Towing Package Question

[War Eagle]

I am about to begin towing roughly 4,000 lbs of boat and trailer and I am looking to outfit the truck accordingly to handle this load. I have read many posts about the "optimal" towing package for the Sport Trac that would include:

New shocks, sway bar, and RoadHandler Active Suspension.

I have been looking for a shop in Atlanta, GA that can do all of this work and have not found one yet. Anyone know of a good place to get this done?



Also, I was at a shop today describing what I was looking for. The svc mgr thought that the Roadhandler AS was overkill for me based on the fact that I would not be towing all the time. He did agree that new shocks (Reflex on back, SensaTrac on front) and new/upgraded sway bar bushings would be good (as opposed to the bar itself). He quoted me $630 for parts & labor for the shocks and bushings. Does this sound reasonable price wise? A



lso, all the posts that I have read indicate an upgraded sway bar (EE Sway bar I think) and not necessarilly the change to the bushings. I would welcome thoughts on this?

 

[Chris Taylor]

I tow a Travel trailer that weighs in at about 3800. I have the EE sway bar and Sensa Trac shocks all around. It tows fine. I think you will be really suprised how much the sway bar will help. RoadHandler Active Suspension I guess would be nice if you can afford it, but I have not had the need for it.



Bushings are NOT needed unless there is a problem with them... Watch Sears for their shock sales. I got mine with free installation and it was fairly cheap(under $150). The EE sway bar($200) you can install yourself in about an hour(or $75 for an hour labor at a shop). 150+200+75=$425. $630 for just shocks and bushings(that are not needed) is way too much...



If you get the EE sway bar, new bushings come with it because the bar itself is thicker and need different bushings with it. The same end links are used(and those don't need replacing either if there is not a problem with them...).



Sounds like this guy is taking you for a bit of a ride...

 

[Wes Davis]

Yep John, he wants way too much money. Are you capable of doing this work yourself? It is a very easy install for shocks and sway bar. Like Chris says about every other month Sears has free install on their shocks. You may even get them to put on your sway bar while its in the air for $50.00 or so.

 

[Bill Ellis]

The sway bar really has little to do with towing. Other pickup trucks rarely have them. With a 4,000 lb trailer you should only be adding about 400 lb of tongue weight which is very little in comparison to the Trac's load capacity. The best thing to get is a load equalizer hitch. You can add all the other stuff, but you really don't need to. You do need better shocks than stock though for all driving conditions.

 

[LoriMaury Kimbrough]

We tow about 4500 lb worth of boat and trailer. With the manual tranny, getting going is a little rough and we have to watch how steep the launches are, but we really don't have any problems. We've only got the EE sway bar and Rancho RSX shocks. Nothing else special for towing.

[Broken External Image]:

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Bill, I do agree with you on the sway bar to a point in that it has nothing "directly" to do with towing, but it will improve drivability & safety under all driving conditions. And, any aftermarket shock is better than stock. Also, I do have the Roadmaster Active Suspension installed of our ST which I highly recommend especially if one is going to be towing because they install on top of the leaf springs. Along with the upgraded sway bar end links, from Ford, I now have one very stable rear end.

 

[Chris Taylor]

I agree that a load equalizer antisway hitch would be a good thing, but I'm not sure they can be used with surge brakes, which most boat trailers come with. I had a boat that weighed in at about 5500lb. I do realize that this was more than the ST is rated for, but I wasn't going far with it. It handled it ok, without load equalization. Many times on a boat trailer, the hitch weight is only 6-8%, not the 10-15% sometimes talked about with a travel trailer. Probably has to do with the difference in frontal area.

 

[Gary DiPietroSr]

I'm with Rodger, and have the same set up. I don't consider the Roadmaster A. S. overkill. Well worth the money, and when you are not towing, the ride is still great. Gary D. in CT. BTW, I tow a backhoe.

 

[TrainTrac]

I have Rancho RSX shocks, the RAS kit, and EE sway bar. I tow a 23' hybrid travel trailer with an Equal-i-zer weight distribution anti-sway hitch. It tows great, and rides fine when not towing.

 

[TrainTrac]

Roadmaster and all that are not necessary, just toys that some folks like to add.

Q,



Upgraded shocks, an EE sway bar and the RAS kit will help stiffen the chassis of the ST, thereby reducing body roll and helping to reduce the Trac's suceptibility to cross wind buffeting. I can tell you from personal experience that that my ST handles much better with these mods, both when not towing and when towing, especially under windy conditions. They're not just toys, they do serve a useful purpose.