Tow 20FB with F150 Powerboost

[ZippyShanks]

I am selling my Oliver Elite 1 and buying a 20FB in the next few months. I have an 2022 F150 Powerboost with the max tow package (12,700lbs). Currently I tow my Ollie w/out a dist hitch. The F150 is equiped with the sway control system and I never had a problem towing my 4500lb Ollie the 2 times I have gone cross country. My towing speed sweet spot is between 60-63 and I can pull down 15-17mpg. My question is....do I need W/D. The dealer is reccomending the Blue Ox

[Bunker]

I just towed a 29’ Apex on the ball in 40mph head and cross winds with my Powerboost. It wasn’t pleasant but it pulled it fine. My guess is you’re 90% fine. Get it and let a few semi trucks pass you at 60mph. You’ll know real quick if you want a better sway solution.

That being said, I pull a 27’GT with pro pride, without issue. I’ve even put bikes on the rack and gone down the freeway, gasp.

[LBelle]

As you will soon see - this is perhaps the most opinionated subject on the forum!
IMO there are no absolute answers but rather what you are comfortable with...and unfortunately the scarey stuff towing down the road is not "routine". What I mean is you may drive many miles with no problems but then a certain set of circumstances occurs and something unexpected happens.
For what it is worth - I tow a 19' Bambi with a F-150 Powerboost and started with a Blue Ox upon the dealer's recomentdation and haven't regreted it in 10 years and 30,000 miles.

[PB_NB]

Like others have stated here, you most likely will have a good experience without a WDH since that 20FB wont put much more than 600 lbs on the tongue.

The bigger add is sway control (not what the manufacturers put into the trucks) which usually accompanies a WDH as part of its function. If you get a BlueOX or Propride etc...

There are some friction sway control units you can install but they are a bit finicky at least from my experience with one.

With all that said, I am pulling my 4,500 lbs 22FB with a GM 1 ton diesel and I am using my WDH from my 1/2 ton. Not necessary but I like the sway control built into the hitch.

[BikeCamper]

What is the tongue load rating on your F-150 without WD? If greater than the actual tongue weight of the trailer, I would keep it simple and skip the WD.

That said, the 20’ Bambi has a much higher tongue weight than the 19’ or 22’. And most Class III receivers max out around 500-600 lbs of rated tongue weight without WD. I believe the 20’ Bambi is well north of 600 lbs. But maybe the max tow package on your F-150 comes with a Class IV receiver?

[Malia20]

This is pretty much the setup that I have, but mine is older. I have a 2017 FB20' and a 2017 Ford Ecoboost 3.5 with the max tow package. Power is not the issue nor is getting down the hill. For me, this was the first time I towed anything bigger than a light boat so I went with the Reese Dual Cam WD/Sway system, it's what the dealer recommended.
Seven years later, I would not do it different, but then I can not say I am much more knowledgeable.
Facts from my one time at the Cat scales loaded for a few weeks but no toys (bikes/kayaks):

TV 5720#, Trailer 4900# (only 100# to spare), of the trailer's 4900#, 840 was on the tongue (way over AS specs!).
With the trailer on the ball: Steer was 2620, drive was 3940 and trailer 4060, so the drive axle was 140# over sticker gross weight but overall I still had about 1000# load to spare.

Based on that one visit, I need WD and since I am only slightly bothered by the wind or trucks, I am glad I have sway control.
How do those numbers compare to your Oliver?
And as always, Your Results May Vary.
BTW, we love our 20'!
Fred

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by ZippyShanks

..do I need W/D. The dealer is reccomending the Blue Ox

My guess is yes due to the weight being over 5000LB on the 20 footer, or close to it and you have a 1500 truck frame.

How about tell us what your hitch sticker says on the back end about tongue weights and what the manual in the glove box says about the weight ratings ?

[PB_NB]

Originally Posted by Malia20

This is pretty much the setup that I have, but mine is older. I have a 2017 FB20' and a 2017 Ford Ecoboost 3.5 with the max tow package. Power is not the issue nor is getting down the hill. For me, this was the first time I towed anything bigger than a light boat so I went with the Reese Dual Cam WD/Sway system, it's what the dealer recommended.
Seven years later, I would not do it different, but then I can not say I am much more knowledgeable.
Facts from my one time at the Cat scales loaded for a few weeks but no toys (bikes/kayaks):

TV 5720#, Trailer 4900# (only 100# to spare), of the trailer's 4900#, 840 was on the tongue (way over AS specs!).
With the trailer on the ball: Steer was 2620, drive was 3940 and trailer 4060, so the drive axle was 140# over sticker gross weight but overall I still had about 1000# load to spare.

Based on that one visit, I need WD and since I am only slightly bothered by the wind or trucks, I am glad I have sway control.
How do those numbers compare to your Oliver?
And as always, Your Results May Vary.
BTW, we love our 20'!
Fred

That is a crazy tongue weight that you have on that 20’. Does that 840 include the weight of the hitch?

Water in the tank? All the contents loaded forward?

[BikeCamper]

Originally Posted by PB_NB

That is a crazy tongue weight that you have on that 20’. Does that 840 include the weight of the hitch?

Water in the tank? All the contents loaded forward?

The 20’ Bambi is known for really high tongue weight. I believe spec is something like 650+ lbs. But when we were shopping we were told to plan on over 700 lbs, so we crossed it off our list.

Your 22’ has moderate tongue weight by comparison, even significantly less than our 19’.

[PB_NB]

The Sport 22FB has a spec's tongue weight of 420 lbs. Ours actually weighs 500 lbs.

It is super light but still over 10% of the GVW.

