New Hay hauler

[Billyk]

New F250 traded the 150. No more WD hitch’s nice

[Max23]

Don't know what your pulling with it, however, as the discussion has been here on the forum before. Most all suggest still using a WDH. I know I still do with my 2500 and appreciate the benefits it gives. I still recommend the WDH. All up to you though.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by Max23

Don't know what your pulling with it, however, as the discussion has been here on the forum before. Most all suggest still using a WDH. I know I still do with my 2500 and appreciate the benefits it gives. I still recommend the WDH. All up to you though.

I agree, WD and sway control.

[flybouy]

Suggest you look at the hitch and see what it's rated for. Don't know what you intend to ptow with it but often a larger trailers tongue weight can exceed the hitch rating without using WD hitch. I
MO a wdh should be used for safety.

[Cbrez]

Sweet hay haller. Barely fits in the driveway - argh! argh! Even better if it’s diesel.

[Billyk]

It is diesel

[JRTJH]

The "prelude" to this saga is located here: https://www.keystoneforums.com/forum...ad.php?t=53855

[dutchmensport]

I've owned 3 different Chevy Silverado's, 3500 long bed, crew cab, duallys. One was a gasser, the next two were diesel. I used weight distribution on all 3 trucks, towing a 24 foot long, a 31 foot long, and a 35 foot long travel trailer. I wouldn't even consider NOT using weight distribution. My first weight distribution system was a Reese with the spring bars with the chains on them and a separate friction sway bar. That worked fine for the first 2 trailers. I then switched to the 4 point Equal-i-zer weight distribution with built in sway for the 3rd and longest trailer.

I do strongly suggest you continue using weight distribution and sway control of some type, regardless of the trailer / truck combination. Sway is just too easy to happen.

Not to be cruel here, but this is an original quote from me:

“Once on the road, your tow vehicle and trailer are not a game or a toy any more. it's reality. And reality does not give you a second chance if you screw it up.”

[Billyk]

Well I took y’all advice. So I went the the trailer yard and quickly found out my hitch and ball does not drop down enough. Need nine more inches. My truck is pretty jacked up.one problem after another. Must be a solution.

[Max23]

There is. They make drop hitches for that. You can solve any problem with enough money. LOL. I had to buy an 8 inch drop hitch for mine at the cost of 250. They make a 12, luckily at the price of that I could get away with 8. Haha

[sourdough]

As Max pointed out, there are drop hitches available. The longest I saw in a quick scan was 12" - don't know if that will be enough. I would also note that with that kind of lift you will want a wdh although you implied you weren't going to use one. The associated sway control is even more important. A lifted truck degrades its towing ability. It also magnifies any effort of the trailer to "wiggle" the truck. Once that body way up in the air starts swaying, because it will exert much more force on those long shocks/spring etc., it will be hard to control.... You don't want to let it start in the first place.

[TXiceman]

I would strongly advise you to continue using a good WD hitch with sway control. The WD hitch transfers some weight back to the truck's front axle which aids in steering control.

As for the lifted truck, my suggestion is to get rid of the lift. A lift will add to the truck's high center of gravity and cause instability problems. Additionally, most lifts go with larger tires with softer side walls and actually reduce load and towing capacity.

Ken

[JRTJH]

^^^ What they said....

When the trailer hitch/ball are "somewhat on the same level" as the receiver, any sway of the trailer simply "pushes the truck left/right" which is one plane of movement.

On a lifted truck with a 12" drop shank to the trailer hitch/ball, you include a second plane of movement to the tow vehicle. The "pendulum effect" pushes the tow vehicle rear suspension not only left/right, but also causes it to roll up/down on opposing sides. As the trailer sways, the tow vehicle is subjected to left/right and twisting up/down forces. No sway control can combat that movement to reduce the "rolling which lifts one side of the tow vehicle while pushing the other side down"....

If you look at many of the "U-Tube videos of trailer sway rollovers" you'll see that the tow vehicle is not only moving left/right, but also being lifted side to side as the trailer changes direction behind the tow vehicle. It's my opinion (for what it's worth) that a lifted vehicle towing a heavy trailer is significantly more likely to face steering control issues in an emergency situation than a tow vehicle that is not lifted and less impacted by "the pendulum effect"...

[wiredgeorge]

How do folks have the rims/tires stick out so far? Are there spacers? Does this type setup stress the suspension? Just curious. I would also guess that stone and road debris will nick up paint if the wheels are offset...

[sourdough]

Just another note on that lift that I forgot about in the other post; if the lift on the truck uses blocks vs using springs for the lift it's another reason to get rid of it. The blocks and the associated bolts used to hold them down are just another weak point to break under the stresses if a waggling trailer.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

How do folks have the rims/tires stick out so far? Are there spacers? Does this type setup stress the suspension? Just curious. I would also guess that stone and road debris will nick up paint if the wheels are offset...

Over the years I have lost count of the hub assemblies I have replaced because of tall and/or wide tires.

[Max23]

My shank replacement needs came strictly because the 2500 was simply that much higher than the 150. The simple things you don't think about with upgrades. Lol

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Max23

My shank replacement needs came strictly because the 2500 was simply that much higher than the 150. The simple things you don't think about with upgrades. Lol

Yup, they "seem simple and of not much consequence" until the SHTF.... Then in that couple of seconds where your entire life flashes through your mind, if the rig does come to a stop with all 8 wheels still on the ground and no significant exterior truck or trailer parts missing, the "reality of just how overlooking a couple of "simple things" could have dramatically altered the rest of your family's life hits home......

For me, that happened in early 2000. I towed with a 1993 Ford F250 diesel 4x2 supercab and I NEVER had any issues with sway or trailer control.

When the "SuperDuty line" was introduced in 1999, I bought a new F250 superduty 4x4 diesel. Bigger truck (physically) with the same engine, slightly upgraded transmission and a tad bit taller, but "what the heck, it was a heavy duty truck, eh ??? I hitched the trailer, didn't see too much difference between the trailer front and trailer rear height, maybe 3" higher in the front, but "I had a HD truck, so I'm OK"....

Well, towing 3" nose high on a 36' travel trailer is "steady and comfortable" at 50MPH, not so much at 60MPH when passing a semi going 55MPH. As the "nose high trailer front cap hit his bow wake and the end of that 36' trailer countered the vacuum behind his trailer, my entire rig started doing the "lane switch dance" between using half his lane, my lane and the left shoulder"...

Trust me when I say that single experience changed my entire thought process about "simple things".... We stopped in Lafayette at the first RV dealership and bought a second "sway control device" (which made no significant difference) on I-10 through the swamp on our way to Baton Rouge. We stopped in Baton Rouge and bought a Equalizer 4 point hitch, had it set up properly with a 6" drop arm shank, and continued to Gulf Shores for the week.

It was an "expensive lesson" that cost us about $1000 in hitch, shank, time and installation costs, but well worth the money to "get a stable trailer at 60MPH.

I never did trust that truck/trailer combination after that and we only towed it 2 or 3 times before putting the trailer up for sale.

Just a single "harrowing experience with an out of control trailer" is enough to make most people "find religion" or at the least, start looking for solutions to counter their "death grip on the steering wheel"....

[Billyk]

Yea just got back from the trailer lot. Put my WD on the receiver and backed up to the trailer. Dropped on my ball and was so surprised truck and trailer absolutely level. I think God wanted me to listen to you people.
The truck suspension is factory installed. I to don’t like the humongo tires and will be buying new rooms and tires appropriate soon. Thank guys

[Max23]

Ya, it's sure great how level the 2500s sit with that wdh. All looks so right with the world. Lol