Advice on Blue Ox for new 25FBT International

[smeserole]

We picked up our new 25FBT International yesterday. We had our blue ox sway pro set up transferred from our old 23FBT Globetrotter. We have a 2020 F150 King Ranch Tow Vehicle which weighs around 5000lbs. The technician was not super knowledgeable on Blue Ox so I am not sure our set up is correct. The Tongue weight in theory is 870lbs and we have the Blue Ox Sway Bars with the 3 dots (750-1000lbs) which meets the tongue weight requirement, but I am not sure its set up correctly.

I took the truck and trailer to a Cat Scale today and here are the results:

Trial 1: (9 lengths of chain from end) Trailer was 6060/2 so 3030lbs each axle, Front Truck Axle 3160lbs, Truck Rear Axle 3660lbs. Total of 12880lbs

Trail 2: (10 lengths of chain from end (more bowed)). Trailer was 6080/2 3040 lbs each axle. Front Truck axle 3180, Rear Axle 3580lbs Total 12840Lbs

Trail 3: (12 lengths of chain from end (max bow and most I can do). Trailer was 6140/2 3070 each axle. Front Truck Axle 3140lbs, rear axle 3440lbs

I think I need the next size up sway bar (1000-1500) because I have such a big difference between the truck front and rear axles and I have maxed out the bow on the sway bars, but would love some advice as I cannot find exactly what I need to know online anywhere.

[CharlesinGA]

You are better off measuring the front fender to ground of truck alone, then hitched without bars and then with chains connected, and the chain position that takes out at least half of the change in fender height from truck alone to hitched will be what you want. Do not try to fully restore the fender height to unhitched dimension. Vehicle manufacturers say to go with half the difference nowdays.

My SOB has a tongue weight of about 850 and I am on the 9th chain link from the free end. I don't bother with fender height, it doesn't change enough to measure, rather I am looking for dampening of Porpoising and trailer sway. I tried the 10th link, but ended up going back to the 9th link.

Charles

[jeffmc306]

smeserole, I’m with CharlesinGA on this one. Add measuring the fenders without and with the trailer and bars engaged to get another idea of how level the truck actually is.

We started with a similar setup as yours - a FC23FB and 1000 lbs Blue Ox bars. We upgraded to a 27’ Globetrotter which has similar tongue weight as your 25’. In reality, our tongue weight loaded for camping is 1100 lbs on a Sherline scale.

At the time we had a 1/2 ton truck and, like you, tried to move more of the weight to the front axle with 1500 lbs bars. It helped some but found it made the truck trailer combination feel too rigid. In fact, afterwards we discovered the trailer suffered from front end separation or as Airstream calls it “frame flex”.

We also found we were over the GAWR for the rear axle by 100 lbs. Check your door sticker to see what your axle’s capacities are.

Fast forward, we upgraded to a 3/4 ton truck and I was able to loosen the 1000 lbs bars to 4 1/2 links showing vs. 3 1/2. The 1500 lbs bars are sitting in the corner of my garage.

If you can’t get closer to level you might be “under trucked” (over the limits of the truck’s suspension / axles).

[daleyocum]

Just for your information, most of us with that trailer have found the actual tongue weight, loaded for travel and water in the tanks with propane, is around 1,100 pounds. I ended up with the bigger bars but then started developing frame separation. The newest Airstreams are supposed to be more reinforced to somewhat mitigate that issue but time will tell.

I found I needed a truck with more payload than my 2020 F150XLT to stay within spec with people and cargo in the truck. We travel on the heavy side, though.

[Bill M.]

Weigh the truck without the trailer hitched. Then judge the amount of weight shifted by the bars as the percentage of weight returned to the front axle by the hitch. You are looking for numbers over 50%. Your truck manual might give a recommendation. You will most likely end up with a good bit more weight on the rear axle than the front when hitched. 50% weight restoration is equal to the 50% height reccomendation above. I am sorta old school and out of date and I am doing a bit more than that. Never hitched a Blue Ox. When doing the height measurement I put a brick in the ground and a piece of tape on the finder and mark the spots with a magic marker so that I get repeatable measurements. A tape in mm is easy to read for this measurment.

[MooseAir]

I have the same trailer and hitch towing with an F150. 750 lb bars worked but 1000 lb bars were a great improvement. They have way less deflection and are more stable towing.

[PatSoozy]

If you can see them, here are our weights with about a half tank of water spread through all three after several days on the road. We were using the 10th chain from the free end as we were fully loaded with clothing, Winter covers and food. In order to keep our payload within limits, we shift a 40 lb tool box from the bed to the back of the trailer. We also had full propane and our batteries are lithium, but installed in the battery box. We used 1000 lb bars. The heavier rear axle weight was on the scale with WD disconnected. The others are pretty obvious I think. That worksheet seems to match what we get with our Sherline with the same amount of water and the toolbox shifted to the back of the trailer. We don’t use the sherline much because we don’t have a level driveway and when we take the trailer to storage it isn’t loaded for travel.

[PatSoozy]

Interestingly enough, we “always” get that 20 lb discrepancy in the total weight between WD connected and disconnected. At different CAT scales. And yes, we do jump back in the truck for both weights.

[PatSoozy]

One more thing. We had to raise our hitch ball one notch to level everything out when we switched from a 2020 lariat FX4 to a 2024 lariat PB 4x4 with no FX4 package. We had access to an empty parking lot on the local base where we could freely mess with it.

