Long Trip - Tire towing Improvements and CAT Scale trip

[jsallman1]

750 Mile trip from Iowa to Dallas this past Tuesday.

Still have the silly P rated tires on my TV, but I filled them up to 40PSI to try to stiffen up the tires (max PSI on the tire is 44) and the handling improvement was unbelievable, stopping felt easier, and in general the rig felt more solid. Bumps where also minimized significantly. Definitely going to be investing in LT tires to help this more.

Had my first chance to stop by the CAT scales, and I am happy to report things seems to be in good order, I am better off than I thought with my F150 SCREW Maxtow. Results are below. I think I am in pretty good shape but appreciate any insight anyone may have. We were loaded in the trailer heavier than we normally are and had 3 full size adults and some gear in the truck which is more weight than my family will normally be.

TV Details:
Front GAWR 3750LBS
Rear GAWR 4050LBS
GVWR 7560LB
Payload Capacity from door sticker: 1832LBS

Trailer GVWR: 10,500 lbs

CAT Scale results
Truck/Trailer with WD engaged
Steer Axle: 3440LBS
Drive Axle: 4240LBS
Trailer Axle: 7680LBS
GROSS: 15360LBS

Truck/Trailer with WD loose
Steer Axle: 3200LBS
Drive Axle 4580LBS
Trailer Axle 7580
GROSS: 15360LBS

Truck Alone
Steer 3600LBS
Drive 3280LBS
GROSS 6880LBS

[RedHorse1]

Congrats on the trailer and trip!
The first thing that jumps out at me is you seem to have the rear axle overloaded a bit.
Rear GAWR is 4050#
Drive Axle is 4240#
It also appears your tongue might be slightly light (you are about 11% and I understand the ideal range is 12-15%)
I'm sure some more folks will chime in on this.

[octane]

I'm no expert, but from what I get, you have about 1300# of tongue weight, and trailer is 8480#, so that's a bit more than 15%... you could also transfert a bit more weight to the front axle of the TV

*****************
never mind, I don't know how to calculate tongue weight properly ;-)

900# not 1300#
thanks rustic eagle to the correct info!

[Rustic Eagle]

Great information and IMO well worth the CAT scale time investment!

Your CAT weights tell us (if my math is correct):

a) TV Gross weight w/TT (3,440 + 4,240) = 7,680lbs
b) TV Gross weight w/TT 7,680 - TV GVWR 7,560 = 120lbs (over GVWR)
c) TV Steer alone 3,600 - TV Steer Axle w/TT 3,440 = 160lbs (delta)
d) Gross TT weight (15,360 - 6,880) = 8,480lbs
e) TT loaded tongue weight (3,200 + 4,580) - (6,880) = 900lbs

CAT Summary:

Present set-up is 120lbs over TV's GVWR ..., may not be a deal breaker but good to know should your loading habits change and/or present loaded tongue weight increase.

Ideal loaded tongue weight range for a 34ft long TT is 13% to 15% of gross weight...., so at 8,480lbs = 1,102lbs to 1,272lbs. IMO the present 900lb loaded tongue weight is on the lite side for your loaded 29BHDS and should be increased for optimum TV handling.

Not all of the weight removed from the TV's steering axle has been returned via the WDH adjustment (160lbs delta). "If" your TV's owners manual (in Towing Section) states that 100% of the weight should be returned when using a WDH, I would re-adjust the WDH (IMO plus/minus 50lbs would be ideal). In some cases TV manufactures on some model vehicles allow up to 50% (approx.) of the weight be returned (they refer to front end rise measurements), if this is the case then IMO 160lbs would be acceptable (3,600 - 3,200 = 400lbs @ 50% = 200lbs).

TV rear drive axle is (4,240 - 4,050) = 190lbs over its GAWR...., may not be a deal breaker for some, but does exceeds specified TV limits.

One rule of thumb that I use is when "multiple" manufacture specified limits are exceed by even a nominal amount, the summation of them all may compromise optimum TV handling under less then ideal towing conditions.

Again, great CAT scale weight information for folks to reference when considering similar TV/TT combinations.

Bob