New truck, New hitch, old trailer, new problem. - Diesel Forum

curtis114 · 11-30-2009, 11:23 AM

I recently purchased a 2008, F350 DRW, long bed, crew cab truck with the 6.4 Power stroke. I installed a B & W turnover ball and Companion 5th wheel hitch because of the good reviews I have read online and because the hitch is easily removable by one person and there are no rails mounted permanently in the bed.
We took our first trip over Thanksgiving weekend towing our 37’ Wildwood 5th wheel toy hauler which weighs approximately 12,000 to 13,000 pounds loaded. I was very happy with the power and fuel mileage but the ride left a lot to be desired. We experienced a lot of jerking that seemed to be a back and forth motion and a bit more bouncing when we hit a dip in the freeway. After about 50 miles both my wife and I were feeling kind of nauseous and my wife had a headache from the relentless jerking.
The truck I pulled this trailer with before was a 2005, F350 DRW, long bed with the 6.0 diesel. It had a Reese 16K slider hitch. We did not experience nearly as much the jerking motion with the old tuck. The 2005 truck did bounce a bit after hitting a dip but not as much as the new truck. I noticed that the king pin is about 2” farther back with the B&W hitch than the Reese because when I open the tailgate with the trailer connected there was about 2” between the tailgate and the trailer with the old truck and with the new truck there is about 4”. The trailer was loaded the same as I always loaded it before so nothing about the trailer has changed.

The 2005 truck had stock shocks and did not have air bags. The 2008 truck is also completely stock and does not have air bags installed. I have read that air bags may make the truck bounce even more. I have looked at some of the aftermarket pin boxes but there are many to choose from and I’m not sure if they would even help.
I would appreciate any advice on how to tame the beast!

Thanks,

carringb · 11-30-2009, 01:02 PM

Can you adjust the Companion hitch any further forward? It is supposed to have 3 positions.

curtis114 · 11-30-2009, 01:23 PM

I already have the Companion hitch adjusted to the farthest forward position.

wingnut60 · 12-04-2009, 05:36 PM

I have towed my Mobile Suites with both a 350 dually and my 450, with the same B&W Companion hitch--difference with me is I have a MorRyde pin box on the trailer. Any jerking/bucking I have is minimal, and usually due to old concrete highways. You may want to look into a shock-absorbing pin box.
Joe

dieselfreak09 · 12-11-2009, 04:46 PM

If you didnt experince that before it makes me think that it is the Hitch

**teamroper60** · 12-24-2009, 09:44 AM

I doubt the issue is related to the Companion itself... I use the Companion in my truck and have no issues with jerking.. Did you change wheelbase lengths when you moved to the 08?? If your Companion is further back on the 08 than it was on the 05, it leads me to believe the actual hitch (the part attached to the frame) is mounted further to the rear on the 08. Typically, this is done with the shortbeds. If both were longbeds, then I would suspect the hitch itself was installed in the wrong location..

HENRYBILT · 04-20-2011, 11:47 AM

I had the same problem that Curtis is experiencing. I took a Reese slider hitch out of my 2008, put a B & W hitch in my new 2011 Ford F250. The jerking was horrible. Decided it would be a very long trip to Arizona. I had made six trips to AZ with the Reese hitch in the 2008 Ford F250. We only bought the B & W because at that time the rails for the Reese were not available for the 2011 pickup. I ended up removing the B & W, and putting the Reese 16K back in since the rails had become available. No jerking now!!!!