User Tag List

Thanks Thanks:  0
Likes Likes:  0
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12
  1. #1
    Setting Up Camp
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    26
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    Blue Ox Sway Pro

    Dealer gave me the wrong bars 1500 pound instead of 1000. I got the bars replaced and got everything hooked up but ride still seems a bit all over the road.

    Truck
    2018 F150 3.5 eco supercrew with long bed and max tow

    Trailer
    Imagine XLS 23bhe

    Does the hitching looking like it is setup right? I moved the driver rotating latch forward an inch since the chain was not straight vertical when latched. I believe the passenger side needs to move forward some as well based on the alignment of the chain.

    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	IMG_20200607_133040.jpg 
Views:	51 
Size:	97.6 KB 
ID:	27066Click image for larger version. 

Name:	IMG_20200607_133024.jpg 
Views:	34 
Size:	95.1 KB 
ID:	27067Click image for larger version. 

Name:	IMG_20200607_133019.jpg 
Views:	34 
Size:	95.7 KB 
ID:	27068Click image for larger version. 

Name:	IMG_20200607_133009.jpg 
Views:	30 
Size:	96.1 KB 
ID:	27069Click image for larger version. 

Name:	IMG_20200607_163816.jpg 
Views:	30 
Size:	98.2 KB 
ID:	27070

    Sent from my OP7 Pro using Tapatalk

  2. #2
    Site Team xrated's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    "Murvul", TN
    Posts
    3,357
    Mentioned
    135 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Are these pics taken with an empty trailer....not yet loaded for camping? Do you know what the weight of the trailer is in those pics? Have you been to a scale and got it weighed? It almost looks to me like you have too much spring tension on the spring bars....especially if the trailer is still empty and not loaded! Get back with us with some more info on the questions that I asked. From your first picture, it looks like the spring bars are tightened so much that it is lifting the back of your truck up a couple of inches.....by the clearance in the rear wheel wells vs. the clearance in the front wheel wells. If that is the case, the trailer will be "squirrly" because you have effectively redistributed too much of the tongue weight to the trailer axles and the front axle of your tow vehicle. And yes, the chain pull ups, when positioned properly should cause the chain to be vertical. You need to adjust them a bit.
    Last edited by xrated; 06-07-2020 at 05:20 PM.
    2016 F350 CrewCab Dually
    2018 Momentum 394M...Heavily Modded!
    2023 Suzuki GSX-S1000 GT+
    Excessive Payload is a Wonderful Thing

    "If it ain't fast....It ain't Fun"

  3. #3
    Seasoned Camper
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Posts
    368
    Mentioned
    3 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Concur with previous poster. What link are you on? Iirc Blue Ox recommends starting at link 9, you may need to go down one, or two, for the reasons at the end of this post.

    Recommend measuring distance from the ground to your wheel wells unloaded, then again with the trailer bars unhooked, then finally with the bars hooked up. You should see the front gap come about halfway back down from where it went up to when you added the loaded trailer without WDH. Completely non-scientific, but should get you set up a little better.

    I doubt that trailer is putting 1000lbs on your truck, probably more like 650-700, so you shouldn’t need more than the recommended tension.
    Last edited by Stealth13777; 06-07-2020 at 05:55 PM.
    2022 Transcend Xplor 240ML
    2019 Imagine XLS 17MKE (sold 8/22)
    2017 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0 Fx4
    Blue Ox WDH

  4. #4
    Setting Up Camp
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    26
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by xrated View Post
    Are these pics taken with an empty trailer....not yet loaded for camping? Do you know what the weight of the trailer is in those pics? Have you been to a scale and got it weighed? It almost looks to me like you have too much spring tension on the spring bars....especially if the trailer is still empty and not loaded! Get back with us with some more info on the questions that I asked. From your first picture, it looks like the spring bars are tightened so much that it is lifting the back of your truck up a couple of inches.....by the clearance in the rear wheel wells vs. the clearance in the front wheel wells. If that is the case, the trailer will be "squirrly" because you have effectively redistributed too much of the tongue weight to the trailer axles and the front axle of your tow vehicle. And yes, the chain pull ups, when positioned properly should cause the chain to be vertical. You need to adjust them a bit.
    Trailer is empty in the photos. I used the 9th chain link that gives me 2.5 links below the latch. Moving down one link gives me 3.5 links below the latch. I am taking it to the scales to get it weighed this evening. Once there I will measure the wheel wells and check again.

    Sent from my OP7 Pro using Tapatalk

  5. #5
    Setting Up Camp
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    26
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Stealth13777 View Post
    Concur with previous poster. What link are you on? Iirc Blue Ox recommends starting at link 9, you may need to go down one, or two, for the reasons at the end of this post.

