be overloaded by such a heavy tongue weight of a very large 35' travel trailer.

    A Megacab Ram 3/4 ton, would be worlds better pulling a 35' trailer trailer just by wheelbase alone when sway is concerned.


    Nope, there was practically no difference with sway control (via the Blue Ox) with the Yukon XL and my current Ram 2500. I've read reviews of Blue Ox owners that pull trailers over 28ft. Many had the same regret. I'm under the impression that a BO is better fitted for sub-28' pull behinds.

    And yes, I had my BO setup perfectly. Went to the scales several times. Numbers were perfect. Tongue weight was 14% loaded. In fact, if I didn't have the funds for a Hensley, I would have converted over to a 4pt Equal-i-zer hitch.
  • NWnative's avatar
    NWnative
    Explorer
    Apr 05, 2018
    Have been running the Blue Ox for 2 years now towing my 30ft AS with my 1/2 ton F150. Couldn't be any happier with the performance in all of the conditions I have faced while towing. If it is set up properly, it will do it's job well. Most WDH systems will do their job well...IF set up properly.
  • rbpru's avatar
    rbpru
    Explorer II
    Apr 05, 2018
    One also has to account for towing experience. When driving the Interstates or any highway with a lot of truck, side bumps are so common they are no longer unexpected. Occasionally a large touring bus will grab my attention but reasonable cross winds not so much.

    I do have the advantage of 25'x 9' profile and I certainly would have a different opinion with a 35'x 13' profile 5ver.

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