Steering wheel angle while towing

[astraelraen]

Just picked up a 2007 Nash 27E. Noticed on the drive home the same steering wheel "problem" I had with a prior trailer.

Wondering if anyone has ever seen this? It seems like with the trailer hooked up steering input is really "dull." Maybe it is by design by Ford.

Maybe its my weight distribution? Maybe theres not enough weight on the front wheels? I haven't weighed it, but there is no visual sag in the rear or rise in the front.

These are all pictures of driving in a straight line. The angle of the steering wheel was necessary to make the truck go in a straight line. Doesn't seem like it should be normal? But it ONLY happens with a trailer hooked up. I can unhook the trailer and immediately the truck has no steering "issues."

[Gdetrailer]

astraelraen wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:

Does the truck have a "lift" kit and or oversized tires installed?

If so your front end may need alignment.

Since the truck is having this issue with only a few hundred pounds in the bed it really points to something WITH THE TRUCK being wrong and completely rules out trailer and WD.

My suggestion is to put 400 lbs or better (what ever amount of weight it takes to get it to steer off angle) in the bed and take to your dealer and have them go for a test drive. In order to get anything under warranty they (Ford dealer) must see the problem happen.

No the truck and tires are stock / OEM. I will find some time to do that.

Good deal!

This condition IS NOT "NORMAL" and you may have a real uphill battle getting Ford to acknowledge, find and fix the problem.

If they think it is alignment make sure they do the alignment WITH the weight in the bed, then try driving with and without weight after the alignment has been done.

There is a real good chance they will attempt to blow this off and do nothing so you really have to ensure it does this while they are road testing.

Additionally you may want to have a passenger take some video while you are driving with a load in the bed to present to the service manager (you may need this "evidence" to pass on to the Field Service manager in case they give you a hassle)..

You might also go to one of the many F150 online forums and see if anyone can check for any Technical Service Bulletins which may match your problem..

Now days the dealers barely will lift a finger and you most likely will have to be persistent and possibly do some of the trouble shooting leg work..

[astraelraen]

Gdetrailer wrote:

Does the truck have a "lift" kit and or oversized tires installed?

If so your front end may need alignment.

Since the truck is having this issue with only a few hundred pounds in the bed it really points to something WITH THE TRUCK being wrong and completely rules out trailer and WD.

My suggestion is to put 400 lbs or better (what ever amount of weight it takes to get it to steer off angle) in the bed and take to your dealer and have them go for a test drive. In order to get anything under warranty they (Ford dealer) must see the problem happen.

No the truck and tires are stock / OEM. I will find some time to do that.

[Gdetrailer]

astraelraen wrote:
Sorry we have been moving so I have not gotten to really address any of these issues.

I did discover what I believe to be the cause of the steering wheel being off center.

While loading the pickup bed with a reasonable amount of weight / household goods. It would cause off center steering. The steering would be off center even with little visual sag on the rear end but I would guess there was 200-400lbs of stuff in the bed....

I can see having light or "floaty" steering if you took too much weight off the front axle, but my F150 seems to get light steering and has off center problems "easily?" I'm wondering if I should take it by the dealer maybe there is something wrong with the electronic steering components.

Going off my last weighed measurements the front axle weighed 3680 and the rear weighed 3820. That's roughly 49/51 weight distribution, you can't really ask for much better than that... It seems like that "little" weight being off the front axle shouldn't cause such a steering issue?

Does the truck have a "lift" kit and or oversized tires installed?

If so your front end may need alignment.

Since the truck is having this issue with only a few hundred pounds in the bed it really points to something WITH THE TRUCK being wrong and completely rules out trailer and WD.

My suggestion is to put 400 lbs or better (what ever amount of weight it takes to get it to steer off angle) in the bed and take to your dealer and have them go for a test drive. In order to get anything under warranty they (Ford dealer) must see the problem happen.

[astraelraen]

ah64id wrote:
Here is how my setup looks. I have the L brackets up 1 from level because when fully loaded I am near capacity of these 1200lb bars, and should sell this hitch for a 14K setup.

The 1" riser ball, which only adds 5/8" or so was more for leveling than tension but it did both. I could consider removing it now with the TT siting 3/8" or so lower with the EZ-Flex, but I haven't.

The bracket jackets, hard to see in this photo, do help when the bars are slightly off parallel because plastic wears and makes a level contact surface.

