Trailer sway issue f150

84 f150 lwb 2wd 300 six 4 speed 355 gears .the issue I'm having is massive unsafe trailer sway . the trailer is a tilt deck flat bed 24 foot deck above 45 it's all over the road empty or loaded in the past year new rear leaf springs new front coils all new bushings recently installed 9" the 8.8 died . my friend 07 dodge v6 long bed can pull it 75 mph . I'm wondering why this truck is so worthless and dangerous. Is it the truck being to light ? A f250 would be considerably heavier as far as weight is concerned my crew cab f350 single wheel can pull trailer but can't pull a boat up a dock just spins are the bullnose and obs just to light ? Would adding weight to trucks help the 84 f150 gets stuck on wet grass the f350 also spins easily .

Sounds like you don't have enough tongue weight.  Did the sway happen when you had a load on the trailer?

How does the truck drive w/o the trailer?

I've pulled my car hauler trailer with Big Blue many miles with no problem, both with and without loads - usually Chevys.  So the Bullnose trucks can certainly do it.  And while your F150 may not be rated to pull the trailer when loaded, that's not a sway issue.  More a lack of braking issue.

It does it empty or loaded the trailer is definitely long but a 07 dodge 1500 can pull it but online says that 07 is around 700 pounds heavier

As Gary was hinting at, sway is usually related to trailer balance.  You should have at least 10% of the trailer weight on the hitch.  So a 1000 lb trailer should have at least 100 lbs of tongue weight, a 5000 lb trailer should have at least 500 lbs and so on.

You can see how a lighter-duty truck can get in trouble pretty quick with having to much weight on the tongue, but moving the weight back on the trailer gets you in trouble.

So how does the trailer balance seem?  That sounds like a pretty heavy trailer.  Does the tongue weight seem like it's correspondingly high?

Otherwise I think a heavier, stiffer truck might handle sway better, but the truck generally doesn't cause sway.

Sway is a hot topic on camping trailer forums.

Impossible to give advice without knowing EVERYTHING about your set up.

I’ll leave 2 thoughts here for you.

1. What are the hitch heights for all these vehicles? Is the trailer level with all of then?

2. Anti sway with a friction bar can help, but without know everything of your set up with good pictures it is hard to say.

So yes this is a heavy trailer it was built by my wife's cousin who at the time had been professionally building trailers for years I've compared the axle placement to different company trailers and the axle is correctly placed empty this trailer squats my truck 1/2 a inch so I figure this trailer is 2500 pounds so I'm 220 pounds and me standing on bumper doesn't squat that much. I am a professional steering wheel holder and been pulling personal size trailers since I was 16 so I know how to handle a trailer and it takes a lot of skill to pull this trailer with this p.o.s truck

If this truck has thought me anything it was to never buy a f150 ever again. And stay away from 80-96 truck they are just to light the f350 which should be more than heavy enough can't even pull a boat out of water we had to drag my f350 up the boat ramp with a dodge 1500 because the f350 just spun tried a less steep ramp and almost the same result but with 5 adults at front of boat the truck barely pulled up the ramp

I think the F150 is a bit light for towing, but it shouldn't sway like you say it does.  So there's something wrong.

You don't have the F350 in your sig so I don't know what it is, but if it is a 460 or IDI and you don't have at least a locker in the rear, better yet 4wd, you can have traction problems.  The massive engine causes there to be little weight on the rear wheels so there's not much traction if you are trying to drive with one wheel.

Like has been stated above usually not enough tongue weight will cause this. Everything I have read says no less than 10% and no more than 15% tongue weight and you want it level also hence the need for the raise and lower type ball mounts they sell. WeighSafe sales one with a built in scale to see just what the tongue weight is on the truck. https://www.weigh-safe.com/ I do not have one of these by the way. Here's a video for reference as to what is being stated here.
Safe_Trailering_Demonstrator.mp4

I can only speak from personal experience. tail loaded trailers always sway for me. i get picky when loading and place a car or truck on a trailer. I watch how the truck loads as I drive one on the trailer. i often have the other experience from having too much tongue load. it unloads the front axle on my shortbed and steering gets light and braking is hazardous. there is a real reason why trucks have a duty weight rating!!!
i build trucks that can pull almost whatever you need them too but that does NOT mean they can control it.

The f350 is the main work horse but I don't like owning trucks that can't work I wonder does anyone have any suggestions how to add weight to these light weight trucks to where they might be usable as a truck ?

we are probably getting more into preferences more than anything else. there are many tools for many jobs and one size does not fit all. one of my favorite tow vehicles was an excursion 4wd with a v10. if the antique bullnose is not up to the task that you set it to then you may need to move up from its weight class to the one better suited. many of us use them routinely without fault. I myself have pulled trailers loaded with concrete blocks. roofing shingles, railroad cross ties, gravel and on and on. regarding other trucks, even fords continued line of f series is upgraded with heavier box frames, wider tracks, larger brakes, etc. know the duty rating you truly need and choose trucks accordingly.

But that's the question why does a 07 1500 pull it I was hoping someone had a suggestion of how much weight to add to make the f150 at least pull a trailer without fishtailing I had a 1970 f100 same drive train it went off road without a issue this truck also with a 9" 355 gears is worthless on wet grass . I guess I  will have to scale a older better built truck to see where weight is positioned.

