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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!!!

27 Replies

  • I'll have to keep trying between links 8 9 and 10 to see what the difference is when pulling. Looks like there's some testing in my future!
  • Sounds like the link #9 spec is set up per what the manual recommends for WDH hitches on the ford. With that said, for my set up, i run on link #8 with 4 1/2 links showing and it's perfect. I also run a 305 tire that has an XL load rating which provides for a stiffer sidewall. With every link you add, you are sending more weight to the front axle of the truck making the back end lighter. Try going the other way and see if that helps at all. I should also mention when I first bought the trailer, i had 1000lb bars and was getting a porpoising effect at times. I swapped them for the 1500lb bars and Link #8 to get it dialed in. Good luck.
  • This is from the 2016 Ford manual

    Park the loaded vehicle, without the trailer, on a level surface.
    Measure the height to the top of your vehicle's front wheel opening on the fender. This is H1.
    Attach the loaded trailer to your vehicle without the weight-distributing bars connected.
    Measure the height to the top of your vehicle's front wheel opening on the fender a second time. This is H2.
    Install and adjust the tension in the weight-distributing bars so that the height of your vehicle's front wheel opening on the fender is approximately a quarter the way down from H2, toward H1.
    Check that the trailer is level or slightly nose down toward your vehicle. If not, adjust the ball height accordingly and repeat Steps 2-6.
  • I never thought about taking that measurement! I went off the measurements that Blue Ox suggested for their style of weight distribution hitch! It seems like what Ford says and Blue Ox says kind of contradicts each other! Blue Ox says no more than 1/2 inch difference on the front
  • You didn’t say what the front measurement was without the SwayPro and the trailer on the ball. It should lift a fair amount and Ford says to adjust the weight distribution to bring it back down one half of what it raised. Probably somewhere between that one half and all the way back would work best.

    The recommendation to inflate tires to full sidewall specs should help.
  • Air the tires to the max on the sidewall for towing but even then they may still be too soft. Consider upgrading to E rated tires when the time comes to replace (or sooner).

    Do yourself a favor and load the trailer up first,as you would to camp, otherwise your measurements will be off again and adjustments will need to be done a third time.
  • “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.”

    Then pull over and wait the wind out. White knuckles are unnecessary. Don’t tow in wind that makes you uncomfortable. Experienced dealer says set up perfectly. Newbie says dealer wrong. Hmmm

    TV tires at 35 psi? What were you thinking?