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Towing to Alaska

5K views 38 replies 12 participants last post by  Jake2345 
#1 ·
Ok, so the final plan to move to Alaska (3300miles, driven it 2 times before in a f-150 pulling a small trailer)) is to pull a V-nose 24' trailer with 2, 7,000 lb axles loaded with approx 10-11,000 lbs. Will also have 600lbs in the bed of the truck.

Truck: 7.3 stock.....4.10 gears....electric brakes

Questions?

Should I get air bags?
Is there anyway to stabalize the load with a v-nose trailer?
Want to get a chip for towing and economy with on the fly changes. Do I need one? Any suggestions? (dont have a lot to invest in chips)
 
#2 ·
The truck will do fine without airbags, as fare as stabalizers you can go to a rv dealer they will have what you need. I would leave it stock, any chip tow safe or not will heat the egts up when pulling, If you have a egt gauge them i would use the Edge so you can change the power leavels on the fly, and have a egt limiter. Good luck one the trip.
 
#7 ·
Ya i wouldnt listen to this guy! I would get bags airlift bags are great and cheaper setup then firestone. Edge is chit throw them away. You can swing by my place and pick me up if you like though! :D Have fun, some of those roads are ROUGH.
 
#3 ·
A good thing to keep a eye on is tires, that many miles is hard on trailer tires, and keep a spare tire or 2.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the advice! I ordered 10 ply tires with the trailer. I have 10 ply on the truck both have a spare.
 
#5 ·
I would say with 600lb in the bed along with the tongue wgt of the trailer I would put bags on it by all means.

Must be a light trailer if you are putting 11,000lb in it with a gross limit of 14,000. Tires will be a concern also.
 
#9 ·
2 7k lb axles doesn't mean that the trailer is rated for 14k lbs total weight. I wish people would understand these ratings. That is the amount of weight that you can carry ON the axles. There is carry over weight that is put onto the truck you know. He could pull that trailer with a dually, with the trailer weighing 17k lbs, and not be over weight. Those are AXLE ratings. :rolleyes:
 
#21 ·
canned tunes are a silent killer. Trans controls are not good enough.
 
#22 ·
What class hitch are you using?

Without weight distribution hitches the class 4's are only rated to 5k lbs, and 500lbs tongue weight.:eek:

I would seriously consider some "load levelers" just for the safety reasons.

Ohh, good luck on your drive, the last bit before you make it into AK can be nerve racking at times. Be sure to look out for the semi's, those dudes are insane (amazing). Be sure to pack a few spare tires for the truck and trailer, and plenty of spare fuel.
 
#24 ·
I had one for my 27' enclosed car hauler with a v-nose.

IIRC it was a Draw-tite, it had the 10k bars, and there were no fitment issues.

The frame brackets included in the kit were not needed as the trailer already had them built in.

Worst case scenario is you will have to weld instead of bolt the brackets on depending on the frame type.
 
#25 ·
Here is my dilema

My employer is paying for my move and I have an allocated amount of money to be used. I can either get a weight distribution system with anti sway bars
or air bags.

The air bags would get to stay on my truck and I could use them in the future.

The weight distribution hitch would go with the trailer I assume. So I get no gain.

So, would it be safe to pull an 11,000 trailer (load and trailer weight) to Alaska with out weight distribution and sway bars? Or are the air bags going to cut it.
 
#27 ·
I'd do the bags. You can load the trailer light the first 5' or so then put the heavier items on top of and just ahead of the axles. And then really light towards the back. I drug around 22k lbs of bumper pull trailer with no bars, off the factory hitch, I did have bags though and it didn't get too hairy. If it started to sway, i'd stay on the throttle and use the trailer brakes to bring it back calm again.

I did that for about 12k miles, with a 6" lift at that. I now have the truck lowered back down, with the airbags still, and I just bought a 14k lb weight dist. Hitch. I got the sway control as well but not gonna install it my first trip out, I'll see how it pulls. A 32' triple axle enclosed weighing about 15k lbs total should pull pretty true/light on the truck with the bags and dist hitch :)
 
#29 ·
My hitch is rated for 10,000 lbs.... are load levelers the same as weight distribution?

Also can a person have air bags and anti sway bars with out the weight distribution hitch?
 
#30 ·
If you can only do the bags, you can keep them, i pulled bumer bull 16' and 21' loaded to 8k all over the usa with a 3/4 ton chevy no bags or sway contorals, Make sure your hitch is rust free around the bolts. Make sure and wrap your stuff good, it will move on that long of a trip.
 
#37 ·
My class v is rated at 18k non distributed / 18k distributed . There are different hitches with much different ratings out there .
 
#34 ·
Your hitch will be fine. That 10k rating will hold up to that, thats the same rating that is on the truck we have and its been pulling 10-12k for 69k miles.
 
#35 ·
I've been wanting to drive up to Alaska and was woundering how you could pay for fuel in Canada, Us cash/cradit cards?
 
#39 ·
Cash, credit, or anything else basically
but do be warned, diesel is going up slowly
 
#38 ·
The bags may not increase gvwr but they will keep the truck from squatting and make it a lot more stable with the added wgt on the rear of the truck.
 
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