Need help - Weight distribution hitch installation pics

[bobby7718]

Hi,

I have bought a Jayco travel trailer together with a Camco Recurve R3 Weight Distribution Hitch recently.

The ride has been bouncing and swaying. Second visit to the dealership this afternoon, the technician adjusted the hitch a bit, seems getting a little better, but still bouncing and swaying on the way back to home.

Here is the detailed info of the TT and TV.

- TT: Jayco 267BHS, 30 feet, dry weight 5975.
- TV: 2017 Ford F150 with towing package (checked with dealership via VIN, was told max payload is 3000 lbs, and max towing capacity is 14,000 lbs).

Please also see the attachments for the pictures I took after today's adjustments.
- the altitude of TT and TV
- how does the setup looks like
- measurements before and after W/D





I know I need to expect some swaying if there is big sized truck driving by, not sure how much to expect. The ride I feel uncomfortable and unsafe. Need some help before either upgrade the TV.

Can someone please help to take a look at the pictures to see if anything significantly out-of-line could explain the bouncing/swaying.

In addition to the camper dealerships, where are the places to get the WDH professionally installed ?

Thank you in advance.

[bobby7718]

Well said. Appreciate it !

I have just placed order for Bilstein 6112 front struts and 5100 rear, shipping will be 3-5 days. Can't wait to have them installed.

[TFin04]

Hey Bobby, I just wanted to comment again because I re-read my post from last night, typed late at night from my phone and while I was trying to be to-the-point, it may have come across a bit harsh.

Getting comfortable towing an RV takes time, and you are definitely not the minority who at some point thinks "do I have the wrong trailer or truck?"

I think your setup can work, and I think you are on the right path to fix it, but it will take a bit of investment although still MUCH cheaper than buying an F250 and putting gas in the **** thing.

In my opinion, I would focus on a few things:

- Front loading your trailer as much as you can. Heavy stuff like wood blocks and cases of water and whatnot go up front. Sleeping bags and blankets go in the back.
- Buy an Equalizer or Hensley. I think the Equalizer will do so much better for your confidence towing.
- A set of Bilstein 5100's and Michelin LTX load range E will make that truck pretty much ready for anything within it's capability.

If you do those three or four things and get the hitch dialed right, I think you'll be in business.

Towing is a subjective thing and everyone has their own comfort level. I see PLENTY of rigs matched way worse than yours screaming down the road at 80, that's just not how I choose to live my vacations.

Good luck and report back, you're making the right moves by asking for help here.

[bobby7718]

This f150 was not bought new for me. It's a CPO(so called ford certified pre-own), there was 35K mileage on it. All I can tell is that it's bought for towing by the previous owner since there are a few optional packages added specifically for towing (backup pro assist, 36G fuel tank etc). Not sure about the history, probably got a lot of towing for that 35K miles. I used to be comfortable to buy CPO, might think differently for my next vehicle purchase.

2112 wrote:
Did you try these adjustments and take measurements again? I find it hard to believe your front struts are bad after only 37000 miles in 4 years. I'm still on my original fronts after 135,000 miles and almost 11 years. I replaced my rears about 2 years ago.

[bobby7718]

Glad to hear that - resale the f150 within 3 months is a waste of money, and will be the last resort.

Yes - will hit CAT Scale as soon as I have the front struts fixed and applied adjustment from the manufacturer.

Actually I forgot to mention earlier. I have purchased a etrailer Tongue Weight Scale (2,000-lb Capacity), the reading was about ~12%. But agreed CAT scale will give the most accurate numbers.

wing_zealot wrote:
That truck is perfectly capable of hauling that trailer unless you are carrying a cord of firewood in that back while you go camping. First off you need to determine what your tongue weight % is. Start weighing things, ideally, the 3 trips across the scales method of determining weights would be best. learn about weights and ratings here Clicky

[bobby7718]

Haven't yet - wanted to rule out the VT first.

Yes, the mechanic said the exactly same thing - he couldn't believe the struts could go bad on 37k mileage.

But he found both of fronts are bad with leakage, see attached pictures.

[2112]

bobby7718 wrote:
Heard back from the manufacturer of the WDH, the impression he got is the rare axles seem squat too much(not lifted up due to insufficient weight distributed). 

Here are his suggestions. 
- The hitch ball needs 7 degree towards the trailer
- Hanger needs to be 1 hole up
- The hanger's direction needs a bit adjustment(to allow the spring bar resting on both end of the hanger)

Will give it a try soon.

Did you try these adjustments and take measurements again? I find it hard to believe your front struts are bad after only 37000 miles in 4 years. I'm still on my original fronts after 135,000 miles and almost 11 years. I replaced my rears about 2 years ago.

Taking weight off the front wheels will give it that driving on ice feeling.

