Tow Vehicle Feel

[RobWNY]

I'm new to towing anything this heavy so I have nothing to compare my experience to so I thought some of you could give me some information. While driving down the highway at speeds ranging from 40MPH to 60MPH, sometimes things would feel just fine and other times, the truck would feel like it's wandering a bit left or right and much of the time it felt like I was rocking left and right. A little like the feel you would get on a boat in small waves but just not that drastic. It also felt like the trailer was in control of the truck somewhat if that makes any sense at all. I didn't feel any push or pull and the truck pulled the trailer fine and stopped it fine, but when driving it was worrisome. This occurs without anything passing me and with very light and variable winds of no more than 10MPH. A typical light breeze. I know some will say I don't have enough truck or my trailer is too heavy and that may be the case but there isn't anything I can do about that now. What I want to know is the causes of this situation. Why it happens or is it a fairly normal experience when towing something this heavy?

Here is my setup 2014 Heartland Trail Runner. 6500 dry weight, 7500 loaded. 2012 F150 Ecoboost regular tow package. Husky WDH and Husky Anti-Sway bar Set up at the dealer. It has the Goodyear Wrangler standard P rated tires. Inflated to 39 pounds. Can inflate to 44psi max. Only payload was me and my wife. No extra cargo in the truck.

Granted, the truck weighs about 5,500 pounds and I'm towing 7,500 pounds so I'm going to know it's behind me. I believe regardless of what tow vehicle you have you're going to know you're towing something really heavy so I'd like some answers that will explain what I'm experiencing and why. Thank you!

[MitchF150]

Rob, I have a SuperCab so it has the suicide door back seat and my front seat is buckets with a center console for my seating config.

Our tires have approx the same overall height to them (my spare is a LT275/65/18 Goodyear Wrangler load range C) while my 20's are Bridgestone Duelers.

They all have the 9.75" rear ends, even the Max Payload ones.. It could be the actual axles themselves are different? The Max Payload have the 7 lug hubs on them, so that means they probably have different axles. My leaf springs are 3" wide and while there are only 3 leafs, they are pretty thick.

I do have the 3.73 gears and it's 'tow rating' is #11,300 with a #17,100 GCWR.. Same as the HD payload BTW.. 😉

Once I saw that the Max Tow had the higher GVWR and payload, that's all I looked at after that. I wouldn't even consider the regular tow package rigs anymore. I found mine on the dealers lot too. It was the only Max Tow they had on the lot that I saw. It was tucked in the back row on the "used" side of the lot, yet it was a new 2013?? They had several other new 2013's there too, but all where FX4's or STX's.

Hopefully, that second friction sway control will help your situation as well as fine tuning on the WD setup.

Mitch

[Desert_Captain]

Getting back to your original post:

"so I'd like some answers that will explain what I'm experiencing and why"

IMHO: You have gotten your wish. Clearly you are maxed out in every direction. Your half ton truck, with P's was never intended to haul a 30 something foot nearly 8,000# TT, period. Your payload (or lack thereof) severely restricts what most folks take for merely normal loading.

Can you do it? Sure you can but staying on the flat and not driving far or in high winds becomes more than a little bit limiting and not doing so invites problems. I have no doubt that everyone here wishes you nothing but the best but band aid solutions are not your friend.

Keeping in mind that when you get free advice (like this), you get what you paid for....

Good luck.

:C

[RobWNY]

MitchF150, I stand corrected. The information I had came from my Ford dealer so I assumed they were telling me correctly. The differences I see between your truck and mine from the stickers are these...You have P275/55R20 tires while mine are P275/65R18 tires, your Rear GAWR is 4050 pounds...200 pounds more than mine (3850), your truck shows a seating capacity of 5 (2 front, 3 Rear) mine is 6 (3 Front and 3 Rear)and your payload is 1920 while mine is 1486. I wonder what the differences are with the truck itself. I know the springs are the same because I checked them on Max Tow trucks at the dealer. Same number of springs and same code stamped onto them. A little stronger axle maybe? I'm no mechanic or truck whiz but there is definitely a difference between the tow package and max tow package. Thank you for posting your stickers!

[MitchF150]

On a side note, the only differences in the F150 tow package and the Max tow package is bigger mirrors and 3.73 gears. My truck has 3.55 gears. The Max payload package which I've never seen on any F150 on the lots would have certainly been helpful. I believe that provides for an extra 500 pounds of payload but I could be mistaken on that.

Not really true on the MAX TOW... 😉 MAX PAYLOAD gets you a GVWR of #8200.

