not having a good towing experience - 23' airsteam/5000lbs 500lb tongue weight

[rasmuscm]

I have a new to me 2022 expedition with the max HD tow package. I was in a volvo xc90 and I was pulling a 16' airstream, and it was very easy to tow and very smooth with excellent handling. The expedition and the 23' foot airstream is more of a white knuckle ride - well, it actually ended up in a crash/jacknife situation.

I had an equalizer hitch already. The airstream dealer hooked it up partially because I had forgotten to bring the bars (duh) and I drove it home last fall from the dealership on the ball hitch. It wasn't pleasant, but it was an hour on highway, so I just went slow and it was fine.

Next trip out, of course, we used the WD hitch bars, but still - not a great ride. Lots of sway. And yes, I had set up the trailer within the ford system, and the TSC was on. (as was the lane keeping system, which I didn't know until too late that that could be an issue). I took it back to the airstream dealership and they said Oh, you need to buy a blue ox system, ($1200). I drove it 20 miles down the road and called them and said Holy Cow, this is worse than the equalizer! They said to bring it back - oh, forgot to tell you, turn OFF the TSC as Blue Ox recommends this, and the service manager took it for a test drive and said it was perfectly fine. 45 minutes later, I'm on the side of the highway with a jacknife situation. (everyone is fine, including the dogs who were in crates in the back).

i reached out to an airstream dealer who is known for setting up car/camper combinations and I asked him about the expedition and told him that my volvo was so much better to handle and he came back with: "When you need new tires on it switching the size to P275/50R x20 XL Pirelli Scorpions will improve it a great deal. A set of Bilstein shocks is worthwhile as well. These two items will tighten it up considerably both towing and solo. "

He of course likes neither the equalizer nor the blue ox and recommends either an EZ lift or Hensley. (!!). anyways, I am looking for someone with experience regarding bilstein shocks - do I need a 'set' or 4? They don't lift the vehicle as well, do they? (it's tall enough in my opinion). Will the ride be better overall? I do feel like the expedition is light in the rear compared to the volvo.

Also - apparently the lane keeping systems is automatically deactivated while towing starting with the 2023's.... this might have been good to know.

Thanks!

 

[wpaul]

There are a lot of potential factors at play here. You are going from a 16' trailer most likely much lighter and less wind resistance to a 23' trailer that is 9' more in length and a considerable amount more weight. Some questions to consider to help the forum respond to your situation.

1- Are you sure you have the HD tow package? Do you have the original window sticker and or have you looked up the VIN# to confirm?
2- What tires are currently on the vehicle and are they properly inflated to the correct psi level?
3- Is the 5000lbs the dry weight of the trailer? Does this weight include all additional gear, water tanks etc.?
4- How much weight, people and gear did you have inside the Expedition?
5- What speed were you traveling at when you were experiencing the sway and was it windy?

Hellwig anti-sway bars & Bilstein shocks & better tires with a higher load rating would definitely help but overloading, speed, & weather conditions could still impact the trailering experience.

 

[chuck s]

No experience with the late generation Expeditions but my 7000 pound travel trailer has towed wonderfully with both my 2002 and 2007s and a Equalizer (tm) WDH.

How much is your front axle de-loaded when the trailer is connected? Ya gotta restore most or nearly all of the weight the trailer removes. Otherwise the steering is dangerously light and sway hard to control.
Restoring front axle weight also tightens up the Equalizer bars which help limit or completely eliminate sway. The vertical slop in the 2" receiver on both my Expeditions required more spacers (washers) than were provided to get the hitch angle right. Just using all the furnished spacers wasn't enough -- but some guys stop there with unsatisfactory results.

Any leveling systems in the truck must be Off during WDH setup.

-- Chuck

 

[byathread]

Glad you are all OK, that is most important! Our 7K# TT was dragged many miles (24K) by our 2019. I had the blue ox Swaypro w/750# bars... There was definitely squat, but, pulled stable as can be/awesome actually - this ecoboost engine is great for towing. We also had the CCD shocks, which allegedly help but it still squatted a good couple inches. How was your tongue weight? Are you sure you were loading up your anti-sway bars correctly? I had to connect the ball then raise the rear of the Expedition with the TT jack for the bars to have the correct tension to take some weight off the rear axle and push it back to the trailer axles/forward to the front axle on the Expedition as I ran the jack back up on the TT. Had to fiddle a bit with how many chain links I'd have from the end of the tension bars, but, never a lick of sway aside from normal when passing big trucks. Something sounds off with your setup for sure if it swayed enough to jacknife you! I definitely hooked up and tested/drove a bit without anyone else in the vehicle/horsed around when safe to make sure eveything was dialed in. I'm not sure how much different shocks/a stabilizer bar would help. My gut tells me it was a tongue weight issue and you didn't have 10-15% of trailer weight on the tongue or your sway bars weren't preloaded up correctly... Everything sitting relatively level when you park the whole deal on the flat?

 

[byathread]

 

[k4vbb]

100% what Chuck said. It sounds to me like the weight wasn't distributed correctly, and there simply wasn't enough weight on the front two tires. The settings you used on the 16' trailer for your equalizer hitch would likely not be applicable to the new, heavier trailer. You would have needed to transfer more of the load to the front of the tow vehicle by tightening up the equalizer bars.

