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Old 10-17-2018, 09:08 AM   #1
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Rear TV squat

To begin with, I'm not hating on a ford. I just wonder if I see the same way as others. I have friends that have ford TV. One has a 3/4 ton with air bags. The other just upgraded from 1/2 ton to 3/4 ton. The one that upgraded ask me to help setup his hitch for the 3/4 ton. We set it going by equalizer instructions. Level TT, measure TT height and set ball height accordingly. Set L brackets where I thought they would good for load leveling. The truck did squat some in the rear, but not bad. He towed the TT and it seemed to tow good, but he wasn't happy with how the TT was low in the front and TV a little low in the back. With that we raised the ball 1 more hole on the shank. Also raised L brackets up 1 hole since raising ball height. The TT and TV now set level. Is that a norm to get the Ford truck to carry load. It puzzles me cause my son and my 3/4 ton chevys set almost level without the bars on. Just wondering if others see the same thing
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Old 10-17-2018, 09:25 AM   #2
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There are Many "Suspension Packages " that can be ordered on PU TRUCKS! Hard to answer this without Vehicle History! Youroo! !
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Old 10-17-2018, 09:59 AM   #3
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Also, squat is normal. Trucks have a rake when empty so when they have a load they are more level. Did your friend’s truck have a leveling kit installed? These will have the truck level when empty and then the rear will be lower than the front when loaded which makes them look weird.

Keep in mind that the weight distributing hitch is NOT for looks and NOT to return the rear to empty height. Looking through your post I don’t see any mention of you actually taking any height measurements and adjusting the hitch to do what Ford says, which is likely to return the front to halfway between the unloaded height and the hitched but no bars height.

Safety and proper setup are more important than how the truck looks.
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Old 10-17-2018, 10:04 AM   #4
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You shouldn't worry about the rear as much as the front. Returning the front back to the OEM height is more important. The rear will take care of it's self.
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Old 10-17-2018, 10:14 AM   #5
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The setup in my sig squats also. Different setup than OP is reffering to. I pulled the camper with a 1500 GMC max tow and it sat level. My F250 sites slightly low in the back. The truck sits level not hooked up. I have the plow and camper package so I have the overload springs so it sits high already. I rides wonderful when loaded though. I will add airbags once I lift the trailer. I did find it interesting also with how much it actually squatted once hooked up. Just adding my pennies...
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Old 10-17-2018, 10:25 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by goduc View Post
You shouldn't worry about the rear as much as the front. Returning the front back to the OEM height is more important. The rear will take care of it's self.
ABOVE is a great answer. The point of a WDH is to help return the weight back to the front end and have it ride at its stock height.

The rear may squat a little, but it's not the end of the world. To compensate for that he can add airbags or helper springs.
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Old 10-17-2018, 10:54 AM   #7
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Ford doesn’t say to return the front to original height, they say 50%.
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Old 10-17-2018, 11:01 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by Dustyhd View Post
Ford doesn’t say to return the front to original height, they say 50%.
True, same for the F150. It's still more important to make sure that number is correct. IIRC it's 0%-50%.
Problem with the 250 and even the 350 is the rears are not riased up like Rams are. My 18 2500 is 3" higher in the rear. It would take a really heavy TW to drop it 3". Doesn't mean it will hold more weight in the rear, it's just designed to not sag as much.
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Old 10-17-2018, 11:06 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by Dustyhd View Post
Ford doesn’t say to return the front to original height, they say 50%.
Well that's interesting. I thought the 50% was for the rear end. But I don't own a Ford so I'm not 'in the know.'
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Old 10-17-2018, 11:10 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by kfergiez View Post
Well that's interesting. I thought the 50% was for the rear end. But I don't own a Ford so I'm not 'in the know.'
None of the manufacturers tell you to do anything to adjust the rear height, it's always the front when it comes to how the WDH should be adjusted.
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Old 10-17-2018, 11:20 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimla View Post
To begin with, I'm not hating on a ford. I just wonder if I see the same way as others. I have friends that have ford TV. One has a 3/4 ton with air bags. The other just upgraded from 1/2 ton to 3/4 ton. The one that upgraded ask me to help setup his hitch for the 3/4 ton. We set it going by equalizer instructions. Level TT, measure TT height and set ball height accordingly. Set L brackets where I thought they would good for load leveling. The truck did squat some in the rear, but not bad. He towed the TT and it seemed to tow good, but he wasn't happy with how the TT was low in the front and TV a little low in the back. With that we raised the ball 1 more hole on the shank. Also raised L brackets up 1 hole since raising ball height. The TT and TV now set level. Is that a norm to get the Ford truck to carry load. It puzzles me cause my son and my 3/4 ton chevys set almost level without the bars on. Just wondering if others see the same thing
To my understanding, the tv and tt should be level. A properly installed wdh transfers 50% of the hitch weight to the front of the tv (25%), and to the tt (25%). Cat scales will show if the load is correctly distributed.
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Old 10-17-2018, 11:40 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by myxkp View Post
To my understanding, the tv and tt should be level. A properly installed wdh transfers 50% of the hitch weight to the front of the tv (25%), and to the tt (25%). Cat scales will show if the load is correctly distributed.
How much is distributed depends on the hitch, bars, truck, trailer, etc. There is no set or specific amount that it transfers, CAT scales are good to make sure you're not overweight or underweight on any axle, but when it comes to adjusting the WDH it's all about following the mfr's instructions in the owner's manual and doing proper measurements. Then you can have the setup weighed to ensure you have enough weight transfer to the front (Not too much) and haven't removed too much weight from the rear axle (too light and you greatly increase your chance of jackknifing suddenly).

If you don't want to do height measurements then you can have multiple CAT weights done to ensure you have transferred the correct % of weight back to the front axle with the WDH in place, but a single CAT weight won't tell you anything.
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Old 10-17-2018, 12:01 PM   #13
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No MFG's tell you to reweigh the front of the tow vehicle.
It's always measurements. If you meet the number requirements for the front end then there's no need to weigh.
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Old 10-17-2018, 12:16 PM   #14
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Manufacturers tell consumers to weigh so not to exceed GVWR and front and rear AWR. It’s usually located in the towing/loading section in the owners manual.
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Old 10-17-2018, 12:17 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by Dustyhd View Post
Manufacturers tell consumers to weigh so not to exceed GVWR and front and rear AWR. It’s usually located in the towing/loading section in the owners manual.
That has to do with WDH setup/adjustment, which is the subject of this thread.
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