It is sort of funny now that I have a 2,000 lbs limit on my bumper hitch! If I could figure it out, I would put the trailer into the bed of the truck and not worry about the sway

But seriously, I am surprised at that heavy tongue. It may be that the heavy tongue weight would negate any possible swaying. This would probably be a great experience pulling that trailer on the ball.

[NutmegsCamper]

I tow with a 2021 F150, though not the powerboost. Our previous camper, a NuCamp Tab 400, had a tongue weight of 405 pounds, and we did not use WD, and it was find. When we bought our new 23FBT, I towed it home from the dealership without WD, and it did fine. Our journey was about 12 miles, all country roads, top speed about 55 mph. When we got home, we got out and proudly looked at our rig all hooked up next to the house, and the rear end was squatting nicely, headlights guiding Santa down from the sky....LOL. So, I ordered a WD system, with sway control, and got it all dialed in, and returned the headlights back to planet earth. Ford states that any weight over 500 pounds (tongue weight) on the F150 requires WD. I respect the Ford engineers.

Although my 23FBT weighs more than the 20FB, it has a lower tongue weight. And the measured tongue weight, fully loaded and ready to camp on mine is 650 pounds.

I had the Blue Ox Sway Pro, but we switched to this Weigh Safe 4 trips back, and it is absolutely AMAZING. If you were in Ohio and wanted a free Blue Ox Sway Pro 750, I'd say come pick it up....

https://a.co/d/0GMlVKV

[Malia20]

Originally Posted by PB_NB

That is a crazy tongue weight that you have on that 20’. Does that 840 include the weight of the hitch?

Water in the tank? All the contents loaded forward?

Yes, I was surprised at how much over spec the tongue weight was. I had two 30# propane tanks, one full, one maybe half, two lead-acid batteries (90#). Grey and black where empty or close to it. Fresh water tank is behind the axle, but even so, I rarely travel with it more than a third full. I now keep one propane tank almost empty all the time and I am in the process of switching to 1 LiFePo4 battery (twice the AH, half the weight).

The 20FB with the bed in front means massive storage in the front, that could be part of the problem. And too much stuff? Nah.
Fred

[PB_NB]

We have our 250ah Lithium battery (70 lbs) under the bed but all the way forward and our storage is full as well. All our camping liquids and food are stored mid-cabin closer to the axle and we never take fresh water but we do carry drinking water in jugs stored under the dinette. We also empty the tanks before departing (using the camp facilities of course).

Our propane tanks are 20 pounders and are usually almost full. I removed the plastic battery box when I put the big lithium battery inside. Maybe saved a pound there!

Our scale reads 500 lbs. I have read that the 22FB Sport is one of the easiest to tow due to its light weight and narrower body. I tend to agree that it has been easy.

Switching to lithium saved about half the weight of AGM or lead acid batteries. Our single Grp 24 battery weighed about 80 lbs. and this monster Lithium weighs less and is about 1 or 2 feet further back from the hitch which lightens the hitch that much more. We run our trailer at about 4,100 lbs (3,600 lbs empty + 500 lbs cargo) This extra cargo goes around the axle position so it doesn't affect the tongue weight very much.

[Wetfeet]

I pull our 2015 FC FB with a 2020 F150, 3.5 Ecoboost, max tow package, and no W/D. Here in the west I will go 70 or 75 if the road is straight. We have never had a problem with sway. Dealers love to sell W/D systems. Prior to buying the 2020 F150 we had a 2013 F150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost, also no W/D and no problems with sway pulling the Flying Cloud.

[Bobbo]

Originally Posted by BikeCamper

What is the tongue load rating on your F-150 without WD? If greater than the actual tongue weight of the trailer, I would keep it simple and skip the WD.

That said, the 20’ Bambi has a much higher tongue weight than the 19’ or 22’. And most Class III receivers max out around 500-600 lbs of rated tongue weight without WD. I believe the 20’ Bambi is well north of 600 lbs. But maybe the max tow package on your F-150 comes with a Class IV receiver?

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[TitusNW]

Take a look under your bumper and see the capacity of your hitch. I have a 2021 F-150 3.5 EB Max Tow as well. Ford says 500# without WD.

Steve

[PB_NB]

Originally Posted by TitusNW

Take a look under your bumper and see the capacity of your hitch. I have a 2021 F-150 3.5 EB Max Tow as well. Ford says 500# without WD.

Steve

Steve, it looks like on the ball you can tow my trailer but if you go to a 20FB you need a WDH? That still seems crazy to me. The F150 does seem to offer more capacity than the other 1/2 tons out there.

[BikeCamper]

Originally Posted by TitusNW

Take a look under your bumper and see the capacity of your hitch. I have a 2021 F-150 3.5 EB Max Tow as well. Ford says 500# without WD.

Steve

Very helpful!

I find it very surprising that a current F-150 with max tow package has a similar (but actually lower) rating without WD than my dated G1 Honda Ridgeline.

[jcl]

Originally Posted by PB_NB

Steve, it looks like on the ball you can tow my trailer but if you go to a 20FB you need a WDH? That still seems crazy to me. The F150 does seem to offer more capacity than the other 1/2 tons out there.

A respected Airstream dealer advised us that we shouldn't focus on trailer length when matching a trailer to a tow vehicle. They noted that there were other characteristics much more important than trailer length.

[rodsterinfl]

My question is....do I need W/D. The dealer is reccomending the Blue Ox

The Airstream site states that the 20' model has a hitch weight of 625#. My PowerBoost has a hitch with max tow of over 1000# and if you have the max tow pkg, the hitch is beefed up for more weight, so weight is not an issue overall; however, sway may impact your tow.