Weight Distribution anti-sway F150XLT Bigfoot25RQ

[jackmerado]

Hi All:
I have an F150 xlt 3.5 Turbo max trailer tow package 4x4 3.55 gear Pickup and I am getting a Bigfoot 25RQ trailer with the extra front storage

Ill have about 1900 lbs of payload to divide between the trailer tongue weight and cargo in the truck.

I expect that I will need a weight distributing hitch (WDH) with tow bars.

Does anyone have experience with adding a WDH for my setup for the 25RQ with the front storage and an F150 ? Do you have photos of the setup of the hitch ?

People have told me that there might be some cutting required to install a WDH:

I dont want to damage the fiberglass of the storage area or if possible the propane/battery cover unless I have to. How did you solve this ?

Also after looking at the various WDH setups It appears that some of them are overly complicated: I like the simplicity of the blue ox hitch setup: anyone with photos of how they installed it on a 25RQ with the front storage ?

[steve dunham]

I am assuming you are talking about a 25 ft Bigfoot RQ
The factory listed dry tongue weight for that trailer is 610 Lbs
With options and loaded for travel I would expect the tongue weight will fall between 750 to 900 lbs
Most 1/2 ton trucks require a WDH when the tongue weight of a trailer is over 500 to 600 lbs so I don’t see how you can avoid a WDH .
We looked at purchasing a 25 ft Bigfoot RQ but decided against it
Our current 1/2 ton truck just wasn’t up to the task and buying a 3/4 ton truck wasn’t in the cards

[jackmerado]

Thanks Steve for the confirmation about the WDH;

ive towed 9,000 Lb load up and down the 6% grade of the I70 with no issues, and on a hot day. All the way to the divide and back down the other side. I could exceed the speed limit with this load on the way up if I wanted to.... I think the maximum load of the Bigfoot 25 RQ - 7500 - should be no problem.

I fully expect to require a WDH - thats not in question.

What I would like is some real world installation information regarding the setups that others have used on an F150 for the Bigfoot 25 foot RQ trailer with the front storage ideally.

[Deb Francis]

We have a F150 with towing pkg and a Bigfoot 25 rear twin. . We had to go to heavier bars on our weight distributing hitch as we have the storage box which contains 2propane tanks and the battery, along with some of our light gear. We have 1000 # bars. The area on the box where the bars attach is a small U shaped cutout. Trailer World in Denver was very helpful in getting the heavier bars.

[ThomasC]

I installed a ProPride hitch and left photos and instructions in this thread.

https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...5rt-91684.html

ProPrides are very expensive but part of the thread about the weight distribution shows the bar tensioners that were sent to me and how little I had to cut. The Blue OX chain tensioners should also have minimal cutting. Those chain tensioners can be used with other hitches.

[James in FL]

We have the 25RT without the storage box. We use the 1200 pound rated equalizer set up. I believe the attachment on the trailer should be the same distance from the ball regardless if you have the storage box or not. Check the instructions. I will post a picture. We also tow ours with an F 150 3.5 EB 4 x 4 with no problem.

[jackmerado]

Thanks for this ! yes I believe that even with the extended storage I will need to modify the Propane/Battery cover. since the attach points need to be 29 - 32 inches from the ball.

Good to hear that no issues with the F150 3.5 Ecoboost with the Max Tow packages towing the bigfoot 25 ft trailers.

Ill probably go with the blue ox system since it seems to be the simplest to setup and remove.

[jackmerado]

Thanks all for the useful information.

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by jackmerado

Thanks for this ! yes I believe that even with the extended storage I will need to modify the Propane/Battery cover. since the attach points need to be 29 - 32 inches from the ball.

Good to hear that no issues with the F150 3.5 Ecoboost with the Max Tow packages towing the bigfoot 25 ft trailers.

Ill probably go with the blue ox system since it seems to be the simplest to setup and remove.

We pulled our 25RQ with a 2015 F150 with max tow package with no problems. Had a few Equalizer hitches over the years, but the 25RQ worked great with a Blue Ox, much easier to hookup and unhook. After having the Blue Ox I'd never go back.

However, we foolishly sold the 25RQ for a Lance (what a mistake!) and for nearly two years have been camping in an Escape 5.0 TA fifth wheel.

Enjoy,

Perry

[wacalc]

[QUOTE=jackmerado;790664]Hi All:
I have an F150 xlt 3.5 Turbo max trailer tow package 4x4 3.55 gear Pickup and I am getting a Bigfoot 25RQ trailer with the extra front storage

Ill have about 1900 lbs of payload to divide between the trailer tongue weight and cargo in the truck.

I expect that I will need a weight distributing hitch (WDH) with tow bars.

Does anyone have experience with adding a WDH for my setup for the 25RQ with the front storage and an F150 ? Do you have photos of the setup of the hitch ?

People have told me that there might be some cutting required to install a WDH:


I dont want to damage the fiberglass of the storage area or if possible the propane/battery cover unless I have to. How did you solve this ?

Also after looking at the various WDH setups It appears that some of them are overly complicated: I like the simplicity of the blue ox hitch setup: anyone with photos of how they installed it on a 25RQ with the front storag

I have a Blue Ox hitch with sway bars, Its easy to use and fits the F150 nicely. What I like is you can easily adjust the hitch by setting the number of links on the sway chains.

I have a 25 foot Igo trailer and track nicely even in the wind.

[Julie T.]

We also tow our 25RQ with a 2016 F-150 V6 3.5L,3.55 axle ratio,4x4, with the max tow package and trailer assist. As equipped it is rated to tow a combined 16,900#. Our fully loaded truck and trailer were recently weighed and combined we came in at 12,100#, truck 5,620#, trailer 6,480#, hitch weight was 820#. We purchased a previously owned trailer so it already had the cutouts on the nose cover for the WDH. The WDH was included with the sale but is a brand that isn't made anymore, it is rated for 801-1,000#.

Julie

[CindyL]

We too installed a ProPride to tow our 28' Bigfoot Silver Cloud. Best money we spent on our camper. As much as it swayed bringing it hometowns Chicago from Oregon, even with a weight distribution hitch, we would no longer own the camper had we not installed the ProPride. We went from semis blowing us all over to not even noticing them when they pass. We towed with a Ford Expedition at first but upgraded to a RAM 2500 which also helped. We would not have signed up for a rally in the Rockies had we not upgraded the tow vehicle. Our Expedition died on our trip home from TX last Christmas, and the mechanic said it was likely too much camper for the tow vehicle.

CindyL

[Bruce Olive]

On our 25 RQ with front storage box, 1,240 on tongue without WD, 1,000 on tongue with. Equalizer w/ 1,200# bars. Tow is 2500 Duramax Chevy. Currently camping in Oregon and Idaho. Certainly heavier than published. Have run through CAT scales twice, so confident on weights.