First Time Towing Our New TT... Help Wanted :)

[surferlou]

Originally Posted by Quinndu23

We are leaving Elkhart, IN this weekend and heading to Athens, Ohio. Trying to get everything prepared.

Kudos to you for at least recognizing payload does matter. There will be people on here telling you it doesn't. Others will tell you you are fine and don't worry about it. But not one of these people pay any price at all being wrong. You and your family pay the price, and it can be steep.

It would be worth your time watching this YouTube video regarding payload. Marc does a great job of breaking it down. along with some factors you left out of your payload calculation. www.keepyourdaydream.com/payload

Safe travels.

[garywilson]

Originally Posted by Wellibe

The integrated brake controller that Ford used in 2015 does not have a boost feature. With mine, it is impossible for me to get the trailer brakes to kick in at the same time as the truck brakes, even with the gain turned all the way up. There is always a slight delay between application of the brake pedal and the brake controller sending voltage to the trailer brakes. Sometimes during light braking, the trailer brakes will not engage at all. I hate it, but that's the way it is.

Upgrade available?

I've always used either aftermarket or what comes with the Chev package. Always been able to feel trailer braking unless it is a 'panic' stop.
I've never tried a Ford pulling a trailer with integrated controller.

[Wellibe]

Originally Posted by garywilson

Upgrade available?

I've always used either aftermarket or what comes with the Chev package. Always been able to feel trailer braking unless it is a 'panic' stop.
I've never tried a Ford pulling a trailer with integrated controller.

I suppose I could swap it out for one of the later Ford model controllers, which I'm told do have a boost feature. I've never had to do a true panic stop; I'm guessing the harder I brake, the sooner the controller will kick in. With the gain all the way up, it feels pretty normal during normal braking, so I'll probably just leave well enough alone. It just bugs me that the truck is doing almost all of the work on many soft stops. Truck brakes cost more than trailer brakes.

[surferlou]

Originally Posted by Wellibe

I've never had to do a true panic stop

and THIS will be the moment people find out why payload and GCVWR matter.

[Wellibe]

Originally Posted by surferlou

and THIS will be the moment people find out why payload and GCVWR matter.

Just to clarify - I'm not the OP. My rig is well within GCWR and payload capacity.

[Quinndu23]

Hey Guys, thanks for all of the advice on this thread. It helped me learn a lot and know more about what to be aware of. It helped me understand quite a bit of what I was feeling when towing this past weekend. I felt much more confident having an idea of what was what.

Everything went very well. Even on some of the craziest one lane backroads I've ever been on, and I've been in a lot of mountains. The way back felt much more comfortable since I had already gotten pretty used to pulling it during the six hours it took to get there.

The way there we had 10-12 mph winds with gusts of 20mph. I felt those for sure. I don't have anything to compare it to really, so not sure how much 10-12mph winds affect other setups. The sway control sensor or warnings never kicked on, but I could tell when a gust hit for sure. I thought if it was going to be like that every time that I pulled, it was going to be pretty stressful. However, on the way back we only had 4-6 mph winds and it was a dream. It was a night and day difference. It honestly didn't feel like anything was behind me when there was no wind. I'm never one to hit the gas hard when taking off or speeding up to a stop sign and slamming the breaks anyways. So it was normal.

I was never planning on driving 75 with my trailer even if I was well within my limits. I'm perfectly content going 65, 70 maybe now if the wind is right. We got about half the gas mileage as we do without the trailer, so we had to stop more to fill up. I did mess with the gain a bit after I went 100 miles or so to see if it was still in the right setting. I could actually tell the difference when I went to low. So, I just kept it back up at 8. I had maybe ten pounds of weight in my truck bed and the rest of our stuff I put in that front compartment of the rv.

Looking forward to our trip back home to Wisconsin in two weeks and then up and around the UP of Michigan and then back down to Elkhart, IN. If anybody has made that trip before and recommends any places to stop at, let me know!

[tuffr2]

All in all, that is really great news. Glad you made it without incident. Towing into a head wind I think is the worse but so are a side wind with gusts. Wait until you tow with a tail wind. That is really nice and easy towing. Also you will see much better mpg.

[Wellibe]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

All in all, that is really great news. Glad you made it without incident. Towing into a head wind I think is the worse but so are a side wind with gusts. Wait until you tow with a tail wind. That is really nice and easy towing. Also you will see much better mpg.

Tail wind? Does that really exist?

[tuffr2]

Yes - tail does exist on rare occasion. I travel north and south so I sometimes catch a tail wind. I can tell from my lie-oh-meter on the dash but more important the ease of towing.

[Sbad0cko]

Originally Posted by OleSalty

Ok.. as a former 145" F150 owner.. you got it licked. But I'll give you two things to do:
Check your trailer tires SPEED rating. Some are really low, my original set where only rated to 58mph.

