Tow vehicle and trailer both new to me

We recently purchased a 2002 3023. Unfortunately, I also inherited a 2001 F150 V8 Trinitron from my mother's passing but it handles better than our old F150 4x4 (really squirrely). We hooked the two up and the trailer tilts forward and down. Truck looks level but trailer doesn't. The hitch is straight but we can put a drop/raised hitch on to help that. The tow rating of the truck is supposed to be around 8000 lbs.

At any rate, all I've ever towed were flatbeds, stock trailers, and boats and never for any real miles. What is a properly hitched travel trailer and tow vehicle supposed to look like when coupled?

Answers please...quick as we are supposed to leave on an extended trip last couple of days in June.

Dianna

[Bill]

The Trail Manor should be level - same distance between the ground and the frame, front and rear. You're right. Get a raised hitch.

The tow vehicle is another question, the subject of much debate here on this board. With a tow vehicle rated at 8000 pounds, you probably do not need a weight distributing hitch (WDH) - you just drop the trailer's coupler on the ball and go. (By the way, I am referring to a REAL hitch on the tow vehilce, not a hitch ball whose stem is dropped through a hole in the bumper.) But some F-150s have a real short wheelbase, which might push you toward a WDH. The theory is this. When you drop the trailer 's hitch on the ball, the rear end of the tow vehicle will sink from the added weight. Everyone knows that. But the front end of the tow vehicle will rise - not everyone knows that. And with weight taken off the front end, and the front end raised, the handling will be squirrelly. With a big tow vehicle, the rear end doesn't sink very much, and the front end doesn't rise very much, so you're good to go. But if you have a short wheelbase tow vehicle, even if it is rated to tow a lot, the front end will be sufficiently unweighted to cause squirrelly handling. In that case, you need a WDH.

So how do you know? With the trailer unhitched, measure the height of the front and rear bumpers above the ground (or the front and real wheel wells, it doesn't matter). Now drop the trailer's coupler onto the hitch ball, and measure the two heights again. If the front rises by a half inch or so (there is no magic number) and the back drops by an inch or so, you're probably OK as you are. If the front rises by more, you may be a candidate for a WDH. In the ideal situation, the front and rear will both DROP by the same amount.

See a bit more detail here
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=2922
and here
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=2616

Bill

We have a F150 5.4L (8400# tow capacity) and adding a WDH made a very noticeable difference in the handling. Without it every time we hit a bump in the road the trailer would lurch and the TV would feel unstable. With the WDH the combination is rock solid. We could have probably got by without the hitch but it makes driving less stressful especially for the wife.

My TM is slightly low in the front, about a half inch. I can not find a hitch bar that is exactly flat, no rise, no drop., I do not like the adjustable ones.

My TV is pretty big, crew cab seating 5 adults with a 6.6 foot bed. I do not use a WD hitch. The factory advised me that it would not be necessary.

In the beginning it was a little squirrly. Then I increased the tire pressure in the truck and the problem went away. Try max pressure in the TV and work down from there. I run 75 psi when towing and 50 psi when empty on the back of the truck. Front is 55 when towing and 50 when empty.

[Mr. Adventure]

Originally Posted by agesilaus

We have a F150 5.4L (8400# tow capacity) and adding a WDH made a very noticeable difference in the handling. Without it every time we hit a bump in the road the trailer would lurch and the TV would feel unstable. With the WDH the combination is rock solid. We could have probably got by without the hitch but it makes driving less stressful especially for the wife.

Anything that makes a noticeable improvement in handling while towing is a good thing, IMO. All of our steering and 60% of our braking is with the front wheels, and a properly adjusted WDH keeps the trailer tongue weight from unloading them.

The following excellent post by mtnguy indicates a 480 pount tongue being able to add an impressive 700 pounds to the rear axle without a WDH:


"mtnguy
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Wayne and I tend to both respond to theses WDH posts on the opposite end of the spectrum……which is a good thing, so that people can see different ideas on this and form their own opinion with their situation.

Since the new Titans and Tundras are now just as big as the big 3, ½ ton pickups and SUVs, I am going to give some stats on my F150 (all weights in pounds):

The Gross Axle Weight Ratings (listed on the driver’s door) is 3850 (rear) & 3750 (front).

Empty axle weights are 2560 (rear) & 3320 (front).

The truck axles go to 3260 (rear) & 3100 (front) when I add 480 to the hitch (425 TM tongue + 55 WDH equipment). So the rear truck axle goes up by 700 by just adding 480 to the hitch.

So, I still have close to 600 to go before I reach my GAWR. But when I load up scuba gear and tanks, firewood, toolboxes, extra water, etc., a canoe and bikes on the trac racks, plus the extra battery that I added to the tongue (after I did the weight-ins), plus water in the TM, I betcha I am real close to that GAWR.

There are several other variables with this. The front wheels take some of the load that is in the back of the truck, and the TM axle takes some of the load of the extra battery and water tank, so all (but probably most) of those loads is not on the rear axle. Also, if I didn’t have that extra 65 lbs. of WDH sticking farther out than a standard hitch, then that would also reduce the rear axle load.

2 other thing to consider: From what I have seen on shortbed trucks, the rear wheels sit about center of the bed on quad cab models, and sits forward of center of the bed in crew cab models. So if you have a crew cab style, if you load the bed up evenly throughout, you are putting even more weight on the back axle and taking it off the front. And with the heavier weight on the back axle without the WDH, I would think the chances of the "tail wagging the dog" would be less, since you now have more traction there....did that make sense??

If the WDH didn’t come with my TM, I might have never gone out and bought a setup. But now that I see the difference in weights, and handling, I go to the trouble of using it all of the time. I set the WDH up so that most of the weight is still on my rear axle, but I put a lot of that hitch weight back on the front and TM axle. And yes, I also did a bunch of weigh-ins with different setups.

The ½ ton pickup and SUVs are probably all capable of handling the TM without a WDH, as long as you don’t exceed the hitch, tire, and axle weight ratings. But everyone needs to do the math on their own vehicle, and decide what is best for their situation.

Chap
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2003 2720
2006 Ford F150 4x4 Super Cab"

Another thought after I wrote the above info that Mr. Adventure posted.

I did all of those weigh-ins before I added a 2nd battery to the tongue, and also my water tanks were empty. So I now have another 40 lbs. or so hanging on the hitch with the extra battery, plus whatever 160lbs. or so of water, but since that is further back in the TM, only some of the weight is transferred to the tongue, with most going on the axle. But with just those 2 changes, I am probably over 500 lbs. tongue weight now, plus the WDH weight of 55 lbs. adds up to around 555 lbs. (guess I need to make another trip to the quarry scales ) hanging on the hitch. The factory hitch on my F150 is rated at 500 lbs. weight carrying capacity, and 990 lbs weight distributing weight. So, if I don't use a WDH, I am exceeding the hitch capacity......and this is a pretty heavy duty setup.

One other note: If I weren't using the WDH and extra weight involved there, that might put me back below the 500 lb. weight carrying capacity of my hitch. Just want everyone to beware of that weight hanging back there, and the limitations of your individual hitches.

Chap