The problem is that, a least in most of our experience, it's not about adding weight to the tow vehicle to prevent sway.  It's usually about getting the trailer balanced correctly.

Sorry we can't help you.

Gsmblue wrote

Sway is a hot topic on camping trailer forums.

Impossible to give advice without knowing EVERYTHING about your set up.

I’ll leave 2 thoughts here for you.

1. What are the hitch heights for all these vehicles? Is the trailer level with all of then?

2. Anti sway with a friction bar can help, but without know everything of your set up with good pictures it is hard to say.

That is the big one to start with, level trailer.
Then weight on the front of the trailer, front heavy / rear light of trailer.

What do you have the rear & front tire PSI at on your truck?
When ever I pull my trailer vary far I max the PSI on the rear tires and up a little on the front.
This will stop tire side wall flex.

Check that 07 Dodge and I bet it has sway bars front & rear, what dose your truck have?
Also what size and load range tires dose it have? I am guessing 16" and maybe a LT tire load range and bet you have a 15" car size load range tire on yours.

What is the wheel base of his & your truck?
I seen a post where a user had issues, vibration, pulling a open deck trailer with a newer Ford but did not with the his older trucks and a buddies. I dont remember what the outcome was.

Maybe a WD hitch may help? Could add the sway control to it.
I have yet to pull my car trailer with my F100 with a 300 six and NP435 trans but I plan to use the same WD hitch that I use with my 02 Dodge Durango when the time comes. The Dodge dose not use sway control but the WD hitch dose help in that some.
Dave ----

ps I am also a steering wheel holder LOL and have pulled all kinds of trailers from when I started driving (16) and never had one that swayed really bad.

I'm with Fuzz, check your tire pressure, my bronco pulling a trailer would sway till i started airing up the tires like Fuzz said.

I've never had an issue pulling with my shortbed F150 and I can assure you I've abused it with some of the things I've pulled. I'd blame the trailer but you said your friend pulls it without issue. Do you have good shocks on that truck?

I pulled the below car with a very heavy trailer loaded with engine blocks and other heavy parts from San Antonio Texas, through the Hill Country, to Oklahoma. The bed of my truck was even full. Never had a problem. Pulled several U-Hauls across Oklahoma, utility trailers, and just about everything that can be hooked up to a truck and did it without issues.

 

rust&crust wrote

But that's the question why does a 07 1500 pull it?

I didn't see where anybody else asked, but does this 1984 F150 have front or rear factory swaybars? My 1984 F150 did not have any swaybars originally, and I found the truck to be really unstable even without pulling a trailer (the body roll was terrible). Combine that with worn spring bushings, worn twin i-beam and radius arm bushings, and a steering box with a ton of slop and these trucks are sketchy on anything but the best straight and flat roads.

That '07 1500 would more than likely have factory front and rear swaybars. In the 80's they were still options, but they were mostly standard equipment by the early 90's. I would say that the 07 1500 is likely a much more stable truck.

Rembrant wrote

rust&crust wrote

But that's the question why does a 07 1500 pull it?

I didn't see where anybody else asked, but does this 1984 F150 have front or rear factory swaybars? My 1984 F150 did not have any swaybars originally, and I found the truck to be really unstable even without pulling a trailer (the body roll was terrible). Combine that with worn spring bushings, worn twin i-beam and radius arm bushings, and a steering box with a ton of slop and these trucks are sketchy on anything but the best straight and flat roads.

That '07 1500 would more than likely have factory front and rear swaybars. In the 80's they were still options, but they were mostly standard equipment by the early 90's. I would say that the 07 1500 is likely a much more stable truck.

You missed my post Cory

FuzzFace2 wrote

Gsmblue wrote

Sway is a hot topic on camping trailer forums.

Impossible to give advice without knowing EVERYTHING about your set up.

I’ll leave 2 thoughts here for you.

1. What are the hitch heights for all these vehicles? Is the trailer level with all of then?

2. Anti sway with a friction bar can help, but without know everything of your set up with good pictures it is hard to say.

That is the big one to start with, level trailer.
Then weight on the front of the trailer, front heavy / rear light of trailer.

What do you have the rear & front tire PSI at on your truck?
When ever I pull my trailer vary far I max the PSI on the rear tires and up a little on the front.
This will stop tire side wall flex.

Check that 07 Dodge and I bet it has sway bars front & rear, what dose your truck have?
Also what size and load range tires dose it have? I am guessing 16" and maybe a LT tire load range and bet you have a 15" car size load range tire on yours.

What is the wheel base of his & your truck?
I seen a post where a user had issues, vibration, pulling a open deck trailer with a newer Ford but did not with the his older trucks and a buddies. I dont remember what the outcome was.

Maybe a WD hitch may help? Could add the sway control to it.
I have yet to pull my car trailer with my F100 with a 300 six and NP435 trans but I plan to use the same WD hitch that I use with my 02 Dodge Durango when the time comes. The Dodge dose not use sway control but the WD hitch dose help in that some.
Dave ----

ps I am also a steering wheel holder LOL and have pulled all kinds of trailers from when I started driving (16) and never had one that swayed really bad.

Dave ----

FuzzFace2 wrote

You missed my post Cory

Indeed I did. I know a lot of lower optioned Bullnose half ton trucks had no swaybars at all, and I have to say, I wouldn't want to tow anything with one.