I've got the MAX TOW and this is my stickers.. 🙂 Got me lots of payload compared to most standard tow package F150's.. 😉

Mitch

[campigloo]

Glad to hear about the extra sway bar. Be careful how much you crank down on it. All you want to do is snug it down good. Play with it a little and you will find the right torque. Too tight and you can easily break either the little ball on the hitch or break the connector on the sway bar. If you do go to E tires, don't expect much out of them if you only run 45 to 65 lbs. Air them up. You may want to check into the stable loads, they will engage the overload springs and aren't terribly expensive. You have what you have, improve what you can within reason, slow down and do the best you can. I pulled many miles with a less than ideal setup, and am still alive. Enjoy your rig and set a goal; you'll get there!

[goducks10]

I was in the same boat as you are. 2010 F150 XLT 4x4 Screw 5.5 bed 7650lb GVW MaxTow. 1857lb payload. I put E rated tires on, SuperSprings and used a 1200/12,000 EQ 4pt sway. TT weighed 7300lbs @31' OAL. Truck and trailer were fairly stable. Light winds would move it around. Passing semi's on the freeway would give the usual push pull affect. Truck was maxed on RAWR and GVW. No matter whether I ran the E tires at 45 or 65 PSI. It never really made all that much difference.
It's just a matter of physics. There's a lot of surface on an 8'x26' wall. Add in the lighter F150 and no matter what you do you can't change the physical nature of the combo. Never had a white knuckle experience. But I always felt the TT back there and knew I was close to the edge at times. As long as the conditions were good then towing was fine. But once a light breeze came up then I had to pay more attention to the TT.

I traded the F150 in on a 12 Ram 2500 4x4 CC LB CTD. That's where the biggest improvement was noticed. Even though I could see the TT waggling, it didn't move the 2500 around. Where I would feel the need to have two hands on the wheel was reduced to a relaxing one hand drive. We traveled the same roads with both and one section of road that we drive is wide open. If the wind is coming from the south then the TT would move the F150 around. Never budged the 2500.

I really think that you're are so close to the physical limits with the F150 that unless you get a Hensley Arrow or Pro Pride you're always gong to be struggling in slightly adverse conditions.

[RobWNY]

Desert Captain, handye9 and Tucson, I haven't been ignoring the payload issue. My tongue weight when the trailer is fully loaded is 990 when all of the cargo we would be taking is toward the front of the trailer. Evenly distributed and it's 875. The sticker on my truck says my payload capacity is 1486. In my owners manual, it takes into account a full tank of gas but the weight of myself (200 pounds) and my wife (120 pounds) are NOT taken into account. So when I subtract my weight and my wife's, along with the tongue weight, tonneau cover (50lbs-actual weight provided by the manufacturer) and sprayed in bed liner (25 pounds-weight provided by Line-X who sprayed the bed of my truck) and the weight of the undercoating (30 pounds-weight provided by Ziebart) I get the following. 1486-200-120-990-50-25-30=71 pounds left with a worst case scenario. Evenly distributing the weight, and I gain 115 pounds of payload. Not much, I know but at least I'm under the limit. If I don't put anything in the truck and load everything in the trailer as I did when I weighed it, I'm within the limits of my payload capacity.

I ordered another sway bar so I'll have two and I'll have to account for the weight of that, and I will be adjusting the WDH before installing the sway bar and tonight I am going back to the scales to check things again. On the tire issue, I'm waiting to hear from my nephew on a price for tires (He works at a tire place in town).

If after I do what I can and before buying new tires, I have a decision to make. I can do all I can do, buy the tires and be very careful and get the best towing experience my setup will allow, or I can lose about $10,000 by trading my truck in for a new one that better fits my trailer or I can leave the trailer in my yard and not go camping.

On a side note, the only differences in the F150 tow package and the Max tow package is bigger mirrors and 3.73 gears. My truck has 3.55 gears. The Max payload package which I've never seen on any F150 on the lots would have certainly been helpful. I believe that provides for an extra 500 pounds of payload but I could be mistaken on that.

[handye9]

Desert Captain wrote:
The elephant in the room that the OP is ignoring is the trucks payload, or lack thereof. At 1,000 to 1,100# of tongue weight (don't forget that 100# WDH), not many half tons will have much payload remaining. If it is a 4X4 and/or a crew cab the problem gets larger as the payload gets smaller.