    Recommend measuring distance from the ground to your wheel wells unloaded, then again with the trailer bars unhooked, then finally with the bars hooked up. You should see the front gap come about halfway back down from where it went up to when you added the loaded trailer without WDH. Completely non-scientific, but should get you set up a little better.

    I doubt that trailer is putting 1000lbs on your truck, probably more like 650-700, so you shouldn’t need more than the recommended tension.
    Yes trailer tongue weight I measured is right 560 pounds.

    Sent from my OP7 Pro using Tapatalk

  6. #6
    Site Team xrated's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    "Murvul", TN
    Posts
    3,357
    Mentioned
    135 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by chizetown View Post
    Yes trailer tongue weight I measured is right 560 pounds.

    Sent from my OP7 Pro using Tapatalk
    OK....that make sense then. The 2 1/2 link setting would likely be for tongue weight in the neighborhood of 1000 lbs. At about 1/2 of that amount of tongue weight (the 560 lb number), the spring bars were way too tight and likely doing what I said.....moving some of that tongue weight to the trailer axles and some to the front of your truck.....making for a less than ideal handling of the combo.

    I used a Blue Ox Sway Pro when I had my tow behind trailer that was 13,000 lb GVWR and a 3/4T truck towing it. Depending on whether or not I had toys in the garage of the trailer, I would adjust the spring tension accordingly. No toys....more spring tension. (Toy Haulers are usually pretty tongue heavy WITHOUT toys in the rear) WithTwo 400 lb motorcycles plus all my gear for the track and I would lessen the spring tension, as the weight in the rear actually lessens the amount of tongue weight being put on the truck. And keep this in mind, with the GVWR of your trailer (7000 lbs), you may never need to adjust the spring bars as tight as they were today...2 1/2 links. If your trailer were loaded all the way to the 6995 GVWR and you were putting the ideal amount of tongue weight down (12 to13% of the trailer weight), that would still only be approx. 900 lbs of tongue....and you have 1000 lb bars. Once you get the trailer loaded like you would normally be, it might be worth your while to scale it again and see where you are at with tongue weight....and then adjust the number of links accordingly. My guess, and it's only a guess, it that you will end up with either 4 1/2 link if you load the trailer pretty lightly, or 3 1/2 if you are loaded up quite a bit heavier. If you ever get the trailer total weight (axles and tongue) to the 6995 lbs, you might be at 2 1/2 links....but again, scale it and then you will know just how much spring bar tension affects the redistribution of that weight back to the trailer axles and the truck steer axle. Hope all that makes sense and you get it worked out. The Sway Pro is a great hitch and very effective if setup correctly.
    Last edited by xrated; 06-07-2020 at 07:49 PM.
    2016 F350 CrewCab Dually
    2018 Momentum 394M...Heavily Modded!
    2023 Suzuki GSX-S1000 GT+
    Excessive Payload is a Wonderful Thing

    "If it ain't fast....It ain't Fun"

  7. #7
    Setting Up Camp
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    26
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by xrated View Post
    OK....that make sense then. The 2 1/2 link setting would likely be for tongue weight in the neighborhood of 1000 lbs. At about 1/2 of that amount of tongue weight (the 560 lb number), the spring bars were way too tight and likely doing what I said.....moving some of that tongue weight to the trailer axles and some to the front of your truck.....making for a less than ideal handling of the combo.

    I used a Blue Ox Sway Pro when I had my tow behind trailer that was 13,000 lb GVWR and a 3/4T truck towing it. Depending on whether or not I had toys in the garage of the trailer, I would adjust the spring tension accordingly. No toys....more spring tension. (Toy Haulers are usually pretty tongue heavy WITHOUT toys in the rear) WithTwo 400 lb motorcycles plus all my gear for the track and I would lessen the spring tension, as the weight in the rear actually lessens the amount of tongue weight being put on the truck. And keep this in mind, with the GVWR of your trailer (7000 lbs), you may never need to adjust the spring bars as tight as they were today...2 1/2 links. If your trailer were loaded all the way to the 6995 GVWR and you were putting the ideal amount of tongue weight down (12 to13% of the trailer weight), that would still only be approx. 900 lbs of tongue....and you have 1000 lb bars. Once you get the trailer loaded like you would normally be, it might be worth your while to scale it again and see where you are at with tongue weight....and then adjust the number of links accordingly. My guess, and it's only a guess, it that you will end up with either 4 1/2 link if you load the trailer pretty lightly, or 3 1/2 if you are loaded up quite a bit heavier. If you ever get the trailer total weight (axles and tongue) to the 6995 lbs, you might be at 2 1/2 links....but again, scale it and then you will know just how much spring bar tension affects the redistribution of that weight back to the trailer axles and the truck steer axle. Hope all that makes sense and you get it worked out. The Sway Pro is a great hitch and very effective if setup correctly.
    Is there a rule of thumb for how much bowing you should get from the bars?