[wing_zealot]

That truck is perfectly capable of hauling that trailer unless you are carrying a cord of firewood in that back while you go camping. First off you need to determine what your tongue weight % is. Start weighing things, ideally, the 3 trips across the scales method of determining weights would be best. learn about weights and ratings here Clicky

[spoon059]

bobby7718 wrote:
an update on this topic - turns out the truck has a bad pair of front struts assembly ! Scheduled an appointment with the dealership, will report back after the truck been fixed.

Yea, that could give a loose feeling in the front.

[Grit_dog]

OP, you have enough truck.
If your trailer actually tows like ****, it will still tow like **** behind a 3/4 ton, just the truck will handle it a little better.

[bobby7718]

Appreciate your first hand experience with EZ WDH. Definitely will try a Equalizer E4 if the struts assembly fix won't help much, followed by other upgrades, i.e bilstein shock(and/or spring front and rear), Roadmaster active suspension, Mich Defender TL tires, and lastly upgrade to a f250 worst case.

Yes - I believe the real payload is 18xx after listening to what you all said.

As a newbie of TT towing, the biggest lesson learned so far is to buy/research the TT first, TV secondly. We did the opposite, hence get into a situation we might have to get rid of the half ton 2 months after the purchase :(.

Will report back the results next week.

[TFin04]

I've been down this road before. Newer model short bed quad cab F150, a 33' trailer weighing about 7k lbs loaded, and that same EZ lift setup. What follows is probably not what you want to hear:

-There is no way your truck has a 3k payload. Even the HD150's that get around 2500 are ALL on 6.5' bed platforms. You are probably in the 1600-1900 range.
-Your rear axle is likely overloaded. This can be compensated with more WD but only to a point, you don't want to push the front down more than unloaded.
-That hitch is terrible. I've towed three campers now total and have used the EZ, an Equalizer, and now a Hensley. I would absolutely never tow another mile with the EZ. Mine was so bad I bought a used Equalizer on Craigslist while five hours from home and installed it at the RV park just to get home. Even if you get the WD done right, the sway control is a different function of the hitch and I think the EZ is a terrible design.

Ultimately I ended up with an F250 and a Hensley hitch, but I don't think either of those are necessary, they were just worth it for the peace of mind for me.

AT A MINIMUM: Buy an Equalizer 10k/1k or simar style known brand WDH. Read the manual and watch YouTube until you can explain what each adjustment does to someone who has never camped. Hit a CAT scale to dial it in. Lots of those hitches can be found used under $500 and trust me, it's a small price to pay. I would be buying E rated tires too, but you gotta make your own choices.

You are right at the brink of what *I* think a short bed F150 can do. That would not be a tow the RV out west setup for me, but it can probably be adjusted to be safe and useful on easier stretches of road or close trips. You should be cognizant of overloading the truck and trailer and pay attention to your axle ratings along with all the others. I ended up 300lbs over my rear axle rating with a properly adjusted Hensley hitch, and that was leaving all firewood, spare fuel, and bottled water at home. IE, packing super light.

You can probably get there, but I don't think you ever will with that EZ setup.

[bobby7718]

an update on this topic - turns out the truck has a bad pair of front struts assembly ! Scheduled an appointment with the dealership, will report back after the truck been fixed.

[bobby7718]

Appreciate all the reminders of the max payload, I will use 1814 as max when loading.

Has been raining all day, didn’t get chance to adjust the hitch head tilt.

[bobby7718]

Here is the rating of the wdh bar.






Looks like 1000 max tongue weight , should be enough .

2112 wrote:
It looks like you have the 600Lb kit. The trunnion bars may be maxed out.

A trip to the CAT Scale loaded ready to camp is in order

[valhalla360]

bobby7718 wrote:
3000 lbs max-payload could well be the dealership was lying to me.

An interesting story - When I visited CampingWorld, the service department couldn't find any towing capacity for my vehicle(via the towing chart). Then she called dealership(who sold me the TV), and confirmed that the max payload and towing capacity. Those numbers(agreed increditably high) are different than what the yellow stick says(which is 1814 lbs). The manager, who said she has been working in the industry for 25 years, said "The yellow stick could be off if there are some customization package installed to the TV", and for a fact, I knew from the windowsticker the previous owner had bought it with the towing package(not sure whether it's the max-tow-package though).

With that being said, I still wouldn't trust those numbers, wouldn't put crazy load on it, but thinking loaded TT 7000 lbs shouldn't be too much for it.

The current tire does have 50 PSI rated. See the attachment below.

The yellow sticker is generally more reliable that looking it up in the book. Also, anything that got added after it left the factory reduces that amount.

Until you get to the CAT scales loaded for travel, figure you have 1800lb of payload.
- Say 1000lb hitch weight.
- 400lb passengers
- That only leaves 400lb for add ons and other stuff in the truck.

You are pushing that truck to the limits. If the hitch weight is light, I could see it bouncing around and swaying.

Also as someone else mentioned, what is the exact model of the hitch...I did a quick search and it said it had a 600lb hitch rating but that doesn't sound right.