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Old 04-21-2014, 10:35 AM   #1
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Whitehawk 28DSBH Shakedown Cruise

We had our shakedown cruise to Beverly Beach State Campground in Oregon this weekend. The Whitehawk is amazing and everything we hoped it would be. The interior living space is massive with the double sized slideout. We used everything except for the shower. We have some things we need to have the dealer fix for us. The first is the pull down shades above the sofa will not stay open. Second is entirely my fault, I forgot to lift the rear stabilizer jacks before jacking up the front to hook up the truck. This resulted in the left side stabilizer buckling. I can't believe I did that.

As for the TV, the F150 has plenty of power and capacity to pull the TT but the rear suspension is way to bouncy. We had a lot of porpoising. I checked the weight at a closed road side weigh station and the weight is pretty well distributed according to the scale 3550 Front / 3750 Rear / 5850 Trailer. I will probably go the airbags and 10ply LT tire route. From what I have read, this solved this issue for a lot of people. I am not sure why Ford doesn't put LT tires on the Max Tow trucks.

Overall we like the Whitehawk and really enjoy it. Here are some pictures at a stop we made on the way home.

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Old 04-21-2014, 10:49 AM   #2
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Sounds like you really enjoyed it.. I went with the roadmaster suspension system.

Easy install and does great. Did not effect the ride quality when not hooked up.

Happy camping.

Doug
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Old 04-21-2014, 11:43 AM   #3
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snip..... We had a lot of porpoising. I checked the weight at a closed road side weigh station and the weight is pretty well distributed according to the scale 3550 Front / 3750 Rear / 5850 Trailer. ......snip
Welcome to JOF

Unfortunately the axle weights that your scale provided only tell you where you stand relative to the associated axle GAWR's, and GVWR's.., not weight distribution.

There could be a number of things going on with how your TV is reacting (i.e.; not enough weight returned to TV's front suspension, etc.), but IMO a trip a CAT scale for a complete TV/TT weight-in will tell you everything one needs to know like; all TV/TT weights, proper weight distribution, correctly sized/adjusted WDH, tongue weight, etc..

CAT scale TV/TT how to: http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3871

I agree, "LT" tires would enhance your TV's handling of the 28DSBH TT.

Hope this helps.

Bob
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Old 04-21-2014, 12:30 PM   #4
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Congrats on the trip. It's funny you mention the shades above the sofa, because ours has the same problem. Essentially it never worked from day 1. I would rather fix it myself but it's been relatively low on the priority list.

Safe travels and enjoy the camping season.
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Old 04-21-2014, 07:09 PM   #5
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We added the roadmaster active suspension to our F150, same trailer and it handles great. We never towed without the roadmaster so have nothing to compare, but we do not get the bouncing.
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Old 04-21-2014, 07:23 PM   #6
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Thanks for the tips on the bouncing so far. I will definitely follow the steps that Bob provided a link for getting the weight distribution hitch set up. At the dealership we followed the procedure of measuring the heights before and after hookup.

I have never heard of the Roadmasters I will check those out. So far though I have read several threads on other forums where the problem was specific to the FX4 possibly due to a spring rate for the off-road package.
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Old 04-21-2014, 07:45 PM   #7
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We have camped at Beverly Beach. Such an awesome place. Since we live in So. Oregon we hit up Florence and Bend when its warmer. 100% agree, the Whitehawk trailers are so comfortable and spacious. Hope we meet up on the road sometime.
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Old 04-21-2014, 08:34 PM   #8
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Whitehawk 28DSBH Shakedown Cruise

Nice pictures. Glad to hear you're enjoying the 28DSBH. We're picking ours up this Friday. My f150 ecoboost is a XLT.... so we'll see if I get the same bouncing or not. I couldn't find a max trailer tow truck that I liked, so I hope having the more common 3:31 rear end doesn't hurt me too bad. It's still rated to tow 9,200 lbs (which was more than the V8 powered GM's I looked at) and I've towed a 6,000 lb boat no sweat. I understand there isn't the same wind resistance there as a TT... but I was still impressed.
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Old 04-22-2014, 07:05 AM   #9
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Looks like a very nice set up! We pick up our 28DSBH next month and are looking forward to our first trip. I have a 2012 F150 with the off road package which has the same suspension as the FX4 so it will be interesting to see if we get any bouncing.
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Old 04-22-2014, 08:36 AM   #10
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+1 for the Roadmaster Active Suspension. I installed it on my truck after a particularly jarring trip last year. Towed with it for the first time last weekend on a standard trip and with a properly set up WDH, virtually all our bounce is gone and the truck handles the load much better with less sag. Much easier than airbags, but not truly "adjustable", at least not to the level that airbags are adjustable. You can adjust, you just have to jack up the rear of the truck. Incidentally, I checked my adjustment while I had the rear end of the truck lifted while putting on the spring bars...
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Old 04-29-2014, 07:29 AM   #11
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Just got back from our first trip with our White Hawk. Wanted to post when I saw your post but couldn't because we had no cell service where we were at. Mostly wanted to post because I saw your weights and they are nearly identical to ours. This was the first chance to weigh the TV and TT loaded: front 3540, rear 3700, trailer 5880.

