F150 Raptor & 154bh - WDH necessary?

[armyturtle]

Hi!

Bought our first TT (154bh 2016) last year and we were originally towing with our 2013 Honda Odyssey.



This year I've decided to purchase the new 2017 Ford Raptor (hopefully taking delivery in the next week or two). I'll likely never pull again with the Odyssey. While it did okay, we're intending to use the trailer for winter trips to Lake Tahoe and the Raptor will handle the snow much better.



We bought a WDH for the Odyssey (Equal-i-zer 90000600) and I was never too sure our dealer put it on correctly, but I just don't like the thing. It's such a pain in the to put on and the hinges on the bars make so much noise no matter how well I grease them (I literally have to grease them EVERY SINGLE trip, 2x during the trip).



The F150 Raptor says a WDH isn't necessary unless the tow weight is over 5k lbs. or 500lbs. tongue weight.



We'll never get a larger trailer. Can I safely pull without using the WDH with my new F-150 Raptor? I may consider Jayco's electronic sway control (I like the idea of each trailer tire braking to bring it back into alignment if something happens), but I'd just really prefer to not use the WDH if I really don't have to.



Thx in advance for any 411.

[NVGun40]

Most likely, the WDH is not necessary. However, it will still make things much nicer. Keep in mind, your F150 Raptor will not have the tow capacity and cargo capacity of an F150 equipped with max tow and payload.
Since you already have the WDH for the Honda, take the time to set it up for the truck, and try towing the trailer with and without it.
Enjoy the off road capabilities of the Raptor. They are pretty impressive for what they are built for.

[armyturtle]

Originally Posted by NVGun40

F150 Raptor will not have the tow capacity and cargo capacity of an F150 equipped with max tow and payload

Thx for the reply. I do believe though the raptor & F150 have identical towing capacities. There's a difference between supercab & supercrew towing capabilities though.

F250, F350, F450 all obviously can tow higher limits.

[clubhouse]

WD might not be necessary, however I would want some type of sway control. Your Equal-i-Zer has integrated sway control. If you simply decided to start towing on a the ball without WD, I would encourage you to get a friction sway control added to your set up. This would require a new hitch head with the 2nd smaller ball and the connection point added to the TT A-Frame.

The real interesting part is your lack of satisfaction with the Equal-i-Zer. Generally its very highly reviewed system. Personally I use a Husky Centerline, same concept of the Equal-i-zer with integrated sway control but slightly different. Without personally owning an equal-i-zer I might be mistaken, but I would not think you should grease the area with spring bar sits not the saddles on the trailer A-frame. Its this friction that an integral component to the integrated sway control.

Secondly, getting the spring bars in the saddles should not be that hard. Simply use the tongue jack to lift the rear of the tow vehicle after the hitch is on the ball. the higher you lift the tow vehicle the less pressure on the spring bars. I have a much heavy hitch set up, and by lifting my truck with TT tongue jack I can easily place the bars on the saddles without having to use an cheater bars.

[clubhouse]

Originally Posted by armyturtle

Thx for the reply. I do believe though the raptor & F150 have identical towing capacities. There's a difference between supercab & supercrew towing capabilities though.

F250, F350, F450 all obviously can tow higher limits.

I really don't think you have any issues with weights, but what NVGun was referring to is that tow rating is really a secondary rating. The primary rating to consider is Payload. The weight of the hitch + Tongue weight of the TT is carried by the tow vehicle, not towed by the tow vehicle.

For example a typical 150/1500 might have a 9000 lb tow rating and 1600 lb cargo capacity. Understanding TT are designed to carry 10-15% of their weight on the tongue you have to do some math; in my families case...

Passengers - 560lbs
dog - 65lbs
hitch - 75lbs
cargo in truck bed (coolers, firewood, bikes, etc) - 300lbs

Totals a 1000lbs -- which leaves me only 600#s for TT Tongue weight (inclusive of batteries, LP, etc). So at 12% that is only a 5000lbs travel trailer I can tow and be within limits even if the tow rating is 9000lbs

The cargo capacity is listed inside the drivers door on the a yellow and white sticker that primarily discusses tire size. It will say something like "all passengers and cargo must not exceed XXX lbs"

The caution with a Raptor is only that it includes high trim level which might reduce the payload rating.

[Sundancer330]

Good luck getting your new Raptor in the next few weeks. I ran into a friend of mine this morning that is an engineer for Ford in Dearborn and has had a new Raptor on order for months. I said where is the new truck, its actually been built for over a month but its sitting in an overflow lot at the assembly plant. He has been digging and found out they have found a problem with the new 10 speed transmission and are doing further testing before releasing them. He was told if all goes well it may be mid to late January before shipping starts.

