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How much of rise on front of truck acceptable when hitched?

plasticmaster
Explorer
Explorer
When hitched with the load bars, the front fender of my F150 rises a half inch verses unhitched. Is this acceptable?
24 REPLIES 24

bguy
Explorer
Explorer
Steering should feel the same with or without the trailer.
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2011 Ram 1500 Quad Cab, 4x4, 3.55, HEMI
2009 TL-32BHS Trail-Lite by R-Vision

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
ktmrfs wrote:
seems like every mfg had different advice on how much to bring the front down and they seem to vary year to year.

I've always tried to bring mine back to 1/2" or less but NEVER NEVER EVER below the original ride height. Especially important on GM since you can easily run into the rubber bump stops if you go below unloaded height.

My opinion is if your at 1/2" see how it handles your likely in the ballpark acceptable range.


First, if you can transfer more weight to the front than it originally had, time to re think your need for a wdh or youโ€™re doing it wrong.
Second, thereโ€™s a reason mfgs recommendations (note, not โ€œrequirementsโ€) change frequently. 1. Itโ€™s only a blanket general recommendation. 2. You can lose significant weight off the FA of some vehicles and not affect steering and braking from a real world standpoint.
3. A good portion of the recommendation is just liability, corporate cya, like the volumes of other hazard warnings that have been developed to save people from un-knowingly doing really stupid things and claiming ignorance and willful carelessness by those with deep pockets, in front of the judge.

RVing is not totally unique but itโ€™s sort of unique in that most people consider it a right to go RVing when there are no requirements or training necessary to operate something that would otherwise require training or certification in the commercial world. Thus there is an abnormally large % of consumers who are blissfully ignorant about some or many aspects of operating or controlling a heavy vehicle or combo.
When one observes the relatively large % of people who are challenged by simply operating the smallest of passenger vehicles combined with the fact that all it takes is a credit card, cash or a line of credit to instantly be the operator of a heavy vehicle. And not the typical commercial application where there is a greater chance of skill, training or experience or knowledge being gained or passed down then you get information published like this to help people save themselves from themselves. (Good info for sure, but evidenced by how many weekend warriors and โ€œproโ€ RVers alike have very little to no knowledge formal or otherwise and are not even able to correctly interpret these recommendations and their relative value, these recommendations become a very conservative, necessary approach to limiting corporate liability.)
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

mdcamping
Explorer
Explorer
Equalizer WD hitches list on their setup instructions for a 50% to 100% return. But they also recommend following the TV ratings

Mike
2022 F-150 3.5 EcoBoost 4X4 Supercrew GCWR 19,500 157WB
Payload 2476 Maxtow 13,800 3.73 Equalizer 4 Pt Sway Hitch
2017 Jayco Jay Flight 24RBS
Old TV, 07 Toyota Tacoma, Double Cab, Factory Tow Pkg, retired towing at 229K. (Son now owns truck)

ktmrfs
Explorer
Explorer
seems like every mfg had different advice on how much to bring the front down and they seem to vary year to year.

I've always tried to bring mine back to 1/2" or less but NEVER NEVER EVER below the original ride height. Especially important on GM since you can easily run into the rubber bump stops if you go below unloaded height.

My opinion is if your at 1/2" see how it handles your likely in the ballpark acceptable range.
2011 Keystone Outback 295RE
2004 14' bikehauler with full living quarters
2015.5 Denali 4x4 CC/SB Duramax/Allison
2004.5 Silverado 4x4 CC/SB Duramax/Allison passed on to our Son!

goducks10
Explorer
Explorer
Ford wants you to return 50% of the hitched distance and no more.
If it rises 1" without WDH hooked up then yes you're fine. If it rises 1.5" then you're reducing it too much.

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
^What he said.
All depends on how it handles.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

JIMNLIN
Explorer
Explorer
depends on several factors. That a lot of weight unloaded from the front of a small block/v6 1/2 ton truck. A 1/2 inch weight loss on my Dodge/Cummins/NV5600 means nothing.
If you notice the front brakes sliding the tires on gravel roads or wet pavement then its time to add lost weight back to your trucks front axle.
Axle weights before and after will tell you a better story.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers

'03 2500 QC Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs Westach
'97 Park Avanue 28' 5er 11200 two slides

Boomerweps
Explorer
Explorer
Concur with Gooma and Bobbo.
Sounds like Iโ€™m talking baby-speak ๐Ÿ˜‰
2019 Wolf Pup 16 BHS Limited, axle flipped
2019 F150 4x4 SCrew SB STX 5.0 3.55 factory tow package, 7000#GVWR, 1990 CC Tow mirrors, ITBC, SumoSprings,

Bobbo
Explorer II
Explorer II
The rule of thumb that I always heard was 1/2 inch. My Ford manual says to put back 1/2 of the rise you get, but 1/4 inch is too small to work with. Either way, you are good to go.
Bobbo and Lin
2017 F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCab w/Max Tow Package 3.5l EcoBoost V6
2017 Airstream Flying Cloud 23FB

Gooma
Explorer
Explorer
Yes