As far as the hitches go, all of them, with the exception of the Hensley, work on the same principle. The Hensley does too, except that it adds a fulcrum to the hitch, whereas the others simply pivot on the trailer ball. Keep in mind that the equalizer bars are not part of the sway control. They simply apply an upward force rearwards of the trailer ball in order to transfer weight to the front of the tow vehicle. When these are under-loaded, there is simply not enough weight on the front to adequately control the setup. Shorter wheelbase vehicles suffer more than longer wheelbase vehicles. I tow a ~5,000lbs trailer with an old Ford Bronco, which has a VERY short wheelbase compared to the Expedition. Due to that fact alone I have to be very mindful of the weight distribution. That and the fact that if I'm not careful, the trailer can outweigh the tow vehicle. Once it's correct, though, I have no problems.

With the exception of the Hensley system, all of the sway control systems work by adding resistance to the rotational link between the towing vehicle and the towed vehicle, which increases the force necessary to induce sway. The Hensley tackles this by de-coupling the ability of the towed vehicle to pivot on the trailer ball axis.

A weigh station at a truck stop may be able to help you get things dialed in correctly if you can't figure it out on your own. Equalizer hitches with chains are the easiest to deal with. The others work on the same principle, it's just that the adjustment mechanism is different and more often than not, more complex.

An apples to apples comparison, considering curb weight and wheelbase, the Expedition is a better tow vehicle as compared to the XC90.

As far as the bilstein shocks go, you really can't go wrong with them. They are probably the best shock out there. You should not expect them to raise the vehicle at all. But if your stock shocks are still in good shape, I doubt that they are a major contributor to your problem.

 

[biz77]

Our 2024 Limited Stealth combined with a Weigh Safe weight distribution hitch pulls our 24' trailer (29' overall length and ~7,000LBS.) very well. I'd say it tows better than my old 2017 F-150 crew cab short box, despite the shorter wheelbase. I chased "upgrades" to make the F-150 tow better, including Bilsteins and E-rated tires and all I got in return was a stiffer ride. If your overall trailer weight is 5K and your tongue weight is only 500, as the title states, I'd look to get that tongue weight over 600 LBS. as a start. My trailer tows poorly without enough tongue weight. Once I get ours over 800, it feels great. I typically must resort to filling our fresh water tank at least half full to get us there. Once you have the tongue weight up, then you can dial in the weight distribution hitch to the hitch manufacturer's recommendation. I really like our Weight Safe as it makes this part of the setup practically fool proof.

 

[chuck s]

Rasmuscm posted on July 1 (several weeks ago) and hasn't been seen since...

-- Chuck

 

[Calidad]

Unlike all the other posts. I’m going with trailer had issues not the Expedition.

 

[tominwi]

Yup the OP is a one-post wonder but the title caught my eye as my TT is 24' and 500lb tongue weight. I'm a rookie but IMO the rig tows beautifully--I have a hard time keeping my speed down. Damn Expy rides like a dream.

I'm with Calidad; sumpin outta whack with the Airstream.

 

[mr_dave]

The only times I've ever had issues with trailer sway was when the tongue weight was too light. Readjusting the load has always resolved the problem, for me.

 

[JohnnyG]

The GVWR of that trailer is 6,000 pounds. I am not sure about the 2022, but the 2024 with max towing does not need the weight distribution (WD) hitch until you are over 6,000. I would try it without the WD hitch and see how it rides. I would also add a bit more weight to the hitch... maybe 600 pounds or so.

Also, how did you measure the hitch weight? If you did it using CAT scales, the WD hitch was part of the Expy, not the hitch weight, so you could be 100 pounds lighter than you think.

-B

 

[LokiWolf]

The GVWR of that trailer is 6,000 pounds. I am not sure about the 2022, but the 2024 with max towing does not need the weight distribution (WD) hitch until you are over 6,000. I would try it without the WD hitch and see how it rides. I would also add a bit more weight to the hitch... maybe 600 pounds or so.

Also, how did you measure the hitch weight? If you did it using CAT scales, the WD hitch was part of the Expy, not the hitch weight, so you could be 100 pounds lighter than you think.

-B

Again, OP hasn't been on since 9/10/2025...you probably won't get answers. WD even under the required weight to need one will always be better if setup correctly, because of the weigh transfer.

 

[Left Coast Geek]

FWIW, my '19 Stealth Limited tows my 5000 lb GWR Escape 21' trailer just fine, using an Andersen WDH. I run around 500 lbs tongue weight, without the Andersen it has a tendency to sway at speeds over 65, especially if there are bicycles on the back of the trailer (which puts the tongue weight on the too light side), with the Andersen its rock stable. My Expedition has the CCD shocks, and is a 4x4..


(picture taken before I got the Andersen.... I towed this 10,000(!) miles through Mexico without the WDH, but got it promptly when we returned home)

 

[GregTu]

Something I might have missed in the thred; On a level surface adjust the tow ball mount so that the trailer is slightly higher in the front than the back with load leveling bars installed in their normal position.

I tow a 22' toy hauler that is about 3,400# empty, an 3,200# car, tool box, spares, jack, ez ups, etc., etc. Probably 8,000 to 8,500# with a '24 Exp Platinum. I have an older Reece cam system that does load leveling and helps with sway. The key for me is having the front of the trailer 1-2" higher than the rear (My tow ball mount is adjustable). Probably around 1,000# tongue weight (haven't checked with the Exp).

When I first setup the trailer on the Expedition when it was new, I tested with it empty. When the front was 1" lower than the rear it felt uncomfortable. The small rake on the trailer puts slightly more weight on the rear trailer axle, and adds tongue weight.

I also had to experiment with car placement as the car is mid-engine which can put more weight in the rear which can make the hitch light and the extra weight behind the trailer axles can contribute to stability issues.

 

[jfscheck]

Another great hitch system for towing rv’s is the ProPride - I swear by them using on my diesel Toureag to tow a 25’ Airstream and on my F-350 towing a 30’ Airstream.