2014 Ford Expedition - Coil Springs need help!

[palmtreegirl]

Hello Experts!

Yesterday I called to have a 'helper leaf' put on the springs in my 'new to me' 2014 Expedition. The spring company pointed out that Ford stopped using springs with the leaf in favor of coil springs.

Does anyone know how to give a little towing-help to coil springs? The rear of the TV really sags when loaded with trailer and stuff. I've got the Hensley chains set with 3 hanging which is where Terry recommended - still sagging and wheel wells are not even front to back when loaded.

The spring company suggested talking to Summit Racing Equipment to see if they have suggestions.

[carver 1]

Adjustable air bag suspension. Camper world did mine several years ago when i had a 35' 5th wheel weighing in close to 18,000 Lbs.. With my present AS, not necessary with my F-250.

>>ron<<

[dkottum]

I think the problem is not enough weight distribution from the hitch, rather than springs. Also you are probably near load limits at the rear of the truck; you may not be able to carry much weight at all behind the back seat of the truck.

We have a coli spring Ram 1500, similar wheelbase and are able to get good weight distribution but carry almost no weight in the bed of the truck behind its rear axle. Our hitch is a ProPride, similar but with adjustable stinger.

It looks like you need to tilt the hitch head back so you can get more lift with the w.d. bars. I don't know how this is done with the Hensley. Also check to see what the rating is on the w.d. bars, you probably need 1200 to 1400 lb bars.

[SteveH]

Judging from the picture, it appears your Hensley stinger has too much drop for your application.

[dkottum]

SteveH, do you think if he could tilt the hitch back and get more lift on the w.d. bars, or possibly heavier bars, or both, he could then lift the back of the truck and the front of the trailer both up?

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by dkottum

SteveH, do you think if he could tilt the hitch back and get more lift on the w.d. bars, or possibly heavier bars, or both, he could then lift the back of the truck and the front of the trailer both up?

Maybe, and I too think he needs either to tighten the bars, or install stronger bars, but the main problem as I see it is the stinger has too much drop.

More weight distribution which tighter bars will provide, might raise the rear of the TV 1/2 to 3/4 inch, but the trailer looks like it's at least two inches lower in the front.

[crispyboy]

Agreeing with those above you have too much drop with that stinger. I know of two Airstreamers that use a straight stinger on their F150's.
Also you need to crank up the chains to throw more weight forward on the tow vehicle. If that doesn't level the tow vehicle then you may need the heavier 1200 lb weight bars.
Also a Hensley stinger cannot be "tilted" unless you have a cutting torch and welder

[biyak269]

I have used an '04 Expedition to tow a 25 Safari (and a 28 before that) for several years with a Hensley Arrow hitch. It sags like yours a little when I'm carrying a lot of stuff in the truck, e.g. 2 bikes and a sea kayak on the roof with passengers in the third seat. Tightening the hitch bars more will only accomplish so much, and I doubt you need to modify your truck's suspension to make it work. It's probably carrying too much weight with the combination of tongue weight and whatever is in your vehicle. Double check your hitch drop, and check the balance in your trailer. A lot of heavy stuff (food, bottled water, etc.) stored in the nose of the trailer will put a lot of weight on the hitch. When only 2 of us are traveling I have found that putting a lot the heavy stuff in the truck rather than the trailer, toward the front seats, fixes everything.

[MelGoddard]

I have a 23' Hi-Lo Classic, (shortly to be an Airstream FC) and I have my chains set at a fixed length. [Trial and error]. I have a heavy TW, but have balanced that off by installing two 40 lb. lead wts. on the back frame.
When loaded for a trip, I use a wooden 'landing' that I have made to trim the Wt. and Bal. for level & when the bubble is level, I'm good to go. It works just fine.
Shortly when I pick up the Airstream, I'll have to re-do my Wt. & Bal. figures to suit the new rig.

[cegardner]

We have tube same TV but has towing package and air suspension. Was your hitch set up with your air suspension correctly? We had to remind a dealer to check levels after the air suspension was engaged. Also we do have to make sure we load appropriately. We have a 25 FB Twin FC. Load is critical.

[TomKirk]

Contact a bona-fide after-market spring shop. In the Pacific Northwest, it's Benz Spring in Portland. Without doubt, these guys know their stuff.

