Check my setup. F250 & GT25' FBT Equalizer Hitch

[TowmaterATX]

I spent today setting up my hitch and running to the CAT scales to finish the fine tuning. Would love to get some feedback on where I settled.

Truck is a 2020 F250 Plat.
Trailer is a 2021 GT 25 FBT
Hitch is 12k Equalizer
Final setup was 5 washers and L bracket attached through the 2 middle holes.

Truck only - Front 4280 Rear 3420 Gross 7700
Truck no w dist - Front 3900 Rear 4740 Trailer 5400 Gross 14040
Final tuned setup - Front 4100 Rear 4380 Trailer 5580 Gross 14060

I took a picture from a distance and everything looks pretty level as well (attached).

The front is 1/4 to 1/2 inch lower than the back when parked on what I believe was level ground.

Looks like I lost 380lbs off the front and with the hitch I put 200 back on. That's about 52% put back. The manual said shoot for 50% to slightly over so I figured that's good.

Looks like my tongue weight is 940lbs. It has full propane, but the trailer is still pretty empty. Plan to rerun my weights once I get it loaded and add water etc. Since that is so high, I'm glad I chose to go with the 12k equalizer head and bars.

Any suggestions on further adjustments welcome!

Thanks!

[BayouBiker]

Looks and sounds very well set-up. Ball is nice and close to the bumper. Have you thought about tire pressures? They can make a big difference also. Loaded our 25' FBT has a tongue weight of 1020-1120 depending on grey and black tank levels. Ford's FALR guidance applies near the upper towing limits so you have some room to fine tune based on actual road experience, particularly if you run the rear tires with a bit more pressure.

Be aware though many/most modern trailers with front storage compartments are experiencing dimpling and creasing of the lower outer sheet at the lower corners of the storage compartment. Airstream is aware, perhaps they have shored up the structure for the 21 model year. Large trucks, stiff WD bars with high tension and high trailer tire pressures seem to contribute. I have very small dimpling which has not gotten worse since I went to lower trailer tire pressure and a more forgiving WD set-up. Would love to hear your experience as you use the trailer.

[TowmaterATX]

Originally Posted by BayouBiker

Looks and sounds very well set-up. Ball is nice and close to the bumper. Have you thought about tire pressures? They can make a big difference also. Loaded our 25' FBT has a tongue weight of 1020-1120 depending on grey and black tank levels. Ford's FALR guidance applies near the upper towing limits so you have some room to fine tune based on actual road experience, particularly if you run the rear tires with a bit more pressure.

Be aware though many/most modern trailers with front storage compartments are experiencing dimpling and creasing of the lower outer sheet at the lower corners of the storage compartment. Airstream is aware, perhaps they have shored up the structure for the 21 model year. Large trucks, stiff WD bars with high tension and high trailer tire pressures seem to contribute. I have very small dimpling which has not gotten worse since I went to lower trailer tire pressure and a more forgiving WD set-up. Would love to hear your experience as you use the trailer.

Thanks for taking a look!

I was planning on looking up the tire pressure maps for load and going with a nudge higher. For the 15 mile drive up to the cat scales, I ran without the bars and 65psi on the rears of the truck. I wanted to do the drive back with it setup correctly and see if I "felt" the difference. Huge difference in porpoising. It wasn't bad without the load bars, but it's almost gone with. Didn't notice too much difference in steering etc. The sway seemed about the same with both, but I wasn't driving very fast since it was weekend rush hour. I likely only averaged 40mph for that drive.

I added another picture of the actual hitch area.

I would prefer to avoid any buckling. I'll keep an eye out for it and tune my pressures to the loads on the axles.

Thanks for the feedback and advice!

[Norrin Radd]

I have a not dissimilar setup...
F250 Diesel & 27' Safari.
But...both 1999.
Not sure what weight distribution system is on it...but it works.
I always check tire pressure before leaving anywhere.
The trailer is level if it's loaded (water, gear, etc).
Of course, at 20 years old...things break...especially 20 year old plastic things.
Cheers
Doc in the Norrin Radd

[Profxd]

Originally Posted by BayouBiker

Looks and sounds very well set-up. Ball is nice and close to the bumper. Have you thought about tire pressures? They can make a big difference also. Loaded our 25' FBT has a tongue weight of 1020-1120 depending on grey and black tank levels. Ford's FALR guidance applies near the upper towing limits so you have some room to fine tune based on actual road experience, particularly if you run the rear tires with a bit more pressure.

