Check my setup. F250 & GT25' FBT Equalizer Hitch
 

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 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!

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

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

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.

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

What is the brand of your more forgiving WD ?

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.

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

^
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.

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?

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

Thanks for the pointer. I've got one of those infra handheld meters. So next time I'm towing I think I'll measure just like you say. Would be cool if FLIR cameras got cheap enough you could mount them in the wheel well and watch them like we do our backup cameras.

For those saying the bars are too stiff. I used this page: https://www.equalizerhitch.com/find-your-hitch-size and used 7900 gross weight on the trailer and 940 lbs for the tonuge weight and 250 for payload (camping stuff in the bed etc). It recommends the 12k/1.2k setup. Is it just that that is too much for the way the Airstreams are built? Unfortunately the 1000# bars are not compatible with my head so I'd have to replace most of the hitch to change down to the 1000#.

Thoughts?

I also have the 2500 pu and 25’ trailer. He doesn’t post anymore, but Andy at Inland RV in CA and who was a trailer accident investigator in an earlier life found that there was a correlation between pickups and trailer hitch strengths. He found that as you went up from 1500 to 2500 to 3500s the strength of the hitch should be decreased from 12000 to 10000 to even 6000 for a 25’ Airstream. I had a 6000 Equal I zer on a 23’ Airstream so I tried it on the 25’ trailer. Long story short, the 6000 Equal I zer is still on my 25’ Airstream 11 years and thousands of miles later.

Disclaimer....I noe nothing.

You need 1000lb,(or less). It's not the tongue weight, it's how much of that weight do you need to move.
BTW...you do not know the actual TW.
TW is measured unhitched on a scale.
Receiver weight is measured on the CAT hitched.

Our TW is 1200lb.
860lb receiver wt with WD set
560 to the FA
160 to the AS
720 moved with 1000lb WD bars.

BTW...the link you provided won't even provide a recommendation for anything over an 800lb TW on a 7300 GVW with a 1000lb payload

Bob
🇺🇸

Hi Bob,

I'm a bit confused. If I weight the truck without the trailer and then with it hooked up but not using weight distribution wouldn't the difference on the trucks axles be the tongue weight? Gross weight of the truck without the trailer hitched was 7700# and when I hitched it both axles on the truck weighed 940# less. Will I see something different if I weigh without the truck?

Oh, and the payload on that website calc is for the weight behind the axle. (not including the hitch weight)

Thanks

The Dimples
 

Yes happened to our trailer and ruined a summer vacation while it was repaired. My 250 with equalizer only needs the 10,000 bars. Been at Jackson three times this year, Every time I look at a ft storage trailer I see the dimples. Most people are NOT happy when you show them, some are grateful to get it fixed. I just saw a new 27 GT dimples and cracked bad! They are VERY busy fixing this. I would not buy a trailer with a ft locker again.

You had me satisfied at “F-250”.

I can also confirm that stiff bars on a big truck can cause a stress crease below the front storage hatch. Definitely something to keep an eye on with that 25FB. Our trailer was delivered to us with this stress crease. We thought our new Airstream was delivered on a flatbed but turns out it was hitched up and towed down - likely by a big strong truck and heavy duty bars.

We tow our 27FB with a Tundra and 14,000 lb bars. I wanted to drop down to 12,000 lb or 10,000 lb but Equalizer informed us that both the 12,000 lb and 14,000 lb bars are of the same size and strength so we left it as-is. The stress crease has not gotten worse over time.

Can one of you please post a picture of the crease so I know what to look for. Is this for the front storage area near the battery box? or the front curb side locker?

Thanks!

Here are my little dimples. Initially, there was no deformation in this area.

Attachment 381892

Attachment 381893

It is the front compartment behind the battery box.

Thanks Brian. I haven't noticed anything like that yet, but I only towed it about 19 miles with the bars connected. I'll take some pictures now so I can compare if anything does happen there. Of course it will be a while before I take it anywhere. It's all torn apart for the electrical upgrade right now. :)

Here’s what my stress crease looks like. It’s only on one side of the front hatch. Again, it came like this when delivered new, and had not gotten worse with my 14,000 lb bars on a Tundra. But I feel I’m risking a crack forming so I’ll eventually drop down to 12,000 or 10,000 lb bars.

What did Airstream do to repair? Replace the front panel or just reinforce the area? Airstream is aware of our issue but I’m hesitant to let a local dealer touch it in fear that removing a panel will make things worse or cause fitment issues elsewhere. For the most part I’ve come to terms with the little stress crease and I can live with it if it doesn’t get any worse. But I would love to know how others have handled it.

