Setup/Sway help - 25RBP

[Kbrown654]

I am new to the forum and am looking for some insight to my current Tow vehicle/travel trailer setup.

I drive a 2016 F150 Supercrew with a 5.5 foot bed, load E tires, and fastway e2 hitch.

I am towing a 25RBP even with the spread axle, and going through setup of the hitch (again, it was dealer installed) and believe all is correct, I still have more sway/darting while towing then I would desire.

Is there anyone with a similar setup that can help? Should I switch to a different hitch? I see half ton trucks towing much longer and heavier travel trailers than mine, and am looking for anything that will help.

Thank you!

 

[david-steph2018]

What is the hitch weight after you are loaded for a trip? Bumper pull should be around 10%-12% of the weight?

Load the truck/trailer as you would for a trip and get it weighed. Unhitch the trailer in the parking area and reweigh the truck.
You may be too light on the tongue weight causing the sway.

 

[MDH2021]

Hello Kbrown654,

We use http://www.towingplanner.com/ActualWeights/TravelTrailerCatScales at a CAT Scale. Find them at https://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator/. We also use the Weigh My Truck app, https://weighmytruck.com/. You will need a credit or debit card added to the app. Makes it easy. As david-steph2018 wrote, Load your truck and trailer as you would normally travel. We usually load up and go to the scales as we are leaving town. Hope this helps.

 

[Kbrown654]

I have not been to the scales, mainly due to not thinking there is anyway we could be light on the front end due to the massive storage compartment in the front and all of the heavy items we put inside it: Blackstone, grill, chairs, table, kids toys etc.

 

[taskswap]

What they said. One small side tip: until you can get a proper tongue weight measurement, there's an easy way to tell if you're way out of balance. Having too little tongue weight can be very dangerous... But having too much isn't ideal but isn't usually dangerous.

So put like 500lbs of something as far forward in your camper as you can. Empty that fridge and those cupboards, fill your front water tank and dump the others, load up all those Ricky Martin albums you've been saving into the front bunk, whatever you have to do. Take it for a drive and see what happens. If it doesn't seem to help that doesn't mean it's wrong. But if it DOES help, you should make this a top priority. It can be very dangerous.

This is a great demo video:

 

[hoefler]

you need to add more weight to the steer axle, adjust your equalizing hitch. Adding more tilt to the head will usually accomplish this.