Quote:
Originally Posted by br549
Our truck pulls the 5er just fine. I'm confussed about what the brake controler has to do with this problem. We have never had a problem stopping this unit.The truck drops less than 4 inches when the 5er is attached. NoÂ*I haven't had the entire unit across any scales as of yet.Our Ford dealer asurred us the truck can handle the unit. It's a 5.4 /373 gears Super crew. Thanks guys it's alot to think about.
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Bob,
For many, many years, I used 1/2 ton TVs, but the heaviest fiver I towed had a dry pin weight of 950 lbs.The 29RK has a dry pin weight of 1550 lbs., which is light for a bedroom slide model, but still IMHO too much pin weight for the F150. When I hook up the 29RK to my 2500HD, the rear drops about 1-1/2 inches which is about where the overload spring comes into play. You state that the F150 drops about 4 inches. I don't know how much axle travel the F150 has, but on my 2500HD, the distance between the axle and the frame mounted rubber bumper is only 3 inches. So, it is possible that you have no suspension travel left except for compression of the rubber bumper and tire sidewall flexing. This is a poor way for the truck to deal with road conditions, the rear tires may be trying to flex sideways to absorb bumps and since both rear tires will experience different road conditions, one side may be hard against the rubber bumper while the other side is rebounding and off the bumper.
I'm no expert on aftermarket solutions, but you do need to find the best solution to get the truck level when hooked up. Not the cheapest solution, but the one that when combined with the existing leaf springs provides the most uniform response to road conditions. And verify that it has some remaining suspension travel. You also need to verify that the weight on the rear axle is not exceeding the tire rating. In my experience, even when not overloaded, higher PSI tires on the TV and/or the fiver have always improved towing characteristics.
If the fiver is not level, then it's suspension can also contribute to the rough ride. The equalizer is intended to balance weight between the two axles. But when the fiver is not level in a static position, then the equalizer also has limited travel remaining to cope with road conditions. Instead of dynamic loads being transfered from one axle to the other they can be transfered from one axle to the fiver frame.
Finally, the brake controller can be a contributing factor if it is an inertia based unit and set too sensitive. As the truck and fiver are bucking since both may have compromised suspension characteristics, the brake controller can sense the change in motion and activate the trailer brakes.