Story Time: 45mph crosswinds, F150, Andersen no-sway hitch

[Wilde]

I had an interesting towing experience yesterday. On my way back from Joshua Tree National Park I was towing my 28' Jayco trailer with my 2017 F150 and drove through a relatively short (thankfully) section of road during a high wind advisory with the wind coming almost directly from the side. After I got home, I found a weather station located right next to the road and found out the wind speed was a steady 30mph with gusts up to 45mph right when I was driving through.

That was pretty crazy for me, so I'm here to relate my experience.

My setup: 2017 F150 Supercrew, 5'5" bed, 3.5l ecoboost. 2017 Jayco Whitehawk 24MBH: 27'9", 6800lbs (weighed). Andersen No-Sway weight distribution hitch.

The section of road where this happened is right here: https://goo.gl/maps/qJvscypZ1h72 Straight as an arrow, only six miles, but totally exposed to the wind. There was no noticeable wind on the road before I hit that section. Once I got on the 10 freeway heading west, I was going into the wind and it wasn't so bad.

First of all, I wasn't expecting that amount of wind. The wind we experienced at Joshua Tree was mild. I've camped there lots of times and it sometimes gets crazy windy. When we left the campsite, there was only a slight gusty breeze. I think the only preparation I could have done would have been to air up my rear tires on the truck. I keep them at 37psi for day to day driving and that also works well enough for regular towing. I check the trailer tires before each trip and they were at 50psi like they're supposed to be. In retrospect I should have checked a weather report because obviously that part of the road by Palm Springs is windy as hell.

When it all started, I was sort of excited to see what the wind would do to my current setup. My previous experience with towing in wind was a much longer section of road with a 25-30mph crosswind. That was No. Fun. At. All. I was towing the same trailer but with a Mercedes GL450 and my Andersen hitch (set up by the RV dealer) was totally set up so badly it was just there for show. That was a white knuckle experience which I never want to live through again. In part, that's what prompted me to get the F150 to tow the trailer.

The Andersen "no-sway" hitch, once I had it set up right, has been good. It took a while to figure out how to set it up correctly, and the last few trips made me think I finally had it set perfectly. I was not experiencing any movement from passing trucks and the wind I'd towed through hadn't done anything to me either. Then there was yesterday and now I'm not so convinced. Maybe I'm expecting too much?

Once we hit that section of the road, the excitement started immediately. It was like a switch was turned on an all of a sudden we were in a wind storm. The truck started moving along like it was drunk. "Is that the wind?" my wife asked. Yep. I could see the wind farm up ahead and they were spinning pretty good. I forced my hands to stay light on the wheel after they initially clenched like my buttcheeks. My mind immediately went back to that experience with the Mercedes where I had to fight the wheel to stay on the road. Was it going to be the same? Thankfully, it wasn't.

While the truck was getting moved around by the trailer, I never had to make any drastic moves to stay in a straight line. I tried different speeds between 45 to 65mph and slower was definitely better. 65mph sucked. I kept it between 45-50. At that speed I just needed to pay attention and make slight corrections and I was able to hold the line without difficulty. It sure didn't feel good, but it wasn't scary. I could feel every gust of wind, but it didn't really change where I was heading.

There were three other trailers going the other direction. One of them was crawling along at maybe 20-25mph with his hazard lights on (Chevy 2500 with a 30-35' trailer). The second guy, with a 20' trailer and I think a Ram 1500, was going normal speed but I could see him weaving down the road. The last one was a very big fifth wheel that also seemed to be moving at a normal pace. I wonder most about that last guy and would have liked to experience the same wind with his setup.

I eventually made it to the 10 freeway and headed more directly into the wind. That was nicer. A few more miles down the road and there was no noticeable wind at all.

So, after that thankfully short wild ride, I came away conflicted. Up to that point I was totally pleased with my setup and I've even posted here about it. Now I'm not so sure. I mean, 45mph crosswinds are pretty extreme, right? Would everyone feel it like I did, or do some setups feel rock solid no matter what? Would a different/better WDH make a big difference? I'd be interested to hear other people's experiences in high wind situations like that.

[Mr_D]

Guess it depends on how you feel about it and how much more you want to spend to "correct" something that might not be a problem. How much do you expect to drive under those conditions? Maybe park till it quiets down? (I was going to say "blows over" but didn't sound right)

[Skip426]

It gets to a point where , mother nature can throw things at any man made object and laugh at the efforts of man to overcome them.
I've driven the I-40 , Needles to the junction of AZ 95 with a 45 mph+ cross wind, for most of this road there is no place to pull off and wait out the gusts.
Dodge 3/4 ton 4X4 , with a 9,400 lb , 5er. There were semis in front and behind and the whole line of traffic was doing 40mph , no one passed me .
Sometimes no matter what you have for a set up , the only solution is to slow down or get off the road.

[tuffr2]

Good story, thanks for sharing. And glad you made it [emoji106] [emoji106] [emoji106]

[drdarrin]

Interesting that I should read your post just now. We just checked into the Black Rock Campground today, for 3 days. From here, to Death Valley as we wander north.

Since you’re from West Covina, I have to assume this was not your first time in the Morongo Pass. It is infamous for its strong winds. Where CA 62 meets I-10, the cross winds can easily exceed 60 mph. Glad to hear your setup worked out well for you. Some days, keeping it between the lines is harder than others.

[Freqz]

I did 350 miles last week in crosswinds of 25-30 knots with my Andersen WDH. I did most of it at 55-60 mph.

Not an enjoyable experience but it only got to be a handful once on a particularly exposed section of I-20. But I've been through there at times when you're getting pushed around without a trailer.

