Rear Suspension Enhancement System for a 2000 Ford F-250 4x4 Towing Gooseneck Trailer

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Question:

I have a Ford F-250 3/4 ton 4x4 with the 7.3L Diesel motor. Yes, lucky enough to have one of the last of the great Ford motors. I have a 32foot Gooseneck Ball-in-Bed Horse Trailer that weighs 10000 total. Obviously the tongue/bed weight is not that. When I put horses in it the max. weight of the total trailer would be appx. 13000 lbs. I believe but Im not sure, that the truck is equipped with heavy duty rear springs. PROBLEM: The truck squats in the rear when the trailer is hooked up. What is the best product that you could recommend to fix this problem?

asked by: Julie

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Expert Reply:

The best rear suspension enhancement product for your 2000 Ford F-250 is going to depend on a couple things. First, how your gooseneck hitch is attached to the frame of your truck and second, whether you prefer adjustable air springs or fixed rubber springs.

For an air spring system, I recommend installing the Firestone Ride-Rite Air Helper Springs, # F2550, that you referenced. This system is compatible with most gooseneck and fifth wheel hitches and have been tested for up to 5,000 lbs which should be more than enough to support the tongue weight of your trailer. To determine if this kit will work with your gooseneck hitch, you will want to look at the frame brackets for your gooseneck hitch to see if the brackets block the hole in the frame rail just above the axles (see photo).

If the frame brackets for your hitch do block that hole, then I recommend looking at a rubber spring system like the Timbren Rear Suspension Enhancement, # TFR150SDE. These springs will replace your existing bump stops on the bottom of the frame rail and have been tested to support up to 10,000 lbs, which again, is more than enough to support your trailers tongue weight.

Both of these systems will work with factory top overload springs and do not require any drilling to install. You should keep in mind that these systems will not increase the weight-carrying capacity of your truck so you will want to make sure you do not exceed Fords recommended weight limit for your truck.

expert reply by: John H

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Answer 1

The difference between the Class II and Class III hitches has to do with their Gross Trailer Weight (GTW), their Tongue Weight (TW), and their Hitch Receiver Size. Class II trailer hitch receivers have a 1-1/4 inch receiver and can be rated up to…

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Answer 2

From what I could find it looks like your 122R (red) and 122Y (amber) lights measure 3.75" x 1.70" x .81". We don't have any replacement lense directly for the GLO-BRITE lights but we do have some similar lights that you could use…

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Answer 3

If your current springs have 5 leaves then going to a 7 leaf spring will increase the height of the trailer a little and make the trailer more susceptible to sway. Regarding capacity if you go with springs rated higher than what is required it will…

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Answer 4

Seal 171255UC has an inner diameter of 1.719 inches and outer diameter of 2.565 inches. A seal that has those dimensions would actually be #58846. I've added a link to a video review of this seal for you to take a look at.

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Answer 5

I did some checking and the hub/drum we offer that will work for you is the part #8-430-5UC3. This uses the same bearings as the 8-415 and will be an exact fit aside from the fact this is a non-ABS setup and the 8-415 came in an ABS setup and non-ABS…

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Answer 6

The 7290 that you see is a casting number. It is found on AL-KO hubs that fit #99 spindles. I found that the bearings used are #28580 which would be the inner bearing and #25580 which would be the outer bearing. For the seal use #91030.

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Answer 7

If you are needing the hub and drum assembly then you will want to go with the Dexter Trailer Hub and Drum Assembly #8-201-5UC3-EZ but if you are just looking for an idler hub then you will want part #8-213-5UC1 instead. These come with the correct…

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Answer 8

The old version of the #HBA-CAM used 4 wires, but the product was updated awhile back and now uses only two wires as shown in the photo on the product description page. The white wire from the HBA-CAM would tap into the white ground wire and the blue…

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Answer 9

If you are installing just the Firestone Ride-Rite kit, #F2400, and not also adding an on-board air compressor such as #F2158, then I would estimate that it should take about 2 hours to install the kit. That is for someone with some mechanical…

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Answer 10

The manual lockout on your Atwood 85778 surge brake coupler is there so that you can back up the trailer without the brakes locking up on you. Yes you can safely tow your trailer with the broken manual lockout, you just have to make sure you…

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Answer 11

Since you have a wheelbase/axle spacing of 38 inches the correct hanger kit for slipper springs would be the part #HAP-105-205-01. And then for a 7k trailer axle the u-bolt kit you'd want would be the part #APUBR-8. I attached the diagram to use…

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Answer 12

What you're going to need is two of the transfer switches in that case. I have attached a diagram from Furrion that shows you how you're going to need to hook the two transfer switches #F30ATS up: -one to the other, then one branching off to…

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Rear Suspension Enhancement System for a 2000 Ford F-250 4x4 Towing Gooseneck Trailer

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