Going from 4x2 to 4x4

[Terryallan]

Ok I have been towing with a 2004 F150 2 wheel drive. It towed my TT great, solid as a rock. No wiggle, no nothing.

Fast forward to the new F150 4x4 Off Road. I set the hitch up the same, all measurement good, sits level. So while I don't have a sway issue. I can feel the TT more than I could with the 2 wheel drive. I have lots more power, but it is just not as rock steady as the 4x2. Sill no sway at all though.

Admittedly, I haven't put the HD tires on yet, but even with the stock tires. The 4x2 was more steady.

I'm thinkin that maybe because the 4x4 sits so much higher, I feel it move more. Reason why. Even with out the TT. The 4x4 is not as stable as the 4x2.

BTW. The 4x4 has a higher GVWR, and more payload than the 4x2.

[DSteiner51]

After coming from my older hydraulic power steering on my Ranger I did not like the electronic power steering on my F150 with the same trailer. It has taken me over 1000 miles of towing to finally get comfortable. The two power steerings are not the same empty or loaded. Both trucks are 4x4.

[Terryallan]

So Think I really helped my squirmy ride. Seems DW didn't feel it anyway. So today on our trip to the mountains. I had that same feeling. I took note of how far from the wheel Iwas sitting and moved the seat forward a little more than an inch. Bam. All the squiggly feeling went away. I have always known that sitting closer to the wheel gives you better control. And now I've pro edit to me again. Totally different feel and trip

[Terryallan]

AJBert wrote:
What is the difference in ground clearance between the two? I'll guess the 4X4 sits higher meaning a higher center of gravity. Would it be fair to guess this is your first 4X4?

. No Ihave had 6, 4 x 4s or so. But it will prolly be my last. Course I plan on it being my last truck period

[SoCalDesertRid1]

braindead0 wrote:
I wonder if they use lighter weight anti-sway bars on 4x4?

Not that I've seen so far. Usually the difference is spring height in the front and either spring height or block height in the rear, sometimes tires/wheels and shocks with an off road package.

[bguy]

You're experienced enough with set up. That shouldn't be an issue. My money is on tires based on the difference Es made on my truck.

[braindead0]

I wonder if they use lighter weight anti-sway bars on 4x4?

[AJBert]

What is the difference in ground clearance between the two? I'll guess the 4X4 sits higher meaning a higher center of gravity. Would it be fair to guess this is your first 4X4?

[Terryallan]

It's just more squirrely feeling than the 4x2 was. Both towing, and not towing. I'm sure it will be better when I get a heavier duty tire. But even with the P tires. the 4x2 was more solid feeling.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

If it has P passenger car tires, get those junkers off of that truck and put some LT load range D truck tires on it!

[Sandia_Man]

With no sway and plenty of power are you having an issue or just asking if towing characteristics change when going from 4x2 to 4x4? Differences in suspension and height change towing dynamics dramatically even with a quality WD/SC hitch. If towing comfort is relatively the same and you have no sway it may just take time getting used to.

We have always towed with 4x4 TVs and find the comfort level very appealing, no doubt if I went to a 4x2 I would probably feel subtle differences by comparison. If still not happy you can go through the steps weighing and re-calibrating your set-up to achieve results you can accept. Hope you get it to where you feel the same confidence as your prior set-up.

[braindead0]

What size/type of tires? I still have P tires on my ram, however they are fairly low profile 275/60-20 which I would suspect helps with side-wall stiffness.

[Terryallan]

No it is not a
Fx4. It is. A XLT 4x4. Off-road

[braindead0]

AJBert wrote:

braindead0 wrote:
Something seems odd. I've never driven a F150 4x4, but my Ram 1500 is rock solid towing or not. I'm going to presume you did NOT get a F150 Raptor? Is it an FX4? A more off road oriented package/model could have somewhat softer suspension and more travel so that it can handle faster off road which is not going to be the best for towing IMO.

Bingo! We have a winner! A 4X4 with a stiff suspension is pretty useless offroad as you want the tires to have contact with the ground at all times.

I wouldn't say useless, certainly less fast. We take our 4x4 RAM 1500 off road all the time and as a TV it's rock solid (at least with our 3000# TT, admittedly fairly light), however we do so fairly slow and nothing like the kind of places we'd take our Jeep. If our RAM was something like the power wagon variant I'd bet it wouldn't function quite as well as a TV.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

I think the Raptor only came with the 6.2 V8?

He has the 5.0 V8 with 'off road package', likely the FX4. I think he probably just has different shocks, all terrain tires, a skid plate under the t-case and a couple stickers on the bed that say FX4 Off Road. That's usually all the off road package comes with.