Have a 22' Toyhauler I picked up and rehabbed last yearhttp://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27609229/srt/pd/pging/1/page/1.cfmI've been borrowing a 2500 to tow it with from buddies until now. I just picked up a 2014 F150 Ecoboost with 3.55 gears and towing package. Rated to tow 9800lbs. ***Disclaimer. Yes I know I should weigh everything and have that data, but i don't at this time so work with what I do know here.I have planned on a weight distributing hitch. For grins and giggles I backed up the truck to the trailer today. Measured the body height unladen and then with the truck supporting the trailer.With trailer on the hitch the front raised approx 1/2" and the rear dropped 2 3/4". I was surprised that the front only raised up 1/2". I was expecting at least 1.5-2". Will the weight distributing hitch ease up the rear sag I'm seeing?I know it will transfer weight to the front but since the front isn't really raising much should I be looking at rear suspension help(ie airbags) first? Thanks for the help

Consider these in your search for something to assist with the rear sag.Torklift StableloadsThey are highly regarded on this Forum.

In truth 1/2" rise will take a couple hundred pounds off the steering axle. that will make the steering axle light, and easy to turn. that will cause sway. Air bags, or any thing else you use to stiffen the rear will NOT return the steering control to the steering axle. Only a WDH will return steering control. And Yes, It WILL correct the rear sag. By the time you get the front back down where it is supposed to be. The rear will come up close to where it started from. AND the entire thing will drive way better. The WDH IMOP is the way to go for safety, and control

Terryallan wrote:Only a WDH will return steering control. And Yes, It WILL correct the rear sag. By the time you get the front back down where it is supposed to be. The rear will come up close to where it started from. AND the entire thing will drive way better. The WDH IMOP is the way to go for safety, and controlDefinitely will be using a WDH, just wasn't sure it would address the rear sag much.Thanks

well that seems to be what mine did too my hitch is curt with anti sway bars 600 pound ones(trailer is light 4100 pounds dry.think about the total weight at each axle front, rear front axle heavy ie engine their :) rear light . ie no load ok hook up trailer rear loaded, ok so now we need to find a good balance of front and rear axle weights ie too heavy on rear front steering feels soft and floating so to speak \this is not good for breaking/ stopping / steering ..if you cant steer or stop quickly if the balance is off. i set mine up with my trailer loaded and water in the tank also you want a little sag in the rear( truck) so to speak.. the trailer tongue needs a little slope down.. is if it's too high you get wagging trailer (sway back and forth ) just trying to help,,, also my English is bad .and to add another wrench in the mix i have air bags on axel. i put just enough air in bags for contact of the stubby leaf spring ( truck has 3 leafs 2 long ones and stubby one that their for weight in bed) factory springs.also i have it set up to the level on the trailer bubble just sloping towards the truck a little.. think about leveling a site for fridge example you want to be in center of bubble well towing i want a little towards the truck on the bubble. = no sway :) hope i helped, just things to think about.

I think that is pretty normal. The weight on the hitch will primarily compress the rear springs. The primary pivot point is the rear axle but with all the engine weight on the front axle it's not going to let that rise very far. But when you force the weight forward with the WDH it should come back into balance... Remember that when you measure the wheel wells with no trailer, the issue is to bring back that same differential between wheel well heights...not the same original heights.

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BenK
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
There is no longer 'generalized' HOW2's, nor any one size fits all these days

The OEMs have different suspension, frames, etc, etc that makes a one size fits
all impossible

The old school of 'even drop' of the TV is gone, though I still do that with my
Suburban. As it was before the massive changes to the various OEM suspensions

Best to follow 'your' OEM manual and not necessarily advice from these types of
forums. Unless the advisor has the exact same year, model and optioned as yours.
Even then...I say follow your own manual

There are some generalizations that still apply though...