    Sent from my OP7 Pro using Tapatalk

  8. #8
    Seasoned Camper
    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Posts
    368
    Mentioned
    3 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by chizetown View Post
    Yes trailer tongue weight I measured is right 560 pounds.

    Sent from my OP7 Pro using Tapatalk
    My XLS is about the same fully loaded with empty tanks. Yours should put a little more tongue once you load it up so I suspect those bars will be fine - your GVW is more than 1000# more than mine. I actually went down to the 750# bars since even with water my tongue won’t be over that. I had good luck at 8 links with the 1k bars comfort wise but didn’t think it was perfect and found out why when I weighed it. 9 links was never comfortable. First tow with the smaller bars next week.

    As for bowing Blue Ox told me ‘you want some bow, so set it at 9 if you can but it’s fine to do less links if you need to’.
    Last edited by Stealth13777; 06-07-2020 at 08:51 PM.
    2022 Transcend Xplor 240ML
    2019 Imagine XLS 17MKE (sold 8/22)
    2017 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0 Fx4
    Blue Ox WDH

  9. #9
    Setting Up Camp
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Posts
    26
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by Stealth13777 View Post
    My XLS is about the same fully loaded with empty tanks. Yours should put a little more tongue once you load it up so I suspect those bars will be fine - your GVW is more than 1000# more than mine. I actually went down to the 750# bars since even with water my tongue won’t be over that. I had good luck at 8 links with the 1k bars comfort wise but didn’t think it was perfect and found out why when I weighed it. 9 links was never comfortable. First tow with the smaller bars next week.

    As for bowing Blue Ox told me ‘you want some bow, so set it at 9 if you can but it’s fine to do less links if you need to’.
    Yes it was debate of whether I should go down to 750. After I get it loaded for camping and weigh with these 1k I guess it may still be a possibility. One thing for sure is the 1500 pound bars the dealer sent me home with were no fun.

    Sent from my OP7 Pro using Tapatalk

  10. #10
    Site Team xrated's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    "Murvul", TN
    Posts
    3,357
    Mentioned
    135 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    Quote Originally Posted by chizetown View Post
    Is there a rule of thumb for how much bowing you should get from the bars?

    Sent from my OP7 Pro using Tapatalk
    I don't know of any rule of thumb for "bowing" the spring bars. B.O. sizes the "weight" of the bars and then instructs you about the 9 links thing. So any tongue weight less than 1000 lbs (your bar's rating), will require less bowing of the bars ....less spring tension. Like I said, get some actual weight numbers from a scale visit with the trailer loaded like it will be when you camp and take it from there. With a pull behind trailer, you will need to do THREE scale weights. The first weight should be the truck and the trailer loaded up exactly like it will be when you are going camping.....full fuel, trailer loaded, passengers that you would normally have...and so on. Pull on the scale and get the weight like that. Then, while on the scale, disconnect the spring bars (don't need to remove them) so that there is NO TENSION on them....and ask for a re-weigh like that. Then pull off the scale and unhook your trailer and park it somewhere out of the way. Then drive the truck only, back over the scale and get your third weigh ticket. Make sure that at all times, the truck and passengers or whatever you have in the truck is exactly like the first two weights.....in other words if you have passengers, do let someone get out and run to the bathroom or go inside and get something to eat or ????.....exactly like the first two.

    Then, when you get home, go to this website.... https://fifthwheelst.com/. At the top of that page, click on the "4 Step Weight Safety Plan" and there are 4 steps to follow. MAKE SURE that you download the worksheet for a Tow Behind trailer and NOT the one for a Fifth wheel trailer. Fill out the worksheet completely and go through all of the steps and you will be able to get all of your numbers from that calculator.....including the tongue weight. And it will show you the effect of what the tongue weight does to the truck both WITH and WITHOUT the weight distribution hitch hooked up. That allows for you to see if your W.D. system is set properly because you can compare axle weights of the truck without the trailer, to axle weights with and without the W.D. system. I ideal scenario is that the W.D. system will move some of the tongue weight back to the front axle of your truck..AND...some of the tongue weight to the axle(s) of the trailer. The tongue weight numbers will not change, but it will be redistributed to the other places that i just mentioned.....truck front axle and trailer axle(s). When adjusting the spring tension on the bars, the ideal scenario is to get the front axle of the truck back to as close to the number that the steer axle was when the trailer WASN'T hooked up to the truck. Hope this helps
    2016 F350 CrewCab Dually
    2018 Momentum 394M...Heavily Modded!
    2023 Suzuki GSX-S1000 GT+
    Excessive Payload is a Wonderful Thing

    "If it ain't fast....It ain't Fun"

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

DISCLAIMER:This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Grand Design RV, LLC or any of its affiliates. This is an independent site.