Help me with my setup

[Billyk]

I just got a 2010 Keystone Hornet Hideout BHWE.
I have a2016 Ford F-150 Platinum with a 3.5 engine. I had aHusky round bar head put on with the bars .I need to get my rear end of the truck up 2
more inches and trailer down to be level.i have been told to buy airbags.https://share.icloud.com/photos/01em...Ao3MQElWR8KEbQ

A picture before we went on our first trip up 4000 to camp. I drove very carefully as was told by friends owning trailers and now what day you guys?

[chuckster57]

With the trailer level, measure from the ground to the top of the A frame coupler (where the ball fits into). Then mount the hitch so the ball is 3” higher, and tilted AWAY from the truck about 10-15 degrees.

Hitch up, then with the ball locked on raise the tongue enough to put the round bars on with 4 links hanging off. Lower the trailer tongue until the jack is no longer touching the ground.

If the tongue is high, redo it and go to 3 links. Tongue low go to 5 links. If you can’t get the ball 3” higher then you need a longer shank.

I didn’t look at your picture.

[bsmith0404]

Looking at your pic, you need to drop your hitch height quite a bit, probably 3” or more. You’re trailer is currently sitting very nose high and your truck is way down. No way you will get the truck where it needs to be with the trailer nose that high.

[wiredgeorge]

It might help if you let us know what the actual model of your trailer is. There are some numbers before BHWE you didn't mention.

[Billyk]

Sorry 24 is the number

[flybouy]

At a gvw of 7,420 the hitch weight @13% would be about 900 lbs. Add another 100 lbs for the hitch and you're strapping 1k on the back. In your picture I see a bed cap with 2 surf boards on it. What's the payload of your truck? There's a sticker with the tire pressure chart that will list the payload. That number is the available payload as the truck left the factory.everything you put on or in the truck REDUCES the available payload.

The Platinum is the top F150 model line and typically they have a very low payload due to all the goodies the factory installs. It's not unusual for those trucks to have a payload under 1,500 lbs. I would suggest that you visit a Cat Scale and find out where you stand. You may not get the rig to set level if your several hundred pounds over loaded.

[Billyk]

My Hideout is 24 BHWE.
Looks to be 26.5 feet in length
I closed is hitch I used and picture of trailer and truck hitched up

[Billyk]

The door tag for tire chart is 1534 lbs.

[Billyk]

My shell is 300 lbs. Boards 75 lbs.another 500 lbs of gear in truck. So about 800 lbs. Let’s add another 300 for passengers. 1100 lbs total truck weight

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Billyk

My shell is 300 lbs. Boards 75 lbs.another 500 lbs of gear in truck. So about 800 lbs. Let’s add another 300 for passengers. 1100 lbs total truck weight

1534lb payload - 1100lb in/on the truck = 434lb remaining payload - 900lb tongue weight + 100lb hitch weight = 566+ lb over your payload= too much rv & stuff or not enough truck.
Adding air bags will only add to your payload deficit by the weight of the air bags.

[Billyk]

thank you Dan. Need to rethink
what I load in the truck.

[bsmith0404]

Btw, the hitch you’re using does not have any sway control. Weight distribution is one thing, controlling the trailer behind you is just as important. Get a better hitch.

[Billyk]

[flybouy]

If your point in posting the info from Keystone is the published hitch weight and empty trailer you are being mislead. NO camper will EVER be used with the published hitch or pin weights and here's why. That weight, much like your truck payload listing is based on the weight as the trailer leaves the factory assembly floor.

When the trailer leaves the factory it does not have propane in the tanks, it does not have a battery, both which set right at the front behind the hitch. It also does not include any options despite the fact that every trailer may be built with those options. Those numbers also do not reflect the weight of EVERYTHING YOU PUT IN THE TRAILER. I'm guessing you bought the trailer to use it and not have it set and look pretty in the driveway.

