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Old 02-15-2019, 09:15 AM   #61
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Originally Posted by FordHauler View Post
It has been my observation in the 5 years I have been on this forum that there are people who have no knowledge of the dynamics controlled by a Hensley or ProPride hitch, who believe themselves to be such experts at everything, that they badmouth these products. If you have never used either of these hitches you have no idea of what you are speaking.
As a person is seeking good information on how to control their TT safely, one can get all sorts of uninformed opinions. Buy tires for the TV, buy tires for the trailer, buy shocks, buy airbags, buy a new truck, the list goes on and on. Some are musts, most are like beating the air, blindfolded, trying to hit the pinata.
When you are through spending money on all of those improvements and you still have sway, you could have paid for a Hensley or ProPride hitch. The pivot point is the problem.
Someone always mentions it and the naysayers go to work. No one who has pulled with a Hensley or ProPride has ever badmouthed it on this forum, to my knowledge.
If your numbers are right, and to scale it is the only way to really know, you can comfortably and safely pull a 37’ TT with a Ford F-150. I know, I did it. WITH A HENSLEY HITCH.
The first time an 18 wheeler passed me after installing the Hensley, I did not know he was any where close. No sucking me over towards his lane, no shoving me over to the shoulder, no white knuckles, no trailer sway. The dog and the tail behaved like I never thought possible, no sway. NO SWAY.
When we traded the TT for the 5th wheel, I kept the Hensley. It is not for sale, if we ever downsize to another TT, I will install it on day one.
Rant over.
Travel safe



I owned a ProPride for a couple of years and thought it was a great hitch. Had no sway. Once again, my definition of sway is uncontrollable pivoting at the hitch point. It's simply not possible with the PP or Hensley. I am now back to an Equalizer because I need to be able to use the same hitch for multiple trailers. With this being said, airbags, shocks and heavier tires are great additions to a half ton, regardless of what hitch you use. Those 3 things stop porpoising and help reduce deflection (saw another forum member use this term to refer to the sideways push from wind and it seems accurate). I am pulling a 35'6", IIRC, rig with my MaxTow F150 and Equalizer and have no complaints. Great handling rig. I have airbags and Rancho RS9000XL shocks. No tire upgrade yet. And I've pulled this same camper with a 2015 F250 PSD with a ProPride- so no argument can be made that I "don't know what I'm missing." Also towed this same rig with a 2013 F150 with the ProPride.
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Old 02-15-2019, 06:09 PM   #62
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Must of us do not proclaim to be experts. We just know what has worked for us and our friends. Most of us cant afford a $3000 dollar hitch, If you can, then good for you. So we buy what we can and make do. My $400 reese has served me and others like me well over the years. Were just trying to help thats all. You dont have to have zero sway to feel comfortable sometimes it just takes a little getting used to.
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Old 02-18-2019, 07:58 PM   #63
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Originally Posted by dhargray View Post
Hi, I have a Forest River 320 BH 37 Foot long using 2017 F150 and a Blueox system. I still feel sway when windy. Should I add a Blue Ox brake pad anti sway friction bar ?
So I’d like to offer some advice. Very little here is actually useful.

The 1st thing you should know is sway is caused by improper loading of the travel trailer. Yes you can do things like oversized pickups, sway hitches etc, to compensate to an extent. But getting the basics of towing right will solve the problem a lot more cheaply.

A well setup trailer and tow vehicle can handle better than a poorly setup dullie. Ps. My f450 sways in wind when towing nothing, the suspension poor, but it’s a bucket truck

https://youtu.be/i2fkOVHAC8Q

So 1st things 1st. You need to weigh the trailer when loaded and measure the tongue weight. Make sure you have equal side to side weight distribution and hitch weight. You will need to weigh multiple times to get all of these weights. This is the only way to determine without guessing If your trailer is properly loaded. Equal side to side and at least 10% tongue weight.