Like slightly nose down for the trailer. That continues to be universal...though
when I first got here...arguable by many

WD Hitch Head Tilt...it is to gain both more travel during tensioning the bars
(no matter trunnion or round, etc)...and more travel during driving
APT
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
Despite Ford's instructions, I would stick with restoring closer to 100% of front axle weight lost when adjusting the WDH. The rear axle rating is very easy to exceed with a crew cab 4WD truck and 700 pounds of TW.
ACDNate
Explorer
Mar 31, 2015
So I pulled the trailer up the road to some level ground to verify my earlier measurements. Slight change in what I measured initially in the front.

Front unloaded 35 3/4"
Loaded 36 3/4"
WDH the same 36"

Still getting most of front rise back.

Looks decent to me and pulled fairley well. Of course I didn't load the trailer so ill have to readjust the hitch when the trailer has some bikes in it, which will likely change hitch weight.

When trying to set the gain on the brake controller I found I wasn't able to lock the trailer brakes with the gain maxed out. I feel braking, just not much of it. I suppose the brake components wear like any other brakes and are the original equipment.
BarneyS
Explorer III
Mar 28, 2015
Looks like you have it set up pretty well. I would tow and see how it goes.
Barney
ACDNate
Explorer
Mar 28, 2015
So I got out and worked on setting up my WDH. I went with the Haul Master from HF(yeah yeah chinese******blah blah blah).

After a few attempts to get it set I got to a good place. I am using 4 washers in the head adjustment doohickey. I have the shank turned to allow upward movement of the head. I have one more step up available.

With nothing on the truck my ground to fender at the center line of the wheel measurements:

Front 35.5"
Rear 37.5"

With the trailer on the ball, w/o spring bars attached

Front 36"
Rear 34.5"

With the spring bars on at the 3rd link of the chain from end.

Front 35.5"
Rear 35"

So it seems like I got weight shifted back to the front axle enough to get ride height back to stock. My rear still has 2.5" of sag. Trailer nose is slightly down tilting and the bars are pretty close to level with ground.

I feel like I should be safe to roll with this setup, at least enough to get to a scale and get some #s.

Comments?
Earl_E
Explorer
Mar 08, 2015
Either is going to be close enough.
atwowheelguy
Explorer
Mar 08, 2015
MikeInOregon wrote:
Refer to the owner's manual of your truck to make an initial adjustment of the weight distribution bars.
The manual for my 2015 F150 states to measure the height to the top of the front wheel well with no trailer load. This is H1.
Attach the trailer with no weight distribution bar tension.
Measure the wheel well height again. This is H2.
Adjust the weight distribution bars so that the wheel well height is reduced by one quarter of the difference between H1 and H2.
Check that the trailer is level or slightly nose down. If not, adjust the ball height and repeat the previous steps.

My 2013 F150 manual says half the difference. I wonder what changed?
ACDNate
Explorer
Mar 08, 2015
Excellent. Thanks for the help. I didn't realize the ford manual would address setting up a WDH.
atwowheelguy
Explorer
Mar 08, 2015
6700 lb. loaded toy hauler, 27.5 ft., 780 lb. tongue weight.

Top of wheel well to ground measurements:
..............................Front.............Rear
Unloaded..............36-1/4"..........37-1/8"
Loaded w/o WD....36-11/16"......35"
Loaded w/WD.......36-1/2"..........35-3/8"

So the front went up 7/16" with the load, and came back down 1/4" with WD, so a final rise of 3/16". 2013 Ford F150 manual says bring the front rise back down half way.
The rear sagged 2-1/8" with the load, and came back up 3/8" with the WD, so a final sag of 1-3/4".

The final setting resulted in 2-1/8" clearance between the axle and the jounce bumper.
MikeInOregon
Explorer
Mar 08, 2015
Refer to the owner's manual of your truck to make an initial adjustment of the weight distribution bars.
The manual for my 2015 F150 states to measure the height to the top of the front wheel well with no trailer load. This is H1.
Attach the trailer with no weight distribution bar tension.
Measure the wheel well height again. This is H2.
Adjust the weight distribution bars so that the wheel well height is reduced by one quarter of the difference between H1 and H2.
Check that the trailer is level or slightly nose down. If not, adjust the ball height and repeat the previous steps.

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