Be aware though many/most modern trailers with front storage compartments are experiencing dimpling and creasing of the lower outer sheet at the lower corners of the storage compartment. Airstream is aware, perhaps they have shored up the structure for the 21 model year. Large trucks, stiff WD bars with high tension and high trailer tire pressures seem to contribute. I have very small dimpling which has not gotten worse since I went to lower trailer tire pressure and a more forgiving WD set-up. Would love to hear your experience as you use the trailer.

Correction. In the owners manual Ford says “always use” 50% FALR when using a WDH. 50% is not just for maximum rated tongue load.

[BayouBiker]

Ford does not always say "always use", rather they have been quite inconsistent and imprecise in their guidance. As a point of fact, they do not test for optimal WD with variable trailer configurations, gross weight and tongue weight. They don't even have a published criteria for determining or describing what it means to have ideal WD except when towing at published limits, so I find your pronouncement difficult to rationalize, particularly when contrasted with the principles of towed systems which contradicts your guidance.

[David Perri]

Your set up looks good nice job. I want to ask you this, I've never seen those additional mud flaps used, seems like a great idea. Did you put that together yourself or its a accessory available online.

Dave

[Projet2907]

Originally Posted by BayouBiker

Looks and sounds very well set-up. Ball is nice and close to the bumper. Have you thought about tire pressures? They can make a big difference also. Loaded our 25' FBT has a tongue weight of 1020-1120 depending on grey and black tank levels. Ford's FALR guidance applies near the upper towing limits so you have some room to fine tune based on actual road experience, particularly if you run the rear tires with a bit more pressure.

Be aware though many/most modern trailers with front storage compartments are experiencing dimpling and creasing of the lower outer sheet at the lower corners of the storage compartment. Airstream is aware, perhaps they have shored up the structure for the 21 model year. Large trucks, stiff WD bars with high tension and high trailer tire pressures seem to contribute. I have very small dimpling which has not gotten worse since I went to lower trailer tire pressure and a more forgiving WD set-up. Would love to hear your experience as you use the trailer.

What is the brand of your more forgiving WD ?

[hhendrix]

Nice set up and it looks great. However be forewarned the 1200# bars are way too stiff for your combination. The 1200# bars seem to be the default setup for Equallizer WD. Your setup was almost exactly the same as mine and the 1200# bars were beating the trailer to death. My front compartment opening had stress cracks from the too strong bars. Cabinet doors were opening as we towed. I switched to 600-800# bars and everything was much better.

[jimfa440]

Same as mine, looks great. I use 1000# spring bars.

[ROBERT CROSS]

^
X2

The numbers look good. You MUST re-set when loaded for camping.👍

The bars are way too stiff for the TW, (you appear to be moving less than 400lb with 1200lb bars, extreme overkill).
Overly stiff is an inherent feature of square WD bars, they don't flex causing an overly stiff connection, which can cause AS damage.

Bob
🇺🇸

Round tapered...best. Doesn't have to be a PPP.

[Peterf]

From the photo and write up, this setup looks very good. We have a similar 2019 FBT 25’ FC and just ordered 2021 F-250. The current F-150 top of 2” receiver is
19 1/4” above grade. The top of the F-250 2 1/2” receiver is 22 1/2” above grade. Which shank do you use on your Super Duty?

[Mikebrady62]

Beautiful truck and trailer for sure! I too was sold the 1200# bars and in fact did get the stress dimple that others have mentioned below the front storage compartment. It has not gotten worse since I went down to the 1000#. It still trailers just as well as with the heavier bars and I have a 1500 truck.
Again, beautiful rig. Have fun with it!

PS Listening to BayouBiker has always been great for me.

[Spaggs]

Since you mentioned tire pressures, I’ll add my two cents. To properly determine pressure, you should measure tire temps. The measurements should be taken at the inside, center and outside of the tread (where rubber meets the road) for each tire of your tow vehicle and trailer. The temps, ideally should be the same across the tire. You can use any kind of gauge, but the quicker read-out the better. This won’t give you the best gas mileage, but it will give you the best tire wear and most stable platform. If you find higher temps on one side or another, an alignment is needed. If the center temp is higher than the sides, lower the pressure. Similarly, if temps are lower in the center, increase the pressure.
Good looking setup!

