New Tires and Towing Adjustments

[Riccochet]

What happy said, only I'll add even dry weather traction was lacking. They just didn't grip well at all under any circumstance.

[strat56]

Originally Posted by Happy Vibe

I should not have put your tires the same as mine. As yours are LT and mine are P. I don't like how much movement I get from the sidewalls but some of that comes down to the P tires. The main thing i don't like is the wet weather and in general lack of grip from these tires. I have to be carful in the wet as it does not take much to get them to slide under braking. Again the P and LT are really too different tires.

Originally Posted by Riccochet

What happy said, only I'll add even dry weather traction was lacking. They just didn't grip well at all under any circumstance.

Thanks for the clarification. I had a 1/2 ton with these tires on it and experienced the less than optimal traction but have not experienced it with the LT's.

[Tom48]

Originally Posted by strat56

I put new tires on my TV, Same brand, size and weight rating, Goodyear Wrangler SR-A.

Before I put the new tires on I had towed my TT on a 1200 mile round trip and it towed great. After putting on the new tires, I towed it on a 200 mile round trip and it was terrible, it swayed and bounced and was a horrible towing experience. Both trips used 95S and other major roads and smaller local roads. So I don't think the roads themselves could have caused the problem. I checked and set the air pressure in all TV (60 front and 75 rear) and trailer tires (50 all around) prior to the trip and my TST TPMS said the pressures were good on the trailer and TPMS on the truck ssaid the pressures were good on the truck the whole trip.

The old tires were worn down to the tread ware indicators so they had about 2/32" of tread left on them, the new ones have 16/32" of tread depth, a difference of 14/32" or 7/16".

For the trip home I put more weight on the back of the truck by adjusting the tension on the spring bars and it didn't seem to help much. About 1/2 way home I stopped in a rest area and adjusted the tension again to put more weight on the truck and it helped some with the sway and and bounce but it seemed like I was getting blown around more by passing tractor trailers.

Anyway I have a hard time with a difference in height of 7/16" on the tires making such a big difference in the towing. Has anyone else experienced this? Any other dieas for what might have caused such a drastic change by just putting on new tires?

I didn't like the lack of tension on the spring bars on my WDH after the final adjustment so I've lowered the ball height on the hitch and when I go camping again in a couple weeks I'll see how it goes.

I used to run a load rang D tire on my Passenger Van. Then one year, a brand new set of same model tire seemed mushy. I compared one new tire against the used casing I had saved for a spare on something else. The wore out casing weighed 5 lbs more than the "exactly the same" new tire. When the choice is raise the price or cut back on the product, maybe your new tires are not as well made as the prior set.

[LSwesey]

Originally Posted by strat56

I put new tires on my TV, Same brand, size and weight rating, Goodyear Wrangler SR-A.

Before I put the new tires on I had towed my TT on a 1200 mile round trip and it towed great. After putting on the new tires, I towed it on a 200 mile round trip and it was terrible, it swayed and bounced and was a horrible towing experience. Both trips used 95S and other major roads and smaller local roads. So I don't think the roads themselves could have caused the problem. I checked and set the air pressure in all TV (60 front and 75 rear) and trailer tires (50 all around) prior to the trip and my TST TPMS said the pressures were good on the trailer and TPMS on the truck ssaid the pressures were good on the truck the whole trip.

The old tires were worn down to the tread ware indicators so they had about 2/32" of tread left on them, the new ones have 16/32" of tread depth, a difference of 14/32" or 7/16".

For the trip home I put more weight on the back of the truck by adjusting the tension on the spring bars and it didn't seem to help much. About 1/2 way home I stopped in a rest area and adjusted the tension again to put more weight on the truck and it helped some with the sway and and bounce but it seemed like I was getting blown around more by passing tractor trailers.

Anyway I have a hard time with a difference in height of 7/16" on the tires making such a big difference in the towing. Has anyone else experienced this? Any other dieas for what might have caused such a drastic change by just putting on new tires?

I didn't like the lack of tension on the spring bars on my WDH after the final adjustment so I've lowered the ball height on the hitch and when I go camping again in a couple weeks I'll see how it goes.

Check the alignment on the axles on your trailer.. we had the same problem..
the Torflex independent suspension has issues.. sounds like your axles and wheels need alignment.. no one ever told us about the alignment issue.. took us 3 years and doing all kinds of work in other areas to fix the sway problems with the TRAILER, not the truck.. Cost us thousands before we finally looked where the real problem was.. good luck..

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by strat56

Can any of you tell me what's wrong with them? Just telling me they are terrible isn't very helpful.

I would like to know, also.

I installed SR-As (P265/70R17s) about a year and a half ago, and I think they are great tires. The SR-As are much better tires than the OEMs that came on my truck. They have a more aggressive tread, can be inflated to 44 lbs (vs. the 35 lbs of the OEMs), and have a higher load rating that exceeds each axle by over 1200 lbs. The do a great job when pulling the trailer, having towed ~2500 miles since installation.

I can tell a difference with a bit rougher ride with SR-As, as I keep them pumped up to about 42 lbs vs. 35 lbs for the OEMs.

My mileage has dropped a bit due to the more aggressive tread.

I don't like the ribbed sidewalls......makes the tires hard to clean.

