glad you were able to make necessary adjustments to get comfortable!!!! check out this website, last paragraph on page 169 (http://www.fordservicecontent.com/F...talog/owner_information/2015-F-150-Owners-Manual-version-1_om_EN-US_09_2014.pdf). Ford recommends premium fuel for trailer pulling. If you are as OCD as me, you may want to know this.

 

glad you were able to make necessary adjustments to get comfortable!!!! check out this website, last paragraph on page 169 (http://www.fordservicecontent.com/F...talog/owner_information/2015-F-150-Owners-Manual-version-1_om_EN-US_09_2014.pdf). Ford recommends premium fuel for trailer pulling. If you are as OCD as me, you may want to know this.

Thanks for posting this info. I am aware of what the manual says...I've actually read it. Like you, I tend to be a little OCD...perhaps more so than most .

When you posted that "Ford recommends premium fuel for trailer pulling", your interpretation of what the manual says is in line with the interpretation of many others.

Actually, my manual says this: "To provide improved performance, we recommend premium fuel for severe duty usage, such as trailer tow." (emphasis added)

To me this means that if you want/need improved performance, then the use of premium fuel is recommended. I have not needed improved performance, so have not seen the need for premium. I don't interpret this statement in the manual to mean that premium is required.

It's your truck, and if you feel you should use premium fuel for towing, then have at it. I'm not trying to change anyone's mind, just expressing my opinion based on what I've read in the manual. I will continue to used regular 87 octane as long as I don't want improved performance or have pre-ignition issues.

 

Glad to hear the set up change made the difference. May be worth getting a Blue tooth ODB dongle and the Torque App to monitor Knock. It would give you the best data to decide on running higher octane fuel or not.

 

I have a Reese WDH with dual cam sway control. I started the trip with the hitch set per the instructions in the owner's manual at 25% FALR. Big mistake. The rig was all over the road, blown around by even the slightest cross wind, and pushed and pulled severely by every passing truck.

I changed the hitch adjustment to provide between 90 and 100% FALR, and the misbehavior went away.

Tom,

Thanks for the report.

I have a 2016 F150 w/3.5EB and Max Trailer Tow Package. I have a new 7490lb TT and I'm not happy with the sway. I've been looking at trading my truck in for a F250/350 or purchasing a $2,500 ProPride hitch. Your posting gives me hope that neither of those expensive options may be needed.

My trailer is at the dealer getting some small issues taken care of. When I get it back I'm going to set it up with 90-100% FALR and see if it resolves my problem. I know the Ford Owners manual said to set tension on WDH so that front fender recovers only 25% of rise.

I have a Blue Ox WDH. I just read the Reese instructions and it recommends 100% FALR. Blue Ox instructions are vague. It just states to verify that the trailer and tow vehicle are level.

I have currently have 1,000lb spring bars. I ordered 1500lb spring bars to try and they are scheduled to arrive on Tuesday.

 

If your tongue weight is under 1000 lb, the 1500 bars will make for a rough ride...not enough "flex". Probably not needed if the hitch is adjusted properly (IMO, 100 % FALR is the proper adjustment).

The Blue Ox "trailer and tow vehicle" instructions are probably based on a tow vehicle that is level to begin with...our f150s are not.

The above comments are based on almost 40 years of towing trailers, mostly large travel trailers using WD hitches...also, I have installed and adjusted scores of weight distributing hitches, both for myself and others. Those experiences don't necessarily make me an expert, because I don't claim to be. It just means that I'm an old geezer.

 

I have a similar setup (2013 F150 Screw 4x4 3.5 EB, Max Tow and 3.73 rear towing a 31' overall ~6,500 lbs loaded TT using a Blue Ox Sway Pro with 1K bars). Blue Ox specifically told me to disable the F150's built in Sway control because they will fight each other. Yes, it's a pain in the a$$ to disable it every time the truck is restarted, but I rarely get any sway issues at all and then only under heavy side gusts of wind does the whole rig get pushed a bit, but no sway. I do get some push pull from semis passing at a fast rate of speed, so when I see them coming I pull over to the right as far as I can and minimize it, but so far I have never had any serious sway problems. I set up the hitch so the trailer and F150 are pretty much level and the front end of the truck is within about 1/2" with and w/o the trailer attached.