Also wanted to comment on the bouncing problem you experienced. I installed load E tires on my truck in response to suggestions on the forum and was considering the air bags or extra leaf springs if needed, but now after our first trip I don't think they are needed. I ran 50lbs of air in the tires and had almost no bouncing, I say almost because if you hit a big enough bump anything is going to bounce a little. I also installed the tires because of tread wear concerns and I must say after our trip in the hills of TN that turned out to be a good decision. Going up some of the back roads on switchbacks you could literally hear the tires grinding on the asphalt.

What type of WDH are you using?

Enjoy your new trailer, Good Camping
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Old 04-29-2014, 10:48 AM   #12
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Yeah, we get some bounce with our f150 fx4 as well. Planning to install some airbags at some point. To your point about the ecobeast, it's awesome for towing. I'm at Hocking hills in Ohio and the hills are insane getting here. The ecobeast wasn't even challenged. I was accelerating up the hills with the camper! When got with the group I was camping with everyone was talking about the hills and how they were to the floor and still loosing speed. This is one hell of an engine that Ford has come up with.
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Old 04-29-2014, 10:58 AM   #13
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For the Ecoboost, just be careful not to try and exceed its capacity, a guy I know blew his engine, he was impressed at how well it towed in the hills, so he kept the pedal down and was aiming to hold his speed no matter what the hill... the Ecoboost didn't like that very much!!!!
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Old 04-29-2014, 10:58 AM   #14
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For those who have installed Roadmasters or airbags...


How does it affect your ride when NOT towing?
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Old 04-29-2014, 11:18 AM   #15
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We had RAS when we had the F150 Ecoboost. The ride quality was about the same, but I found that the cornering was much better empty. I gained about 3/4" in the rake.

The best part was that it nearly eliminated the shudder when accelerating from a dead stop. Some say it was caused by Axle Wrap, however I've heard other reasons as well. Regardless I was very happy with the Roadmaster Active Suspension.

As FYI I used the black disc for separation.
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Old 04-29-2014, 11:55 AM   #16
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We had RAS when we had the F150 Ecoboost. The ride quality was about the same, but I found that the cornering was much better empty. I gained about 3/4" in the rake.

The best part was that it nearly eliminated the shudder when accelerating from a dead stop. Some say it was caused by Axle Wrap, however I've heard other reasons as well. Regardless I was very happy with the Roadmaster Active Suspension.

As FYI I used the black disc for separation.
+1 on all of it. I couldn't have said it better myself, and that's just about how my experience went!
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Old 04-29-2014, 06:57 PM   #17
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For the Ecoboost, just be careful not to try and exceed its capacity, a guy I know blew his engine, he was impressed at how well it towed in the hills, so he kept the pedal down and was aiming to hold his speed no matter what the hill... the Ecoboost didn't like that very much!!!!

I know a guy who has a ecoboost in his work truck. He has 186,000 miles on it without any issues yet. I guess it's all about how you use them and take care of them. Luck plays a big part as well I'm sure. I've only had the chance to tow with my ecoboost for about 75 miles....but so far I'm impressed. It tows my new 6,000 lbs trailer better than my 6.0 Liter GM V8 towed my old 4,300 lbs trailer. I still like the responsiveness of a V8 over the V6 ecoboost. The ecoboost sorta reminds me of a diesel engine. Slow on throttle response, big on towing torque.
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Old 04-29-2014, 07:52 PM   #18
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snip...
As for the TV, the F150 has plenty of power and capacity to pull the TT but the rear suspension is way to bouncy. We had a lot of porpoising. I checked the weight at a closed road side weigh station and the weight is pretty well distributed according to the scale 3550 Front / 3750 Rear / 5850 Trailer.
Just out of curiosity, what did you have in your truck when you had it weighed? Passengers (number, kids/adults). Gear in the bed? Gas tank full / empty?

You are at a TV GVW of 7300 lbs (about 400 less than max on a Max Tow). What is your Rear GAWR?

I'm just curious because if you are weighing in with the numbers you have, I must have been way over with my 33bhbs and my old F150.
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Old 04-30-2014, 12:21 PM   #19
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Just out of curiosity, what did you have in your truck when you had it weighed? Passengers (number, kids/adults). Gear in the bed? Gas tank full / empty?

You are at a TV GVW of 7300 lbs (about 400 less than max on a Max Tow). What is your Rear GAWR?

I'm just curious because if you are weighing in with the numbers you have, I must have been way over with my 33bhbs and my old F150.
We didn't have anything in the bed of the truck. Including myself we had 4 passengers all of which are adult sized. The tank was half full.

The rear GAWR is 4050 from the door sticker and the GVWR is 7650.

I would bet the 33bhbs would be over weight for the F150.
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Old 04-30-2014, 12:35 PM   #20
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So far I am starting to lean towards the RAS to help with the rear end if after getting the weight distribution hitch fine tuned doesn't help. We haven't had a chance yet to go to a Cat scale to really get things set up well. We don't have one close so I have to plan a half day trip to do that. What I used before was a roadside weigh station that was closed and they left the scale on.

BTW... The hitch that I have is a basic Husky weight distribution hitch.


Additionally, I will be changing the tires to E Rated BFG All Terrain K/Os regardless of the set up.
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