Air Lifts to Prevent Sagging

[Jdbell]

I recently bought my third travel trailer, 2022 Salem Hemisphere 26BHHL. Dry weight is 6,688. I am towing with a 2019 F-150 V6 Ecoboost w/ Tow Package. The truck is equipped to tow up to 13,000 lbs. I feel alot of sway when I am hauling along with noticing that the rear of my truck is sagging quite a bit. Someone recently suggested I have air lifts installed on the truck. He said this would give me a smoother ride.

I am less comfortable towing than I was with my previous two travel trailers. Do you have any suggestions to get me closer to a smoother ride? What are your thoughts on the air lifts? Any help is appreciated!

 

[Gronk]

The first thing to do is forget the dry weight PERIOD. You will never ever tow that trailer at that weight. You need to look at the GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight) of the trailer. Then use that number to guess what the tongue weight will be. Take that number and multiply it by 12%. That will give you an APPROXIMATE tongue weight. Next get the CCC (Cargo Carrying Capacity) of your truck. From that number subtract the weight of all passengers including the driver, the weight of the hitch, the weight of the spare tire, any pets and other things in the box of the truck. The number you are left with is the maximum tongue weight your truck can handle per the Mfgr Specs. You will run out of truck capacity long before you get to the max towing capacity.
Air bags will level your truck, but do absolutely nothing to increase the capacity of the tow vehicle.

 

[RLW]

I recently bought my third travel trailer, 2022 Salem Hemisphere 26BHHL. Dry weight is 6,688. I am towing with a 2019 F-150 V6 Ecoboost w/ Tow Package. The truck is equipped to tow up to 13,000 lbs. I feel alot of sway when I am hauling along with noticing that the rear of my truck is sagging quite a bit. Someone recently suggested I have air lifts installed on the truck. He said this would give me a smoother ride.

I am less comfortable towing than I was with my previous two travel trailers. Do you have any suggestions to get me closer to a smoother ride? What are your thoughts on the air lifts? Any help is appreciated!

I also own a 2017 Ford F150 Platinum with a 3.5 Ecoboost. There is a metal tag located under your hitch that gives you the weight capacity without a weight distribution hitch and a weight limit with a weight distribution hitch. The maximum for towing weight without a distribution hitch is 500 LBS. As I remember your good for 1,500 LBS with a distribution hitch. I haul a Bob Cat on an equipment trailer, total weight 12,000 LBS and have no problems as long as I use a distribution hitch.

You can purchase these at most auto stores, I recently purchased one from Harbor Freight and it works fine.

10,000 lb. Capacity Weight-Distributing Hitch

Amazing deals on this 10000Lb Weight Distributing Hitch System at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

Swaying can be caused by how your trailer is loaded and after pulling 5 different travel trailers I strongly recommend using an anti-sway bar(s). Just remember to always loosen the anti-sway bar when backing up.

Good luck,

RW
Dutch Master DP