First time on CAT scales with PB and TT (2250rk)

[CWSWine]

Thanks!

At first on the way to the scales, we had the truck's sway on and sway off on the WD hitch and it seemed to be fishing quite a bit, but it was really windy. On the way back, we enabled it on the hitch, but left it off on the truck and it did much better.

On the F150gen14 forum, many members have stated that the truck's sway fights with their WD hitch sway so they only use one. I guess I could have tested both on, but we only did 15 miles each way. Next time we could test with both on since it it easy enough to adjust the truck from the head unit.

yeah, I guess our next weighing could be taking the truck to the scales and have no humans in it when clicking weigh on the app. Great suggestion! Thanks!

All humans that go camping with you should be in the vehicle when weighting it. They are part of the payload number. I ran to guy with TT and he was 350 pounds and wife in the 250 range and two teenage kids probably in 150 pounds each so he had 900 pounds of people alone in the F150 with 1300 pounds of payload.

[jadatis]

Also read my post #10 .

Googled your LT tires and assume C-load loadindex 119 AT 50 psi .
The OEM tires most likely with the 115LI given and 35psi recomended pressure, where P-Tires ( or EUR notation so without P in front of it) standard load , so referencepressure given.
Filled it in in my made calculator that OEM and GAWR's , gave next. Used european standard 36 psi to get certainly not to low pressure.
Front 3900 lbs+10% reserve/ 29psi
Rear 4150 lbs + 10% reserve/ 31 psi.


The 119LI AT 50 psi would need higher pressure for that same load, because stiffer tire has smaller surface on the ground at same deflection.
Spreadsheet gives next.
Front 3900 lbs + 10% / 35psi
Rear 4150 lbs + 10% / 38 psi

Weighed axleloads,but mind that this changes if all persons in car and WDH set different.

Front 3500 lbs + 10% / 31 psi
Rear 3900 lbs + 10 %/ 35 psi



So going to 65psi for the truck, as you suggest is not allowed, but check on sidewall if I am correct. And you even can savely go lower if you want to improve comfort, swaying probably stays the same, but is my amateur conclusion, try it out.
The tires are allowed a little belly.
Nervous stering can also be courced by to high pressure.

If you give TT tires specifications, I can also calculate for that.

[Steve & Sheryl]

I put a lot of miles on my 2250RK/F150 combination, so I thought I’d weigh in. At the scales I take two weights: Fully hooked up & fully disconnected. When disconnected I push the trailer back just enough so the jack is on the same pad as the scales. With a full tank, the loaded truck weight was always within a hundred pounds of maximum. You just have to accept it with an F150. But now you’re armed with knowledge to think about it when adding extra weight. Honestly, I believe +/- 100 pounds from max is noise, so I don’t sweat the occasional extra six-pack. But if you change your base configuration (even with the trailer), weigh again.

For set up. A level trailer is more important than a level truck. When the trailer is nose down it handles a little better, nose up and handling can go south pretty quickly. Be really careful about “unloading” your truck by shifting weight to the trailer.

I had to replace rear shocks around 42k miles. I expected 60k or more. Braking and acceleration were fine. With braking, I adjusted the controller depending on conditions. Typical setup for me was sensitivity at 4 of 5 and capacity at 60%. In stop and go traffic I dial way down, sensitivity at 1 and braking at 20%-40%. I also try to avoid driving in cities which is the better answer. In the mountains I go for 5 and 100%.

The 2019 2250RK had a GVWR of 6995 lbs. I have no idea why. My “raw” (set up but not packed) trailer weight was around 6500 lbs. Leaving the house it was 6660 lb (water and waste tanks all dry). After 6 weeks on the road it was 6840 (820 on tongue 6020 on axles). Argh. Big Argh. The earliest 2250s had smaller diameter axles, and one of mine had bent. Grand Design agreed to replace the axles under warrantee. When they did, I offered to pay the difference to upgrade to 4400# axles. GD absorbed the cost! That is the way to go, hands down. My point here is that there is not a lot of extra capacity in the trailer, so pay attention to how much you put in it as well.

My experience is that running the tires at the vehicle manufacturer’s suggested capacity gives the best balance of ride and mileage. That said, I am currently running the trailer at ~ 65 psi hot, while my sticker recommends 65 psi cold. With the axle upgrade I went to E range tires. They were rated for 80 psi max and that’s where they were filled. At that pressure, the ride was horrible. Inside the rig doors were opening and screws were coming out. 65 cold got me 72 psi hot and a much better ride. I even got better mileage. So I dropped to 60 psi cold. I felt there was a small improvement in ride. Below that, mileage started going down. One more variable to fiddle with.

