New F-350 has higher capacities than our old F-350 but is towing much worse

I'm thinking out loud here.....

65mph is plenty fast towing any trailer - it's safer. Especially a travel trailer. JMO

Lowering the front does not increase the tongue weight...

I would want the trailer as level as possible. And I'll bet the ball is higher than on the old truck; so maybe consider a drop hitch?

I think raising the tow bar transfers weight to the rear wheels (and front ones on the truck? -this always confuses me). Maybe you should investigate. By decreasing the amount of weight transfer may put more weight on your hitch ball. Everyone here will correct me if I got it wrong.

Load the front of the trailer more to gain weight

Too much truck for the trailer? This sounds wrong, but I'll bet the newer truck has a lot stiffer suspension (and, again, a higher hitch ball location).

Tow without and sway bars and let the truck manage it? Might be a worthwhile test; but I would try driving over 65mph.

Consider a different hitch bar / weight transfer mechanism (being a 5th wheel guy I have no idea which hitch I'd recommend or get).

Consider an aftermarket sway control system; one that goes on the trailer and brakes either side according to whatever sway there might be. (those things intrigue me but not sure if they actually work - here again others will comment I hope).

Nice truck - enjoy it.....
 
So at link 10 the bars are tighter than link 8--counted from free end, not u-bolt end (standard way of counting--confusing) https://www.blueox.com/how-to-install-sway-pro/

15,000 pound set comes with 1,500 pound spring bars. 2,000 is the maximum optional bar. https://www.blueox.com/product-category/trailer-towing/hitch-accessories/swaypro-spring-bars/

Ideally weight on truck front wheels is the same without trailer and with trailer. If 1,500 pound bars can do this, while staying in the recommended adjustable range (up to 11 links, I believe), you are golden.

Interesting. I watched a video where they counted links up from the bar. That is what I am doing. By this measure 8 is closer/more pressure than 10. I could go tighter but I remember the video stating that it's ideal when the bars are parallel to the frame and mine are parallel at link 8 up from the bar.

Replacing with the next bar up might be an option. I hadn't thought of that.
 
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I'm thinking out loud here.....

65mph is plenty fast towing any trailer - it's safer. Especially a travel trailer. JMO

Lowering the front does not increase the tongue weight...

I would want the trailer as level as possible. And I'll bet the ball is higher than on the old truck; so maybe consider a drop hitch?

I think raising the tow bar transfers weight to the rear wheels (and front ones on the truck? -this always confuses me). Maybe you should investigate. By decreasing the amount of weight transfer may put more weight on your hitch ball. Everyone here will correct me if I got it wrong.

Load the front of the trailer more to gain weight

Too much truck for the trailer? This sounds wrong, but I'll bet the newer truck has a lot stiffer suspension (and, again, a higher hitch ball location).

Tow without and sway bars and let the truck manage it? Might be a worthwhile test; but I would try driving over 65mph.

Consider a different hitch bar / weight transfer mechanism (being a 5th wheel guy I have no idea which hitch I'd recommend or get).

Consider an aftermarket sway control system; one that goes on the trailer and brakes either side according to whatever sway there might be. (those things intrigue me but not sure if they actually work - here again others will comment I hope).

Nice truck - enjoy it.....

Great questions.

Increasing torque via the spring bars increases load on both truck front tires and trailer tires, while decreasing weight on truck rear tires (vs wo WDH). On my 2019 F-350 diesel this resulted in weight on truck front wheels being close to weight on truck rear wheels. It wasn't the goal. My truck was stable under all conditions (shorter and lighter TT) but took less steering correction going down the road with load returned to front wheels.

Yes, this reduces weight on hitch ball but does not reduce weight distribution (move center of gravity) of the trailer.
 
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Have batteries been switched from very heavy lead acid to lithium and moved inside camper?

Are there objects added to back of camper or some heavy items added to back/inside of camper?
 
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I had a 2016 F350 diesel and last fall traded it on a 2022 F350 diesel. 2022 rides a lot better because the suspension is softer, even though both trucks are 11,500 GVW. I pull a 31MB. The bed of the new truck is an inch lower than the 2016 (don't know if the receiver hitch height is different). Also, the rear suspension on the 2022 sags almost an inch more with camper hooked up than the 2016 did. I had the Cooper tires on the 2016 and they are great for towing, but ride a little rough even aired down to 60 psi. I have Firestone Destination X/T on the 2022 and run the front tires at 58 and rear at 68 when towing. I realize some of this info is not apples to apples since mine is a fifth wheel. Does your new truck have the rear axle anti-sway bar? My 2016 had the snow plow prep package and camper package, which I think is part of what made it great at towing, but also ride a little rougher. My 2022 has neither.
 
Before you make any major changes, visit a CAT scale if you can and see where you are. Weigh once with RV hooked and WDH at current setting, disengage all WDH but leave RV hooked and weigh again, finally weigh truck after dropping the RV. With these you can figure hitch weight as percent of RV weight, how much weight you are returning to front axles and total weight.

I bought a used ProPride v2 for 1500. They are out there, just have to keep looking. I found mine on Facebook Marketplace and the guy met me half way from where I was with the RV on a trip. Paid to have it installed (worth it so I could have it to drive home). If you can dial in what you have, no worries.
 
One thing I did not see mentioned unless I missed it is does the new truck have a sway bar on the rear axle. Me and my dad both had the same year models F250 that were almost identical except for color and mine had the camper package which included the rear axle sway bar and his did not have a rear axle sway bar and there was night and day difference in how the two trucks handled when towing.
 
Every...single...time...

I can't emphasize this, enough.

You can't adjust it going down the road, as the settings are locked out.

Don't forget.

