Suspension upgrades not helping

[marlowefamily]

Recent gen Platinum Max Tow expedition should be fine for the 2800bh at UVWR but you will have to be careful if you push payload high, tow with water tanks full, or approach gvwr with trailer max weight...especially on steep road grades. In that case, it's going to come down to the hitch and tires.

Blue Ox is good, but I'd at least try Pure Pride 3p to see if it makes dramatic difference.

I would be careful if not using the 4x4 plat max tow, which has the best expy suspension, wheel control, and engine cooling.

Be really careful that most of trailer weight is just at or forward of center of axles.

Use 22" tires on expy. Not sure about trailer tires.

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[IrishSchooner]

Ok 2800BH owners (or others). Towing our 2800 with a 2019 Ford Expy with HD towing. 9200 lb towing capacity. Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch. Installed CRE-3000 and Sumo springs before our first trip last weekend. Once on the road, I experienced a TON of bouncing and push-pull. Anything over 65 was white knuckle driving. Maybe I just stay at 60 mph for all my driving? Semi trucks were pushing me all over the place. I thought the suspension upgrades would have helped. Any suggestions short of replacing the TV? Thanks all.

Hey Buddy... before you do anything new like adding a different equalizer etc... do the following;

1.) Verify that you have Load range E tires on your vehicle and that you have them at 80 PSI (Cold).
2.) Verify that you have the trailer at their max cold PSI as well.
3.) The Sway pro hitch is awesome. Its what I use. Make sure you have it at the proper height and that you have it set at the 9th link from the top on each side.
4.) You are close to the limit on your TV. Try not to run with a full water tank. Each gallon adds an additional 8 pounds.
5.) Make sure to do weight distribution as best you can inside the TT.
6.) Check to see if your antisway is off on the TV. I turned mine off when I first started pulling because the dealer told me to do it. I ended up turning it back on because it seemed to keep my TV running straighter. Try a simple road test and see which way works best.

Best of luck.

NB

[Stealth13777]

This sounds very much like you do not have the hitch dialed in correctly. I can say that having experienced similar (if not as severe) when mine wasn’t right, and now having a trailer that tows with me totally relaxed.

Other thing to check is your tongue weight. Too little will make the trailer unstable. Not sure how the 2800 is setup, I don’t think it tends to be light so this may be a non-issue.

Before buying more stuff, get your current setup as good as you can get it. It takes time and taking it to the scale, (and even then I still experimented with 8 vs 9 links, 9 vs 10, etc. But it costs very little other than time. Then, once it’s right, if you still have behavior you don’t like, it’s much easier to narrow down the specific culprit, be it tires, shocks, etc.

[MachWun]

2800 is light for a pickup. SUV.. even a Flex? About 6500 dry.

I have used Blue Ox and Equalizer ...each is good. But unlike other poster, I used the 11th chain and it stayed firmly behind me on 2 windy rides with significant gusts.

Too much unknowns here...
Check all your math
Check that you wheel height hitched is proportionally the same when hitched and that the TV and TT are level (note, Blue Ox said slightly nose up is better...likely because you can put more weight in pass through to bring it down).

You ball should be 1 to 1.5" higher on level ground than you coupler on same level ground.

See people most commonly making the mistakes above.

[mhaasser]

I have a 2019 4x4 EXPY Max limited with 301A package, tow package 22 inch wheels and the CCDs. I have no modifications to my rear suspension. I have a 2019 2800BH I have the 10000# equalizer hitch. I have all the washers installed to push as much as I can back onto the front Axles. I ran from Chicago to Montana this summer through North Dakota. I had a smooth ride the entire way and had to keep myself in check with my speed, Still have the Westlakes. My goal was to stay at 73 MPH which got me about 7.5 - 8 MPG. I found a few times even got over 80 and did not realize it. I stopped at Cat Scale on the way out. I travel with No water. I was over weight on the way out. 15,740# total should have been less then 15,500. I was over on rear axle 4380 I was 4620. I need to do better with my weights but with the WDH set up I find the MAX EXP a very good tow vehicle. I had an 2007 EXP EL before and that was good, just not enough motor and trans.

[J Maguire]

Ok 2800BH owners (or others). Towing our 2800 with a 2019 Ford Expy with HD towing. 9200 lb towing capacity. Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch. Installed CRE-3000 and Sumo springs before our first trip last weekend. Once on the road, I experienced a TON of bouncing and push-pull. Anything over 65 was white knuckle driving. Maybe I just stay at 60 mph for all my driving? Semi trucks were pushing me all over the place. I thought the suspension upgrades would have helped. Any suggestions short of replacing the TV? Thanks all.

With all due respect, that Expedition is in over its head and nothing will fix the problem short of a better tow vehicle. I believe this to be obvious problem here. I even found the F150 to be in over its head far earlier than the numbers reflect and they were similar to yours in reference to the weight of the RV being towed. These trucks can pull in a straight light just fine but their suspensions are far too soft for comfortable and secure towing in all conditions like downhill mountain passages, windy or wet conditions, truck traffic blowing you around and accident aversion which happens all too quickly. Generally speaking, if a truck is compliant, smooth and comfortable unloaded around town it's generally not a good tow vehicle which is the expedition. Likewise, if a truck is stiff, slightly uncomfortable and bounces a bit when unloaded around town it's a good tow vehicle which generally starts in the 2500 sized lineup. Cheers!