All that, and I've since gotten an F250. The towing is definitely better. But I got the new truck because it was time for a new truck. The F150 towed the 2250RK just fine. Enjoy your rig. It’s a perfect road warrior set up.

[UGADawgs]

All humans that go camping with you should be in the vehicle when weighting it. They are part of the payload number. I ran to guy with TT and he was 350 pounds and wife in the 250 range and two teenage kids probably in 150 pounds each so he had 900 pounds of people alone in the F150 with 1300 pounds of payload.

My reply was to the poster that recommending getting the truck's weight when empty.

[UGADawgs]

Also read my post #10 .

Googled your LT tires and assume C-load loadindex 119 AT 50 psi .
The OEM tires most likely with the 115LI given and 35psi recomended pressure, where P-Tires ( or EUR notation so without P in front of it) standard load , so referencepressure given.
Filled it in in my made calculator that OEM and GAWR's , gave next. Used european standard 36 psi to get certainly not to low pressure.
Front 3900 lbs+10% reserve/ 29psi
Rear 4150 lbs + 10% reserve/ 31 psi.


The 119LI AT 50 psi would need higher pressure for that same load, because stiffer tire has smaller surface on the ground at same deflection.
Spreadsheet gives next.
Front 3900 lbs + 10% / 35psi
Rear 4150 lbs + 10% / 38 psi

Weighed axleloads,but mind that this changes if all persons in car and WDH set different.

Front 3500 lbs + 10% / 31 psi
Rear 3900 lbs + 10 %/ 35 psi



So going to 65psi for the truck, as you suggest is not allowed, but check on sidewall if I am correct. And you even can savely go lower if you want to improve comfort, swaying probably stays the same, but is my amateur conclusion, try it out.
The tires are allowed a little belly.
Nervous stering can also be courced by to high pressure.

If you give TT tires specifications, I can also calculate for that.

The truck tires are LT, Load E, Max 80psi.

[UGADawgs]

I put a lot of miles on my 2250RK/F150 combination, so I thought I’d weigh in. At the scales I take two weights: Fully hooked up & fully disconnected. When disconnected I push the trailer back just enough so the jack is on the same pad as the scales. With a full tank, the loaded truck weight was always within a hundred pounds of maximum. You just have to accept it with an F150. But now you’re armed with knowledge to think about it when adding extra weight. Honestly, I believe +/- 100 pounds from max is noise, so I don’t sweat the occasional extra six-pack. But if you change your base configuration (even with the trailer), weigh again.

For set up. A level trailer is more important than a level truck. When the trailer is nose down it handles a little better, nose up and handling can go south pretty quickly. Be really careful about “unloading” your truck by shifting weight to the trailer.

I had to replace rear shocks around 42k miles. I expected 60k or more. Braking and acceleration were fine. With braking, I adjusted the controller depending on conditions. Typical setup for me was sensitivity at 4 of 5 and capacity at 60%. In stop and go traffic I dial way down, sensitivity at 1 and braking at 20%-40%. I also try to avoid driving in cities which is the better answer. In the mountains I go for 5 and 100%.

The 2019 2250RK had a GVWR of 6995 lbs. I have no idea why. My “raw” (set up but not packed) trailer weight was around 6500 lbs. Leaving the house it was 6660 lb (water and waste tanks all dry). After 6 weeks on the road it was 6840 (820 on tongue 6020 on axles). Argh. Big Argh. The earliest 2250s had smaller diameter axles, and one of mine had bent. Grand Design agreed to replace the axles under warrantee. When they did, I offered to pay the difference to upgrade to 4400# axles. GD absorbed the cost! That is the way to go, hands down. My point here is that there is not a lot of extra capacity in the trailer, so pay attention to how much you put in it as well.

My experience is that running the tires at the vehicle manufacturer’s suggested capacity gives the best balance of ride and mileage. That said, I am currently running the trailer at ~ 65 psi hot, while my sticker recommends 65 psi cold. With the axle upgrade I went to E range tires. They were rated for 80 psi max and that’s where they were filled. At that pressure, the ride was horrible. Inside the rig doors were opening and screws were coming out. 65 cold got me 72 psi hot and a much better ride. I even got better mileage. So I dropped to 60 psi cold. I felt there was a small improvement in ride. Below that, mileage started going down. One more variable to fiddle with.

