Hey all, just curious to those who may have more experience than I do towing a large trailer with a 150. I have a 2008 F150 FX4 with an AAL in the back. I can typically tow a 17' trailer just fine with my drop hitch and two inch ball. However, I will now be towing a 22' enclosed trailer that is weighted down pretty decently (I do not know that exact weight... I will find out soon though). Just to give an idea this new trailer takes a 2 5/16 ball...

Any suggestions as to how much of a tongue weight to expect? I need to make sure I get the right hitch on there to account for how much the back end is going to drop. I want to tow the trailer relatively level.

Also, I have a hypertech tuner. Any suggestions as to what I might want to play around with adjusting so as to have better pickup and go?

I don't know about the rest of y'all but my truck came with a trailer brake setup device... I don't know how to install it, but would it be worth taking the time to figure out? I will be towing about once a week only a few miles, maybe farther some days, but probably just 10 miles most weeks.

Thanks!

 

I've got a 22' travel trailer and my tongue weight is in the > #700 range. I have to use a Weight Distribution hitch setup.

Most factory hitch ratings only go to #500 tongue weight and #5000 trailer weight when you just plop the tongue on the ball.

With a WD setup, the same hitch is able to handle #1000 TW and #10,000 trailer weight..

Now, that's not to say the truck can handle that much!

I have seen aftermarket hitches with #750/#7500 "dead weight" ratings.. You would also have to match the drop bar and ball as well.

You should have a sticker on your trucks hitch with it's weight carrying rating and it's Weight Distribution Hitch weight rating.

I didn't think the integrated brake controllers came on the F150's until 2009?? If you are talking about the 'pig tail' you found in the glove box, you will need to purchase a brake controller and splice it to the BC wiring and the other end plugs into a socket under the dash of your truck.

There will be some other fuses and relays related to the 'tow package' and those may or may not be already installed.

If your trailer is over #3000, I think most states require trailer brakes at that point..

Can't help on the tuner, as I don't have one of those...

Hope that helps some and Good luck!

Mitch

 

Just like Mitch said find out what the tongue weight is on the trailer and get a good WDHitch like the Equal-i-zer 4point sway control that is matched to that weight. Thats what I use and love it! Also get yourself a quality brake controller. You definitely need one and then you will be good to go! I tow a 33' travel trailer with my F150 and have no problems. Make sure your within your trucks limits, make sure your hitch is hooked up correctly and you will be fine. Good luck, Kevin

 

ya, check your door sticker for weights. the payload on these trucks isnt much, so tongue weight may be high. as far as the hypertech, if its the one i have, its garbage. i wouldnt bother adjusting your shift points, just take the truck out of overdrive and go

 

Thanks for the replies guys! I really appreciate it!

Any suggestions as to where to get a solid WD hitch setup? Sounds like the Equal-i-zer 4 point is good... I would just like to keep my budget relatively low. Also, I didn't mention this earlier because I didnt think it mattered, but I have a body lift. Would that affect installing a WD hitch? I'm sorta new to WD setups so I don't know what all it attaches to.

Right now I just have the factory hitch on my truck, so Im assuming I would need to at least upgrade my hitch to something with a higher tongue rating, if not a WD hitch....

Pretty sure my trailer is going to weigh quite a bit more than 3K lbs. The landscaping trailer I used to haul actually weighed pretty close to that and it didn't have brakes and I definitely warped my rotors two summers ago trying to stop that thing. I have since replaced them with SSBC slotted rotors, but they're not great... haha... so, once again I shall ask for suggestions... any suggestions for more stopping power? Currently my brakes work pretty good, but feel like they don't catch as much as they should, but they are only maybe 6 months old... Maybe its my pads? Maybe I should invest in some Hawk pads while I'm burning my paycheck.

Mitch, yes.. All I have right now is the pigtail that came with it... However I do have a friend with a 2010 f150, maybe he has one that came with his truck I could install on mine. Would that work? If not, what's a good brake controller brand? Any particular model?

Once again, thank you for your input guys, I really appreciate it. I am a newb when it comes to towing much more than medium sized trailer.

 

Hey wingman.. No, you can't use your buddy's BC from his 2010. It's a built in unit and not interchangeable.

I have a BC called a Prodigy. Google it and you'll get all the info you need on it. There is a 'newer' version called the "P3" now.. I don't know about that one, but the original and the one I've owned for about 9 years now is doing fine! Pop for the extra $15 and get the "plug and play" wire harness for your truck and you won't have to use the 'pig tail' you have.. Simply plug it into the Prodigy and plug the other end into your truck and mount it and you are good to go.. You'll have to adjust the boost and the gain for your specific needs, but that'll all be in the instructions.

I use just a standard EAZ-Lift WD hitch setup and works fine for me. The hitch Kevin talks about is a very good hitch and works very well too. For a 30 foot travel trailer like he has, it's a very good choice..

If your trailer has electric brakes and you get a good BC, you should be good to go on your brakes.. The trailer brakes will make a huge difference all by themselves!

Your body lift will not affect the use of a WD hitch setup.

These are just my opinions and what works for me, but others have very good experiences as well, so all advice is going to be good from this site!

Mitch

 

http://www.etrailer.com/multi-produc...0500&hunter=bc

http://www.etrailer.com/multi-produc...0500&hunter=bc

 

Thanks for the links glc!

Awesome guys! Thank you so much! I will probably be getting one like you mentioned, Mitch. I didn't have time to this week, so this coming week I will hook up and take the trailer for a test run, once I have my BC hooked up and running. I'm not sure I want to invest in the WD hitch just yet. I want to see how bad Im gonna be bulldoging. If Im close to the bump stops then I will probably pull the trigger on that too.

 

really need to know the weight and how the weight will be distibuted in the trailer.

2 summers ago me and my brother pulled an enclosed car trailer with a 3400# car from Houston to Dayton OHIO. With a 1/2 ton GMC. we did use a brake booster but did not need any stabilized or weight distibutiopn hitch. pulled great. with the car in back we drove about 2 hours and anything over 60 and it didnt pull so good. moved the car forward about 4 inches and it pulled awsome. 65 mph all the way there and back. the car trailer pulls so much better than the travel trailer.

I had all the stuff ready because i pull a 26 foot travel trailer, with a slide, and i definetaly need the stabilizer and distribution hitch