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I have to respectfully disagree. They have nothing to do with each other. The F150 sway control only kicks in when the computer senses an actual sway event. I've towed over 6,000 miles with my TT and the F150 sway control has never activated. Blue Ox has no clue what they are talking about.

 

And I've towed well over 8K with my F150 sway control turned off without any problem, but I would say both you and I have a very limited mileage compared to Blue Ox's testing and experience with many of these units in use. I am not saying you are wrong, but I would be curious as to what qualifies you to make such a bold statement "Blue Ox has no clue what they are talking about ". Are you a Ford truck engineer? [emoji4]


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Nope, but I read and understand the owners manual. The sway control feature doesn't prevent sway, just reduces it once it begins (straight from the manual). If your hitch is doing its job and preventing sway in the first place how could they be fighting each other? As stated previously the F150 sway control only activates during a sway event. So mine is on and yours is off. It just means we both drive responsibly and take it easy when conditions dictate, therefore no crazy sway events.

 

Tony CO is correct. I run the same hitch. The sway control kicks in once you feel your tail wagging and it wants to stay squirrely. It happened to me several times last summer. Your screen will flash a message at you, the cruise will kick off dropping your speed and the rear braking sets in. There is no mistaking when it happens. I never disabled it because normally it does nothing and when the sway control kicked in I'm glad it did.

 

Very interesting comments. Thank you. From what Blue Ox told me the problem of the hitch and truck sway control fighting each other occurs if there is a sway event that causes the truck's sway control to activate, but your experience, Dman, appears to be the opposite, with the truck's sway control helping, not exacerbating the sway. Since I would dearly love to not have to deactivate the truck's sway control every time the truck is restarted and since your experience indicates using the sway control worked well, I will give it a try. Thank you. I am curious though, Dman, you said you experienced this several times, so I have to ask—what caused all these sway events in the first place??[emoji102]


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parkerbill,

I tow a 35' TT that loaded is 8800 empty (9500 or so loaded). It happened on two different trips but the one day it was about 4 times. We were packing up to leave and there was a front coming in from the north. Winds picked up through the morning and by the time I was hooking up the trailer was moving as soon as the stabilizers were up just sitting there. I knew it wasn't going to be a good day. Basically it was the semis and cross wind combo that was pounding us pretty hard off the right side. I had the cruise on 62 or so because that's about all i could do without floating around too much and in the worst of it the sway kicked in several times. I slowed to 58 or so and it recovered fine but every time I would try to speed up another gust would hit. I left the sway turned on and just slowed my speed to avoid it happening until the weather settled. I think I managed about 6.8 mpg that trip.

 

Yup, perfectly understandable![emoji106]


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Aside from sway problems and such, how did the 2.7 do towing the camper?

I've towed a dump trailer loaded down with shingles, but the wind drag from a camper makes it a whole nother animal.

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The 2.7 performed admirably...plenty of power and IMO, great towing MPG. What more could you ask for?

I tow a silver Avion...rounded corners and more aerodynamic than your typical boxy travel trailer, so wind drag is no problem.

 

BTW, the f150 is bone stock..no mods. No stiffening of the rear suspension, no rear anti-sway bar. The tires are factory installed 245/70R17 Michelin LTX, inflated 36PSI front and 40PSI rear.

I have previously (with other tow vehicles) towed many thousands of miles using P metric radials at 35 PSI with no problems. IMO, there is no substitute for a quality, properly adjusted WDH to make for a pleasant towing experience.

 

Just received my new auto hauler. 28", finished inside, dual a/c's, 7' interior height. 4,800#'s empty, gear and ATV's for a total near ~7,500 lbs. 1200lb WDH and the truck pulled it fine, motor wise. Got a little squirrelly at 60 mph and above. Averaged 8.6mpg with tow/haul mode on and 6th gear locked out.
ordered new hitch with sway control.