Next make sure your hitch is properly setup, you should be level both trailer and tow vehicle when on level ground. Make sure your tow vehicle isn’t squatting too much aka rear isn’t sagging. Not towing level, not having the sway hitch with the correct spring bars for your tongue weight and not tight enough will cause problems.

Trust me if your trailer is loaded correctly, your hitch is setup correctly, your truck isn’t overloaded and not sagging it won’t sway much.

If it still is add more tongue weight and look at adjusting the spring bar tension.
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Old 02-18-2019, 08:47 PM   #64
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Towing a Forest River 29 QBLE 2019, dry wt 5600, tongue wt 900, with a F150 XLT super crew, with air bags I installed and a left over sway bar I had when I had a truck camper which doesn't do much for towing. I do have wt distribution bars, and it pulls like a dream, truck has the towing package and tow haul setting, so i just baby it down the road no more than 60 MPH. No rush for an accident. Seen a dude pulling a 5th wheel at over 80 mph, makes no sense.
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Old 02-18-2019, 10:00 PM   #65
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reduced sway

DHargray, I can't find any specs on your trailer but at 37' that sounds like way too much for a 1/2 ton pickup. LT tires as previously mentioned would have to help greatly and the Michelin Defender from Costco are my choice on my 2 tow vehicles
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Old 02-19-2019, 06:24 AM   #66
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I have a Max tow package on my F150 rated to tow 16,000 lbs. The truck should pull a 37ft with no problem. But you should be running a left and right sway bar. Anything over 24ft in length should have two. I Pull a 36ft Jammer and have no problem with sway.
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Old 02-19-2019, 08:04 AM   #67
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37ft camper and F150? Too much camper, not nearly enough truck!
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Old 02-19-2019, 09:40 AM   #68
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Originally Posted by dhargray View Post
Hi, what tires would you recommend for 20 inch rims?
If you have a F150 with the max tow option, you already have LT tires on it. If you have the standard tow package, you don't have enough cooling to tow that big a trailer. The max tow option comes with LT tires and added cooling for engine and trans. I tow a 35 foot Forest River Heritage Glen Lite with my F150 and to be honest, that's too much trailer for the truck. I should have a F250 or F350 but we don't go that far from home and I'm not buying another truck at my age. I'll eventually sell this trailer and go smaller.
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Old 02-19-2019, 09:53 AM   #69
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Originally Posted by bwcarp View Post
I have a Max tow package on my F150 rated to tow 16,000 lbs. The truck should pull a 37ft with no problem. But you should be running a left and right sway bar. Anything over 24ft in length should have two. I Pull a 36ft Jammer and have no problem with sway.
I haven't seen any specs that show that an F150 can tow 16,000 pounds. I have the 2019 Good Sam Guide to Towing right in front of me. The max an F150 can tow by their book is 12,900 and that with a SuperCrew 2wd with the 3.5 Ecoboost and the Max Tow option with 3:55 to 1 gears.
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Old 02-19-2019, 11:55 AM   #70
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Originally Posted by Stovebolt View Post
If you have a F150 with the max tow option, you already have LT tires on it. If you have the standard tow package, you don't have enough cooling to tow that big a trailer. The max tow option comes with LT tires and added cooling for engine and trans. I tow a 35 foot Forest River Heritage Glen Lite with my F150 and to be honest, that's too much trailer for the truck. I should have a F250 or F350 but we don't go that far from home and I'm not buying another truck at my age. I'll eventually sell this trailer and go smaller.
HDPP comes with LT tires, not Max Tow with the package unless you option/added them. My 2016 Max Tow has the standard P rated tires.

With that being said my father's 8000lb, 36' TT overheated his 2016 standard tow F150 once on a longer trip.
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Old 02-19-2019, 12:08 PM   #71
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Originally Posted by Brother Les View Post
37 foot unit... F-150.... windy... you feel sway... yes you will feel sway.

you can try every do dad that you want to stop 'sway', but it will only mask what you 'think' you have.

You end up with a false confidence of safety.

You will end up (and are right now) being a hazard to yourself, your family and everyone else and thing around you.

