ExtraSlow's Trailer Towing Upgrades Thread - Torklift StableLoad Glowstep, and more!

[ExtraSlow]

Hi All, I promised I would be posting about some goodies I've been adding to the truck and trailer, and the time is here. I will be putting them all in this thread.

To start with I will be discussing and reviewing the Torklift StableLoad system and the Torklift Glowstep Revolution. I received both of these products as part of the Torklift Product Evaluator Program, which means I didn't pay for the products, but I am not being paid for my reviews, nor have my reviews been edited or changed.

[ExtraSlow]

Torklift StableLoad 7310S

I was interested in the Torklift Stableload system to help control load while towing. I drive a 2020 Ford F150 Supercrew 4x4 with the 3.5L EcoBoost engine and the Max Tow package.
Here's my truck


I tow a camping trailer in the summer and I am near to my maximum payload once the trailer is hooked up and my family and gear are loaded into the truck. I didn’t find that rear-end squat was a big issue, but I did find some instability in terms of porpoising over bumps or bridges on the highway, and some more roll around corners than I liked. Overall I felt movement of the trailer much more strongly in the truck than I was comfortable with. I have owned ¾ ton trucks in the past, but since the majority of my driving when not towing is short trips around the city with no significant load, that’s not my preferred vehicle of choice. The ability to activate the stableLoad system when needed, and to easily deactivate them afterwards was a key feature that attracted me to this option over other suspension products.


My truck with my previous trailer and all the camping stuff for reference

Once I determined that the Torklift StableLoad was a good option for me, it was easy on the website to determine that the 7310 was the correct part for my application. My truck has lower overload springs with a hole in them. The Stainless version was attractive to me, as I live in a region where salt is used on the roads during wintertime, and corrosion was a concern for me.



When the product arrived, I unboxed and checked that the parts were all included matching the parts list in the instruction manual. Everything was there without issues, and the parts looked good.

[ExtraSlow]

Now I was ready to get down to installation. I found a nice flat place to park, and pulled out the rubber pad that is in the hole in the overload spring on each end. I did some measurements and determined that I would use all three wedges based on the measurements between the lower overload spring and the main spring pack. The “Low Profile” Hex bolt goes into that that hole from above. I found I needed the jack the truck up a few inches to have room to slide that bolt into the hole. You may as well leave it up and on jack stands for the remainder of the installation to make swinging the wedges in and out easier. The installation instructions note that it is recommended to have the rear end jacked up to engage and disengage.

The seven-hole bottom plate has different options for the ¼” bolts depending on the width of your leaf springs. I quickly determined that my truck required the widest holes as shown in this picture. You can install the ¼” bolts on the bench before you crawl under your truck if you want. You may need to orient the “flat” the bolt parallel with the edge off the leaf spring, but I found I could turn the bolt-head afterwards if I needed.



This is where I ran into a little issue. On my truck, the passenger side leaf spring, rear side, the leaf seemed to be wider than the other locations, and in fact wider than the widest holes on the bottom plate. I firstly assumed that I had the plate somehow backwards, or twisted, or perhaps the one bottom plate was manufactured incorrectly. I pulled myself and the bottom plate out from under the truck to consider my options.
Firstly, the bottom plate was identical to the other three, there was no issue with the StableLoad parts. I decided to install the drivers side locations while I considered how I messed that up. I had zero issues on the drivers side, the ¼” hex bolts in the widest holes on the bottom plate fit perfectly onto the leaf springs. You can see in my picture that I did not have the wedges installed at this point, which is different than the instruction, but I felt it was important to get the bottom plate mounted securely before adding the other parts. I think it’s a little easier to follow the instruction steps however.



I suggest that once you are happy with how the bottom plate and the ¼” hex bolts that locate it side-to-side, tighten up that “low profile” hex bolt very well. If you do the rest of the installation steps with it just “hand tight”, it is possible to spin that bottom mounting plate out of alignment. Tighten it up and make sure there is no gap between it and the leaf spring on either side. If the locating bolts are out of alignment or not fitting right, you’ll have a gap between that plate and the spring, and you don’t want that. The installation instruction note that this 7/16 bolt should be tightened to a specific torque. I didn’t use a torque wrench, and it’s possible that I didn’t sufficiently tighten this initially, as you’ll see later. You want this bolt tight from the start.