Going from P's to E rated LT's won't solve the problem (that will simply take more truck), the difference will be huge. When I went to Michelin E rated LTX M/S 2's on my F-150 the improvement was off the chart and I was only towing a 5,000# TT. Bottom line.... IMHO: that is a lot of trailer for any half ton unless it comes with a Max payload/towing package.

As always.... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

Quite possible, it's a tripple whammy.

1. Payload / soft suspension.

OP did say, it's not the HD tow package on his F150, and his trailer is eating up, close to 1100 lbs of payload. Very likely, he is at or above GVWR. Here's a thread, where the poster stated his 2012 F150 screw, only has 1142 lbs payload. If OP has the same options and payload, he is definately over.

2. WD hitch not set properly.

If he's got too much weight off the steering axle, the front wheels turn much easier than normal. Sub consious hand movement is enough to turn front wheels side to side. Thus causing a swaying feeling.

3. Tire sidewall flex

[Desert_Captain]

The elephant in the room that the OP is ignoring is the trucks payload, or lack thereof. At 1,000 to 1,100# of tongue weight (don't forget that 100# WDH), not many half tons will have much payload remaining. If it is a 4X4 and/or a crew cab the problem gets larger as the payload gets smaller.

Going from P's to E rated LT's won't solve the problem (that will simply take more truck), the difference will be huge. When I went to Michelin E rated LTX M/S 2's on my F-150 the improvement was off the chart and I was only towing a 5,000# TT. Bottom line.... IMHO: that is a lot of trailer for any half ton unless it comes with a Max payload/towing package.

As always.... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

[RobWNY]

goducks10, I haven't done the whole WD setup but I know how to do it and that was part of my weekend plan along with the sway bar. As for tires, I have a nephew that works at a local tire place and he gives me his employee price on tires. I plan on calling him and getting some prices so I know what kind of money I would be talking about. If I can't afford to do it right away, at least I would have a good idea of when it would be feasible.

[goducks10]

Side stepping the 1/2 ton issue. Have you actually done a complete WD setup? That is have you measured your trucks front fender to see if you're returning it close to it's original height? That would be the 1st thing to get in order. Then apply the 2nd friction sway device. If those two items are addressed and you still have the loosey goosey feeling then tires could be the next step. E's aren't necessary. D rated tires will be enough of an improvement over the stock P tires. D's are cheaper. IMO from personal experience towing close to what you are towing and having replaced P's with E's there's not a night and day difference between the two. E's won't make your 1/2 ton a 3/4 ton light. With that being said all the little improvements should accumulatively return a better tow. If they all don't then it's pretty much a 1/2 ton issue.

[Need-A-Vacation]

Just because you only have 9k miles on the tires doesn't mean you can't either trade them in at the tire dealer, or sell them on craigslist after the tire swap!

I had 20k on my stock tires on our '10-1500 when I upgraded to a set of Cooper A/T3 LRC, still gave me $100 for the set. I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but the same tires were selling for anywhere from $125-200/ set, so since I didn't have to try selling them myself it was a fair deal I thought!

Discount Tire usually has a Memorial Day W/E sale, so maybe look into a set then to save a little more.

The downsaide to the scrap yard scale is it is a little harder to get an accurate weight for each truck axle, and the trailer axles if the ground/ driveway isn't level with the scale (could be wrong, but seems like it could be off a little).

Good luck!

[RobWNY]

Thanks for all the replies. I really do appreciate them and I don't feel beat up because I have a 1/2 ton truck. It is what it is and like I said before, at the moment I have no choice but to work with what I have. I ordered a 2nd sway bar today and will install it over the weekend if it doesn't seem too difficult. I'm going to take my truck and trailer back to the scales again too. Just so I'm comparing apples to apples from the last time I went. There's a metal scrap yard only a few miles away that said I can weigh my truck and trailer anytime I want for free so that's a huge plus and I own a sherline scale so no problem weighing the tongue weight! I can't comment on whether my truck tires are OEM or not. All I know is they are the tires that were on the truck when I bought it new in 2012. If the dealer swapped out the tires that came on it with the ones I have, who knows and I'm sure they wouldn't admit to it if they did. Maybe what I should do is throw down a box of nails and run over them until I have 4 flat tires and can then tell my wife I need new tires 🙂 If I understand correctly, the proper way to set the sway bars are to crank them down as far as I can and then back them off a bit. Of course, I've read different theories on which way is the right way to set them up too.

[coolbreeze01]

As mentioned, air the tires up to the sidewall max. Make the next tires LT E Rated or the next truck a 3/4 ton. Check into a better hitch, such as a Blue Ox Sway Pro. Have fun.