New 2018 42' Sandpiper has the F250 sagging a bit

[egwilly]

Please keep in mind that the total rig (truck and trailer) has to be as level as possible. Both for towing stability, and wear on the trailer tires. A trailer that is that low in front is putting a lot of the trailer weight on the front axel of the trailer. More weight=more wear.

[xrated]

Originally Posted by egwilly

Please keep in mind that the total rig (truck and trailer) has to be as level as possible. Both for towing stability, and wear on the trailer tires. A trailer that is that low in front is putting a lot of the trailer weight on the front axel of the trailer. More weight=more wear.

Those are good points, but if the truck is severely overloaded, as this one appears to be, it's pretty much moot! We need hard number of the two items that I asked him about. Everything is conjecture until those numbers are provided......that is, if he is interested in hearing it.

[TST System]

I hope you get it straightened it out. I would definitely consider a TPMS as well.
Thanks,
Mike Benson
TST

[spock123]

Originally Posted by TST System

I hope you get it straightened it out. I would definitely consider a TPMS as well.
Thanks,
Mike Benson
TST

Straightening out, that's a good one. TST 507

[DaBabysDaddy]

Originally Posted by xrated

You STILL haven't answered the two most important questions that have been asked of you....
1. Yellow sticker on the driver's side door post....What is the Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) of YOUR truck? Not numbers from a Ford brochure, your salesman, or anyone else. The CCC on YOUR truck is the weight that YOUR truck is capable of handling. (My 2011 F250 CCC is 2,148 lbs...and I've only got an XLT Crew Cab 4x4 with the 6.75' bed)
2. What is the actual loaded pin weight of the trailer as verified by a CAT or other scale? Not what the sales brochure says, not what the salesman told you, and not what you "think" it might be!

Post up those two numbers and then come back and tell us that you aren't overloaded. And remember, the CCC includes a full tank of fuel......no driver, no passenger, no 5ver hitch (unless it was installed before it left the factory...not put on at a dealer). Anything and everything besides those items mentioned, counts against your CCC and is of course deducted from that CCC number. I'd be surprised if you aren't at least 700 to 800 lbs overloaded. Oh, I forgot, you don't need to deduct the weight of the spare tire, that was on it when it left the factory. And do remember, you can put all the helper springs and or air bags that you want on the truck, but the CCC doesn't change from a legal viewpoint.....it's still EXACTLY what it says on the yellow sticker on the driver's door post. The only way to change the CCC of the truck is to hire a company to do the upgrade work and recertify the CCC...and that would be far more expensive than trading the truck for a One SRW or preferrably a DRW One tonner.

One other thing.....you stated in an earlier post that the truck is capable of pulling 18,000 lbs.......where did you come up with that number?

The 18k was a mistake on my part, I meant 16k. That's a fat finger mistake. Please don't crucify me for that too.

I did look. 2257 pounds is the ccc weight limit on the yellow sticker. I am pulling my "dangerous situation" this weekend. I will stop at the weigh station on the way. I'll get the exact pin weight, fully loaded, tomorrow night. Again, I am sure I am very close... after all the grief, I have nothing to hide. I wasn't looking for a bunch of stuff about my rig being overloaded, what the law says, or "face palm" attitudes.
The "helper springs", "super springs" that I am adding take my capacity level to a total of 3800lbs. Yellow Sticker be damned. If I know, I've altered and increased my payload capacity, and my vehicle is safe... I'm towing, traveling, pulling, or dragging my new Sandpiper!! If a cop or DOT enforcement wants to pull me over and weigh me... then, he can do what he has to do! I have never put a family member, or other driver in danger of anything. I've been towing things my whole life. Like I said, no one gets on forums and gets this wrapped up about the unarmored death traps that our Soldiers drive around in... so, cut the attitudes folks. (And I know this is not what this forum is about, before you chime in with that) This forum is supposed to be informative, not "I know it all", "How do you like me now", "I am a calculation expert", or anything like that.
But you now have my yellow sticker ccc. I'll let you know my pin weight tomorrow.

[raineman]

Well 2 things I never mentioned. Congrats on the new trailer. Here we are beating you up. And second, thank you and your wife's service.

Just know that most of us mean well here even though we all can be guilty of going too far sometimes. But the spirit of most of the comments are "just be safe". It sounds like you are concisely aware of the fact that you are riding the high limits of your tow vehicle.

Don't rule out trading up for a DRW. You maybe surprised at what deals you can find out there. I bought my 2014 brand new in 2015 and paid less than some are paying for a new SRW. Where there is a will, there is a way. The auto industry is also experiencing a slow down in sales recently which can play to your advantage. Best of luck to you.

[DaBabysDaddy]

Originally Posted by raineman

Well 2 things I never mentioned. Congrats on the new trailer. Here we are beating you up. And second, thank you and your wife's service.

Just know that most of us mean well here even though we all can be guilty of going too far sometimes. But the spirit of most of the comments are "just be safe". It sounds like you are concisely aware of the fact that you are riding the high limits of your tow vehicle.

