โJul-01-2014 09:20 AM
โJul-02-2014 07:15 AM
jerem0621 wrote:
First, I'm not going to preach to you about upgrading your truck. I pulled 31 ft TT that weighed 7000 lbs with an 8,000 lb tow rated 1997 F150... I used a regular WD hitch and two sway controls. You can make a decision about upgrading trucks on your own.
The set up looks pretty good from a visual pic. What I would like to see is more hitch head tilt away from the truck. What we are trying to do is get the front axle to return to the unloaded front axle weight. It looks to me that you may be unloading the front axle too much. Use a tape measure and measure your front wheel well heights with the truck unloaded. Use the WD hitch to restore this measurement to within 1/2 inch....the closer the better. Add more angle to the hitch head and go from there.
Now, we need to talk about sway....what many people call "sway" is the natural suck and pull motion of passing vehicles and wind. This is not sway...this is wiggle...that is, you can feel the trailer wiggling behind you.
Sway is side to side oscillation (tail wagging the dog, trying to hold a toy snake by the tail) this is sway and it's deadly.
Wiggle is natural but can be removed by sway controls....that's really a bad name for them, they are dampeners and work to take the wiggle away, with two sway controls most if not all of the wiggle will be gone. There is a tension bolt on the sway bars, after you get the WD dialed in and the second bar on we can adjust this bolt in 1/4 turns until the optimum dampening is achieved.
Remember the on off handle on the sway bars are just that. On off bars. I would bottom them out on mine and then back the handle off about 1/4 turn to be parallel with the frame.
Oh, you don't have to pay $100.00 for a second bar anyway. You can buy them on Amazon for around $40.00 or used on craigslist for even cheaper from time to time.
On edit I agree with BenK on lowering the hitch head one more hole. He posted while I was typing my last reply. This will achieve a nose down attitude which is good for tongue weight and will help the handling.
You can do this when you are adjusting the tilt of the hitch head.
Thanks!
Jeremiah
โJul-02-2014 04:55 AM
โJul-01-2014 03:59 PM
โJul-01-2014 03:53 PM
โJul-01-2014 02:55 PM
โJul-01-2014 02:47 PM
karlrmac wrote:
GVWR = 7100 LB
Cargo Cap = 1653 LB
driver/passenger/cargo = 1030 LB EST (2 adults, 4 kids, 1 dog, 200 lb added for cargo)
Leaves 623 for trailer
โJul-01-2014 02:32 PM
Mvander wrote:
Start with the basics.
Does the trailer tow level to slightly nose down.
Do you have enough tounge wt.
Is the wdh set up properly. If the dealer did it that is no guarantee its right.
โJul-01-2014 02:18 PM
Keith Haw wrote:
Clicky
Clicky
One thing I can see right off the bat is, you probably don't have enough cargo capacity for that trailer and your occupants and gear. If the numbers you posted are correct, and I suspect they are, you only have about #800 for you and passengers, your gear and anything loaded in the front of the trailer or mounted to the tongue. The posted unloaded tongue weight is #825 and your gross cargo weight is only #1653. That only leaves #828 for everything else.
โJul-01-2014 02:11 PM
jerem0621 wrote:
First of all, the advice above is correct except you don't need to go spend a bunch more money on an integrated sway control hitch. When we just need to set up the one you have correctly.
We can "probably" get yours dialed in,
We need to know a few more facts... You gave us the facts on your truck, now we need the same information from your trailer.
The number one and number 2 cause of trailer sway is insufficient tongue weight and too light of a front tow vehicle axle.
The second sway bar on the other side of the trailer is needed but will not solve your bad set up. Fix the WD first then we can worry about the friction dampeners. (Once set up correctly it will pull better)
We need more details about the trailer first...
Thanks!
Jeremiah
โJul-01-2014 01:41 PM
โJul-01-2014 12:43 PM
โJul-01-2014 12:41 PM
โJul-01-2014 12:37 PM
โJul-01-2014 12:34 PM
handye9 wrote:
There are several causes / contributors to sway issues. Trailer sway can be caused by just one, or, a combination of two or more contributors.
1. Not enough tongue weight
2. Impropper adjustment of WDH
3. Impropper adjustment or insufficient sway control device
4. Unbalanced tire pressures in truck or trailer
5. Soft suspension on tow vehicle
6. Tire sidewall flex on tow vehicle
7. Unbalanced load in trailer
8. Bad roads
9. Wind
10. Hitch ball set too high. Trailer tows nose up
11. Tow vehicle overloaded
Without seeing the actual specs on your truck, it is possible, you have issues with almost all of the listed causes.
I found these numbers for a Hideout 31BHS
Length 33' 11" (lets just say 34 feet)
unloaded trailer 6780 lbs
unloaded hitch 825 lbs (loaded to gross weight-- this could be 1250+)
cargo capacity 2845
Gross weight 9625 lbs
There are versions of the F150, that are not rated to tow a trailer this big. Some of them, only have 750 lbs of payload, while others have up to 3100 lbs. Payload is your capacity to carry fuel, passengers, cargo, and trailer hitch weight combined.
You should get actual weights on truck and trailer. Check the loading sticker, on your drivers door post, for GVWR and cargo carrying capacity (payload) of the truck. If you subtract your driver / passenger / cargo weights from your payload, and find you have insufficient capacity to carry another 1000 lbs from the trailer, you are over weight when hitched up.
โJul-01-2014 12:09 PM