Slow down, before you or someone else regrets it.
Did he specify the speed he is towing??
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Old 02-19-2019, 12:43 PM   #72
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Originally Posted by Stovebolt View Post
I haven't seen any specs that show that an F150 can tow 16,000 pounds. I have the 2019 Good Sam Guide to Towing right in front of me. The max an F150 can tow by their book is 12,900 and that with a SuperCrew 2wd with the 3.5 Ecoboost and the Max Tow option with 3:55 to 1 gears.
I did see spec for a F150 that was capable of 13,200. Maybe he is thinking GVWR? I did see a F150 with a GVCW greater than my 2007 2500, which is 16,000LBS. I think the F150 specs I saw say GCVW around 17,000LBS. I always wonder how engineers convince the FEDS to rate their trucks the way they do.
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Old 02-19-2019, 01:02 PM   #73
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I always wonder how engineers convince the FEDS to rate their trucks the way they do.

They have never been required to "convince" the FEDS. And with the advent of the SAE J2807 standard, you can compare brands claims. Here is a write-up on what is required. Other descriptions are available on the inner web.
SAE J2807 Tow Tests - The Standard
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Old 02-19-2019, 01:26 PM   #74
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Originally Posted by SailorSam20500 View Post
They have never been required to "convince" the FEDS. And with the advent of the SAE J2807 standard, you can compare brands claims. Here is a write-up on what is required. Other descriptions are available on the inner web.
SAE J2807 Tow Tests - The Standard
I always thought manufactures received approval for their numbers from the FED DOT. The article explains to me why a 1/2 ton has the specs they do. Seems the SAE protocols have allowed for all small trucks, 1/2 ton to 1 ton, to increase trailer towing capacities. Still seems half ton ratings are higher than they should be. Just my opinion based on towing for 34 years with different trailers and tow vehicles. One final thought. Just because the truck can does not mean the driver can. The driver is the weakest link to the entire system.
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Old 02-19-2019, 02:49 PM   #75
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Originally Posted by Cabinfever97 View Post
I always thought manufactures received approval for their numbers from the FED DOT. The article explains to me why a 1/2 ton has the specs they do. Seems the SAE protocols have allowed for all small trucks, 1/2 ton to 1 ton, to increase trailer towing capacities. Still seems half ton ratings are higher than they should be. Just my opinion based on towing for 34 years with different trailers and tow vehicles. One final thought. Just because the truck can does not mean the driver can. The driver is the weakest link to the entire system.

To the best of my knowledge, the Feds give the classifications based upon GVWR. Certain classifications must meet certain EPA criteria, safety criteria, etc. I don't believe there has ever been any federal testing for tow ratings, though.
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Old 02-19-2019, 04:11 PM   #76
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The vehicle manufacturers set GVWR and they must meet FMVSS’s at that GVWR. The SAE towing standard is a self test in which the manufacturer must submit the data.
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Old 02-20-2019, 08:45 AM   #77
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Originally Posted by Stovebolt View Post
If you have a F150 with the max tow option, you already have LT tires on it. If you have the standard tow package, you don't have enough cooling to tow that big a trailer. The max tow option comes with LT tires and added cooling for engine and trans. I tow a 35 foot Forest River Heritage Glen Lite with my F150 and to be honest, that's too much trailer for the truck. I should have a F250 or F350 but we don't go that far from home and I'm not buying another truck at my age. I'll eventually sell this trailer and go smaller.
Not all Max tow F150s come with LT tires. My 2016 max tow package had P tires.
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Old 02-20-2019, 10:51 AM   #78
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Not all Max tow F150s come with LT tires. My 2016 max tow package had P tires.
Same on my 2018. Max payload will always have LTs.
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Old 02-21-2019, 09:50 PM   #79
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We have 10 ply tires, air bags& friction sway bar. Our GMC is 9600 lb GVW. We have a 2017 35' Rockwood Signature Ultra lite weighs 8000 lbs. Pulls great!
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