Question about weight distribution hitches and rear axle weight

MO311FAN said:

I own a 2015 Expedition EL Limited. I picked up a new travel trailer.

Here are the numbers I am seeing.

Ford Weight: 6103 stock according to Ford Fleet guide (FFG). Weighed mine at Cat Scale this morning before getting the rv. Myself, Wife, some tools and equipment in back, 6780. The FFG Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is 7,760.

We are under the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.

Unloaded Trailer Weight (of travel trailer): 6,428. We towed her home empty weight plus battery and propane, a little bit of shopping for equipment and gear.

Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of travel trailer is 7,837.

FFG Combined Gross Vehicle Weight: 15,300

Ours combines to 14,617 (theoretically)

According to CAT scales we weigh in at 13,540

FFG max tongue weight: 920 lbs
Ours is unknown right now, but I think the answer is here somewhere.

We are using a Reese Pro Series weight distribution hitch. Model 49913 installed by the rv dealer. According to the Reese website it has a Gross Trailer Weight of 11,500 and Tongue Weight Rating of 1,150. The tongue weight of the rv is stated as 837 max. We should have been quite a bit under this since we had minimal gear loaded.
We should be well under tongue weight rating.

Tire Capacity 2,833/ tire, 5,666/axle.

Axle Capacities FFG: front 3,700 we weighed in at 3,380 this morning and 3,160 with travel trailer and Reese WDH. Front fender measurement rose 1/2” with trailer.

Rear axle rating FFG 4,300. This morning no trailer 3,400, with trailer 4,500!

So to sum it up, we are under in GVWR both truck and trailer. We are under in tongue weight (right?).

We raised the tire pressure from 35 to 41 cold ( XL rated tire 50 max psi).

Front axle weight went down with trailer but rear axle weight is over by 200 lbs according to the scales.

Do we need a more stout WDH, to transfer more weight? All of the numbers are under except rear axle weight. What next?

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CaptOchs said:

I would take it back to the RV dealer with those numbers and see what they say. They might need to readjust the WD for you. It could have slipped slightly coming unaligned. I had to take mine back. Maybe they can adjust the tilt on the shank. I think the WD is capable enough.

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UTEngineer said:

First ... good job on taking your vehicle and travel trailer to the CAT scale ... most don't do that very important step ... and they should.

My combination is a 2017 Expedition EL Limited 4x4 with the 3.5L Twin-Turbo Ecoboost and of course the heavy duty towing package w/ 3.73 gears.

Expedition Curb Weight = 6,091 lbs. + 500 lbs. passengers + 100 lbs. misc. gear = 6,691 lbs. ; Max Towing Capacity = 9,200 lbs. (per Ford trailer towing selector website)

Travel Trailer = 7,077 lbs. dry weight + 1,723 lbs. fully loaded = 8,800 lbs.

As you can see I am near the max towing capacity ... so to improve the towing attributes of our Expedition EL ... I made the following modifications.

8-Ply Tires (60 psi max) ; Hellwig Front & Rear Sway Bars (reduced body roll in corners) ; Sumo Springs (spacers placed in-between rear coil springs for increased tongue weight capacity) ; Hypertech Hand-Held Programmer - Tow Tune and Shift Strategy

Equal-i-zer Weight Distribution Hitch and Anti-Sway Hitch - Max # of washers to transfer maximum weight distribution to front axle of Expedition

This year will be the first time I tow the travel trailer with the wife's Expedition ... I usually tow it with my 1-ton pickup ... but this will be a secondary option.

Therefore I will take this setup to the CAT scales next month (April) when we pull the trailer out for the year ... will forward my weight results.

I previously owned a 2017 F-150 crew cab 4x4 short box w/ Ecoboost and towed this combination for two seasons ... so I am fairly confident in the Expedition setup.

Hope this helps ...

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UTEngineer said:

First ... good job on taking your vehicle and travel trailer to the CAT scale ... most don't do that very important step ... and they should.

My combination is a 2017 Expedition EL Limited 4x4 with the 3.5L Twin-Turbo Ecoboost and of course the heavy duty towing package w/ 3.73 gears.

Expedition Curb Weight = 6,091 lbs. + 500 lbs. passengers + 100 lbs. misc. gear = 6,691 lbs. ; Max Towing Capacity = 9,200 lbs. (per Ford trailer towing selector website)

Travel Trailer = 7,077 lbs. dry weight + 1,723 lbs. fully loaded = 8,800 lbs.

As you can see I am near the max towing capacity ... so to improve the towing attributes of our Expedition EL ... I made the following modifications.

8-Ply Tires (60 psi max) ; Hellwig Front & Rear Sway Bars (reduced body roll in corners) ; Sumo Springs (spacers placed in-between rear coil springs for increased tongue weight capacity) ; Hypertech Hand-Held Programmer - Tow Tune and Shift Strategy

Equal-i-zer Weight Distribution Hitch and Anti-Sway Hitch - Max # of washers to transfer maximum weight distribution to front axle of Expedition

This year will be the first time I tow the travel trailer with the wife's Expedition ... I usually tow it with my 1-ton pickup ... but this will be a secondary option.

Therefore I will take this setup to the CAT scales next month (April) when we pull the trailer out for the year ... will forward my weight results.

I previously owned a 2017 F-150 crew cab 4x4 short box w/ Ecoboost and towed this combination for two seasons ... so I am fairly confident in the Expedition setup.

Hope this helps ...

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WreckItRalph said:

UTEngineer, do you have a pic of your WDH setup? I have almost the exact same setup as you only I’m using a Curt TruTrack which I believe is a copy of the Equal-I-ze?? Do your spring bars have a bow to them on your current setup?

Thanks,

Ralph

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MO311FAN said:

Update; adjusted the Reese by adding three more spacer washers (the max allowed). I’m not sure why/how it works, but it worked. I measured the front wheel well unhooked at 35 3/8. Before with four spacer washers (rv dealer installed) trailer hooked up front measured 35 3/4. Now with three more spacer washers 35 1/8. That’s telling me the weight distribution hitch is working properly now. Tomorrow we will load it with gear, hook up and I will measure again. Hoping to hit Cat scales this weekend.

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WreckItRalph said:

UTEngineer, do you have a pic of your WDH setup? I have almost the exact same setup as you only I’m using a Curt TruTrack which I believe is a copy of the Equal-I-ze?? Do your spring bars have a bow to them on your current setup?

Thanks,

Ralph

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Jrparne said:

What trailer did you pick up? I bring this up because it may have been great bringing it home empty but then the way you loaded it may have actually increased the tongue dramatically. We tow a 2800 bh with a camping weight of nearly 7700 lbs. typically and I am right at rear axle limit and normally 3250 or so on the front axle. I do have to be careful how I load the trailer. That front compartment can hold a lot but ultimately that translates to the tongue quickly. So I off set with my rear compartment to be a net gain to keep about 11% tongue.


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