I chose to mount these with the wedges swinging in from the outside (wheel side).



I went back to the passenger side, and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t gett the passenger rear bottom plate to fit. I attempted to mount the plate with the wedges swinging from the inside, but the wedges hit my exhaust in that location, and flipping the plate didn’t help anyways (as it obviously wouldn’t). I decided that the leaf spring itself was wide at that point by a small amount. At this point, I decided that I could grind down the spring, or widen the hole on the mounting plate. I decided that it was simplest to modify the mounting plate, and that it wouldn’t cause any mechanical weakness, as that portion of the plate shouldn’t be under significant load. I reamed out both holes for the 1/4” locating bolts enough to fit on the enlarged spring (9/32nds drill bit). That appeared to do the trick.

However, during the process of mounting and unmounting and trying to force this bottom plate to fit in this location, and getting increasingly frustrated, I did manage to snap one of the ¼” stainless bolts.

Luckily a local hardware store carried the same ¼ x ¾ stainless bolts and nylock nuts, so I was able to get a replacement without too much issue.



I am sure that it was the repeated mounting and unmounting and over-tightening that caused the bolt to snap.

So, finally, I was able to mount the plate on the passenger side, tighten everything up, and I had the stable-load system installed. Aside from the one corner that had the mis-sized leaf spring, it all went smoothly and I was happy with the instruction in the kit, and the parts supplied.

I drove the truck around the city for the next few days with the stable-load system engaged, just to get a feel for the ride while unloaded. I did think that the ride was slightly more firm, but it didn’t see to be particularly rough. After that i disengaged the stable-loads and went about my daily commute with then inactive. I did note that the truck sits about ¼” higher in the rear with the stable-load system engaged. It’s not visually noticeable.

About one week later, Driving around with the stable-load systems disengaged, I noted a sound while going over bumps, a pretty distinctive and obvious metallic rattling. Upon inspection, the rear-most stable-loads on BOTH sides were loose and had rotated out of alignment. I believe this is because I had not adequately tightened that 7/16” low profile bolt upon initial installation. It’s also possible that my repeated assembly and removal of that one corner have worn out the nylon insert in the nylock nut, and that corner may loosen again in the future. I will keep an eye on this and replace the nylock nut if it continues to be an issue. They are readily available at the hardware store if needed. Thread-lock compound is also an option if required, but the nylock nut should be sufficient.

I have pulled my 7700lbs trailer on one 275 km trip to the already, and I feel that the stable-load system is making a noticeable difference in how the truck controls movement of the trailer, particularly porpoising. I am planning several longer trips this summer, including a 1500km round-trip through the mountains of British Columbia. The extra confidence that the stable-load system gives me while towing is greatly appreciated.

[Andy643]

Maybe i missed it, how does this system work? You pull the pin and that's on or off? Is this similar to a rear sway bar effect?
Curious why you choose this system over a helper bag setup like airlift or a Timbren setup?

[mr2mike]

I thought he was just a pretty face.

[CompletelyNumb]

TIL ES is strong enough to snap a bolt by hand.

[vengie]

ES has pythons..........

[ExtraSlow]

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Maybe i missed it, how does this system work? You pull the pin and that's on or off? Is this similar to a rear sway bar effect?
Curious why you choose this system over a helper bag setup like airlift or a Timbren setup?

I liked the mechanical simplicity of this vs Airbags. It's really just bolts and steel when you get down to it. If I ever decide to sell the truck, I can remove this quite quickly and put it on my next truck. I think Airbags would also be more expensive.
I did consider the Roadmaster Active Suspension, but it was more expensive. I don't know much about the Trimbren setup, so I can't comment on that.