Don't rule out trading up for a DRW. You maybe surprised at what deals you can find out there. I bought my 2014 brand new in 2015 and paid less than some are paying for a new SRW. Where there is a will, there is a way. The auto industry is also experiencing a slow down in sales recently which can play to your advantage. Best of luck to you.

Thank you for the comment sir! Our service has served our country with many sacrifices, that most will never understand. The military has also served our family as well. No thanks are necessary, yet they are appreciated.
You are correct. I am CONCISELY aware (nice word), actually even more aware after this beating. lol
I had a 1500 Ram, that I loved, and traded for this Ford... now, I am in love with it. Not rich by any means. Financially conscious, in not wanting to lose money, but money really isn't the issue. I just don't wanna wheel around everyday in a big fat DRW, so that I can pull this big 5er 10-15 times a year!
I'm not even bent outta shape with some of these guys. It seems like most everyone is set on pissing on my dream 5er, and TV, rather than being a little more positive minded. Almost sorry I even started this thread. Anyways, thanks for the "congrats". I'll be safe and enjoy my beast!

[Bamaman]

I have a 2003 F250 Crewcab 2x4 with the heaviest OEM suspension and rear air bags. My 7.3 has a 80 hp tuner so it's also plenty powerful enough to tow my mid size fifth wheel. (I ran it through scales today, and the truck alone weighs 7400 lbs.)

But I never had any idea that all 3/4 trucks (new or old) are actually bastard vehicles. They have the power to tow heavy, but they don't have much weight carrying capabilities in the bed. In other words, your kingpin weights are excessive or you'd not be seeing such a deep rear end squat.

My truck has a 13,200 lb. maximum towing rating and that's normal for single rear wheels. My fifth wheel weighs 11K dry, and after all "my stuff" and the fifth wheel hitch, passengers and fuel I AM MAX'D OUT. But at 2K lbs. dry weight on the hitch, I'm not squatting.

There's more to towing than following a weight chart. You've got to be able to stop such a load. You've got to go around a corner (handle well.) You've also got to have enough truck to have sufficient stability when a big 53' tractor trailer comes by you running 20 mph faster--and you feel like your fifth wheel's going to suck you into him.

When shopping for my fifth wheel, I knew my truck's limitations and that I wasn't going to have enough kingpin weight capabilities for a full size fifth wheel trailer or a toyhauler. And at one point, it's time for a dually, and unfortunately you're past that point already.

[xrated]

Originally Posted by DaBabysDaddy

The 18k was a mistake on my part, I meant 16k. That's a fat finger mistake. Please don't crucify me for that too.

I did look. 2257 pounds is the ccc weight limit on the yellow sticker. I am pulling my "dangerous situation" this weekend. I will stop at the weigh station on the way. I'll get the exact pin weight, fully loaded, tomorrow night. Again, I am sure I am very close... after all the grief, I have nothing to hide. I wasn't looking for a bunch of stuff about my rig being overloaded, what the law says, or "face palm" attitudes.
The "helper springs", "super springs" that I am adding take my capacity level to a total of 3800lbs. Yellow Sticker be damned. If I know, I've altered and increased my payload capacity, and my vehicle is safe... I'm towing, traveling, pulling, or dragging my new Sandpiper!! If a cop or DOT enforcement wants to pull me over and weigh me... then, he can do what he has to do! I have never put a family member, or other driver in danger of anything. I've been towing things my whole life. Like I said, no one gets on forums and gets this wrapped up about the unarmored death traps that our Soldiers drive around in... so, cut the attitudes folks. (And I know this is not what this forum is about, before you chime in with that) This forum is supposed to be informative, not "I know it all", "How do you like me now", "I am a calculation expert", or anything like that.
But you now have my yellow sticker ccc. I'll let you know my pin weight tomorrow.

Just so you know, I'm not trying to hammer anyone, but as other have stated, for the truck to sag that much, and to be pulling a 5er that size, it's almost impossible to NOT be overloaded.

The only reason that I know what I know about this sort of thing is because of personal experience. In late October, 2010, I bought a brand new F250 Ford Diesel truck....thinking to myself, OK, get the truck now and when I get closer to retirement (hopefully in 2018), I'll buy a 35-38' 5er Toy Hauler and we will be ready to go. I figured a 3/4T truck....and I should be able to pull about anything that I wanted to buy. So, this past October I started looking for 5ers and within about 5 minutes I realized that with a CCC of 2148 lbs on my truck, there were no T.H.ers that I could get without going way over the CCC of my truck....and that was before even buying a 5er hitch for it AND the pin weights are BEFORE the trailer is loaded. Every T.H. that I looked at the specs for, ranged from about 2400 - 3000 lbs or more, that was in the size that I wanted. I screwed up in 2010 when I bought my truck because I didn't know any better.

So basically, I had a choice:
1. Buy a heavier truck that would safely and legally tow a 5er in the size that I wanted.....then buy the trailer too (not happening because of financial reasons)
2. Try to find a T.H. that is a tow behind that my current truck could safely and legally handle.

So, at the end of October, I bought a 34 1/2' T.H. that is a tow behind and I am very happy with it. All of my numbers are within spec...GVWR, GCWR, GAWR (front and rear), CCC not exceeded, everything.