[SidB]

Hi smeserole,

We bought a 2024 25FBT International with two ACs and the solar + LiFeIon package last April from the dealership in Greensboro, NC. We also had them set up a BlueOx WDH for our '23 F-150 Lariat Crew Cab - GVW 7,050#s with 3.5l Ecoboost and max tow package. The bars have 3 dots and I've been running them at 8 links from the end which also happens to be 8 links from the bar on my chains. We've been towing with this setting for about 7,500 miles with good results. No sway, porposing or sag at the rear of the truck. I have not put the rig on a scale yet, but I'm sure that I'm running close to max payload when loaded for a long trip. Attached is a photo of the hitch setup. Hope this helps!
SidB

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ccJ...r-95tdrc-BGheQ

[Hilljeman]

I got similar results with my equalizer. TV is F150 PB with HD tow pkg. 2022 Globetrotter 25 FB twin.

[Dick tracy]

what are your truck axle weight ratings?
weight your truck empty, what is the weight sitting on the front and rear axle?
Try to move enough weight off the rear axle to load up the front axle similarly to when the truck was unloaded.



I have the same Ox Bow, a 27FBT, and F150 and am able to move sufficient weight off the rear truck axle to keep everything within limits.
my front axle unloaded is 3420lbs and loaded and hitch properly setup, 3460lbs. it sounds like your truck has the heavy duty tow package.

don't worry about measuring the height of your fenders, too many variables. What really matters is the weight on your axles. Your 1000lbs bars will be able to move the weight. you don't want to build up too much tension on the front of your AS by other tensioning your bars.

[smeserole]

Originally Posted by smeserole

We picked up our new 25FBT International yesterday. We had our blue ox sway pro set up transferred from our old 23FBT Globetrotter. We have a 2020 F150 King Ranch Tow Vehicle which weighs around 5000lbs. The technician was not super knowledgeable on Blue Ox so I am not sure our set up is correct. The Tongue weight in theory is 870lbs and we have the Blue Ox Sway Bars with the 3 dots (750-1000lbs) which meets the tongue weight requirement, but I am not sure its set up correctly.

I took the truck and trailer to a Cat Scale today and here are the results:

Trial 1: (9 lengths of chain from end) Trailer was 6060/2 so 3030lbs each axle, Front Truck Axle 3160lbs, Truck Rear Axle 3660lbs. Total of 12880lbs

Trail 2: (10 lengths of chain from end (more bowed)). Trailer was 6080/2 3040 lbs each axle. Front Truck axle 3180, Rear Axle 3580lbs Total 12840Lbs

Trail 3: (12 lengths of chain from end (max bow and most I can do). Trailer was 6140/2 3070 each axle. Front Truck Axle 3140lbs, rear axle 3440lbs

I think I need the next size up sway bar (1000-1500) because I have such a big difference between the truck front and rear axles and I have maxed out the bow on the sway bars, but would love some advice as I cannot find exactly what I need to know online anywhere.

As an update, I did several things with interesting results for my F150 Max Tow, Airstream International 25 FBT:

1) I installed a Road Active Suspension assist (HD) 2) Moved the Blue Ox hitch up 2 holes ( I think that is one too many) 3). Using the 3 dot (1000# blue ox spring bars) at 11 links from the end.

Here are the results: Unloaded Front Wheel well is 38”. Back Wheel well is 40.5”.

Fully loaded and 11 links, the Front Wheel well is 38 3/8” and Rear Wheel well is 38”.

BUT the weight is too much towards the back: On the Truck scale, Front axle 3120lbs, Drive Axle 3880lbs which is close to max @ 4000lbs, and trailer is 6140lbs.

So I think I can lower the hitch one hole, which should help the distribution and can crank down on the RAS spring some more. It is between 1mm and 2mm, but would love some more advice if there is any. It definitely drives better with the RAS, but I am worried about the rear axle weight.

[Daquenzer]

I had a Blue Ox with a 28’ and we had 1000lb bars. The tongue weight was about 1000lbs. I didn’t have the Road Active Suspension system then. But now I have a PPP with a road active suspension system on my F150. When I dial it in, I make sure the trailer is level and the fender measurements are such the truck is riding level, because with the road active suspension system the back end will be about 1 inch higher. I didn’t take it to a scale, but it drives very solid that way. As long as the rear axle weight is under 4000lbs, I wouldn’t worry. Ask, “Is the truck level? Is the trailer level? And does it handle well?” If your wheel wells are that close, I think you are good. But with the RAS system you could actually have your rear fender higher with no problem since your back fender is going to naturally be higher. Just make sure the trailer rides level. You do not want the tongue higher than the rear.

[Dick tracy]

Did you weigh the truck unloaded? This will guide you on the correct truck front axle weight.
The fender height can be misleading, tire air pressure, level road surface, too many variables.

[smeserole]

Here are the truck weights unloaded: Front Axlw 3140lbs. Rear Axle 2460lbs

[Dick tracy]

Getting your TV front axle back to close to it's unloaded weight is your goal. It seems you have done that, as long as the weights you listed are your fully loaded readings. There is a compromise between weight on each axle and the tension needed to move more off the TV rear axle as it stresses the front of the Airstream as that added stress causes the front end cap to separate from the frame. I use the lightest bars possible to move the needed weight off the TV rear axle. There are many many threads describing this

[Silver Ship]

Call the Manufacturer’s Customer Support number. I did and they were very helpful. I also spoke with a representative at the Rock Springs rally to confirm my set up. They are great and offer the best advice. Safe Travels, John