Yet another towing question.

[John and Lori]

Folks,
I just picked up by MicroLite 21fbrs today and towed it home. I drive a 2007 Tundra 4wd with tow package so the 3800 lb trailer is not an issue in that respect. I had 18 wheelers pass me on interstate and absolutely NO sway whatsoever so I am good there, My question for you tow experts is what the best way to stiffen the rear springs, the tongue weight is around 200 to 400 lbs depending on who you believe but I have yet to measure it. The Tundra handles it well but seems a little soft and I don't really want to go with a redistributing hitch but would prefer a modification of the rear suspension if possible, any suggestions would be great and I thank you in advance.

JW

[JonClark]

Don't know if this will help but I put a set of supersprings on my truck to help with squat and don't even know they are on when not towing, but almost could go without wdh when hooked up. I'm sure more will chime in but that helped me.

[dcarver1987]

the firestone or riderite airbags will take care of the bounce. Probably inflate to 10-20PSI for towing and you can deflate when not towing for a smooth ride. Looks like you can be anywhere from $150-500 depending on if you opt for the onboard air compressor. I know you said no WDH but harbor freight has one for $200 and it'll only take you about 20-30min to put together and you won't have to worry about adding air or the potential leaks that come with airbags.

[John and Lori]

Thanks for the replies thus far,
I am not DEAD SET against a WDH, it its needed I will get one. I am completely new to this TT stuff, I have hauled horse trailers and large hay trailers for years but this is all new. I bought a small and very light trailer for the simplicity of it but I do want to be as safe as possible and am open to any and all opinion of those more experienced. I think the tongue weight surprised me for a 3800 lb trailer. It doesn't make the truck squat much but it does feel a little bouncy on the road. Like I posted with the 5.7 and tow package the weight is not an issue and sway is not a problem, I would just like a more "stable" feel at speed if that makes sense.

[turnerpa]

Originally Posted by JonClark

Don't know if this will help but I put a set of supersprings on my truck to help with squat and don't even know they are on when not towing, but almost could go without wdh when hooked up. I'm sure more will chime in but that helped me.

X2. I use as set of super springs as well but I set mine on the upper most setting so they are "active" all the time. I am pretty much constantly hooked to some trailer or have plenty of weight in the bed. I installed them to be active all the time to help my oem leafs keep there arc. They helped sway and stability as well.


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[dcarver1987]

Well the WDH will make everything more stable as far as bounce and reducing sway even more, although you don't have any thus far, but you never know. I have still had a little bounce even with a WDH but It wasn't dialed in correctly and it was felt on a concrete freeway which are notorious for producing bounce no matter what. Really though the best things I believe you could do would be either the hitch or airbags or both. Also, are you running LT tires? I actually felt they gave me more of a stable feel as well.

[rockfordroo]

Go with a WDH.

[John and Lori]

Don't know what LT tires are so I cannot answer sorry.

[John and Lori]

My tires are goodyear wrangler 275 55 20s

[dcarver1987]

LT=Light truck tires. They're stiffer than P rate (passenger) tires. I don't why all trucks don't come with LT tires but the half ton trucks do not. I suppose they believe people who buy trucks won't ever use them as trucks and just grocery getters. If you look on the side wall of your tire it'll say something like P275/55/20 or LT275/55/20. Load carrying capacity of the P tires will be somewhere around 2500lbs and the LTs about 3000lbs. The LTs help stabalize the load. If you're in need of tires you may as well look at the LTs

[John and Lori]

I appreciate the replies, as someone who has never used a WDH is there a link that would show me how to set one up, or am I just too lazy to search for myself lol

[John and Lori]

ahhhh ok Carver I got ya, I will look tomorrow. Thanks

[Flagstaffer06]

There are different types of WDH's out there. I just purchased an Equalizer brand 4pt hitch and i'm very happy with it. Different hitches will be a little different to setup but, they all use the same principle for the most part.

I use airbags on my truck which help with the squat. Airlift brand bags are what I have and there is a rebate on them on 10/31.

With that being said, I setup my hitch with no air in the bags and then added a little bit of air to help smooth out the ride.

Good luck and enjoy the trailer!

[cbconway]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

Go with a WDH.

X2 The whole point of a WDH is to put more weight on the truck's front axle & off the rear axle. So sqat is less of an issue. I have a 21FBRS & my basic Husky WD setup with one friction antisway bar works just fine. Trailer stays put & minimizes hobbyhorsing.

