Towing on the Ball: 2016 F350 4x4 Diesel & Oliver Elite II & 27/28 foot Airstream

[BoondockingAirstream]

The 'business' selling Hitches to Vehicle Owners to Tow a Travel Trailer is very profitable. If you need it, or not. With a heavier Tow Vehicle, a Weight Distribution Hitch may be of no value and just not needed.

It is NECESSARY for undersized tow vehicles, connected to a heavy travel trailer... of any brand.  It may be UNNECESSARY for an oversized tow vehicle to use Weight Distribution to Control Sway of the Travel Trailer.

I found, a bit too late, that I did not need the Weight Distribution to prevent Sway Control or leveling Trailer to Tow Vehicle.

I tow our 27/28 foot Airstream, 7800#  unloaded, 'On the Ball' with our F350. No sagging rear end, No sway.  I tow our Oliver Elite II, 7000#, with the F350 On the Ball. We then know how to load our tow vehicle and trailer, as well.  You want to add a lot of weight to the rear end of your travel trailer... reconsider there may be consequences. Sway is one.

The Airstream Forums have worked with this... compromise... of Tow Vehicle versus Airstream length versus Sway Control that requires Weight Distribution.  You probably should know why, as this is suppose to be a short observation learned by experience.

The Oliver Elite II travels very well behind our F350 Diesel 4x4... always and On the Ball. I am speaking for our Double Axle Elite II.  I do not tow a single axle Oliver.  Are there other Oliver Elite II owners towing... On the Ball? What is your experienced response.  Are there any Oliver Elite I or II owners with Positive or Negative experiences.  Most owners want to use their daily driver to tow, I understand.  I am a western cow paddy kicker and use to trying something, by testing step by step, so I do not 'step into it' and make a mess of things.

(I am not an engineer, physics professor or sell travel trailers or hitches.  Safety is important to you and others. Experiment in areas where you can test your Ball to Trailer Coupler height and weight onto the Ball.)

Do not experiment with my explaining my experiences, until you are comfortable with alternatives and comfortable with the initial risk of towing on the ball.  Our experiences towing was with a 2006 Toyota 4.7L engine Tundra 4x4, and was borderline towing the 2006 23 foot Foot Airstream, as the rear end was down no matter how much weight distribution I applied... and never tried towing on the ball... because of that. The Tundra was a 1/2 ton in comparison to 3/4 and 1 ton options.

I add a photograph from an Off the Grid towing on the ball.  I have been towing ON the Ball since 2016,  any conditions of wind, rain, highway speeds, road grade down a mountin or up a mountain, passing 18 wheelers... not one issue. Towing on the Interstates, paved, unpaved or Off the Grid roads... Six Years of seasonal towing without one negative to report. What might your experiences been?

Edited March 23 by BoondockingAirstream
Added second photograph

[jd1923]

I want to lose the supplied Andersen WDH but have yet to do so. I find without it the backend of our TV is bouncy, don't notice sway either way.

Our TV is an older Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins and the user manual states to use a WDH for trailers > 5000 LBS. Our TV is known as a 2nd Gen Ram Cummins, and it is LB and 2WD. We owned 3rd Gen for years, HD w 4WD and it was much more tow capable. The newer Rams with the 6.7 Cummins have even greater capacity I believe.

This Ram has OEM "Helper Springs" that are two leaves that sit above the main leaf springs, designed to come into contact when greater rear load is applied. Problem is with the Oliver, weighing in at only 6000 LBS, it does not have enough weight to engage the helper springs. When hitching the Oliver the hitch height will drop 2". I wonder if a suspension shop could adjust the helper springs, to come into contact sooner.

I tried the "Timbren Rear Suspension Enhancement System." They are like adding airbags to the rear, without the air being rubber cushions. I believe I wasted $300 on this kit. One spacer is to lose, and one is too tight. Too lose is like not having them. I have it on my list to call their tech support. Liked this idea and many on the Cummins Forum suggest them. I never want to get into true airbags again, what a pain.

[Mike and Carol]

We used the Andersen WDH with three different trucks.  When we went with the Ram 2500 diesel 3.5 years ago I sold the Andersen and have been towing on the ball since.  Never a single sway issue.  Never had an issue with the other trucks either, but it sure is easier to hook up and go without a WDH hitch.  Mike

[Rolind]

We used an equalizer hitch with our Tacoma and airstream. Basecamp 16 x.  It was a great hitch and we had a lot of squat in the Tacoma wo the equalizer. We now have a F250 Tremor, factory 3” lift and reportedly the 250 and 350 both have 350 rear springs. We tow our LE2 on the ball and generally have had a great experience. The only issue was on a trip to Fruita, CO with a particularly strong gusty crosswind and had to slow down some.  Otherwise the setup is stable as can be.  One of the primary reasons for the upgrade to a F250 was the ability to tow wo a weight distribution hitch. In the greater scheme of things hitching a WDH is a minor issue but certainly something to avoid if possible. The other primary reason was payload.