Benz Spring Company Profile

Before you talk to them, Go to a truck scale. They'll want to know both GVW and GCW.

Tom

[dkottum]

I agree the first thing to consider is too heavy load in the rear of the truck and/or front of the Airstream. The Expedition is an excellent tow vehicle but like all light duty trucks, it's limited by weight-carrying capacity.

We travel light in the back of the truck and front of the trailer with our Ram 1500/25' Airstream/ProPride hitch combo. Tows and handles very well.

If your load is too heavy you must take some out or move it around to be within the truck's capacity on it's axles/tires. Or get a heavy duty truck to haul the load. Adding suspension aids doesn't improve load capacity.

If the loading is okay, the problem is hitch setup as described by others posts above. Possibly vertical twisting of the hitch receiver.

[EarlM]

I think you need to get the truck and trailer weighed and then talk to Hensley. I would almost this the TV is too light to SAFELY tow the trailer. see the post today about 2 Airstreams rolled over near Bozeman MT.

send this pic to Terry at Hensley and ask his advice.....

Earl

[guskmg]

Get the two vehicles level with the correct stinger height. You may make an intermediate adjustment with a 1" ball shank. If the spring bars pull-up to a 4 - 6 " bow and the vehicles are not yet even the truck receiver is probably flexing too much verically to properly redistribute the weight. This is a real problem with GM recievers. In that case the only solution is a HD Class V after market receiver.
guskmg

[Amay]

I had a similar problem with a AS Bambi with a Chevie trail blazer with coil springs. I dry camp a lot and put 2 golf cart batteries in for AMP hours that added a lit of tung weight. The Blazer was good on tork / power but bad on drive and sway no matter how much tension I put on the weight distribution hitch. Prior to the Trail Blazer I used a half ton Silverado. It was so bad that I was going to sell the Blaser (with 3,000 miles) for another truck.

Instead I had Air Lift air bags installed in the rear springs. Add 35 lbs air when pulling the AS and got good sway control with a reasonable ride. This was about 8 or 9 years ago. I still have the Bambi and I also have a 2012 AS. I am back to a Half ton Silverado and every thing works great.
I have never had a Hensley so I am not a good judge of its operation settings.
Andy with CanAm Airstream is a proven expert on towing AS. Go to CanAm AS webpage and may be give Andy a email or call.

[Mach5]

Have you checked the towing and payload capacity of the vehicle? Depending on the model and options, your Expedition could have as little as 6000 lbs trailer towing capacity, and that number assumes a nearly empty vehicle except for the driver. Add cargo in the truck and you reduce the weight of the trailer you can tow and still be within factory specifications (notice I did not say within safe limits; that is a value judgement only you can make ).

This chart is from Ford's 2014 towing guide, which can be found here:
Towing Guides | fleet.ford.com

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, a good spring shop can make stronger springs to help you out, but you will still need to have your hitch adjust properly. Springs can't do it all but can help.

[cegardner]

I agree that towing rates for vehicle is critical. Our 2015 expedition with tow package rates at 9000 lbs with hitch at 900. We are within that range but load the back end of our TV lightly and since we are 25 FC twin FB we are very careful of any weight in front of unit. Towing is generally fine but we know that for extended trips and mountains we will upgrade the TV. We were diligent about examine the towing rates of our vehicle. We would not add springs. It will not extend our capacity. That is just us for our rodeo.

[Mach5]

Have you made any modifications to your trailer that would increase the tongue weight, like say converting the front bed to a king? If so have you taken that into account when distributing cargo within the trailer to maintain proper tongue weight of 10% - 15% of trailer weight? Is fully loaded trailer over the 7300 lb max weight rating?

This info would be helpful to those who could provide you with the guidance you seek.

[palmtreegirl]

Thank you for all advice - we'll be rearranging and pulling up to 4 chains hanging and then head to the weigh station. I'll report back when I've done that. I've been in touch with Terry and he stands on the fact that if the trailer is level, it's ok to have the wheel well discrepancy. I'm not sure that is good advice.

I'll be back.

PS - the conversion to king size bed used lightweight pine, the same mattress with some foam pieces added and a foam topper. Not heavy at all.