towing questions F150 related

[rollingrockTX]

So, Hello there .

In a pickle. We have a new 17 F150, 3.5L eco boost with the new 10sp transmission. We thought of getting a 29 White Hawk but my kids want the room of the Jay Feather 29. we test pulled a 31 White Hawk and it was on the white knuckle side of heavy. Even with the Blue Ox set up I felt my rear end was a tad wiggly. Stepping down to a Jay Feather 29QB, it is 1380lbs less total weight. In a half ton that seems like a lot less towing weight. Any tips other than going to an E rated tire to stop that wiggle feeling in the rear?

Granted we always towed in our F250, we never had these issues...it was hook up and go. We didn't think we would be camping again so we bought an F150 and now our kids miss it so we are looking but just getting a tad freaked out on towing with it.

[redsnapper]

You never had those issues with the F-250 because that is just a beefier truck all the way around.

The ecoboost F-150 seems to get good tow reviews but it's still a half ton pickup in every aspect.

Your main concern is a froggy rear end sensation.......to remedy or improve this takes suspension upgrades.
And make sure the hitch is properly installed and tweaked for the weight of the trailer.

"E" rated light truck tires might improve that feeling......they are stiffer and beefier tires that stock "P" rated tires.

I would add to make sure the truck weight carrying capacity of the load does not exceed the yellow door jam sticker.
IE: sticker max load 1800....carried load 2100......no good.

Best of luck

[Shackrat]

I'm new here, so please bear with me as I learn the customs around here.

I've had a very similar setup as you and have had my own white knuckle experience when towing long-ish trailers with a F-150. My former setup was a 2014 F-150 EB SuperCab w/6.5 box with factory tow package. My camper (until I pick up my Jayco 30.5MLOK tomorrow) is a 31' Salem 272RBXL weighing in around 6800lbs loaded.

I found 90% of the time towing was a relatively benign experience. But the remaining 10% could at times be downright scary. Passing tractor trailers, cross winds, and the occasional winding country road made for a less than relaxing experience. I never speed while towing either! I played around quite a bit with my WD hitch (Husky Centerline TS) but could never get it dialed in. Raising the saddles, adjusting head angle, etc. Nothing worked. I'm sure a Hensley or ProPride would have helped, but I'd rather put the money elsewhere.. I do believe the Goodyear passenger tires had a lot to do with the spongy ride.

The F-150 is a great truck! I think with a good WD hitch and some LT E-rated tires with stiffer sidewalls, you'll be able to pull that 29QB much more comfortably.

[Marcm157]

I had a 2016 F150 with the 3.5 Eco and it towed my 2016 28BHBE (about 8,200 pounds loaded for camping) BUT, like you, I never felt fully in control of the trailer. The engine was a beast and had more than sufficient power to pull the trailer but the weight was just a bit too much for my liking. I upgraded my truck to an F250 and have no more worries. I MISS the heck out of my F150 but the peace of mind I have now is well worth the trade. I did lose some big dollars trading a 1 year old truck but in the end I feel my family and everyone else on the road is safer...

[Siamese]

I have a '17, F150, too. I bought it, and my 26BH at the same time, based on the numbers....payload, weight of loaded trailer, etc.. Personally, I think the F150 is a good match for the 26BH, and would not consider a larger trailer with this tow vehicle.

[Midnightmoon]

You didn't list the tire size that you have on your F150. My 2018 has the 18" wheels and the Michelin Primacy XC tires. Door sticker from Ford recommends 35 psi. I've found that mine tows better inflated a little closer to the max inflation pressure on the sidewall when towing. Just airing up to 41-42 psi with mine really helped to make it feel solid while towing. Before you jump in to E rated tires, air your tires up and see if it helps.

By the way, welcome to the forum.

[oldmanAZ]

So hello to you. Welcome to the forum and happy trailer shopping.

If you are within the PAYLOAD of the truck, inflating the tires on both the truck and trailer to the maximum shown on the sidewalls may help. The higher pressure will stiffen the sidewalls.

[Rustic Eagle]

rollingrockTX,

Welcome to JOF

I would recommend taking your TV under loaded conditions (full fuel, passengers, cargo, etc.) to a CAT scale and weigh it (3 minutes, $9). Subtract the CAT results from your TV's specified GVWR..., the remaining weight is your actual "available" payload capacity to support a TT's "loaded" tongue weight and WDH weight. Valuable data to know when shopping for a new TT.

Not all F-150's are created equal, and we all have different loading requirements of our TV's.

Ideal loaded tongue weight will be 13% to 15% of the TT's gross "loaded" weight. Also, there will be a yellow sticker on the side of the TT identifying the "as shipped" UVW....., don't use Jayco's published UVW's (web site, brochure, etc.).