[clubhouse]

Originally Posted by Sundancer330

Good luck getting your new Raptor in the next few weeks. I ran into a friend of mine this morning that is an engineer for Ford in Dearborn and has had a new Raptor on order for months. I said where is the new truck, its actually been built for over a month but its sitting in an overflow lot at the assembly plant. He has been digging and found out they have found a problem with the new 10 speed transmission and are doing further testing before releasing them. He was told if all goes well it may be mid to late January before shipping starts.

January might be a bit pessimistic if this article is accurate.
Ford Raptor and F-150 with 10-speed automatic held for additional quality testing

[NVGun40]

Originally Posted by armyturtle

Thx for the reply. I do believe though the raptor & F150 have identical towing capacities. There's a difference between supercab & supercrew towing capabilities though.

F250, F350, F450 all obviously can tow higher limits.

All F150s do not have identical tow ratings and cargo capacities. Neither do 250s, 350s, 450s. etc. Different trim packages and/or performance packages, crew cabs, super crew cabs, 4 wheel drive, 2 wheel drive, etc; all have different tow capacities and cargo capacities.

As has been said, the true tow rating and cargo capacity of the particular model truck you have is posted on the sticker on drivers side door. You can't go by the advertised brochure weights or website projections.

You can be sure the Raptor does not have identical towing capabilities as a standard equipped F150, just as the F150 Cobra is different. In the F150 class, the towing master is the F150 with ecoboost and max tow and max payload package. It will haul cargo and tow circles around the Raptor, yet, when it comes to off roading, the Raptor will leave it in the dust.

Please do not mistake the purpose built Raptor, which is a factory built top line off roading machine, to equate that also means higher payload and towing. It's purpose built for off roading. Just as the F150 Cobra is purpose built for handling and speed.

Still, the Raptor should have no problem with handling your trailer. Do double check the cargo capacity though and check it against the tongue weight of your trailer (ideally, when fully loaded).

[lightcs1776]

I'm a big fan of a WDH, whether necessary or not. It simply makes towing easier, and gives me more confidence in the setup. You already have the equipment, so you may only need to ensure it is correctly setup.

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[mike837go]

Originally Posted by lightcs1776

I'm a big fan of a WDH, whether necessary or not. It simply makes towing easier, and gives me more confidence in the setup. You already have the equipment, so you may only need to ensure it is correctly setup.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

X2 on just get more practice and become more familiar with the WDH.

My 'new' TV is an F350 pulling the 19RD. The WDH just puts the load back on the front end that tongue weight takes away. It keeps the truck handling closer to the way it does when not towing.

[smurfs_of_war]

The Raptors do have an achilles heel. The suspension. It's designed to soak up bumps and rocks and holes while your foot is in the oil pan. It works incredibly well at that.

The drawback? When you tie a trailer on- even a light weight- it tends to bounce and bob and weave a bit more because the suspension is tuned to destroy offroad trails, not to be a pavement princess and haul loads.

I'd grab a WDH just to tame that extra wallowing you'll undoubtedly feel. By the book you don't need one, but I'd do that anyways just to tame that feeling a bit.

[armyturtle]

Originally Posted by Sundancer330

Good luck getting your new Raptor in the next few weeks. I ran into a friend of mine this morning that is an engineer for Ford in Dearborn and has had a new Raptor on order for months. I said where is the new truck, its actually been built for over a month but its sitting in an overflow lot at the assembly plant. He has been digging and found out they have found a problem with the new 10 speed transmission and are doing further testing before releasing them. He was told if all goes well it may be mid to late January before shipping starts.

Picked my raptor up on 12/22. It's at home in my driveway right now.
One of the lucky few that made it off "ramp 59."

Haven't tried hooking it up to my trailer yet. I'm going stick with the advice here and use the WDH. Only problem is finding out if I can use the 90000600 with the F150. Trying to find/locate a way that confirms "compatibility."

[NVGun40]

Congratulations. Enjoy the truck.


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[armyturtle]

Originally Posted by NVGun40

Congratulations. Enjoy the truck.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thx! It's the business, that's for sure!
I put the hitch on the back of the raptor only 45 minutes ago and it's 29.5" from the ground to the top of the ball. The coupler on the 154bh stands at 23" leveled out. So I have to get the shank swapped downward to lose 6.5" so it'll fit. That's for another time though. Was trying to have it done before I head to Tahoe this week, but that's not gonna happen - and don't want to miss all that fresh powder on it's way. They're predicting 5-8 FEET of new snow by Sat/Sun. OOOOOhhhh ya!!!

[NVGun40]

You will definitely want to get the shank swapped so you can level the thing out. It is better to tow with a slightly downward angle on the trailer than a nose high.
I grew up in the Reno and Carson City, NV area. I definitely miss Tahoe. As for snow and fresh powder, I have no problems with that here in Alaska.
Enjoy fresh powder in Tahoe.