So I'm guessing you have some food in the camper, something to cook that food with and something to eat it with/on. I imagine you have some appliances like a coffee pot, toaster, electric skillet, etc. Bed linens, towels, cloths, toiletries, cleaning supplies. How about that front storage compartment? That's where stuff like wheel chocks, leveling blocks, hoses, extension cords and adapters, campfire stuff and folding chairs and a host of other things that accumulate over time. Add a bedroom tv? How about entertainment? It all has weight. If you guess at how much all that stuff weights I'll bet you'll be considerably light in your estimate.

In most instances a large amount of the storage is in the front of the trailer, directly behind the hitch. As a "rule of thumb" travel trailers have 10-15% of the overall weight supported by the hitch. Using 13% is in the middle of that spread. 5th wheels have 20-25% on the pin. These aren't made up numbers just to rain on your parade. These are industry used ESTIMATES and unless you weight your rig the best estimate for safety is to use the gvw. EVERY trailer ends up closer to gvw than the phantom "published empty weight".

The only way to know what you have is to weight it. If you think you're great as guessing numbers then buy some lottery tickets but don't bet on your family's safety buy guessing weights. Catscales.com has a very informative website on how to scale your rig and it will cost about $14. There are other very informative websites that explain towing and weights like etrailer.com and Sherline.com. Most folks that load up for a camping trip and visit a scale are suprised by the numbers, weight is cumulative and only increases with time as you add things that don't seem significant until you add them all up.

No one here is trying to bust your cahonies nor profit in any way by giving you this information. Most everyone has been in this situation and made some costly mistakes. The goal here is to inform folks wiby using the hundreds of years of cumulative experience. What you do with the information is up to you.

If you reply with "we travel lite, we don't carry water, we only travel short distances, or I only drive slow" your only fooling yourself, experience tells us that may be the intention but rarely does it work out that way. Good luck and stay safe.

[Billyk]

Thanks Marshall for taking the time to write to me. I will look to weigh the truck and RV. We may have to sell to down size and take a hell of a loss. All you people who replied to me Thank You

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by Billyk

Thanks Marshall for taking the time to write to me. I will look to weigh the truck and RV. We may have to sell to down size and take a hell of a loss. All you people who replied to me Thank You

If you do decide to sell your RV, used RV’s are still commanding high prices, you might be suprised.

[Billyk]

Looks like my wife and I are taking a loss.We got to sell for a lighter smaller RV.Education is expensive these days.I thank You all again helping us.Now where to list

[bsmith0404]

My recommendation, unless you have used this a few times and really feel it is more than you need, replace the truck instead of the rv. Most people tend to go bigger/better once they’ve used an rv. They find out they need/want more space here or there, want this feature or that. It’s very likely you will to do the same. Purchase a truck capable of towing what you have now and hopefully what you may upgrade to in the future, or at least give you more options in the future. 90% of the time, you’ll end up doing that at some point anyway.

No offense, but an F150 is great for bringing home a few boards or sheets of plywood from the lumber yard, hauling the new couch or getting groceries, it’s not a great tow vehicle for an rv.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Billyk

Looks like my wife and I are taking a loss.We got to sell for a lighter smaller RV.Education is expensive these days.I thank You all again helping us.Now where to list

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions until you weight your rig. Will you have trim a lot of weight? Very likely but get the facts first, then decide if the "absolutly must take" items are worth the expense. If you can get the weight to a safe level then I'd use it and make a decision next year. The depreciation on the camper will likely be the same and by then you'll have a better understanding of your needs vs wants within the confines of your financing. You may find that camping isn't for your family or perhaps another truck could solve your issues.

I would absolutly recommend a wdh like a Reese 4 pt with built in sway control before towing. Don't beat yourself up over this, it's happened to all of us, most of us admit it, some don't.

[wiredgeorge]

Too heavy a trailer for my tow vehicle never happened to me! I had a truck camper which probably weighed twice as much as my payload. Fortunately my wife wouldn't not take a shower in the wet bath and insisted I get a travel trailer. Also sold my overmatched F150 and bought a very used F250 as we only use our truck for camping for the most part and an occasional hauling task.