Towing and weight issues.

[Knut]

I see some of you are towing TT also.
Wondering if any of you have gone to the CAT scales and weighed the Expy fully loaded with TT hooked on?

I tow a 29’ at around 6500 - 6600 lbs fully loaded;
and with 2adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs and nothing else in the Expedition Max XLT, I was only 90 lbs
under Max Axle Weight Rating of 4380 lbs.

My payload is pretty high for an Expedition 1798 lbs.

Would like to hear what other people get for weights!
Front Axle
Rear Axle
etc.

 

[Fasttimes]

Yep, I tow a 30' TT, payload is low 1406 on a reg size 2010 Expy with HD tow.

Went on a trip a couple of weeks ago and swung by the Cat for the 3rd time this year as I tweak my loading and settings.

2 adults, 1 large dog, one small dog, one small cooler, one small dog crate in vehicle...

Front axle: 2940
Rear axle: 4360
Tongue weight by my calculation is 820 on that trip. 760 would be ideal. I may add one more washer to my WDH to transfer a bit more weight forward to see how it helps. I need to swing by the cat with the truck only but same load to get a reading on front and rear axle weights of the Expy but haven't done that yet.

 

[Yupster Dog]

I see some of you are towing TT also.
Wondering if any of you have gone to the CAT scales and weighed the Expy fully loaded with TT hooked on?

I moved your post to the towing section where you will get an answer about towing quicker here than in the new members section.

People need to know your year and trim of your expy to compare. you can put it in your signature, then it will be on every one of your post.

Now that you are in the towing section, go to the search box top right of this page and put in "weights" and many threads on the subject will come up.

If you still have questions come back and post them here

There is a thread where everyone has posted their towing stats somewhere. the thread title was something like, can we talk tow weight one more time

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Knut]

Thank you.

 

[mwl001]

I’m able to get 200-300lbs onto my front axle using my weight distribution hitch and a 5700lb 25ft trailer. Two things that will help you - the tongue weight of your trailer when loaded and the height of your front fender, loaded vs. unloaded. Your goal even without a scale should be to return the fender where it started before weight distribution.

 

[Yupster Dog]

Would like to hear what other people get for weights!
Front Axle
Rear Axle
etc.

I found it, here it is
Can we talk HD Tow one more time? | Ford Expedition Forum

 

[shane_th_ee]

Have you used the three pass method to get all your weights and verify the WDH is doing its job?

 

[Knut]

Have you used the three pass method to get all your weights and verify the WDH is doing its job?

I pass twice. What is the 3 pass method????

 

[shane_th_ee]

3 pass is three passes over the scales. One pass is truck and trailer with WDH bars connected, one pass is truck and trailer with weight distribution bars disconnected and one pass is just the truck without the trailer. I was originally 60lbs below my rear axle gross weight limit. The three pass method revealed that my weight distribution bars were not transferring enough weight back to the front axle (should be 25-30% of the tongue weight). New spring bars solved the problem.

 

[Frank Swygert]

I discovered recently that loading the spring bars too much can have negative effects. IIRC my spring bars (Curt MV WDH) have chains with 9 links. I usually load it with two links dangling (link 7 on the hooks). The rear end drops a little, but not much... an inch or two (drops about 4-5" without WDH). I tried it on link 6 and the trailer wanted to sway more. Now I also noted my rear tires were a little low, only by about 3 psi, but even that made a difference with a 7000# trailer. When the truck and trailer are loaded I'm right at the max recommended tow weight, +/- about 100# (estimated). The hitch is relatively new, only been used about a dozen times since purchased about 4 years ago (don't get out more than 3-4 times a year.... none last year). Thought going another link would help, never thought it would make things worse!

 

[mwl001]

I discovered recently that loading the spring bars too much can have negative effects. IIRC my spring bars (Curt MV WDH) have chains with 9 links. I usually load it with two links dangling (link 7 on the hooks). The rear end drops a little, but not much... an inch or two (drops about 4-5" without WDH). I tried it on link 6 and the trailer wanted to sway more. Now I also noted my rear tires were a little low, only by about 3 psi, but even that made a difference with a 7000# trailer. When the truck and trailer are loaded I'm right at the max recommended tow weight, +/- about 100# (estimated). The hitch is relatively new, only been used about a dozen times since purchased about 4 years ago (don't get out more than 3-4 times a year.... none last year). Thought going another link would help, never thought it would make things worse!

Check how level your trailer is in relation to the ground BEFORE you redistribute weight. We had this issue too but my hitch ball was too high. Then what happens is as you redistribute weight back to the rear of the trailer and the front of the truck you "tip" the trailer towards the rear. This resulted in sway and porpoising in our case. Best place to start is to try to get your front of your trailer 1/2-1" lower than the rear of your trailer when it's attached to your truck (including the squat of the tongue weight). Then when you redistribute the weight the tongue weight will stay where you want it.

Just getting on my soapbox, it feels like watching all of these WDH setup videos that getting the proper level BEFORE starting is super-important - starting off at the wrong position makes proper weight distribution impossible.

 

[JasonH]

Just getting on my soapbox, it feels like watching all of these WDH setup videos that getting the proper level BEFORE starting is super-important - starting off at the wrong position makes proper weight distribution impossible.

This is correct. The first step in setting up a WDH is ensuring enough of the trailer weight is on the tongue. Tilting the trailer back puts weight on the rear axle.

 

[Knut]

Someone on here mentioned “Canamrv”, so I looked at their website and watched a lot of the videos. It seems like they have some pretty lengthy experience when it comes to WD Systems. One of the questions I was left with is this:

“Why is the shank on all the major WDH’s sticking out so far behind behind the Vehicles?”

The guy from Canamrv really emphasized that the shank should be as close as possible to the TW!

 

[mwl001]

Someone on here mentioned “Canamrv”, so I looked at their website and watched a lot of the videos. It seems like they have some pretty lengthy experience when it comes to WD Systems. One of the questions I was left with is this:

“Why is the shank on all the major WDH’s sticking out so far behind behind the Vehicles?”

The guy from Canamrv really emphasized that the shank should be as close as possible to the TW!

I can't see what you're referencing, but the assumption typically is that people driving pickups want clearance for the tailgate. He's right, it should be as close as possible.

 

[Knut]

I can't see what you're referencing, but the assumption typically is that people driving pickups want clearance for the tailgate. He's right, it should be as close as possible.

It was probably in one of the other links on this board. www.canamrv.ca Pretty cool to see them tow with the Tesla.!!!

 

[JasonH]

I can't see what you're referencing, but the assumption typically is that people driving pickups want clearance for the tailgate.

Can confirm clearance desired. Broke a tail light making a tight turn in my cul-de-sac.