[Profxd]

Originally Posted by BayouBiker

Ford does not always say "always use", rather they have been quite inconsistent and imprecise in their guidance. As a point of fact, they do not test for optimal WD with variable trailer configurations, gross weight and tongue weight. They don't even have a published criteria for determining or describing what it means to have ideal WD except when towing at published limits, so I find your pronouncement difficult to rationalize, particularly when contrasted with the principles of towed systems which contradicts your guidance.

From the manual.
“When hooking-up a trailer using a weight-distributing hitch, always use the following procedure:”
And it goes on to instruct consumers to recover 50% FALR. If it works for maximum rated TW it’s even better for less.

[easy street]

Originally Posted by TowmaterATX

I spent today setting up my hitch and running to the CAT scales to finish the fine tuning. Would love to get some feedback on where I settled.

Truck is a 2020 F250 Plat.
Trailer is a 2021 GT 25 FBT
Hitch is 12k Equalizer
Final setup was 5 washers and L bracket attached through the 2 middle holes.

Truck only - Front 4280 Rear 3420 Gross 7700
Truck no w dist - Front 3900 Rear 4740 Trailer 5400 Gross 14040
Final tuned setup - Front 4100 Rear 4380 Trailer 5580 Gross 14060

I took a picture from a distance and everything looks pretty level as well (attached).

The front is 1/4 to 1/2 inch lower than the back when parked on what I believe was level ground.

Looks like I lost 380lbs off the front and with the hitch I put 200 back on. That's about 52% put back. The manual said shoot for 50% to slightly over so I figured that's good.

Looks like my tongue weight is 940lbs. It has full propane, but the trailer is still pretty empty. Plan to rerun my weights once I get it loaded and add water etc. Since that is so high, I'm glad I chose to go with the 12k equalizer head and bars.

Any suggestions on further adjustments welcome!

Thanks!

Looks good from here. I have a very similar set up on a GT 30RBQ and used 6 washers looks good. Lots of tongue wight.

[easy street]

Looks good, my set up is exactly the same. Set up was just as you experienced.

[TowmaterATX]

Originally Posted by David Perri

Your set up looks good nice job. I want to ask you this, I've never seen those additional mud flaps used, seems like a great idea. Did you put that together yourself or its a accessory available online.

Dave

They are RockTamers. I bought them online. They are pretty easy to put together and then screw/clamp onto the shank. I have a 2.5" shank so I bought the 2.5" version. They go together pretty quickly.

[TowmaterATX]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

^
X2

The numbers look good. You MUST re-set when loaded for camping.👍

The bars are way too stiff for the TW, (you appear to be moving less than 400lb with 1200lb bars, extreme overkill).
Overly stiff is an inherent feature of square WD bars, they don't flex causing an overly stiff connection, which can cause AS damage.

Bob
🇺🇸

Round tapered...best. Doesn't have to be a PPP.

Hi Bob,

I thought the rating on the bars should be related to the total tongue weight. I am very close to 1000# and not totally loaded yet. And the selector/specs on the web page say you should not exceed the ratings on the bars.

Did I get this wrong. Is the rating more about the lbs. you are moving?

I think the 1000# bars are compatible with my head, so I could look into ordering them. I don't want to beat the trailer up for sure. Based on what I read/understood I thought the 1200# bars were the right ones.

Thanks for the feedback and the info!

[TowmaterATX]

Originally Posted by Peterf

From the photo and write up, this setup looks very good. We have a similar 2019 FBT 25’ FC and just ordered 2021 F-250. The current F-150 top of 2” receiver is
19 1/4” above grade. The top of the F-250 2 1/2” receiver is 22 1/2” above grade. Which shank do you use on your Super Duty?

I have the Fastway 90-02-4325 2-1/2" Adjustable Shank 6" drop/10 Rise x 12" Length (XL12). That being said, I'm in the top holes. So if you find a 2.5" shank with less of a drop, you'll be fine as well.