With the Torklift, you can pull the pin and rotate the wedge pack into position and then re-insert the pin. You do want the truck jacked up a few inches to do this. Can likely use the trailer tongue jack to accomplish this. I suspect you can disengage the wedges without jacking it up, maybe. There's a square hole to put a 3/8" drive socket extension in to rotate.

[Andy643]

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I liked the mechanical simplicity of this vs Airbags. It's really just bolts and steel when you get down to it. If I ever decide to sell the truck, I can remove this quite quickly and put it on my next truck. I think Airbags would also be more expensive.
I did consider the Roadmaster Active Suspension, but it was more expensive. I don't know much about the Trimbren setup, so I can't comment on that.

With the Torklift, you can pull the pin and rotate the wedge pack into position and then re-insert the pin. You do want the truck jacked up a few inches to do this. Can likely use the trailer tongue jack to accomplish this. I suspect you can disengage the wedges without jacking it up, maybe. There's a square hole to put a 3/8" drive socket extension in to rotate.

Ok cool, so the wedges insert into the leaf stack and support the truck so it doesn't sack out? I'll have to hit YouTube and check these out. Great write up.

Been using the Airlift helper bags and have zero complaints and love the adjustability when not towing. 35lbs of air when pulling, 7lbs when empty and then 10 if its hockey season.
Found a beefy rear sway bar helps too.

[ExtraSlow]

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TIL ES is strong enough to snap a bolt by hand.

A 1/4" stainless bolt doesn't take pythons to snap. I can't find the spec, but it ain't much.

- - - Updated - - -

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Ok cool, so the wedges insert into the leaf stack and support the truck so it doesn't sack out? I'll have to hit YouTube and check these out. Great write up.

There are a lot of other options, but I think these have a few advantages for a simple guy like me.

[ExtraSlow]

I looked it up, steel grade 5 the reccomended dry torque for assembly is 8 ft-lbs. A stainless bolt would be less. So to snap it, let's say 20 ft-lbs can do it.

[CompletelyNumb]

It looked bigger in the photos.

(thats what she said)

[S-FLY]

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Maybe i missed it, how does this system work? You pull the pin and that's on or off? Is this similar to a rear sway bar effect?
Curious why you choose this system over a helper bag setup like airlift or a Timbren setup?

You pull the pin and you can rotate the wedges in and out between the main leaf springs and the overload spring. Basically, it's just stainless steel wedges that takes up the space so that the overload spring can get engaged sooner.

[ExtraSlow]

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You pull the pin and you can rotate the wedges in and out between the main leaf springs and the overload spring. Basically, it's just stainless steel wedges that takes up the space so that the overload spring can get engaged sooner.

Good explanation. It's a mechanically very simple system.

[oster]

Are you considering further upgrades? Did you consider a sway bar?

[ExtraSlow]

I'm not looking at more upgrades at this time. I see several mentions of a rear sway bar, and that's something I would consider, particularly if I had a slide-in camper. With a tow-behind travel trailer some of the unwanted movement is the "porpoising" when going over bridge deck, texas gates etc, and since that's a front-to-back movement I don't think sway bars would help with that.
My truck did come with an "upgraded front sway bar" as part of the packages, but no rear sway bar, where you'd want it for all of these applications.

[Andy643]

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You pull the pin and you can rotate the wedges in and out between the main leaf springs and the overload spring. Basically, it's just stainless steel wedges that takes up the space so that the overload spring can get engaged sooner.

Thank you. This makes sense.

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I'm not looking at more upgrades at this time. I see several mentions of a rear sway bar, and that's something I would consider, particularly if I had a slide-in camper. With a tow-behind travel trailer some of the unwanted movement is the "porpoising" when going over bridge deck, texas gates etc, and since that's a front-to-back movement I don't think sway bars would help with that.
My truck did come with an "upgraded front sway bar" as part of the packages, but no rear sway bar, where you'd want it for all of these applications.