All that, and I've since gotten an F250. The towing is definitely better. But I got the new truck because it was time for a new truck. The F150 towed the 2250RK just fine. Enjoy your rig. It’s a perfect road warrior set up.

Thanks. Appreciate you sharing your exp with your 2250. I do think they've made changes between 2019 and 2021 based on the specs. I really need to get the current weight of the trailer, the weight of the truck, the weight of the tongue weight, and determine if I need to adjust the hitch to get the trailer more level and if there are any other tweaks to make. Currently it seems like the tongue is over 900lbs and that seems high. But going back to the scales will tell me for sure.

[georgiadawg]

When we first bought our 2600RB (have since sold it and bought a Reflection 297RSTS), I towed it briefly with an F150. All the weights and levels were just fine and the rig rode well enough, but there were two limitations we found pretty quickly: 1) Braking and 2) Pulling up any kind of hill. We live in Northern Wyoming, so No. 2 might be way more important to me than it is to you. We pull some horse trailers, so a 3/4 ton was a good idea for more than just the TT.

The best deal I could find at the time was on a one-year old F350. Obviously, this truck can pull the TT's (even the much heavier Reflection) up a steep mountain like they aren't even there, but what I really like is the security I feel knowing that I can stop very quickly if necessary. The new Reflection has Titan disc brakes, and that makes a noticeable difference in stopping distance.

Anyway, if you stay in FL/GA, the pulling power of a larger truck might not mean anything to you, but the braking is something to think about.

The downside is that the F350 (or an F250 or similar 3/4 ton) will burn more fuel than your Powerboost. I'm willing to spend a bit more on fuel to feel comfortable.

Good luck!

GO DAWGS!!! BEST BAMA!!!

[jadatis]

Reaction to post #15

Then I googled on E-load and assumed sises the same as OEM.
Found LI 123 AT 80 psi
Gave for GAWR's
Front 3900+10%/ 49psi
Rear 4150 + 10%/ 52 psi
For weighed loads ( if they stay the same)
Front 3500+10% / 43 psi
Rear 3900+ 10%/ 49 psi.
Then still 65 psi would give bumping or even nervous driving, but allowed now.

If you tighten the WDH front weight higher but rear lower, or you did not weigh persons in behind seats.

If trailer is not level, and I think to see that on the picture,( front a bit lower then behind), it gives more weight on front axle and less weight on behind.

Then tightening the WDH would give more even weight on trailer axles, and more on front TV and less on rear axle TT so best balance and probably yust below GVWR TV.

That GAWR'S together is more then GVWR. Is to allow some weightshifting , and for normal cars often only below 200lbs extra above GVWR.

[pilotpip]

The downside is that the F350 (or an F250 or similar 3/4 ton) will burn more fuel than your Powerboost. I'm willing to spend a bit more on fuel to feel comfortable.

When towing, it's not going to be a big difference. If you're using it for a daily driver, yeah it's going to sting a little.

[UGADawgs]

When we first bought our 2600RB (have since sold it and bought a Reflection 297RSTS), I towed it briefly with an F150. All the weights and levels were just fine and the rig rode well enough, but there were two limitations we found pretty quickly: 1) Braking and 2) Pulling up any kind of hill. We live in Northern Wyoming, so No. 2 might be way more important to me than it is to you. We pull some horse trailers, so a 3/4 ton was a good idea for more than just the TT.

The best deal I could find at the time was on a one-year old F350. Obviously, this truck can pull the TT's (even the much heavier Reflection) up a steep mountain like they aren't even there, but what I really like is the security I feel knowing that I can stop very quickly if necessary. The new Reflection has Titan disc brakes, and that makes a noticeable difference in stopping distance.

Anyway, if you stay in FL/GA, the pulling power of a larger truck might not mean anything to you, but the braking is something to think about.

The downside is that the F350 (or an F250 or similar 3/4 ton) will burn more fuel than your Powerboost. I'm willing to spend a bit more on fuel to feel comfortable.

Good luck!

GO DAWGS!!! BEST BAMA!!!

This truck has 430hp and 570 lb-ft, so it should have plenty to tow this trailer. Getting 22+ mpg as a daily driver is nice too. Also haven't had any issues with braking yet. Plus, being able to boondock with its built in 7.2kw geny is awesome when needed. I'm just concerned about balancing the weight correctly as it seems there is room to tweak the hitch. GO DAWGS!!!