[Terier]

Originally Posted by John and Lori

Folks,
I just picked up by MicroLite 21fbrs today and towed it home. I drive a 2007 Tundra 4wd with tow package so the 3800 lb trailer is not an issue in that respect. I had 18 wheelers pass me on interstate and absolutely NO sway whatsoever so I am good there, My question for you tow experts is what the best way to stiffen the rear springs, the tongue weight is around 200 to 400 lbs depending on who you believe but I have yet to measure it. The Tundra handles it well but seems a little soft and I don't really want to go with a redistributing hitch but would prefer a modification of the rear suspension if possible, any suggestions would be great and I thank you in advance.

JW

I have a 2011 Tundra and my TT weight is similar to your MicoLite trailer. What do you mean by it being a little soft?

Originally Posted by cbconway

X2 The whole point of a WDH is to put more weight on the truck's front axle & off the rear axle. So sqat is less of an issue. I have a 21FBRS & my basic Husky WD setup with one friction antisway bar works just fine. Trailer stays put & minimizes hobbyhorsing.

I have always towed my trailer with a HD hitch and haven't had any problems. When the truck was new the service tech recommended a tighter setting for the links which worked fine but the previous setting of one less link (Setting for my sister's Yukon) gives a better ride.

[raspivey]

Measure your clearance on the front wheel wells to the ground before an after. If it comes up in front more than about 1/4", you need to put some of that weight back on the front. The only way to do that is WDH. Air bags and the like will reduce squat, but won't cure that (completely).

That soft feeling you get is most likely a combination of several things. Soft tires, soft suspension, and weight being pulled off the front wheels. I'd measure, then decide on the hitch accordingly. I'd also look into a tire upgrade. There are options besides LT....I stayed with a passenger tire but went to an XL rated tire (51 PSI max). I leave it at 35 PSI when not towing and bump it to 45 PSI hooked up. It stiffened the ride when I needed it without riding like a tank all the time.

And your tongue weight is well over 400 lbs....trust me. I've got nearly the same trailer.

[kandl]

Originally Posted by John and Lori

Folks,
I just picked up by MicroLite 21fbrs today and towed it home. I drive a 2007 Tundra 4wd with tow package so the 3800 lb trailer is not an issue in that respect. I had 18 wheelers pass me on interstate and absolutely NO sway whatsoever so I am good there, My question for you tow experts is what the best way to stiffen the rear springs, the tongue weight is around 200 to 400 lbs depending on who you believe but I have yet to measure it. The Tundra handles it well but seems a little soft and I don't really want to go with a redistributing hitch but would prefer a modification of the rear suspension if possible, any suggestions would be great and I thank you in advance.

JW

JW, your TT is gonna be well over 4000 lbs when loaded. I would opt for some weight distribution before installing supplementary spring accessories. The tire issue (LT vs P-Metric) is somewhat of a red herring. I've towed lots with LT tires (half and 3/4 ton) and there's merit to multiple plies that provide stiffer sidewalls. However, I've more recently towed a 7500 lb TT for 10s of thousands of kms with a half ton equipped with P-Metric tires. They've worked just fine.

[lazypuma]

My 2¢ , I have a wdh and same bounce soft feeling. I installed firestone bags and run about 7psi in them and helps a lot. I am no expert but to me when your truck would want travel on the bounce the bags help resist this on the bounce down. But that worked for me.
I don't endorse but cheapest I found was on sdsuspension with coupons. Easy no drill install.

[Stormrider151]

With that low of a tongue weight I don't know that WDH is at all required. Probably the air bags and a friction sway controller for good measure would be more appropriate. I used to have a Coleman Niagara that weighed in more than that and it towed very well with what I described using a Sportrac for a TV. Just my personal experience as I am no expert.

[rlocicero]

I have towed many trailers with a 1/2 ton, the shortest being 28' up to 32' with no sway or bounce and always used a WDH. I did not like the P metric tires and always went to E rated 10 ply tires when the factory junk wore out. We have towed many thousands of miles without any issues. I should mention that my last 8 trucks were Fords, 2 f250's, 1 E350 Chateau and 5 f150 Supercrews. You may want to test drive a Ford. My new 2014 Supercrew ecoboost, maxtow pulls better than my 5.4l and 5.0l v8's. My 2002 F250 V10 crewcab was a pulling beast.