Towing Laredo 302LT with 1/2T

[Festus2]

You might want to take some time and browse through our posts in the Towing and Tow Vehicle section. In there, you will find all sorts of comments, questions and information about towing TT with 1/2T, 3/4T, and 1T vehicles. We have had several members who have had similar swaying issues but from your description, you certainly need to take a look at both your present hitch system and the towing capabilities of your truck and whether or not you are under, close to or over its limits with regard to your Laredo 302LT. Sounds like your swaying problem is quite severe and unsafe not only for yourself but also for others on the road. Being all over the road and fish-tailing at 45 mph as you described is certainly a safety issue!
I would check these threads and posts, find out what numbers and weights you need to know and then do some "number crunching" to see if you have a good match. Some reading and research will be required.
Also, I would be cautious about believing every word of your dealer - especially when he has already said that he knows what to do to fix your problem. He is in the business of selling you "stuff" ---- talk to someone who you know "knows what he is talking about". There are many members on here who tow trailers and have been for many years. After you do some of your own research and if the additions and modifications that the dealer carries out don't solve the problem ---- ask here.

[Postonent]

The truck is rated for 9600 lbs. The dry weight of the trailer is 6750 and cargo weight of 1450. Tongue weight is 585.

We have a tow package on the truck and, as I indicated, we are adding a stab-i-lizer 4 pt hitch with sway bars.

We will be towing it empty of any water due to the climate we will be traveling in. We don't want anything to freeze up on us. That should help a great deal. But as to whether we always pull it empty is another question.

I guess I am a Pollyana to believe that if the truck is rated at a certain pull ability that it SHOULD be able to handle what it is said to be able to. Heaven forbid we be given accurate information regarding the performance of anything we purchase!!!

[jq1031]

Lynda, my TT is about the same weight & size as yours. My truck is bigger & weights alot more (over 7500lbs). I too have a WD hitch & two friction bars for sway. The difference here is weight! My truck weight is very close to the trailer weight which means the tail will not wag the dog. I may get pushed around a bit in wind & big rigs passing may give me a small shove but after all is said & done I will be keep moving on down the road. Lighter trucks, although they have alot of tow power will sometimes fall short in the sway issue.

[JRTJH]

Welcome to the forum. You should be OK with the trailer and tow vehicle provided you don't overload the front of the trailer. The tongue weight of travel trailers should be 10 - 15% of the total weight. Your trailer weighs 6750 empty with a GVW of 8200. Tongue weight based on this should be 675 - 1012 for the empty trailer and 820 - 1230 for the loaded trailer. When you add the weight of the hitch (about 100 lbs) you are looking at the possibility of overloading your truck with the trailer tongue weight.

You're looking at a payload max in your truck of around 1500 lbs.Assuming you weigh 150 and your husband weighs 150 and the dogs weigh 30, if you load cargo in the bed of the truck weighing 300 lbs, you will be loading the truck at about 480 lbs of its payload. When you add the trailer tongue weight of 1000 lbs (average for the loaded trailer at about 12%) you will be at the max GVW for the truck. While that's OK, there's no extra for anything else. If you need to carry more people, you need to take weight out of the bed or unload the trailer.

You'll find your comfort range and probably be OK, but don't think that because Ford states the truck will tow 9600 lbs, that you can hook up 9600 lbs and just head down the road. Doing that with a travel trailer like yours would most likely put you over the truck's GVW and also over the rear axle rating as well.

I'd urge you to load the trailer as you will be towing it, go to a scale and weigh the entire rig, each axle on the truck, then unhook the trailer and weigh the tongue and total trailer weight. That way, you know what you have, what weights you're actually working with and can make scientific judgements regarding what you and your truck are facing.

Remember, to overload the tongue increases stress on the truck and the front of the trailer frame, to underload the tongue puts you in a critical position of inducing sway and control problems while towing. It's a balancing act to get it right. It's not "IMPOSSIBLE" we all do it most of the time without problem, you can too :wave:

[2009kr]

My first post on this forum... I joined just to answer this.

I am towing the same trailer with my '09 F150 KR 4x4 SCREW with no problems. I have a Reese trait-line hitch and 1200 lb bars (don't let the "540 lb" tongue fool you). I originally bought the 800 lb bars and the rig was bouncy. I measured my tongue weight, and it was 960 lbs loaded. I highly recommend the strait line hitch over a friction sway control system when approaching the limits of your TV.

My truck isn't quite stock though. I have a 2" AS leveling kit on the front and Firestone air springs on the back. I don't think I would need the air springs if I didn't have the leveling kit. With the hitch properly adjusted, it tows very easily. I have the 3.55 gears without the max trailer tow. I have the 20" tires, which oddly enough, gave a 4th leaf on the rear springs on the '09 (not on the '10 though). The lateral stiffness of my 20" tires (55 series) is great - stiffer than my friend's 65-series LR-E tires on his 3/4 ton. I suspect that helps with stability.

http://www.keystonerv.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=114&pictureid=455

On a side note, I am VERY happy with this travel trailer. The loft allows a big bathroom and the outdoor kitchen is great.

[Festus2]

2009kr
I am sure that you are already aware of this but having the leveling kit on the front and the Firestone airsprings on the rear do not increase the towing capacity of your truck. They will, however, as you have already pointed out, "even" out the two units as well as produce a better ride. And welcome, by the way, to the forum.

[2009kr]

Thanks for the welcome and good point. I certainly agree that the leveling kit doesn't increase my towing capacity. If anything, it lowers it. While the air springs technically don't increase my towing capacity, they do help keep the rear from sagging. Personally, I am more comfortable approaching the limits of my truck with them sharing the load. The downside is that they make setting up the WD hitch correctly a little harder. If you don't have the air springs at the same pressure that you will use towing when setting the bars, you will unload the bars when inflating the bags.

[jje1960]

Must tell you, just can't stress enough (from my perspective) how important it is NOT to push the limits. We did this in the past with TV and TT's, nothing but danger and stress. Long story short, when we hooked our previous unit, 27QBSS up to our new truck, towing turned into a pleasure ride, leaving the stress and white-knuckle experiences behind. If it's within your means, suggest not pushing the limits.