Last year my Dodge was in the shop and I borrowed a friends 2018 or newer F150 to pull our trailer home from a site. Was blown away and the amount of sway the F150 had compared to the Dodge. All my truck had over the Ford was a bigger rear sway bar and helper bags. Buddies truck was bone stock. We have a 24BH so its not that big and I haven't had the need for sway control.
Cant say I have a issue with porpoising but I do keep my load bars pretty tight. Looking forward to your long term review.

[redline]

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Thank you. This makes sense.



Last year my Dodge was in the shop and I borrowed a friends 2018 or newer F150 to pull our trailer home from a site. Was blown away and the amount of sway the F150 had compared to the Dodge. All my truck had over the Ford was a bigger rear sway bar and helper bags. Buddies truck was bone stock. We have a 24BH so its not that big and I haven't had the need for sway control.
Cant say I have a issue with porpoising but I do keep my load bars pretty tight. Looking forward to your long term review.

Depending on options fords can have a wide variety of payloads and capability... your airbags will be doing most of the heavy lifting when it comes to towing.

I have heard a lot of people adding swaybars for towing but i think there would be a lot i would do before the sway bar... i could be wrong... unless someone wants to donate one to me for testing to change my mind

[ExtraSlow]

]GlowStep Revolution

I wanted to replace the steps on my trailer, a 2007 Palomino Puma 28BHS. This trailer came with the underslung fold-out style steps, and I found that when entering and exiting the trailer, there was quite a bit of movement that could disturb the people inside, especially if I was up early while my family slept.

A previous trailer I owned had the MorRyde “Step Above” type step, but I didn’t want that type again because I found it unhelpful having the door blocked when the trailer was in storage, and that type of step requires a large area to swing down into positon. It was very difficult to use this style of step when parked in certain locations on the road or in storage. I DID like the fact that the weight of the person was mainly borne by the ground, greatly reducing rocking.

Standard fold-out steps on this trailer.

[ExtraSlow]

I liked the fact that the Torklift Glowstep Revolution fit into the same location as the factory steps underneath the door, and also would rest on the ground to greatly reduce the motion transferred to the trailer when someone heavy was using them.

Torklift provides a database of common trailer fitments, or there is the option of taking eh measurements yourself if your trailer is not in the database. Mine wasn’t and the measurements were easy to do. The part number A8102 with 2 steps matched the measurements of my trailer. It was marked 25” kit on the box.

I decided to do this installation at the campsite, and I planned ahead by bringing a socket set and other tools with me.

The instructions give the options of disassembling the steps to allow “one person installation”, and I opted to go this route. It turned out that I did need to ask for some help to line up the steps with the support brackets on the trailer. Honestly, if you have a second person available, that is very helpful. Not to say I couldn't have done it without help, but I think it is easier in any event ot have someone assist you. And It’s my opinion that it’s worth doing the disassembly step even with a helper. It’s very easy disassembly at the point shown. Take note of the order that the washers and plastic spacer ring are assembled here. Probably easiest if you take a couple of photos just in case you need them for reference later.



Step frame with steps removed for install:



The width of my support brackets was slightly different than the width of the step frame, and TorkLift supplied 2 spacer plates in my kit. I found it fit best for me with 1 spacer plate installed. The plates have adhesives foam that holds them in place for installation. Make sure you line up the spacer plates with the holes on the frame, or the bolts don’t slide in and you’ll have to adjust.

Frame assembly loosely mounted into support brackets:



Once the Frame of the Glowstep was mounted into the support brackets, I did not need any assistance for the rest of the install. It’s really just one nut-and-bolt, plus the washers and plastic ring, on each side to re-attach the steps into the frame.

Re-assembly was simple and, and the steps were ready to use in minutes.

The mechanism of the upper adjustment is really interesting and helps fine-tine the height of that top step below the door. I liked the middle position on my trailer, but if I ever needed to compensate for different ground conditions, It’s good to know that can be easily set higher or lower. The legs on the bottom steps are individually adjustable in 5 increments. The ground was slightly sloped in my campsite, so I needed positon 2 on one side and position 3 on the other to keep the legs level.

After showing my family how to remove the safety pin and lift the lever for deployment, everyone was ready to use the steps right away.