F-250 Suspension Problem

[Chz hed campers]

Just purchased a 2012 F-250, w/6.2 gas engine, for towing our Sunset Trail 30RE. Using a Husky Centerline WD Hitch. Problem is the truck really sags with the weight of the camping gear and the approx. 750 - 800# tongue weight. Can't get enough lift on the spring bars to lift the rear end. Think I might need air bags. Anyone else having this problem with their F-250??? Thanks for any advice!

 

[larrytbm]

First, ignoring the WD, there is no way that 700-800# should cause much sag. Haven't owned a Ford, but I've owned a 1/2 ton truck with a 1000 lb fifth wheel pin weight and didn't sag enough to need air bags. Now a 3/4 ton truck with a 1600 lb fifth wheel pin weight and again no need for air bags. Again, even w/o a WD setup, the truck should not sag.
I think something is definitely wrong with your WD setup. I am certainly not an expert, but when the WD is correct, weight on the rear axle should be maybe 2/3's of total weight. So that would be less than 500 lbs and there is no way the truck should sag under that weight.
Don't get air bags, take it to the dealer or a good hitch shop and see what is wrong with the WD setup.

 

[Pnr-XRD]

I occasionally pull my 30RE with a 1500 Avalanche , I have no problems that you are describing . My 2500 HD GMC dosent squat over an inch or two.

Even without a WDH , it don't seem like you would see that much sag on a 250.

I would re-check the WDH , something don't sound right.

 

[Chz hed campers]

Thanks again, I have an appointment with the RV dealerwhere I purchased the WD. They're going to check it out on Thursday. They also said I should not have that problem with an F 250

 

[Wingchop]

I have exactly the same 2012 F250 that I tow a ST29RL which has a 750# tongue weight and I have no problems at all. Even without the WD hitch it only squats an inch or two. Not sure its the hitch that has the problem.

 

[asquared]

I would question your wdh set up, if fixing wdh doesn't fix it then check your shocks. don't trust the rv dealer to set up your hitch for you they rarely are able to set them up right. I had one of the really bad set ups and it took me a lot of adjustments to ge it right on my last TV, they even set up part of my hitch backwards. we set it up for our current TV ourselves. Here are some resources for you.

how wdh works

how to set up a wdhEdited by: anaro

 

[WildWildWest]

2011 and up F250 does have more sag than its predecessors due to Ford trying to gain a softer ride in the Super Duty, but that being said, the kind of weight you are talking about shouldn't make it drop more than an inch or two and a properly set WDH should easily level your truck with that trailer weight. Has to be a problem with the WD setup. I don't think half the dealers out there know how to set them up properly and that creates a lot of these issues.

Anaro provided some good information there and I strongly suggest you review it before you go back to the RV dealer. If they know what they are doing it shouldn't be hard to adjust. When we had our travel trailer the dealer took my info on truck and hitch height over the phone and set up the hitch in advance. When I hooked up on the day of delivery it sat perfectly level. As soon as we loaded it we sat exactly one inch below stock height with no weight in the box at the wheel wells. I don't know if they got lucky but their service guy was standing there with a wrench ready to make adjustments if it wasn't perfect. I guess that's one if the reasons we went back to that dealer for our 5th wheel. Proper head tilt was key to the set up doing its job. Edited by: WildWildWest

 

[WildWildWest]

As an aside, if you do need to increase your rear spring height AKA stiffen it up for towing - go with something like the StableLoads before the airbags. I love my airbags and wireless controller ($1,000) but I haul different weights at different times and like the on the fly adjustability. The StableLoads will work better in your situation and are lower cost. ($185)

http://www.torklift.com/products/stableload.php

Edited by: WildWildWest

 

[asquared]

couple of more thoughts. what size bars are you running? Your TT has a gvwr of 7682, that means you have the potential to have a hitch weight as high as 1150 lbs. this means you should have 1200 lb bars. I think you are underestimating the tongue weight. Your trailer lists as 5961 lbs dry. 13% of 5961 is 775 lbs before you add any weight to the trailer. Also using the tongue jack to raise the rear of your truck up allows some weight to be offloaded making it easier to snap the bars up.

 

[Texas4]

I'd suggest taking away the variable of the hitch and trailer 1st and verify what xxx pounds does in the bed. Simulate load without trying to introduce too many variables... Btw I have a 2010 F250 5.4 towing a 27' 5th wheel. Zero sag when full and both truck and trailer perfectly level...pin weight about 1200#. Crew with short bed. Pulls and drives excellent

 

[RVCRUISER34]

I have a F-250 Diesel 2011, whenhitching upmy 5th wheel cfl 28 Cruiser it sagged also. I had another leaf spring added to strengthen it up. Made a big difference, towed about 5k with no problems. Also had the Roadmaster Active Suspension installed . I was concerned with the pin weight of 1600pds and the weight of a 48gal auxiliary tank. Just not interested in Air Bags, some people swear by them.

 

[NorskeBob]

Change to Bilstein shocks and add air bags - OEM shocks just don't do the job.

 

[mark5w]

Check out Roadmaster active suspension. Lots of guys have good luck with them and they don't make the ride harsh.

 

[WildWildWest]

Change to Bilstein shocks and add air bags - OEM shocks just don't do the job.

That's what I did, but if you are on a budget, the stable loads are much more economical.

 

[Lloyd S]

Check out Roadmaster active suspension. Lots of guys have good luck with them and they don't make the ride harsh.

Have you got yours installed yet? If so, how do you like it, what kind of a job was it to install?

 

[mark5w]

Just got notice that it will be delivered tomorrow. As soon as my son has a day off we are going to install it. Talked to the owners of Roadmaster on the phone (they gave me a discount for saying I saw it on the F150 forum. $325.00 + shipping) They were very helpful and gave me some ideas of how to set the tension for my EcoBoost. http://www.activesuspension.com/ Will re post after I install it.