Trip to the scales today

[rjc1024]

We purchased a new Coachmen Apex 259BHSS late last fall. Got it out once for a quick trip before winter storage. Got a chance over the past few weeks to get all of our stuff in it and ready for a trip this weekend. Drove about 45 miles on Friday on relatively flat interstate with little wind. On the trip home this morning drove into a headwind and I felt like the front of the truck felt light. I was getting pushed around a bit when being passed by semis. Had everything loaded so stopped at the CAT scales:

Trailer - 2015 Apex 259BHSS
GVW - 7680
EW per the yellow sticker - 5473
Standard stuff on the tongue (2 20# propane, 1 battery, spare tire)

Truck - 2015 Silverado 1500 CC SB Z71 4X4

Me, wife, 7 YO, 5 YO, small dog in the cab
Not much in the bed - coleman roadtrip grill up against the cab and some other misc stuff.

GVWR - 7200
GCWR - 15000
RGAW - 3950
FGAW 3950
Payload per the door sticker 1743

Husky Centerline WDH

Pass 1 - WDH engaged
SA - 3340
DA - 3560
TA - 5180
GW - 12080

Pass 2 - Bars disengaged
SA - 3160
DA - 3860
TA - 5080
GW - 12100

Pass 3 - TV only
SA - 3540
DA -2520
GW -6060

It looks to me like overall this is a pretty good setup - 15.9% TW, under the truck's GVW by 300#, under axle weights and well under GCVW.

Seems like I need to get more weight on the front axle though as the front end feels light. With the bars engaged the front axle is still 200# lighter than it is without the trailer. The spring bars look level with the trailer frame. Would it be better to raise the brackets on the tongue or try and tilt the hitch head? The bars are tough to get on and off as is even with raising the truck 10-12" with the tongue jack.

I measured the front fender as well -
36 1/2 with the trailer connected and WDH engaged
36 1/4 unhooked

[asquared]

I would try going up 1 notch on the bars and then reweigh.

[lbrjet]

If the bars are hard to get on now, then raising it higher is going to make it worse. Since they are level I would work with changing the hitch head tilt.


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[asquared]

Pictures of the setup might help.

[thebrakeman]

Yes, you need to get the front weight back to stock. You can check this by continued trips to the scales, or by measurements from the ground to the front wheel well (fender).

200 lbs more to transfer is quite a bit. This can be a chase-your-tail type of thing. Change the head angle, and now the trailer isn't level. Change the brackets, but still not level. Change the head-height, and now the WD is off again.

Instructions will usually give you clues on what to change first under different conditions. If not available, just block of a Saturday to tweek things.

[Herk7769]

15.9% TW on a travel trailer is pretty nose heavy.
Should be between 10 to 14% with 12% optimum loading.

Nose heavy trailer is a "sway monster"

Try moving your "optional" cargo aft of the camper's wheels.

A properly loaded camper is much easier to WD than one that is way out to start with. Most trucks have much lower front axle ratings than rears. You might find yourself with a large front end repair bill before long.