1/2 Ton towing/ Suspension

[Aspen2017]

Hi all. I was curious if anyone has any information regarding towing upgrades. I have a New F150 with 3.73's 10 ply tires, 6.5' box with a 2" level kit. I am towing a 7000lb 2017 Aspen Trail 234BHSWE travel trailer and I have a weight distributing hitch. Because I have my level kit I know I will obviously sit a bit lower in the back end but I want it to stay flat. I sag about 2" and it would be nice to stay close to level. I have looked at airbags, TIMBREN SES suspension and add a leaf etc. I would like to know peoples opinions on all of the above and knowledge that any of you have on the related products. Thanks in advance, look forward to seeing everyones opinions and advise!!

[chily3]

A couple of quick questions, what it the towing capacity of your truck, you did not mention engine size.

Also you should find out what the tongue weight is and also trailer total weight. You can do this at a public scale. Most moving companies have the scale and if not busy will do this for you for a nominal charge.

[Aspen2017]

Engine is a 5.0 V8 and towing capacity is 10,800lbs. Not sure what my tongue weight is. Trailer is a 2017 Aspen trail 234BHSWE. Would it be listed online somewhere?

[chily3]

Thanks, the tongue weight dry would be listed. Need to know really what it is once you have loaded the trailer that would be the best way to make sure that your hitch and load bars are good for the trailer actual tongue weight. This could have an effect on your sag.

[ewarnerusa]

My WDH has our setup pretty much level and our TT has us pretty much maxing out the truck's payload capacity. I think you should be able to get pretty level just using the WDH.

[Aspen2017]

I'm new to all of this. Right now I am on the 3 chain link on WDH, should I try the 4th link to bring it up more?

[ewarnerusa]

I'm not super savvy on WDH use so I probably shouldn't have spouted off advice about it! But their purpose is to remove some of the load on the rear axle and distribute it back to the front axle and trailer axles. So that should bring the vehicle nose back down to unloaded height and hopefully the rear back up to level. Are your distribution bars parallel with the ground and/or trailer tongue frame? Seems like trying the next link should help unless it puts the bars at an odd angle (not parallel to the ground).

[wildwest450]

Originally Posted by Aspen2017

I'm new to all of this. Right now I am on the 3 chain link on WDH, should I try the 4th link to bring it up more?

You can, depending on the wdh. Mine has 9 links and they recommend staying between 3 and 5 links hanging. You can also adjust the pitch of your receiver, mine it tilted slightly down from level. They can be a pain to dial in. If you're having problems, it may be best to pay a dealer to set it up.

My dealers mechanic had mine perfect within 30 minutes on my old tow vehicle.

[snakebitten]

You have plenty of engine and tow capacity. But that F150 likely has about 1500-1700lbs of payload capacity. Bet your tongue weight has 2/3rds of that used up. So you have maybe 5-700 lbs left for you, your passengers, and any cargo inside or in the bed.

Again, the truck has plenty of towing power, but she'll be at or beyond her payload capacity faster than you expect.



By the way, I have a new F150 too. I LOVE it! But I have experienced its design limits.

[Aspen2017]

Originally Posted by snakebitten

You have plenty of engine and tow capacity. But that F150 likely has about 1500-1700lbs of payload capacity. Bet your tongue weight has 2/3rds of that used up. So you have maybe 5-700 lbs left for you, your passengers, and any cargo inside or in the bed.

Again, the truck has plenty of towing power, but she'll be at or beyond her payload capacity faster than you expect.



By the way, I have a new F150 too. I LOVE it! But I have experienced its design limits.

Ok that's some good info! Thanks ! I am positive if I didn't have the 2" level kit in the truck I would sit more than level, but I need the level kit for a lot of the bush roads the truck is used on during hunting season. Have you had any experience with airbags? I was just quoted $800 cdn installed at Ford, Firestone Airbags.

[snakebitten]

Had the firestone airbags on my previous F150. They bailed me out in an overload jam in Colorado a few years back. Made a HUGE difference get weight back on the front. (and leveling things up)



Might not put them on the new F150 since I normally"plan" things good enough to know which truck to use. I have 3/4 ton cummins and 1ton 7.3 if I need them. But nothing pampers me like than sweet F150. 😀

[Texas Camper]

Hey Aspen; Mys set up is about the same as yours. We have a 2890BHS. My F150 sets pretty level. Using a Trekker 1000 WHD system. I stood back about 20 yard and I see a very slight sag on the rear end but not bad at all.
Was looking into airbags too.

Just finished a 1830 mile trip to GA from Dallas. All went well Truck, Trailer and all components were fine.. Whoohoo. I did cry a little when a UHaul passed me. But it was a NEW Haul doing about 75mph lol.
Had to get used to passing semi trucks pushing me around a little.

[Aspen2017]

Originally Posted by Texas Camper

Hey Aspen; Mys set up is about the same as yours. We have a 2890BHS. My F150 sets pretty level. Using a Trekker 1000 WHD system. I stood back about 20 yard and I see a very slight sag on the rear end but not bad at all.
Was looking into airbags too.

Just finished a 1830 mile trip to GA from Dallas. All went well Truck, Trailer and all components were fine.. Whoohoo. I did cry a little when a UHaul passed me. But it was a NEW Haul doing about 75mph lol.
Had to get used to passing semi trucks pushing me around a little.

Nice! That's a long haul, sorry for the delayed reply, haven't been on here for 8 months ish...... I will still be looking into putting airbags or those tork lift stable load suspension sliders in, I like that with those you don't have to deal with air and you just turn them to engage or turn to be on stock suspension.. did you end up doing any mods??