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Old 07-05-2015, 09:09 PM   #21
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Marshall,
Not an expert like others, but I currently use and AirSafe hitch with a long wheelbase truck and an old, old Reese WD set up and see no sway problem. I would not think the AirSafe is at a major factor in the problem you are experiencing with sway.
I never liked the friction type of sway control as I also had one of those years ago and used it with an Eas-Lift WD hitch and I never could get it adjusted correctly for all conditions and had to keep adjusting it as roads and weather dictated. That's when I switched over to the Resse with the stirups and towing became a breeze.
I also owned a 1984 Diesel Ford F250 and found the front end to be loose compared to my current Chevy with a diesel. Maybe a trip to a few dealers and do some test drives could tell you if it is the old trucks front end that may be the cause?? Or, it might just eliminate the truck as the problem. I don't know what kind of front end the 99 Ford had on it, but on mine it was the I-beam style that they had used for years, now I'm sure Ford has upgraded their front ends several times since then. Your 99 might be a different type of front end and axle altogether.
Sounds like your ready for a newer truck anyway.
Also those weight numbers you posted in post #28, are those from weight scale where you got the actual weight of your loaded trailer? Just looking at the numbers the tongue weight seems a little low compared to my 27' that is about 925#, if I remember correctly.
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Old 07-06-2015, 08:01 AM   #22
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The longer the wheel base, the more stable towing will be.
Longest: Crew cab, 8' bed is the longest truck.
Longer: Crew cab, 6' bed or extended cab 8' bed are about equal in length, and basically 2' shorter than crew cab, 8' bed.
Long: Extended cab 6' box or regular cab 8' box are about equal in length, and basically 2' shorter than crew cab, 6' bed or extended cab, 8' bed.
short: Regular cab, 6' bed is basically 2' shorter than than an extended cab, 6' bed or regular cab, 8' bed and is the shortest truck sold.
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Old 07-06-2015, 10:25 AM   #23
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Towing: Short vs. long bed?

No one is going to be able to test and find differences between two otherwise similar trucks and bed length.

The differences will be to the truck with the better suspension and steering, as well as lower COG and tires. Realistically, 2WD versus 4WD where the former has better on road tires.

That's about it.

One might say it is the difference between the second tier hitches, where the Dual Cam is superior to an Equalizer. Neither is a first rate hitch as are the VPP hitches (a Euro SUV, for this comparison).

As to which truck bed is more useful I voted for the long bed. That's the better question, the useful question, between the two. Same for four doors over two.
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Old 07-13-2015, 08:16 AM   #24
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My experience with 4 tow vehicles

Over the years, I've pulled our 27' Overlander with 4 different TVs. In order of preference, lowest first is a regular cab short bed 1500 Ram. It pulled fine, but I knew the AS was there and did get some sway and at times it felt like the AS was pushing the truck, that may be just me though. Next was and still is a 2006 Durango with the Hemi. Much more stable than the 1500 Ram and a smoother ride in my opinion. 2500 extended cab short bed Ram with the 5.9 diesel. Great truck and never knew the AS was there. Last and my favorite for many reasons beyond towing is an F350 crew cab long bed dually with a diesel. The dually is overkill for the AS, but we also use it for a large Lance cabover camper. Between the Ram 2500 and the F350, I see no difference towing the AS. The big difference to me is the comfort and the smoother ride with the F350.
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Old 07-13-2015, 08:48 AM   #25
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The only difference in bed lengths is more or less storage. The wheel base is the factor that effects the "feel" when towing. I have a mega cab Dodge with a 6'5" bed. My wheel base is equal to a long bed crew cab Dodge. I wanted more interior space than a standard crew and was ok with loosing some bed storgae space. The bed length doesn't effect the drivabilty when not towing. It is the wheel base that makes it a big truck.

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Old 07-13-2015, 09:11 AM   #26
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Interesting observation, the single cab Ram with long bed is the same length as my crew cab Ram with 5.7ft box. The longest you can get on the crew cab is the 6.8ft box on the Ram.
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Old 07-13-2015, 07:03 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bhales View Post
The dually is overkill for the AS, but we also use it for a large Lance cabover camper. Between the Ram 2500 and the F350, I see no difference towing the AS. The big difference to me is the comfort and the smoother ride with the F350.
An argument for dually that makes sense to me (even though I don't have one) is more brakes than a single axle.