Knowing that the TT you are considering will fall within your TV's "available" payload capacity will make your towing expectations more manageable.

Just food for thought.

Bob

[tjpolsin]

Originally Posted by rollingrockTX

So, Hello there .

In a pickle. We have a new 17 F150, 3.5L eco boost with the new 10sp transmission. We thought of getting a 29 White Hawk but my kids want the room of the Jay Feather 29. we test pulled a 31 White Hawk and it was on the white knuckle side of heavy. Even with the Blue Ox set up I felt my rear end was a tad wiggly. Stepping down to a Jay Feather 29QB, it is 1380lbs less total weight. In a half ton that seems like a lot less towing weight. Any tips other than going to an E rated tire to stop that wiggle feeling in the rear?

Granted we always towed in our F250, we never had these issues...it was hook up and go. We didn't think we would be camping again so we bought an F150 and now our kids miss it so we are looking but just getting a tad freaked out on towing with it.

You have a 1/2 ton pickup and all the limitations it provides. Three things you can change to stiffen your ride (so long as you don't exceed cargo capacity of the truck)
- If your truck has the max-towing package, you have C rated light-truck tires. without the max tow package, you have P rated passenger tires. You could upgrade to a D rated tire for more sidewall stiffness. (E rated may not come in your stock size)
- Make sure your rims are rated to the tire pressure of any new tires you put on. P rated tires go to 35PSI, D rated go to 65PSI, E rated go to 85PSI. Your stock rims might not be strong enough.
- Add stiffer rear suspension. Add-a-leaf, airbags, or Timbrenes will all stiffen your truck's rear end (but not the front).

Other than that, downsize your trailer, or upsize your truck.
Happy camping.

[rollingrockTX]

thanks for the responses.

Having pulled 3 different campers (1 TT, 2 5ers) for 10 years I do know the difference in a F250 and F150. We sold everything 2 years ago as we thought we were done with camping and turns out we missed it but had already bought this F150 and I really don't want to own another F250-350 right now.

That said, an F150 should be just fine for a camper up to 7500 lbs which is eactly what we are looking at. I did jump the shark by test pulling the 36ft 8500 lb camper as a tester. WD Blue Ox was set up properly and test fitted. Truck only had 1 3/4 inch squat so I was impressed. What I was disappointed with was the flexy rear end, engine just fine, tranny did fine and brakes were all good.

Upon further investigation, I now realized that all 4 of my truck tires were sitting at 31 psi. This is well below the recommended pressure in them. I have since corrected this issue and will be test pulling a more reasonable camper tomorrow.

With all that said, I will be also upgrading the tires on the TV to an 8 ply E rated tire.

So again, thanks for the responses. I think I got er all figured out and a major oversight on my part with the tire pressure.

RR .

[Ruth]

Are you using an anti sway bar on your WDH???

[RedHorse1]

I echo Rollingrock’s suggestion of visiting the CAT scales. If that is an option for you I’d also suggest making the 3 passes over the scales.
Assuming you don’t exceed the TT GVWR and the TV Front/Rear GAWR numbers and the tongue weight is within the accepted window (12-15%) you should have a combination that works. The TV may need help with squat and there are a number of options for that. The TV tires may need upgrading if you still have a squishy ride.

[Bstrine99]

Sounds like you are very close to my current set up. 2018 F150 max tow 10 speed eco boost. I do have air bags and WDH. Pulling a 2019 Jayco 29RLDS around 7,600 lbs. I lost sleep with nerves and second guessing before pulling the trigger on this. I am very happy with the way this pulls although I am in the Texas gulf coast so as close as I get to hills is a freeway over pass. I am about 80% capacity loaded since it’s just me, the wife and the dog packed light. The 80 gal fresh tanks are always empty. Yes occasionally I grip the wheel a little tight but I feel this tows better than my 2013 eco boost pulling a 5500 lb TH.

[nighthawk87]

Honestly I wouldn’t go much over 5k pounds in an f150 for travel trailers. You can but it’s at that point you really start losing some comfort towing. It’s not worth it as your going to relax after all.

[carlamacewan]

We tow a 2018 28BHS with my 2016 Ford F-150 3.6L Eco Boost Crew Cab short box. Its definitely taking some getting used to considering we came from a pop-up that we could not feel behind the truck; nor did it affect gas mileage.


I haven't weighed the trailer when fully loaded but I'd figure we are somewhere around 8,000 lbs loaded. There has been a bit of white knuckle experiences, but I find that those only happen when we first get on the highway. It's almost as though the WDH we have (which is the Husky Centerline) needs a couple of minutes of the higher speeds to engage so to speak.


