TV pulls to the left when hooked up

[f6bits]

With my old TV, it felt like things were pulling to the left. With my new TV, there’s definitely a little pull to the left. Without the trailer, my truck drives straight.

Trailer tires aren’t showing signs of uneven wear.

What’s a good way to check my trailer’s alignment? Or could it be something else that’s making my rig pull to the left?

Or is this normal?

[heatkits]

My 2011 F150 pulls straight as an arrow. I've towed my new 321RES 6K miles and no problems...

The truck is equipped with: the 8200GVW package, the Max tow package and the snowplow package, 5.4L w/6spd trans, extended cab w/8' bed, Reese DC hitch w/12K bars.

I've heard that we (New Englanders) shouldn't buy vehicles from down south, because they haven't been setup (steering wise) to run on the high crowns of NE roads. Perhaps your truck came from the snow belt country and you need to take in for alignment.

[Halibutman214]

Originally Posted by heatkits

My 2011 F150 pulls straight as an arrow. I've towed my new 321RES 6K miles and no problems...

The truck is equipped with: the 8200GVW package, the Max tow package and the snowplow package, 5.4L w/6spd trans, extended cab w/8' bed, Reese DC hitch w/12K bars.

I've heard that we (New Englanders) shouldn't buy vehicles from down south, because they haven't been setup (steering wise) to run on the high crowns of NE roads. Perhaps your truck came from the snow belt country and you need to take in for alignment.

I've done one heck of a lot of alignments and I don't recall ever seeing a part of the chart that reflected an adjustment based on state or road crown?

[johnnyrose]

Sounds like a brake issue. Maybe one of the drums is locked up on the left and it is making the trailer pull. Have you checked the brakes yet?

[f6bits]

It’s certainly not the truck since it’s straight as an arrow on its own.

No brakes are locked up, but maybe one’s a little tight. Now’s a good time to adjust them, I guess.

[johnnyrose]

Originally Posted by sdayman

It’s certainly not the truck since it’s straight as an arrow on its own.

No brakes are locked up, but maybe one’s a little tight. Now’s a good time to adjust them, I guess.

It could be that the brake on that side is causing the truck to pull. That is the only thing that makes sense to me other than alignment.

[Jorme]

Originally Posted by sdayman

With my old TV, it felt like things were pulling to the left. With my new TV, there’s definitely a little pull to the left. Without the trailer, my truck drives straight.

Trailer tires aren’t showing signs of uneven wear.

What’s a good way to check my trailer’s alignment? Or could it be something else that’s making my rig pull to the left?

Or is this normal?

Something to think about, and this may be completely out in left field. But depending on the tension you're putting on your eaz-lift bars (weight dist bars) it is putting more pressure on the front of your truck. Could be tire pressure or maybe that little bit more is throwing your alignment slightly off.

[f6bits]

The thought that the WD could be throwing things off did cross my mind. I believe that the only way the WD would put more pressure on the front of the truck would be if my front end was lower with the trailer than without, and that is not the case.

Brakes seem like a minor issue compared to alignment. Being that it’s a leaf spring with a solid axle, there shouldn’t be much that can go wrong there.

[Laredo291OH]

I would think there is more possibility of misalignment with leaf springs and the solid axle than there are with the torsion style axles. I believe there are pins on the axles and pin holes in the springs (or vice versa) to make sure everything is aligned.

[jbsmith]

Originally Posted by sdayman

The thought that the WD could be throwing things off did cross my mind. I believe that the only way the WD would put more pressure on the front of the truck would be if my front end was lower with the trailer than without, and that is not the case.

By design, the WD hitch will transfer additional downward force to the front axle and to the trailer axles. It effectively builds a bridge between the front axle and trailer axle, transferring the load from the rear axle of the tow vehicle. That is certainly enough to cause slight changes in steering geometry. That additional force on the front tires can also make them more susceptible to pulling. You might consider a tire rotation to rule that out. Also be mindful of your tire pressure.

Your WD may also be binding, if only just barely. I had a Equalizer on my last trailer. Was advised not to grease it, which was a huge mistake. It caused the hitch to bind after making even a slight turn. This results in more load transferred either left or right, requiring significant correction to keep straight. In fact it was so upsetting that the stability control, traction control, and anti-lock was disabled by the computer in my 2008 4Runner 4x4 V8 Limited which tried in vain to compensate for asymmetric loading.

I'm not sure which hitch you have, but ensure it is *properly* lubricated and adjusted for your trailer, truck, and load configuration.


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