Agreed. Never a front storage hatch again. I don’t even care to use it, I have no problem lifting the bed to access the area. I would love to take it Jackson Center and have the front panel replace with a solid panel with no storage door.

Brian,

Are you referring to the separation between the skin and the belt line in the lower left?
I have that on my 28 RBT (no front hatch). 8000 miles on the trailer.
I have an equalizer with 1000 lb bars. F350 TV.

THANKS,

Jim

I found the ‘dimples’ as well on our 2018 27 FC front twin and almost every other front twin trailer I looked at. I kept having dinette cushions and pillows on the floor after traveling and started looking closer. My TV is also 3/4 ton PU with an Equalizer & 1000# bars, set up by the Airstream dealer on purchase. As an experiment I towed without the bars and the inside of the trailer faired much better, no tossed pillows and messed up cabinets and little if any change noticed from inside the truck. I have reduced the number of washers on the hitch from 6 to 4 to lessen the tension on the L brackets and will test this setup on the next trip. My guess is that on the smaller Airstreams being towed with 3/4 or 1 ton trucks, less WD or bar tension is probably easier on the trailer.

Drop shank ground clearance
 

Question: I just set-up my F250 with an 11” drop shank. With my rig leveled and Equalizer WD set-up my shank only has a ground clearance of 6”. Equalizer tells me that is the minimum acceptable height. I’m curious: what is the ground clearance beneath your drop shank?

Check my setup. F250 & GT25' FBT Equalizer Hitch
 

Not apples to apples

F350 2019 FX4. 12.5” from bottom of drop shank. Running a blue ox hitch.

But my airstream has a lift kit so without that would have been 9 or 9.5 inches

the spare tire bracket is at 7.5. My shank is at 6 also. I'd rather have the shank hit than the tire bracket. You?

I will measure for sure next time it's rigged, but I would guess I'm in the range of 8-9 inches off the ground. The shank is maybe 12" from the top to bottom. The truck drops a couple inches when loaded. So maybe 14" down, but it starts about 22.5" from the top of the receiver tube. So that leaves it around 8". This is all from memory and a guess. I'll measure next time I have it hooked up.

I have a 2021 25fbt. I also have 12,000# bars. I called and talked to equalizer about our pin weight and and how much I put in the back of the truck. The rep said that 10,000# bars would be overloaded and I needed the 12,000lb bars. He said because we were so close on pin weight plus anything stored behind the wheels when towing in the bed of the truck affect the bars ratings.

I also found the same crease after delivery. In the photos from the dealer, the crease was already there. JC replaced the panel and no issues since. TV is a 2019 F-250 with a 12k Reese Steadiflex WD system

Profxd is right.

BoyouBiker - you're incorrect on this issue because you're not taking into account the overall system. Even after you yourself have experienced buckling in your tongue.

The reason why any trailer, including lighter tongue weight trailers should not be dialing in greater than moderate 50% FALR, is because the tongues on those trailers are always sized for their expected loads. They are part of the system and perhaps the weak link. You can't just consider the tow vehicle. To be applying greater than 50%, particularly when paired with a tow vehicle that is larger, longer, and stiffly sprung as HD trucks are is ridiculous if you can understand the torsional forces involved.

The reasons for 50% FALR on a large heavy trailer is the same for 50% on a lighter trailer. A lighter trailer did not suddenly have a tongue structure sized up because you're towing with an HD truck. Nor did it get sized up enough for greater than expected 50% FALR.

It's no wonder tongues get stressed and structures buckle.

Idk, pteck Profxd is making an argument about WD from the tow vehicle perspective and my response was in answer to that. I agree that use of stiff WD bars with high spring rates are hard on trailers, but I wonder about the tradeoff between setting optimal WD and sway control tension vs. reduced tension as you suggest.

I wonder about the damage mechanism in particular. As an example, my truck is a 4x4 and has significant rear spring travel. It drops 3.25 inches when I add trailer and the gear. It has 3 more inches to the bottoming stops, though the final spring kicks in at about 1.5 inches. The Blue Ox at 50% FALR was adding about 150 lb of net upward force on the ball, at 100% it was about 300 lb. The truck springs are supporting 900 and 750 respectively.

When the combination hits a bump, the chassis and trailer frame is pushed upward and jars the trailer body and skins which resist the upward movement. So the question is which is harder on the trailer skin? Is the extra 150 supported by WD or the 150 supported by the truck? How does this change when considering WD stiffness? I will pause for comments as I wonder if anyone wants to help out.

How long did it take to have the work done at JC?