After it engages I usually have no issues traveling 75MPH as most of our trips have been through the States. Although gas mileage towing this trailer certainly hurts.


Sorry for not converting this but normal highway driving with just the truck I get about 10L/100kms, with the trailer it's about 39L/100kms. And to put it a different way I can do a 9 hour almost 900km drive on a tank of gas with no trailer. That same trip with the trailer takes at least 2-3 fill ups

[venoran]

So I don't have a lot of miles on my setup, but I have a 2018 F150 SuperCrew with the 3.5 EB and max tow package and just got a 2019 White Hawk 26RK which is around 6600lbs empty according to the factory sticker. I expect we're somewhere close to 7000lbs heading out camping. I have a BlueOx Sway Pro hitch (1000lb tongue weight model).

I have only pulled it twice, so maybe 200 miles some of it back roads at 55-60mph and some of it freeway up to 70mph.

So far my feelings are that the setup is decent, but it is a 1/2 ton truck with 35psi "iso metric" tires on it rated for 2535lbs load. There are a few moments where an odd side-wind will cause some uncomfortable wiggle, but it has never lasted more than a split second and then it is gone. I get some minor porpoising if the bumps or expansion joints in the road are just right. The springs and shocks in the rear on an F150 are just a bit soft, so I imagine there's only so much you can expect.

I need to get the rig to a scale for real weights and maybe tweak the WDH setting. If future longer towing gives me too many of these uncomfortable wiggles then I may invest in a set of helper springs or airbags, as well as some better shocks. You can search around and read countless posts here and other places about the good, bad, and ugly of the various options for suspension upgrades on the 1/2 ton trucks.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by carlamacewan

snip...
There has been a bit of white knuckle experiences, but I find that those only happen when we first get on the highway. It's almost as though the WDH we have (which is the Husky Centerline) needs a couple of minutes of the higher speeds to engage so to speak.

After it engages I usually have no issues traveling 75MPH as most of our trips have been through the States.
...snip

A couple thoughts....
- What is the speed rating of your tires? Most OEM trailer tires are designed for 65mph MAX!

- Your hitch & anti-sway is ALWAYS 'engaged'. What you may be feeling is a difference when your tires heat up and raise the inflation pressures. Try inflating your tow vehicle and trailer tires to the maximum shown on the side wall and see if the rig feels better, safer, and less 'white knuckle' experience with your truck and trailer.

[carlamacewan]

OldmanAZ


I wasn't aware there was a speed rating to the trailer tires....yikes.

Where do I find that information out?

Also tires on the Truck are always checked and inflated properly.



Thanks,

Originally Posted by oldmanAZ

A couple thoughts....
- What is the speed rating of your tires? Most OEM trailer tires are designed for 65mph MAX!

- Your hitch & anti-sway is ALWAYS 'engaged'. What you may be feeling is a difference when your tires heat up and raise the inflation pressures. Try inflating your tow vehicle and trailer tires to the maximum shown on the side wall and see if the rig feels better, safer, and less 'white knuckle' experience with your truck and trailer.

[oldmanAZ]

Most trailer tires are 'ST' and the industry standard is 65mph (104kph). You could look up the info on your tire (brand etc.) on the internet.

There have been many posts on this site related to tire inflation when towing. IMO, inflating to the maximum shown on the tire sidewall is safer because that is the pressure where the tire can carry the maximum load plus the sidewall flexes less so tires run cooler and helps reduce sway tendency. All good things.

If abnormal wear is a concern, you may want to reduce your tow vehicle tire pressures when not towing. Most trailer tires never wear out but are replaced due to aging.

[Atlee]

Depends on the F150. They are not all created equal. Take mine for example. Supercab, 4x4, 8 ft box, Max Tow, and HDPP with LT245/75R17 LRE tires.

It pulls my 6500# GVWR trailer just fine, and I could go up to 7500# with no problem. Now, if I were going to 8500# or better, I'd start looking for a F350 Gasser.

Recently driving on I-90 east of Bozeman, ID, a mule deer decided to cross the interstate. I saw it coming across the medium, and was afraid it was going to catch my truck in the grill. Fortunately, she veered to her right, and tried to go behind the truck. Unfortunately, for her, I had my trailer behind me. It caught the left front of my trailer. My wife didn't know what had happened, but saw the rear of the trailer move to the right, in her mirror. However, my truck stayed firmly planted on the road. I noticed no movement in the truck. When I checked the trailer for damage, I found a 2" deep dent in the diamond plate rock guard, but no other damage.

Originally Posted by nighthawk87

Honestly I wouldn’t go much over 5k pounds in an f150 for travel trailers. You can but it’s at that point you really start losing some comfort towing. It’s not worth it as your going to relax after all.