[Flip94ta]

Ok 2800BH owners (or others). Towing our 2800 with a 2019 Ford Expy with HD towing. 9200 lb towing capacity. Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch. Installed CRE-3000 and Sumo springs before our first trip last weekend. Once on the road, I experienced a TON of bouncing and push-pull. Anything over 65 was white knuckle driving. Maybe I just stay at 60 mph for all my driving? Semi trucks were pushing me all over the place. I thought the suspension upgrades would have helped. Any suggestions short of replacing the TV? Thanks all.

As others have said your hitch is set up too soft. I’m not familiar with using a blue ox but basically you need to tighten it up to push more weight to the front of the EXPY and back in to the trailer wheels. If it was setup by the dealer that adjustment is now off since you added the sumo springs. They raise the rear which puts the hitch under less tension. I just went through this with my suburban, the rear springs have sagged somewhat so I added airbags, it sits 1.25” higher when hitched now, that means that’s 1.25” of less tension on the whd. And it towed looser.

If you don’t have the time to go to a CAT scale atleast buy yourself a Sherline LM2000 scale from amazon. I would bet you are over rear axle weight and receiver weight. I believe receiver is rated for 920lbs. I’ve seen tongue weights for the 2800 in the 950-1100lb range. Use the search feature to see what I’m talking about. Heck my lighter 2500RL weighs 920lb on the tongue. Tightening the hitch will move that weight elsewhere.

Lastly, even with the hitch tightened, you are probably over spec on the rear axle still depending on how much you are carrying inside the EXPY. Your rear tires can hold 44 or 51psi, they should definitely be pumped up to 44psi when you are towing otherwise you are risking a blowout and crappier handing. I’d start there and see how it goes, if they can take the higher psi try it, you want stability over ride quality.

One more thing, I believe there’s a sport setting for the CCD, you’ll want to use that.

[mhaasser]

As others have said your hitch is set up too soft. I’m not familiar with using a blue ox but basically you need to tighten it up to push more weight to the front of the EXPY and back in to the trailer wheels. If it was setup by the dealer that adjustment is now off since you added the sumo springs. They raise the rear which puts the hitch under less tension. I just went through this with my suburban, the rear springs have sagged somewhat so I added airbags, it sits 1.25” higher when hitched now, that means that’s 1.25” of less tension on the whd. And it towed looser.

If you don’t have the time to go to a CAT scale atleast buy yourself a Sherline LM2000 scale from amazon. I would bet you are over rear axle weight and receiver weight. I believe receiver is rated for 920lbs. I’ve seen tongue weights for the 2800 in the 950-1100lb range. Use the search feature to see what I’m talking about. Heck my lighter 2500RL weighs 920lb on the tongue. Tightening the hitch will move that weight elsewhere.

Lastly, even with the hitch tightened, you are probably over spec on the rear axle still depending on how much you are carrying inside the EXPY. Your rear tires can hold 44 or 51psi, they should definitely be pumped up to 44psi when you are towing otherwise you are risking a blowout and crappier handing. I’d start there and see how it goes, if they can take the higher psi try it, you want stability over ride quality.

One more thing, I believe there’s a sport setting for the CCD, you’ll want to use that.

The Choices for the CCD's on the Expedition are not separate from the Drive setting. I set the drive mode to Tow Haul. I don't understand how that adjusts the CCD but I don't find it soft like the Eco-mode setting does in normal driving. I wish Ford would allow us to set how we wanted the CCDs set as an override setting but they don't. I agree the OP needs to review his WDH configuration and get onto a CAT scale. Numbers once known can be adjusted to better balance the entire experience.

[larry0071]

Fantastic. Thanks. Will do that tomorrow.

Since this was his last post and weeks ago.... I would venture to guess that he does not wish to share scans of his CAT scale numbers beside photos of his yellow and silver door stickers! He went "radio silent" after stating that tomorrow would be the scales. That is where you learn that your way upside down on your towing setup. I venture to guess that if his slips all turned out in his favor, he would have ran back to post that and ask where to go from here since the numbers all work out.

Just surmising....

[sande005]

Lots of good advice above. (posting for others, even if the OP has gone away) Two points:

1. Are you getting true sway? Defined as the trailer rear end wagging back and forth. Watch your side mirrors as you go straight - see if the rear corner peeks out on one side and then the other. Can be just a little bit, but in the right conditions can extremely quickly change to disaster. How severe is a function of speed, so slow down if you get a hint of it. If it gets severe do NOT hit your brakes. Take your foot off the accelerator, and use the brake controller for the trailer to have it's brakes slow everything down. This problem is solely due to not enough tongue weight. But if your trailer is prone to it, a road bump, a semi passing, side winds, etc. can set it off. So figure out how to get more weight on the ball, if you suspect this may be happening.

2. Side winds, truck suck, porpoising and general "wiggle" are tougher to combat - so some or most of the prior suggestions will come into play here. Start with the ones that are free or cheap, and move up the $ scale to see if you can tame it.