Any campers here? Advice on towing

[Capemay Eagle]

Thanks for all the replies!
The truck is almost brand new with 10K miles! It is a 2009 Platinum Screw, with the max tow package. The truck is never used other than local errands and for towing for a camping trip or towing my utility trailer.

I actually made a mistake on the trailer weight and the true weight of the trailer dry is 5400lbs! the 7500 is GVWR. So the truck is not overloaded!! I read the weight wrong on the title! I probably think all said and done the trailer loaded is about 6200lbs. My truck is rated at 9700lbs towing from the original paper work, but in the owners manual it say that it is rated 8500lbs? In either event, I am under the tow weight restrictions by about 2 to 3000lbs.

I am going to try and lower the ball and maybe a link or two on the trunnion bars on the next trip! I have been playing with the thought of buying new heavy duty shocks and springs, but I think that the truck should be able to handle 6K towing with the standard equipment! I am new to heavy towing, so I am just looking for advice. I have towed utilities with mowers and quads and dirtbikes for years, but again, new to heavy duty towing, just looking for any tips or hints to keep level towing!

[tuney443]

The trick to properly distribute weight with your bars is AFTER you have the correct pitch AND height on your ball is to grab the link that best keeps your bars as parallel as possible to your trailer frame.If you're distributing too much weight to your front axle,that would definitely cause the bouncing.You also want the trailer height to be as even as possible front and rear to the road.

[Capemay Eagle]

Originally Posted by tuney443

The trick to properly distribute weight with your bars is AFTER you have the correct pitch AND height on your ball is to grab the link that best keeps your bars as parallel as possible to your trailer frame.If you're distributing too much weight to your front axle,that would definitely cause the bouncing.You also want the trailer height to be as even as possible front and rear to the road.

Thanks! I will use this info on the next hook up!

[sidecar]

26' is a little long for an F150. Your camper is well within the weight rating of your truck, but 26' plus 3' of tongue hung from almost 5' behind your the truck's rear axle gives a lot of fulcrum to the trailer's weight. F150's do ride nice, and that soft suspension is going to bounce with that long of a trailer.
If you really want to keep the truck, I would agree with the replies above suggesting air bag assistance +/- significantly stiffer rear springs on the truck.
The safest option is trading up to a 3/4 ton truck, depending on how much traveling you plan on doing.
It is worth taking the truck + trailer to a truck scale and weighing just the truck, just the camper, and camper + rear axle of the truck to be able to measure accurately what your tongue weight is. Loaded with all your gear (and water in the fresh water tank if you plan on carrying any water with you), shoot for 10% of the trailer's total weight as your desired tongue weight.
A load-distributing hitch should then be adjusted so your pickup sits about level from front-to-back.
I've pulled quite a bit over the last few years, and have had a few scares and near-disasters with too light a tow vehicle for the load behind it, (and can say with wisdom learned by doing it wrong first) that a heavier duty tow vehicle is absolutely worth having.
JL