Ford - Unhitched vs Hitched Fender Height

acadianbob wrote:
I think it is about balance. Too much weight on the front; oversteer. Too LITTLE weight on the front; oversteer. The balance has to be right.

Did you mean to type oversteer/oversteer?

Or, did you mean to type oversteer/understeer?

Ron

I think it is about balance. Too much weight on the front; oversteer. Too LITTLE weight on the front; oversteer. The balance has to be right.

How it drives is totally subjective too. Some people are so "nerve dead" that they can't tell if there's any "swervyness" in their rig. I've gotten into friends' cars that were shaken to pieces because something was out of balance. Did they notice? Nope. Drives like a sports car to them. Skipping, sputtering... Did they notice? Nope. Purrs like a kitten to them. What, you mean I need to put GAS in it???

Dave Mck wrote:

Bob Landry wrote:
I'm not arguing with them either. They are the engineers...

Do you think these guys actually tow trailers around. Do you think they have ever taken a 1000 mile journey with a trailer? I'm putting all my money on no. They put info into a computer and see what it tells them.

While I can't speak for the other manufacturers, I can tell you with certainty that Ford absolutely does.

Setting up the Lincoln Navigator with its auto-leveling suspension was far more complicated. You pretty had to apply the WDH to have close to the same amount of drop on both axle. Maybe leave the rear a half inch lower than the front after the WDH is applied. The air-leveling always adjusted the air-pressure to level the vehicle. The best way is to plan on spending some time at a truck stop making multiple weighs and adjustments. For spring suspension you do pretty good just using the measurement method. Most of the hitches that have 500 WC but 1000 or 1200lb WDH mode need at least 50% return. The trucks have a light rear and just take more weight on the rear.

Bob Landry wrote:
I'm not arguing with them either. They are the engineers...

Do you think these guys actually tow trailers around. Do you think they have ever taken a 1000 mile journey with a trailer? I'm putting all my money on no. They put info into a computer and see what it tells them.

Bob Landry wrote:
All good points and they add to the question... Why don't more people go to the trouble to insure their hitch is set up corruptly?

How do we define a bad setup? Weights, measurements, swerviness?

Many people are not mechanically inclined. Most trust their dealer, maybe they shouldn't, but who is going to tell them differently?

Many people believe if it tows "OK" then the setup must be "OK".

Many people overcome a bad setup by simply buying a bigger truck.

Where would you have them start? Weights? I see where a lot of people even on this forum misinterpret scale readings. Measurements? There is often disagreement about that too.

I think I like "swerviness" as well as anything. If it tows straight and true while not being bothered by wind or other traffic, then it might not be too bad. The problem is that "Swerviness" can happen with a perfectly installed hitch, if the tow vehicle and the towed vehicle are not matched.

I hope you meant, "correctly".

Ron

All good points and they add to the question... Why don't more people go to the trouble to insure their hitch is set up correctly?

Agreed - That is also the oversteer condition that was discussed earlier. It depends how much weight you already have on the rear vehicle axle whether a tighter WDH setting will cause problems.