So please don't take offense when I try to point out some of the things about your setup that just don't look right. We are all out to have some fun and enjoy our campers/T.H./motorhomes/whatever we have....and as a community of like minded folks on here, we like to be able to help others if and when and where we can.

You setup seems to be way overloaded, and as I stated, until ALL the numbers come in, it't all conjecture.....but I would want to know for sure if I were you.....

[xrated]

One other point that has been mentioned, but not gone into is the legality of knowingly towing overloaded. I'm certainly NOT a lawyer, but it would be a strong possibility, in my opinion, that if you or anyone else was involved in a serious or fatality type accident....and you were knowingly overloaded and had an accident of that kind, there would be lawyers coming after you for millions of dollars in compensation. The liability of knowingly towing overloaded, and the possibility of losing everything that I've worked so hard for, for my entire life so far, is just not worth it for me....or the possibility of ruining someone else's life. Can accidents happen even when you have done everything correctly and are operating within the parameters of your rig.....obviously...yes, there are no guarantees. But in my opinion, there is no good reason to knowingly go looking for trouble....and knowingly bypassing or choosing to ignore the facts of reality, is looking for trouble.

Believe me, I was terribly disappointed when I made my discovery last fall, that there was no way to get the 5ers of my dreams. But through my own ignorance of the facts, and my situation of not being able to buy a different truck AND a 5er that I wanted, I made lemonade out of the batch of lemons that I had. I sincerely wish you well on this, but I also encourage you to do the right thing when all of the data is gathered.

[CMelder]

Originally Posted by Airmech

Really??? A 450???? Do you know the weights there talking about? Less than 3k pin and under 16k gross. If you NEED a 450 to tow that your truck must be broke.

Really, I've never read such a long blog of b.s. about a truck pulling a 5th wheel. A F450 ... really? I used to stack 8,000 lb. of wood on a steel bed mounted on an F350 everyday, all day long, up and down the hills of Bandera Texas. Oh, make no mistake, it was overloaded, but it did it day in and day out. All over ranch roads, rocky/gravel, and then hit the highway and head into Fredericksburg to unload the wood. LoL, My "overload indicator" was the measurement of how close the steel bed was getting to the top of my rear tires! Lol, give me a break. You folks have obviously never overloaded anything in your life, you really don't know what it is to overload a truck.

[CMelder]

Originally Posted by DaBabysDaddy

Super Duty F250 Diesel is dragging my baby down a bit. I just picked up the new 5er today. It probably dropped the back end 5/6 inches. It's well within the tongue weight, and towing capacity. First thing I thought was "I need some air bags to level it up"... But the dealer suggested these "super springs". They allow for an additional 3800lbs, and should level it out a lot. Anyone else use these? The dealer swore by them.Attachment 161294

Hi DaBabysDaddy, Hope you having a good day today! I've read this entire blog of b.s. and in my humble opinion, and experience with towing heavy goosenecks and the 5th wheels with F250 and F350 I believe you are just fine. The "helper springs" will in fact help stop the sag and they work just fine. They've been used on pickups for decades, tried & true. So, when you get them installed, hook up and go have some fun! (and stop reading this particular blog of b.s.)

[DaBabysDaddy]

Originally Posted by CMelder

Hi DaBabysDaddy, Hope you having a good day today! I've read this entire blog of b.s. and in my humble opinion, and experience with towing heavy goosenecks and the 5th wheels with F250 and F350 I believe you are just fine. The "helper springs" will in fact help stop the sag and they work just fine. They've been used on pickups for decades, tried & true. So, when you get them installed, hook up and go have some fun! (and stop reading this particular blog of b.s.)

Blunt... Thank you sir! I am pretty tough on myself when it comes to safety, but I also know how to use my equipment, what the factory says it will do... And what it will actually do. I have great tires, great brakes, and a ton of experience and skill. But, I agree, some of these "towing angels" do tend reach a bit. I also have a pretty good filter for what I believe is someone trying to play the "Forum Einstien", and what is sound advice that I should adhere to. I am still going to weigh it all tonight, fully loaded, and see where I am at! When testing the pin weight, do I take my K2 cooler full of beer out of the truck, or can I leave it in?
So hang in there guys, I'll post my actual weight either tonight or tomorrow. I'll also give y'all some pictures after I get my springs on!!
Have a great weekend everyone.

[raineman]

Originally Posted by DaBabysDaddy

Blunt... Thank you sir! I am pretty tough on myself when it comes to safety, but I also know how to use my equipment, what the factory says it will do... And what it will actually do. I have great tires, great brakes, and a ton of experience and skill. But, I agree, some of these "towing angels" do tend reach a bit. I also have a pretty good filter for what I believe is someone trying to play the "Forum Einstien", and what is sound advice that I should adhere to. I am still going to weigh it all tonight, fully loaded, and see where I am at! When testing the pin weight, do I take my K2 cooler full of beer out of the truck, or can I leave it in?
So hang in there guys, I'll post my actual weight either tonight or tomorrow. I'll also give y'all some pictures after I get my springs on!!
Have a great weekend everyone.

Make sure to take your shoes off too. And as long as the beer is lite beer, you need to toss that too.