I'm happy with the hitch even though I'm still getting it dialed in.

How's the WD portion of the hitch working out for you? My trailer only lifts the front of the truck like 1/4" so I'm not really in a position to test it out but I am curious.

[Wilde]

Originally Posted by Freqz

I'm happy with the hitch even though I'm still getting it dialed in.

How's the WD portion of the hitch working out for you? My trailer only lifts the front of the truck like 1/4" so I'm not really in a position to test it out but I am curious.

Tongue weight for this trailer is 1000lbs. I measured front and rear wheel wells before connecting, connected the trailer, then tensioned the chains until the front wheel well returned to its original height. That worked out great for me. I tried both more and less tension, but that's what worked the best.

[bobbin]

Originally Posted by Wilde

I had an interesting towing experience yesterday. On my way back from Joshua Tree National Park I was towing my 28' Jayco trailer with my 2017 F150 and drove through a relatively short (thankfully) section of road during a high wind advisory with the wind coming almost directly from the side. After I got home, I found a weather station located right next to the road and found out the wind speed was a steady 30mph with gusts up to 45mph right when I was driving through.

That was pretty crazy for me, so I'm here to relate my experience.

My setup: 2017 F150 Supercrew, 5'5" bed, 3.5l ecoboost. 2017 Jayco Whitehawk 24MBH: 27'9", 6800lbs (weighed). Andersen No-Sway weight distribution hitch.

The section of road where this happened is right here: https://goo.gl/maps/qJvscypZ1h72 Straight as an arrow, only six miles, but totally exposed to the wind. There was no noticeable wind on the road before I hit that section. Once I got on the 10 freeway heading west, I was going into the wind and it wasn't so bad.

First of all, I wasn't expecting that amount of wind. The wind we experienced at Joshua Tree was mild. I've camped there lots of times and it sometimes gets crazy windy. When we left the campsite, there was only a slight gusty breeze. I think the only preparation I could have done would have been to air up my rear tires on the truck. I keep them at 37psi for day to day driving and that also works well enough for regular towing. I check the trailer tires before each trip and they were at 50psi like they're supposed to be. In retrospect I should have checked a weather report because obviously that part of the road by Palm Springs is windy as hell.

When it all started, I was sort of excited to see what the wind would do to my current setup. My previous experience with towing in wind was a much longer section of road with a 25-30mph crosswind. That was No. Fun. At. All. I was towing the same trailer but with a Mercedes GL450 and my Andersen hitch (set up by the RV dealer) was totally set up so badly it was just there for show. That was a white knuckle experience which I never want to live through again. In part, that's what prompted me to get the F150 to tow the trailer.

The Andersen "no-sway" hitch, once I had it set up right, has been good. It took a while to figure out how to set it up correctly, and the last few trips made me think I finally had it set perfectly. I was not experiencing any movement from passing trucks and the wind I'd towed through hadn't done anything to me either. Then there was yesterday and now I'm not so convinced. Maybe I'm expecting too much?

Once we hit that section of the road, the excitement started immediately. It was like a switch was turned on an all of a sudden we were in a wind storm. The truck started moving along like it was drunk. "Is that the wind?" my wife asked. Yep. I could see the wind farm up ahead and they were spinning pretty good. I forced my hands to stay light on the wheel after they initially clenched like my buttcheeks. My mind immediately went back to that experience with the Mercedes where I had to fight the wheel to stay on the road. Was it going to be the same? Thankfully, it wasn't.

While the truck was getting moved around by the trailer, I never had to make any drastic moves to stay in a straight line. I tried different speeds between 45 to 65mph and slower was definitely better. 65mph sucked. I kept it between 45-50. At that speed I just needed to pay attention and make slight corrections and I was able to hold the line without difficulty. It sure didn't feel good, but it wasn't scary. I could feel every gust of wind, but it didn't really change where I was heading.

There were three other trailers going the other direction. One of them was crawling along at maybe 20-25mph with his hazard lights on (Chevy 2500 with a 30-35' trailer). The second guy, with a 20' trailer and I think a Ram 1500, was going normal speed but I could see him weaving down the road. The last one was a very big fifth wheel that also seemed to be moving at a normal pace. I wonder most about that last guy and would have liked to experience the same wind with his setup.

I eventually made it to the 10 freeway and headed more directly into the wind. That was nicer. A few more miles down the road and there was no noticeable wind at all.

So, after that thankfully short wild ride, I came away conflicted. Up to that point I was totally pleased with my setup and I've even posted here about it. Now I'm not so sure. I mean, 45mph crosswinds are pretty extreme, right? Would everyone feel it like I did, or do some setups feel rock solid no matter what? Would a different/better WDH make a big difference? I'd be interested to hear other people's experiences in high wind situations like that.

Your story proves the points I have made in many other postings. imho, no device attached to a 2.5 inch ball can control a swaying 7k-10k# trailer. simple physics. 45mph winds are not strong and occur daily on the prairies. a better approach is to get to the root, ie at the trailer wheels. suggest you consider the Tuson device and install disc brakes.

[khuffmanjr]

Originally Posted by bobbin

Your story proves the points I have made in many other postings. imho, no device attached to a 2.5 inch ball can control a swaying 7k-10k# trailer. simple physics. 45mph winds are not strong and occur daily on the prairies. a better approach is to get to the root, ie at the trailer wheels. suggest you consider the Tuson device and install disc brakes.

Is that the one that was recalled for being crap? I might be thinking of something else, but I woulda swore someone mentioned a recall on a control-sway-with-braking device.

Ken