marauder11

Ok here is the details, I have a 2012 F150 5.5 foot box 4x4 eco boost.Max tow.

My trailer is a 28 foot Dutchman lite. It weights around 7500- 8000 depending on how much beer i take.

I have done an alignment on the trailer, have had the hitch setup re checked for proper setup. I have E rated tire( NITTO TERRA GRAPPLERS) on truck and new trailer tires that are more than enough for the trailer weight. I have made sure the trailer is loaded properly with weight over the axles. I have a sway bar installed.
I still feel like i am getting to much sway. Will air bags help this issue. I am starting to think that maybe my *** end is to squishy causing the movement.
When we rechecked the hitch i put the trailer on the ball no bars and it sunk 3.5 inches. When the bars are on the truck dips about an inch below unloaded bumper height.

Last thing i can think is airbags.

Thanks

AdrianM

Are you loading the back to try to adjust the tongue weight? Weight behind the wheels tends to add to sway since it creates/contributes to a sideways moment in the case of sway whereas weight between the tongue and the axle(s) tends to work against sway but will add to the tongue weight.

Also, what is your tongue weight? You should be aiming for a tongue weight of around 12.5% which would give numbers of 937.5 if you're at 7500lbs or 1000lb at 8000lb. If your tongue weight is less then 10% of the TT's loaded weight sway is going to happen by all accounts.

smokeywren

The fact that you installed "a sway bar" tells me the problem is probably your cheap WD hitch. You need to throw it away and start over. And this time skip the hitches that use sway bars and cost less than $500 and go for an Equal-I-Zer or Reese Strait-Line or Husky Center-Line or Blue Ox. Ignore the less expensive WD hitches from Reese, Husky and Curt. For a Reese WD hitch, if the doesn't include "strait-line" in the name, that's not the good one. For a Husky, if it doesn't include "center line" in the name, that's not the good one. I've never seen a good Curt hitch, only the bottom feeder cheap ones for less than $500 discount price from Amazon or ETrailer. Equal-I-Zer and Blue Ox don't make the cheap hitches, so if you get an Equal-I-Zer or Blue Ox with the correct tongue weight rating you'll know you got the right one.

If your trailer can gross 8,000 pounds, then you need a minimum of 1,000-pound spring bars on your new hitch, and 1,200 pound spring bars won't hurt a thing. The Strait-Line comes with 800 or 1,200 pound spring bars, and 800 is not enough so you need the 1,200. Equal-I-Zer can be ordered with 1,000-pound spring bars, which is 12.5% of your 8,000 pounds trailer weight. That's the average tongue weight, but your TT might have more up to 15% (mine does). So whether Strait-Line or Equal-I-Zer or Husky or Blue Ox, I would go for the 1,200-pound spring bars for your trailer.

Here's the one I have, and it works great. Note that this one will handle any tongue weight between 700 and 1,200:
http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distr...e/RP66084.html

However, any WD hitch has to be set up and adjusted properly or it's not going to do a good job of distributing the correct amount of weight and controlling sway. My Strait-Line is set up correctly, and does an excellent job on my 7,000-pound cargo trailer.

If you hate the possibility of uncontrollable sway as much as I do, then you'll spend even more for a hitch that guarantees absolutely no sway. For my TT I have a ProPride hitch. No sway with that puppy, but then it's not cheap,
http://www.propridehitch.com/product...ol-Hitch-.html


If you can't stand the thought of spending over $500 for a good WD hitch with good sway control, or over $2,000 for a ProPride with excellent sway control, then a patch might be to add a second sway bar to your current hitch. One sway bar may not be able to handle the wiggling of an 8,000-pound trailer, but two might be better. Not nearly as good as a Strait-Line, but better than what you have now. In addition to the second sway bar, you'll also need an additional tab on the ball mount to attach the second little ball where the sway bar connects to the ball mount.

smokeywren

Hey, Adrian - You need to fix your typo. 12.5% of 7,500 is 937.5.

xcntrk

I would suggest you look into your exact weights.

A) weigh the truck loaded up as it goes down the road when you tow, but without the trailer. This means all people, fluids, misc gear, etc. That will establish base running weight of the truck.

B) weigh the truck + trailer to establish your combined weights. Again both truck and trailer loaded down as you normally do when camping.

Armed with these 2 sets of measured weights you can determine everything you need to accurately understand your proper weights and limits including:
GVWR
GCWR
G(F/R)AWR
Tongue Weight (exact)
Trailer Weight (exact)

Knowing these values will help you focus and fine tune where you need attention. For example, I suspect you're going to find something is way off in those numbers and causing the sway - such as insufficient tongue weight. Easiest way to get these weights is on your next camping trip. Hit the scales on your way to the destination, then while you're there and out running around (truck only), swing by a weight station as well.

http://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator

clearnetedm

Some very good advice in here. Just wanted to take it another direction. Can you explain your sway you are getting? I'm wondering if it's truly the seesaw motion of the trailer and truck to each other? Does it happen all the time and at all speeds? Only happens when trucks pass by? Only during cross winds, etc?

I'm just curious if it could be something other than true sway. I can tell you my 31' trailer never sways but can get pushed around with the tuck bow wave affect. Some might call that sway but it's not. For me I recently installed supersprings and it has helped a lot in the feel department. However if there is truly a sway issue I wouldn't recommend anything before finding out what is causing the sway.

jmiller72

What is your psi in your tires when pulling the trailer?

singlespeeder

iTrader: (-1)

I think this is a good point to consider - I thought I was getting movement (not true sway) as a result of being imbalanced with my setup. Went to scales and it turned out I had actually returned 100% of the load off the front axles back to them with the hitch setup, so I was actually dialled in. What I was/am feeling with my trailer is bow wave effect from trucks and cross winds pushing the entire unit. Some really minor accelerator and steering corrections takes care of it however. Xcntrk was a huge help in figuring my situation out.

good luck!

marauder11

I have done 44 psi and gone to 60 psi last trip

marauder11

Bow effect? Never heard of this. I would say that the motion i am getting is the truck and trailer together. I don't feel the trailer moving side to side by it self if that make sense. Thanks again for all the help.