Caught in a bind - '08 F-150 & Aluma 7818

[nikdfish]

Pics of the tongue...

As I recall, on the outer arms of the "V" the bottom tube is 2"x3" & the top "C" is 1 3/4"x 2 1/2". The center pole is fabricated from stacked 3"x"3 tube. It's a 2 5/16" coupler. I don't think I have the spec for the alloy used.

Nick

 

[nikdfish]

Did the dealer you purchased the trailer from know you were going to use this truck to haul your 3038?

Sent from my GT-P3113 using TractorByNet

It is what we used to pick it up & pull it home & we mentioned intention to haul loads up to about 5000lb.

Nick

 

[94BULLITT]

It is what we used to pick it up & pull it home & we mentioned intention to haul loads up to about 5000lb.

Nick

Have you told the dealer about this problem?

Sent from my GT-P3113 using TractorByNet

 

[kenmac]

It appears the dealer isn't very informed / knowledgeable on the product he sells

 

[jejeosborne]

Well after seeing the pictures, it is not a true A frame like I am used to seeing. I might have inquired about that style before taking delivery. I have seen a single bar style that goes under a straight tongue that I wouldn't be afraid to use in that application. Most are for lighter trailers but anything would be helpful.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Yea, using a WD Hitch is probably not going to be a option with that odd setup.

Chris

 

[Chilly807]

I see why they don't recommend it, looks pretty light to me. Like someone said, on smooth roads and driven sensibly I doubt you'd have any problems, but...
We haul a Merhow horse trailer and 2 horses (roughly 5500 lbs) with a 2013 Ram 1500 with the factory hitch, no WD. It hauls fine, sits pretty much level, even fully loaded. If anything was going to sag or need WD, you'd think it would be Dodge's candy as* rear suspension. How the trailer distributes the weight is a critical factor, since the WD hitch only transfers tongue weight to the front axle, it has no impact on horizontal pulling capacity. I assume that the Ford factory hitch is a class IV? If so, you're good up to 6500 lbs I think. If the truck isn't dragging its as* you should be fine. I'm not an expert at this, if I'm mistaken someone should point that out. Did I really say that? ?
Sean

 

[CurlyDave]

I hate to say this, but it looks to me like the least expensive way to deal with the issue would be to sell this trailer and get a new one which would be able to use a WD hitch.

I looked at equipment trailers last summer and a low end 18' steel trailer with tilt bed was ~ $4k. It weighed about 2000 lb and had an empty weight of ~ 2000#.

One of these with the WD hitch on your truck would give you a 7000# capacity, which sounds more than adequate for your needs. I suspect that you could get more than $4k for you aluminum one.

Just keep using yours until you get a buyer at a fair price.

 

[nikdfish]

I actually located a couple of trunnion WD models that would probably work w/out mods (the 30" distance from ball center to chain suspension point is at a wide enough point in the "V" for attachment of the clips to be feasible).

That said, at this point I think we'll just watch our weight & maybe add some 2K Airlift bags to help with any "sag" when the bed is loaded in addition to the trailer until we update either trailer or truck. I appreciate the comments & suggestions.

Nick

 

[Chilly807]

I wonder if their concern is with the v part of the frame not being strong enough to take the downward stress of the WD anchor points? After drilling mounting holes, there's not much left for strength maybe? Welding might be a better solution for adding them, but odds are they won't be aluminum. Aluminum can be tricky to weld, also.
There's a built in safety factor as well, so if you watch your weight as you suggested I think you'll be ok.

Sean