I am surprised to hear you say the 350 is smoother than the 3/4 ton. I would suspect the beefier suspension would give you a harsher ride,

At the risk of highjacking my own thread. I bought a new truck. It was a toss up between a 2013 Chevy 2500 Diesel work truck with 65K miles for 37K. Real nice shape but nothing fancy; and a 2008 Ram 2500 Lariat diesel I saw on the internet today. I was tempted not to bother with the Dodge because I had 90% decided on the Chevy. But it had 43 K on it. The asking prices were about the same. A 7 year old truck for the same price (36K) as a 2 year old truck (37K) did not make any sense at all. But when I took the Dodge for a ride my mind was made up in 5 minutes. The Lariat has leather heated seats, a sunroof, jake brake, 6.7 Cummins, 6 speed auto, brand new Michelins, Bilstein shocks and steering stabilizer electric windows including the rear, bed liner, and some other bells and whistles I can't remember. It looked amazing and has been immaculately maintained. He only used it to tow a small trailer once, so he says but I believe him. Plus I got her for 31 thou.
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Old 07-13-2015, 07:08 PM   #28
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"An argument for dually that makes sense to me (even though I don't have one) is more brakes than a single axle." I believe that a dually has the same brake setup as a single rear wheel. The wheels on a dually are basically mounted back-to-back, so there would not be an additional brake assembly.

A truck (or MH) with a tag axle is a different story. In that case there will be an additional brake assembly on each side.
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Old 07-14-2015, 06:09 AM   #29
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I know there are a few who like the Airsafe. To answer your question about it affecting tow stability negatively, the answer is that yes, any increase in distance from TV rear axle to hitch ball worsens the effect of the TT upon the TV.

Get a ProPride. Plenty of room for adjustments that will get the rig dialed in right.
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Old 07-14-2015, 09:31 AM   #30
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The Airsafe hitch has worked flawlessly for me for the last 30,000 miles coupled with a quality wd hitch your Airstream rides on air.I would not travel without now that I have used it.


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Old 07-20-2015, 06:35 AM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lumatic View Post
An argument for dually that makes sense to me (even though I don't have one) is more brakes than a single axle.

I am surprised to hear you say the 350 is smoother than the 3/4 ton. I would suspect the beefier suspension would give you a harsher ride,
My Ram was a 2001 with a straight Diff. The F350 is a 2006 with an independent front Diff. Along with the longer wheel base I believe that is what gives me the smoother ride. And you are correct about braking. At 100K miles on the Ram, I went through 3 sets of fron brake pads and 2 rotors. The rear brakes were replaced once at about 70K.
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Old 07-20-2015, 07:17 AM   #32
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2008 Dodge/Cummins 2500 4x4 crew cab, long bed. Truck is nearly 22 feet with Reese dual cam sway control weight distribution hitch. This, when properly set up, has given me thousands of miles of very easy towing, 60 - 65 mph, and rarely do do I ever feel a "bow wave" from a passing semi.

There are some interesting harmonics with my Serenity 30RB, certain situations where roads have regular undulations, the truck can rock to and fro, requiring a speed adjustment. But 99% of the time it is just wonderful.


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Old 07-22-2015, 08:31 PM   #33
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Hooked up my 08 Ram 2500 Quad Cab short bed to my 34' Excella for the first time for a quick shakedown. It towed flawless with no appreciable sway. This is in contrast to my 99 F250 extended cab short bed which had serious sway/ fishtail problems is spite of rebuilding the front end. I have to conclude bed length is not a significant issue.
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Old 07-23-2015, 03:55 AM   #34
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Both trucks are about the same length, right?
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Old 07-23-2015, 05:15 AM   #35
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Both trucks are about the same length, right?
Yes.

Also have an Airsafe hitch which places the trailer ball about a foot further back from the truck bumper. This does not seem to matter either.
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Old 07-25-2015, 03:15 PM   #36
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its the wheelbase you should be thinking about, not the length of the truck bed.
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Old 01-29-2021, 06:11 PM   #37
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Long wheelbase always pulls a trailer better than shorter wheelbase... some of you are getting into the weeds on the long bed talk... that doesn't mean you can buy a 3500 chassis van (you know, the super long ones prepped for a box truck or motorhome), weld up a class IV hitch on the back and it will pull the airstream better than any truck ever... just want to cover that in case any tinker toms get some ideas
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