How's this hitch setup look?

[Roscopcoletrain]

So followed hitch setup, recurve r6 says to raise ball 1/8" for every 100lbs tongue weight. Trailer is around 800lbs.
21.5" was my trailer hitch hight. Set my ball height to 22.5".
rear fender before 41 1/4"
Front fender 38"
After wdh setup
Rear fender 39 3/4" Front fender 38 1/4"
hitch hight trailer 21.5"
I'm thinking add a bit more angle to hitch head, put a bit more weight on the front. But I feel like there is already a lot of angle/tension on the bars.
thoughts? Raise the hitch up another hole?

Sponsored

 

[UGADawg96]

That's some flex on those bars. I'm up a few holes and don't have that kind of flex.

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/first-time-on-cat-scales-with-pb-and-tt.7811/

 

[UGADawg96]

I think your flex is due to the trailer side brackets being higher and they look like the old style there too. You can see mine have the bar rest lower down in comparison to you.

 

[UGADawg96]

side by side:

 

[Roscopcoletrain]

Yeah, it is the first year they made it. According to the instructions, you can flip them so they're lower, but that's only if you're ball receiver is mounted on top or below the frame.

I put the ball up another hole in the shank, bit more tilt, 38" even front, hair under 40" rear. Unsure what to do next.

 

[UGADawg96]

Next steps are to go to some cat scales and get measurements. In that thread I posted above, there are comments about the different measurements to get. Also, put a 4' level on your bed rails and alongside your trailer and see if both are level or if you have upward or downward leans.

 

[Roscopcoletrain]

Next steps are to go to some cat scales and get measurements. In that thread I posted above, there are comments about the different measurements to get. Also, put a 4' level on your bed rails and alongside your trailer and see if both are level or if you have upward or downward leans.

I don't have a local scale unfortunately. I did do the level in the trailer and it's dead level.

 

[LD50]

I'd take 3 measurements from the front fender: unloaded, loaded w/o WD bars, and loaded w/ WD bars. The goal is to recover between 50 and 100% of the height increase. I usually aim for 75% or a little more. Adding the measurements from unloaded and loaded w/o WD bars, then divide by 2 will give you your 50% recovery height. Half way between that and your unloaded measurement will be 75%.

I also measure from the frame to the ground from both ends of the trailer instead of using a level on the frame. Unless you can confirm you are on absolutely level ground as a reference, using just the level can be deceptive. I adjust as close to level as possible under loaded conditions with WD bars hooked up and err to slightly nose down on the trailer.

 

[{tpc}]

I was going to say the trailer looks a bit nose high, but if the measurements to ground on the front and back of trailer are even then its just an illusion. I don't have a picture of my current setup, but mine looks nose high when the frame is level. I have the dealer adjust it down so it looked level but recently I readjusted myself and it is back to looking nose high.

 

[780]

So followed hitch setup, recurve r6 says to raise ball 1/8" for every 100lbs tongue weight. Trailer is around 800lbs.
21.5" was my trailer hitch hight. Set my ball height to 22.5".
rear fender before 41 1/4"
Front fender 38"
After wdh setup
Rear fender 39 3/4" Front fender 38 1/4"
hitch hight trailer 21.5"
I'm thinking add a bit more angle to hitch head, put a bit more weight on the front. But I feel like there is already a lot of angle/tension on the bars.
thoughts? Raise the hitch up another hole?

As in angle the ball toward the trailer?

What are the specs on the truck and trailer? Looks like a 26 footer?

 

[harry brown]

looks nice !

192.168.100.1 192.168.1.1​

 

[Roscopcoletrain]

As in angle the ball toward the trailer?

What are the specs on the truck and trailer? Looks like a 26 footer?

Yes, angle towards trailer.
22 Eco XLT HDPP 2441 payload
16 SPringdale 270LE 9560 gvwr. 32ft
On the scales the trailer axle is 7060lbs. around 800lbs tongue weight.

I reached out to Camco, they thought my numbers looked good, trailer was level. Get it out and drive it, see how it feels. It is a large trailer, front end is like a wall lol. But when I did have it scaled with my 15 Sierra SLT I was within my weights.

I also have a lead on a used Equalizer E4. Be a few weeks before I could get it, but price is right.

Im a bit nutty when it comes to details/specs. So 1/2" is going to bug me more than it would bug some people. I don't know if a E4 would would make much difference or not. I like the R6 for how simple it is, how quiet, which I know the Equalizer isnt. I had the R6 dialed in really well with my Sierra, which also had a RAS setup.

Sunday I think I may get a chance to hit the scales with it.

 

[780]

I was curious about the length as I've heard longer trailers will sway more and that 3/4- 1 ton is the way to go there. I'm curious to hear how it tows.

We've been eyeballing 24 footers but have found a few 26' footers with layouts we liked and surprisingly similar weight and overall length to the 24' (same manufacturer - StarCraft super light 24' bunk house and StarCraft 26' super light bunk house)

https://www.carefreerv.ca/product/new-2022-starcraft-super-lite-261bh-1793367-29

https://www.carefreerv.ca/product/new-2022-starcraft-super-lite-241bh-1750371-29

No HDPP package on our truck though. Payload is 1,777 lbs.

 

[Roscopcoletrain]

So I've had a love/hate relationship with towing it lol. First got it, I had a 2009 Silverado, 1500 5.3. This was actually the smaller of the two trailers the wife wanted lol. But I knew that truck would have issues with the larger one. I added Sumosprings to that truck, and after some trial and error, I got it where it was Ok towing. Not a lot of sway, but you knew it was back there.
Then I went to the Sierra. 6.2. NHT tow package. Kinda like fords HDPP. Much more power, Pulled it much better. But still was never super happy with it, tossed on the RAS, and it was great. You still knew it was there, and you'd get pushed around a bit, but it was MUCH better than the Silverado.
Then the lifters went in it lol, so we traded in for the F150.
First trip in this, I never changed it much from the Sierra. It was very stormy out, windy, rain. So we took our time. I adjusted a bit at the campground and it towed well coming home. I find the height makes a big difference. My buddy has a 32ft trailer, but its not as tall. His tows surprisingly well behind his Ram. And he's not anal about numbers like I am so Im sure its not set up 100% lol.

If I was towing more than what I do, I'd go 3/4 ton. But for the 5-6 trips we do, not overly far, I think the F150 HDPP 157' wheelbase should work for me. Just need to dial in the hitch setup

 

[{tpc}]

Personally with the short WB I wouldn't go much over 30'. That said, mine is 31' so I'm splitting hairs here, right?

My question for the OP is if the spring bars were flexed as much as on the sierra. If yes, then I think I'd be ok with it. If they are flexed more and your not happy with performance, then I would make adjustments around that.

I'll probably adjust mine again next season just to see if I can find a better combination. For me, the reality is that the only thing I changed from my dealers setup was hitch head angle. I made it tilt back further, so I could the bars would be tighter, shifting more to the front axle.

The one thing that I didn't adjust, because I didn't understand the instructions well enough, was how to determine target uncoupled ball height for the vehicle. And maybe that makes all the difference.

Measurements on the front truck wheel well showed me that "dealer set" hitch was not transferring enough weight to the front, so tightening the bars helped that. But once I start raising the ball height up, I figure that is going to make the bars less tight, thereby transferring less again, as well as making the trailer (frame) nose high.

I like not having as many things to deal with, with built in sway control, but it makes adjusting the hitch much more difficult, especially if you pack different on occasion and can have more or less tongue weight.

Sponsored