My 2017 F150 you can set this permanently for the individual trailer in the trailer settings. I cannot imagine the new 250s don’t have the same option but then again who knows. Would be a big step backward though.

To the OP, a trip to the scale and re-setup of the hitch should be step one. Play it like you just got both the truck and trailer. You shouldn’t have this issue, but your truck should also handle that trailer no problem, so it might just be worth starting at 1 and working from there.
 
I also have a 2024 Ford F-350 and pull my 34ft Imagine travel trailer with a Pro Pride hitch. The Pro Pride hitch is a hefty beast (installed it myself), but is an absolute game changer for us. The sway issues caused by wind and semi trucks are pretty much eliminated for the most part. In my opinion it was money well spent.
 
There have been a bunch of great ideas already posted, but I might add a few that I don't think were addressed.

Spring bar rating. I don't think the OP ever mentioned that. With that camper at least 1200 lb spring bars might be required, and maybe even heavier. Looks like most of the added weight would be towards the front, which a good thing.

On my 2017 F350, the suggested way to set up a WDH is to have the height of the front fender 1/2 way between the measurements of the unladen truck, and with the trailer attached with no WDH.

And some reviews of the Blue Ox Sway Pro are not good.

In my opinion, this is a good review of WDHs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAuiFIJHAQ0
 
My 2017 F150 you can set this permanently for the individual trailer in the trailer settings. I cannot imagine the new 250s don’t have the same option but then again who knows. Would be a big step backward though.

Nope. You cannot permanently turn it off as a global setting or individual trailer setting. It has to be done each time. But after a few times, it pretty much becomes habit. Click to the right 4 times (depending on where you have yours set), click ok to turn it off, click left 4 times, click ok for digital speedometer. See? Habit. LOL! :)
 
Our saga continues. We have put around 700 miles on the camper since we got the new truck. Our first trip was around 230 miles round trip. Due to the problems we had on that trip with trailer sway, it was at that point that I dropped the hitch lower and moved to a heavier setting on the chains of my weight distribution bars. So we now have put on under 500 since changing the hitch configuration. When I checked our tires in the spring before going on our first trip, the tread appeared to be nearly as good as new. Over the weekend I was out on my shed and happened to look at the tires and WHAT???? the front tire was completely worn down! I went around to the other side, and sure enough, same thing. It appears my change in configuration must have really put a lot of weight/pressure on the front tires. I now moved my hitch back up and have an appointment to have new tires put on. This has been a frustrating experience!
 
Did you actually measure the front end when setting up the WDH?
With my 3500 Cummins my front end doesn't raise up much with 1200-1300 lbs on the ball. Don't need to crank the front end back down much.

JMHO but switching tire style will help.
 
Our saga continues. We have put around 700 miles on the camper since we got the new truck. Our first trip was around 230 miles round trip. Due to the problems we had on that trip with trailer sway, it was at that point that I dropped the hitch lower and moved to a heavier setting on the chains of my weight distribution bars. So we now have put on under 500 since changing the hitch configuration. When I checked our tires in the spring before going on our first trip, the tread appeared to be nearly as good as new. Over the weekend I was out on my shed and happened to look at the tires and WHAT???? the front tire was completely worn down! I went around to the other side, and sure enough, same thing. It appears my change in configuration must have really put a lot of weight/pressure on the front tires. I now moved my hitch back up and have an appointment to have new tires put on. This has been a frustrating experience!

It sounds like an alignment check is in order. How many miles total on those tires?

Kind of hard to imagine that putting more weight on them from a WD hitch would cause that much wear.

When you lowered the hitch and moved to a heavier setting how was the sway?
 
Did you actually measure the front end when setting up the WDH?
With my 3500 Cummins my front end doesn't raise up much with 1200-1300 lbs on the ball. Don't need to crank the front end back down much.

JMHO but switching tire style will help.

I am struggling to separate manufacturer's guidelines from other's experiences and opinions. I was referred to a manual and a video that suggested we use the links eight up from the bar, which is what we are now doing. In that data there was no mention of angle of the truck, but all thoughts welcome.

We have Goodyear Endurance tires and have had good luck with them in the past.
 
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It sounds like an alignment check is in order. How many miles total on those tires?

Kind of hard to imagine that putting more weight on them from a WD hitch would cause that much wear.

When you lowered the hitch and moved to a heavier setting how was the sway?

I think my tires maybe had 2000 miles on them, probably less.

After lowering the receiver and tightening the weight distribution bars it is better than it was at its worst, but not as good as our old truck. From a troubleshooting perspective (not to mention the cost of tires), I am kicking myself for making two changes at once. I have now moved my receiver back up. We will see how just tightening the bars works.
 
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Just curious if you have tried adjusting hitch head height to get the trailer level, or close, without the bars? Might be worth a shot then work from there.
Not sure about your hitch, but my instructions say to start with the ball even with the coupler, within one inch.
Rich
 
Just curious if you have tried adjusting hitch head height to get the trailer level, or close, without the bars? Might be worth a shot then work from there.
Not sure about your hitch, but my instructions say to start with the ball even with the coupler, within one inch.
Rich

When I hooked up the first time with the new truck it appeared to be fairly level.
 
I am struggling to separate manufacturer's guidelines from other's experiences and opinions. I was referred to a manual and a video that suggested we use the links eight up from the bar, which is what we are now doing. In that data there was no mention of angle of the truck, but all thoughts welcome.

We have Goodyear Endurance tires and have had good luck with them in the past.

This is per the Ford F350 tow guide;

• If using load bars for weight distribution, Ford recommends 50% front axle load restoration (FALR).

I'm thinking it's your truck tires or the Ford anti sway is messed up. Your trailer towed fine until you got the new truck. What's different about the new truck? Tires, anti sway, steering system?
 
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