Here's how you set the trailer brake gain:
Start at level 6
Squeeze the brake FULLY
Truck in drive
Take foot off the brake pedal.

If it stops you, your set.
If it moves with the brakes pinched, stop. Set the brake controller to 7. Repeat until the trailer brakes can stop your truck AT IDLE. Easiest way to set them.

Happy Travels!

I had always read you're supposed to set the gain in the middle, drive up to 20mph, and hit the brake controller fully. If the combo grabs, back off one and try again. If the combo doesn't grab, go up one and try again. Old way of doing it?

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by Quinndu23

I was already to the scale yesterday and I did three different weights. I don’t have them on me but I do know I am under with room to spare. I am going to take the advice of the guy’s comment above and weigh my rear axle again to make sure I’m under still.

I will update once I return from our trip and let everyone know how it handled.

I'm glad your trip went well. I'd still be interested in seeing those numbers if you have them to share.

Dave

[Wellibe]

Originally Posted by Sbad0cko

I had always read you're supposed to set the gain in the middle, drive up to 20mph, and hit the brake controller fully. If the combo grabs, back off one and try again. If the combo doesn't grab, go up one and try again. Old way of doing it?

You are correct. That's the way my Ford owner's manual says to do it, and that's the way my previous Tekonsha aftermarket controller's manual said to do it.

[hohenwald48]

Over the last 30 years or so I've had many RV's, 14 to be exact. Class A gas, DP, class C, and several TT's. I've never had a 5th wheel or towed with a pickup. I'm pretty bad about trading every couple of years.

Our most recent is a 2023 30' Grand Design 2600RB. I tow it with a 2013 Nissan Armada 2wd.

Without listing all the numbers, you'll have to take my word for the fact that all CAT scale weights are well under all weight ratings for both the TT and TV and tongue weight is just shy of 15% using a Sherline scale. However, the Armada has a pretty short wheelbase at 123". Even with 2 friction type sway control devices and a conventional WDH the combo was a bit unstable and not pleasant to drive.

After a lot of research I decided to give a Pro Pride hitch a shot. At nearly $4,000 it's certainly expensive but cheaper than a $75k pickup truck.

The difference is phenomenal. All instability has ben eliminated and sway is absolutely zero at all speeds. Trucks and side winds no longer push me around and the handling is now very comfortable. Pro Pride install and set up can be a little intimidating for the inexperienced installer but Pro Pride provides great customer service.

You do need to up your trailer braking a bit from a conventional WDH and use a proportional controller and not a time based controller. You can research the reasons.

I've noticed that sway and TV wheelbase are constant discussion topics but the Pro Pride hitch is not often mentioned so I thought I'd just toss that out for your consideration.

[Steve Rankin]

I'll second hohenwald48's experience and recommendation of the ProPride (Hensley Hitch). FYI, the ProPride is functionally identical the Hensley Hitch, though it is an updated version of the Hensley Hitch and differs in appearance. We had 2 Hensley Hitches before ProPride was established. The improvement in trailer stability was nothing short of amazing. Additionally, the design allows for better maneuverability - similar to a 5th wheel - and far easier adjustment of the W/D tension which allowed us to make easy small changes to W/D spring bar tension, resulting in significant improvement in the ride of the truck. Yes, they are expensive and there is a learning curve, but easily worth it.

Originally Posted by hohenwald48

Over the last 30 years or so I've had many RV's, 14 to be exact. Class A gas, DP, class C, and several TT's. I've never had a 5th wheel or towed with a pickup. I'm pretty bad about trading every couple of years.

Our most recent is a 2023 30' Grand Design 2600RB. I tow it with a 2013 Nissan Armada 2wd.

Without listing all the numbers, you'll have to take my word for the fact that all CAT scale weights are well under all weight ratings for both the TT and TV and tongue weight is just shy of 15% using a Sherline scale. However, the Armada has a pretty short wheelase at 123". Even with 2 friction type sway control devices and a conventional WDH the combo was a bit unstable and not pleasant to drive.

After a lot of research I decided to give a Pro Pride hitch a shot. At nearly $4,000 it's certainly expensive but cheaper than a $75k pickup truck.

The difference is phenomenal. All instability has ben eliminated and sway is absolutely zero at all speeds. Trucks and side winds no longer push me around and the handling is now very comfortable. Pro Pride install and set up can be a little intimidating for the inexperienced installer but Pro Pride provides great customer service.

You do need to up your trailer braking a bit from a conventional WDH and use a proportional controller and not a time based controller. You can research the reasons.

I've noticed that sway and TV wheelbase are constant discussion topics but the Pro Pride hitch is not often mentioned so I thought I'd just toss that out for your consideration.