I agree, the truck axles weighed 5920 with no trailer, 6680 w/trailer.
The tongue is 760.

BasicEMT, you stated back on 4/1 you weren't going to max out the trailer(GVWR 2990).

The scale showing 2220 and 760 on the tongue indicates it is indeed maxxed out.
You need to get at least 400 lbs off the tongue.
If you move something front front of the axle to the same distance in back of the axle, then whatever it weighs is what you took off the tongue.

However, if you just take something OUT, the tongue only gets credit for HALF the weight, if it's sitting half way between the ball and trailer axle.

 

Ok....I did my final rearrange. I'm going to go the CAT scales again on Friday before we hit the road. But I did manage to get the trailer more level. I got measurements off the back and the front of the trailer and they were equal. The back end is still being pulled down but its now less than 3/4 of an inch. Could I correct that by flipping the 2" drop over the 3/4 rise or just leave it alone. I used the bathroom scale method, but it was roughly, roughly done. I'm just at about 200 pounds. A little shy of 10%, but I'm not sure I did the scale method right...that's why the trip back to the CAT scales.

http://www.geocities.com/basicemt/great4.jpg

 

Ok, so I need to do one more final arrangement. I know this thread has been going on WAY too long for a new person, but after Friday morning, I will be on the road and won't need much advice after that. I thank everyone for their input and advice. I, in no way, figured I had that much weight in the trailer. Just remember and I hope everyone who helps me day after day, I will be on the road with 8900 pounds and the last thing I want to do is hurt anyone.

I checked in at the CAT scales again and have moved too much weight off the tongue. But I now just have to move 1 or 2 boxes (that I know weight 100-200 pounds each) from the back end of the trailer to the front. My CAT scale weights are as followed:

Empty weights:

Steer Axle - 3100 pounds
Drive Axle - 2820 pounds
Total Axle - 5920

Fulled loaded with trailer:

Steer Axle - 3000 pounds
Drive Axle - 3040 pounds
Trailer Axle - 2800 pounds
Total Axles - 8840 pounds

It was very windy on one of the freeways we took, but it didn't effect my truck more than normal. My wife was driving one handed and had no complaints in control. We noticed the vehicle seemed to be surging though and I'm assuming that's due to the lack of tongue weight.

 

Sounds to me like you are really fine tuning the procedure well.
All this prep work will payoff with a pleasant trip to Colorado.

You'll surely pass many a wagging trailer.

 

With those last weights, the tongue is too light. Use a bathroom scale, put it under the tongue jack, jack it up off the ball, drive the truck forward, lower the jack till the trailer is at the same angle as it will be towing with, and adjust your load for around 350# on the tongue, that's your ideal 12%. Only flip the ball over if the front of the trailer is more than 2 inches lower than the rear when all hooked up, load adjusted, and the truck is fully loaded. This may require another bathroom scale reweigh for best accuracy.

 

This might be need to be another thread and I have by no intentions of doing it. But with my trailer, its GVWR is 2990 pounds. What if a person who has no experience and doesn't care about the numbers, just loads and goes? What would happen if the trailer wasn't extremely overloaded, but overloaded by less than a 100 pounds. What if the GVWR was 3020 or 3040? And not on a short trip, but 1500-2000 miles? Trailering is a whole new world to me and I'm sure it has been done, but I was wondering what the concerns would be. I'm a little nervous about being at 2920, let alone overloading it past its GVWR.

 

There's usually a fudge factor in there, but if you overload a single axle trailer, you have a greater chance of tire failure and overheating wheel bearings. This is why I said what I did about keeping an eye on the tires and hubs and keeping the speed down. Been there done that - I used a single axle 5x8 to move last summer and made multiple round trips - 600 miles each way - and I blew a tire on one trip and spun a bearing on another. I never weighed, but I'm betting I was over spec and it was an old trailer that had not been properly maintained. It was a dryrotted CAR tire that failed and I have no idea when the last time the bearings had been serviced was. It was also during a heat wave and I was driving faster than I should have. I now know better and am happy to share all that with you. The TRUCK had no issues whatsoever, just the trailer.

http://bbscomp.com/george/07-20-07_1431.jpg
http://bbscomp.com/george/07-24-07_1813.jpg
http://bbscomp.com/george/07-29-07_0959.jpg
http://bbscomp.com/george/08-01-07_1644.jpg

 

Well, I know I'm close to GVWR so I was just wondering. I'm hopeful everything will go ok. We have cooler temperatures once we head of California. My trailer is brand new and the tires look good and we don't plan on going over 60. I checked the torque on the tires and they are both at 100 lbs. I'm going to be putting air in them (50 psi). And then air up my truck and we will be out on the road. I will be taking along my torque socket set to check along the way.

Thanks for your help everyone. I learned a lot and I know I will be learning much more once on the road. (Just wish I had a spare. Still probably will get one before getting out of town.) It was a must on my list and it was the one thing I didn't get to.

 

Just don't stow it in the trailer.

You are as prepared as one can be.
(the last space shuttle launch didn't generate this much traffic)

 

If the trailer is brand new, you should not have any issues with the tires or the wheel bearings, even if you are slightly overloaded. If you are going to keep the trailer, I'd recommend an annual service, including repacking the bearings. Have a safe trip, and please let us know how it went!

 

Well, we made it safely. The truck hauled it like a champ. Temperature gauge never went higher than when its normally driven. We switched off and on between OD depending on the terrain. We left Friday afternoon and made it to Colorado Springs Saturday evening. Towed through snow, a little ice, and some steep hills. The worst was right around Vail, CO, that was where we hit all three (snow, ice, steep incline). But it handled great. Trailer didn't bounce or swaying, stayed right inline with the truck.

Now......I have to get it back to California empty. I'm still at 50 psi on the tires. Should I drop it down to 35psi?

 

For those of you concerned about how far your truck squats in the back when you tow or haul anything heavy.......

The 1997-2003 F150 are very weak in the rear from the factory. Three leaf springs don't help at all. These truck should come with 4-5 leafs min with the v8 option (5 min. with the 5.4L). Sure, 3 leafs are ok if you don't haul anything, and have carpet in your bed to put your groceries on.

This helps:

Add 2 add-a-leafs to the existing leaf pack and put on an additional retainer clamp in the rear on each spring pack to prevent them from fanning out. (common problem with factory spring packs)

Add some kind of overload / helper springs. I added a kit from hell-wig, the kit adds 2 overload springs on top. but they have kits that add 3 or more overload springs.

These additions really help with rear end sag, but your truck with ride like a tank. Now the super weak open "C" frame design in the rear on the 1997-2003 F150s is another story...........To fix that buy another truck..........

 

Nope. Now you can drive as fast as you want too! I'm glad you enjoyed the benefits of a properly distributed load, even with the trailer maxed out.

Whiteghost, I think air bags would be the best answer to bring up the rear and not kill the empty ride.

 

Air bags would work, but can you get ten years of service out of them?

How long have your load leveling air bags lasted with heavy use? I'm curious.