The 1 thing that I did not consider is the increased height of the new tires, which is what this thread is all about. My trailer still seems to ride level, but I am thinking I need to stop by a CAT scale just to make sure my WHD setup is still good.

[Happy Vibe]

My tire does not have an aggressive tread at all. It is a highway tire.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by Happy Vibe

My tire does not have an aggressive tread at all. It is a highway tire.

I also have a highway tire, but the new 1s do have a bit more aggressive tread than the old 1s.

From this:



To this:

[Happy Vibe]

When I think of a more aggressive tread I think more like a K02. Like I said above the traction issue is my biggest complaint, this morning the roads were damp and when I accelerate from the stop light ( I did not accelerate had at all) the tires spun on the white lines.

[4mula1fan]

I have Toyo AT2's. Love them. They were a little squirrely at first, but have calmed down nicely with a few thousand miles on them. Traction in snow and rain are awesome.

[acadianbob]

What you might be feeling is tread squirm from having full tread height.

Here is another thought. You might have too much weight on the rear of your truck. If your trailer is too high in front, it might be that your ball height on the TV is too high. Lowering the ball and putting LESS weight on the rear axle could help your situation.

[strat56]

Originally Posted by acadianbob

What you might be feeling is tread squirm from having full tread height.

Here is another thought. You might have too much weight on the rear of your truck. If your trailer is too high in front, it might be that your ball height on the TV is too high. Lowering the ball and putting LESS weight on the rear axle could help your situation.

I lowered the ball height one hole, 1.5", but haven't been camping since I made the change. Going to Bar Harbor campground in Harford country MD next weekend, 10/16, and will travel some on 95S as part of the trip, hoping for good results.

[acadianbob]

Report back on your results. It's always interesting to increase the knowledge base! Hope that works for you.

[strat56]

I towed the camper this weekend after making the changes and it still was not as solid as before the tire change. I decided I'd have it weighed and see what was going on. Here are the results of the weighing.

Weights with trailer:
Front Axle: 4040
Rear Axle: 4400
Trailer: 7100
Combined Weight: 15540

Weights without trailer:
Front Axle: 4075
Rear Axle: 3375
Combined Weight: 7450

This makes the overall trailer weight: 8090
Tongue Weight: 990 (about 12% of trailer weight)

The front axle weighs less with the trailer, I thought a WDH was supposed to distribute the weight between the front and rear axles so I must have something set up wrong. Any ideas anyone?

[OldCoot]

I would tilt the head down one notch and lift the bars the same as before to get more wt on the front. You can measure the front wheel well before you hitch up and start tilting the head until you get the same front wheel well measurement when the truck was empty.

[strat56]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

I would tilt the head down one notch and lift the bars the same as before to get more wt on the front. You can measure the front wheel well before you hitch up and start tilting the head until you get the same front wheel well measurement when the truck was empty.

The head on my hitch doesn't tilt, the manufacturer says it's preset and doesn't need to be adjusted. I guess maybe I'll call them tomorrow and see what they have to say.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by strat56

The head on my hitch doesn't tilt, the manufacturer says it's preset and doesn't need to be adjusted. I guess maybe I'll call them tomorrow and see what they have to say.

How many links of chain do you have hanging free ?

[strat56]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

How many links of chain do you have hanging free ?

I hook the spring bar to the trailer at the 9th link in the rotating latch, so there are 8 links hanging free. One thing to mention I guess is I'm using 1500lb spring bars at the moment. I thought my tongue weight would be more before I weighed it. I have 1000lb bars, from my previous trailer, which technically I guess I should be using since my tongue weight is under 1000lbs, just barely.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by strat56

Here are the results of the weighing.

Weights with trailer:
Front Axle: 4040
Rear Axle: 4400
Trailer: 7100
Combined Weight: 15540

Weights without trailer:
Front Axle: 4075
Rear Axle: 3375
Combined Weight: 7450

This makes the overall trailer weight: 8090
Tongue Weight: 990 (about 12% of trailer weight)

The front axle weighs less with the trailer, I thought a WDH was supposed to distribute the weight between the front and rear axles so I must have something set up wrong. Any ideas anyone?

Were the weigh-ins done with the same cargo and passengers in the same positions ?? If so, that looks like a pretty good setup. You have almost all of the weight replaced back to the front axle, and that is what a WDH should do.

Originally Posted by strat56

I hook the spring bar to the trailer at the 9th link in the rotating latch, so there are 8 links hanging free. One thing to mention I guess is I'm using 1500lb spring bars at the moment. I thought my tongue weight would be more before I weighed it. I have 1000lb bars, from my previous trailer, which technically I guess I should be using since my tongue weight is under 1000lbs, just barely.

You could tighten up the the WDH by using 1 more link of chain, but that might put too much weight on the front TV axle. 1500 lb. spring bars should be a good fit with a 990 lb tongue weight. The 1000 lb. bars may not be enough.

[lbrjet]

Your tongue weight is probably closer to 1200 lbs. Approx 20% gets shifted to the trailer axles and you are ignoring that. Do not shift more weight to the front axle. Read the owners manual for your truck and see what it says on setting up a WDH.


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

[OldCoot]

Will repeat, measure front wheel opening with truck unhitched, hitch up and adjust the bars to get the front wheel opening back to what it was when unhitched.