I had the hitch adjusted and moved the ball up one inch. I also had another spacer put in so it is up to seven spacers. I adjusted the L brackets and now my setup looks much closer to yours. Unfortunately because of our move I have not had the opportunity to get all the family in and load it up to see how it drives and/or weigh it.

[astraelraen]

Sorry we have been moving so I have not gotten to really address any of these issues.

I did discover what I believe to be the cause of the steering wheel being off center.

While loading the pickup bed with a reasonable amount of weight / household goods. It would cause off center steering. The steering would be off center even with little visual sag on the rear end but I would guess there was 200-400lbs of stuff in the bed....

I can see having light or "floaty" steering if you took too much weight off the front axle, but my F150 seems to get light steering and has off center problems "easily?" I'm wondering if I should take it by the dealer maybe there is something wrong with the electronic steering components.

Going off my last weighed measurements the front axle weighed 3680 and the rear weighed 3820. That's roughly 49/51 weight distribution, you can't really ask for much better than that... It seems like that "little" weight being off the front axle shouldn't cause such a steering issue?

[AH64ID]

Here is how my setup looks. I have the L brackets up 1 from level because when fully loaded I am near capacity of these 1200lb bars, and should sell this hitch for a 14K setup.

The 1" riser ball, which only adds 5/8" or so was more for leveling than tension but it did both. I could consider removing it now with the TT siting 3/8" or so lower with the EZ-Flex, but I haven't.

The bracket jackets, hard to see in this photo, do help when the bars are slightly off parallel because plastic wears and makes a level contact surface.

[AH64ID]

MitchF150 wrote:


What about those trailers that have the coupler mounted at the BOTTOM of the A frame rails? If his trailer was setup that way, he'd have no issue at all with the clearance or the angle at which his bars are, etc...

Mitch

Then the bracket for the L bars is flipped, the gap is fine the angle is what needs fixed.

[goducks10]

Theres a lot of TT's with the coupler on the top. He shouldn't have any clearance issues. He needs to lower the L brackets 1st. Then start readjusting.

[MitchF150]

Just from an 'uneducated' look at the deal, his trailers coupler is mounted above the A frame rails.. His A frame rails are pretty tall... That is taking a lot of his clearance away right there... Hence, the suggested riser ball... 😉

But, as you guys are saying that KNOW this hitch, it's not supposed to matter??

What about those trailers that have the coupler mounted at the BOTTOM of the A frame rails? If his trailer was setup that way, he'd have no issue at all with the clearance or the angle at which his bars are, etc...

Mitch

[AH64ID]

I would make the adjustments to the washers and head, and then get out on level ground and see where you are at. Not worth making guess adjustments from uneven ground, IMHO. The ball should be 1-2" higher than the coupler prior to hookup, on level ground with a level trailer loaded for camping. The truck will drop more in the grass the the camper will on concrete.

I am using a 1" rise ball in mine, I needed just a hair more height but not a full hole. I'll try to find the part number, but right now my email search doesn't show the order.

[goducks10]

You need a longer shank unless you can move the WDH higher. Your ball should be the same as the coupler according to the EQ instructions. Get a good measurement on the coupler then figure what you need for the ball. If your coupler is 29" then the ball should be at 29".

FWIW I was thinking about this last night. I wonder if some of the steering wheel alignment problem is coming from the fact that the bars are tilted so high that its causing too much friction at the socket connection.

[astraelraen]

Here is my ball height. I'm thinking I need the ball to go up one inch as well?

The trailer coupler is at let's say 29"

The ball is at 26"

But this is distorted slightly because my trailer WHEELS sit on a concrete pad that is about 2" thick. But the truck AND coupler are sitting on grass. So I would suspect if the coupler was sitting on concrete the measurement would be about 27" since the to tongue jack has to go two inches farther down to compensate for lack of concrete at the tongue.

Ball height

I'm out of vertical adjustment on my shank though. Do I need a new shank with more vertical adjustment or could I "wing it" with a 1" rise ball?

[Huntindog]

I am on my 2nd Equalizer, and have used 3 total now. It isn't supposed to look like that. Your bars need to be as level to the frame as possible. Drop the L brackets at least 2 holes.
Since you bought it used, it may not have the original washers. So don't get too caught up in the number of them. I get hardened steel washers from the local store. The EQ ones are pretty thick. I have in the past fine tuned my setup by using a thinner washer, when a normal one was a little too much... Seeing the pic, makes a world of difference. Get this setup right, and it will be a different animal.

[goducks10]

Wes, you're right. I got spun around:) He should add what ever washers needed per hole drop.