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Just wondering what everyone is using to control the large campers that they are towing. My brother had a 26 ft sportsman toy hauler. We pulled it with a 05 1/2 ton dodge. we had plenty of power but really made your butt pucker when a when a 18 wheeler passed. we were using reese 1200# bars with cams. It didnt matter how hard or soft we snapped them nothing seem to get better. That toy hauler has been sold but i am looking to buy one for myself and dont want to have the same problem with sway.
Thanks
Will be pulling with 09 FX4 6.5 bed 5.4 motor 3.73 gears
I've got a 22' hybrid. The 2012 EB replaced a GMC Envoy.
I'm using a Reese Dual Cam with 600# bars. Compared to the Envoy I get almost no sensation of being sucked into a passing 18-wheeler.
Interesting about the sway - we're thinking of moving up to a 26' TT.
Sway or tail waging has a lot to do with weight balance and setup. 1st you have to load the trailer correctly and to set your WD. If you are running tail heavy you will tend to experience the sway or 18 wheeler push/suck problem. You will also tend to feel it if you are pulling at to much of an angle with the trailer tounge either too low or too high. With you trailer fully loaded (food, water, gear, toys, etc) as you would normally take it (Some people do not always fill the water tank when traveling (water = just under 8lbs per gallon, 40 gallons = 320lbs which can make a difference when adde to the rest of the load and the position of the tank front or back of trailer axles) take it to a level spot and set your load bars as well as you ball height and angle. You want the truck at trailer to look level with one another, it should show no to very little *** drag on the truck. Remember any thing you put in the truck can change the setting as well. I.E. you set it up with out a cap or toneu and then add one later, there is a 100 - 150lbs add to the bed. If your wife packs the bathroom sink and make up stand when you go camping then you need to have it when you set the WD load bars, etc.
__________________
Tom B.
2005 F150 SuperCrew 5.4 - Finally I have got it all, Wife, kids, dog and a real truck.
2002 Ranger Egde 3.0 - Wanted Bigger
2006 Freestar 4.2 - Hey, It carried the wife and kids and then some.
Sway or tail waging has a lot to do with weight balance and setup. 1st you have to load the trailer correctly and to set your WD. If you are running tail heavy you will tend to experience the sway or 18 wheeler push/suck problem. You will also tend to feel it if you are pulling at to much of an angle with the trailer tounge either too low or too high. With you trailer fully loaded (food, water, gear, toys, etc) as you would normally take it (Some people do not always fill the water tank when traveling (water = just under 8lbs per gallon, 40 gallons = 320lbs which can make a difference when adde to the rest of the load and the position of the tank front or back of trailer axles) take it to a level spot and set your load bars as well as you ball height and angle. You want the truck at trailer to look level with one another, it should show no to very little *** drag on the truck. Remember any thing you put in the truck can change the setting as well. I.E. you set it up with out a cap or toneu and then add one later, there is a 100 - 150lbs add to the bed. If your wife packs the bathroom sink and make up stand when you go camping then you need to have it when you set the WD load bars, etc.
Thats good info ^^^ Sway almost always has to do with load balance, not so much the hitch setup although some hitches can help with sway. I pull a 30' TT with a 1,000/10,000 pound no name WDH system, no sway away bars or any of that but Ive never had it sway on me ever but my TT is balanced pretty well.
I pull a 30' TT with a 1,000/10,000 pound no name WDH system, no sway away bars or any of that but Ive never had it sway on me ever but my TT is balanced pretty well.
If you think about the WD and the way they work the tension in the system tends to provide a very small amount of sway control. Any one seriously needing sway control is either very badly loaded/balanced or most likely one or more tires on the trailer is low on air or not properly inflated.
Best way to get a trailer to wag like a dog. Load it up tail heavy, pick the tounge up over 10 degrees and let 10 to 20 lbs of air out opf one tire.... That damn thing will wag like faster than your dogs tail when you holding his favorite treat.....
__________________
Tom B.
2005 F150 SuperCrew 5.4 - Finally I have got it all, Wife, kids, dog and a real truck.
2002 Ranger Egde 3.0 - Wanted Bigger
2006 Freestar 4.2 - Hey, It carried the wife and kids and then some.
At work I am towing a 18' trailer loaded to 9600lb behind a Ram 3500 SRW Crew long box. I use WD but no sway control and have towed this all over the continent. It has never swayed. Ever. My personal rig is a 23' horse trailer loaded to about 6000lb that I was towing behind a jeep commander. I would get some suck from fast passing trucks and some sway from wind gusts but I think this had more to do with a really short wheelbase than anything. I upgraded to a Reese SC hitch with friction sway control on the trunnion bars and it was much more manageable. Just got the F-150 because I know I was pushing the limits with the jeep and couldn't tow more than one horse but I haven't towed with the truck, yet....
A lack of wheelbase and crappy/under inflated tires on the TV can contribute to some sway. Nothing as bad as a badly loaded trailer. Toy haulers can be prone to bad loading by their purpose. Load on to many dirt bikes in the back and you are going to be tail heavy.
Yes, loading and how the trailer is designed for loading. My TT has the axle placed way back so the Tongue Weight is easily 15% of the trailer GVW. That high tongue weight is why I sold my old truck to get one with a higher payload. But the trailer tracks really well without any sway control.
WD Hitch and Sway bars
Best way to get a trailer to wag like a dog. Load it up tail heavy, pick the tounge up over 10 degrees and let 10 to 20 lbs of air out opf one tire.... That damn thing will wag like faster than your dogs tail when you holding his favorite treat.....
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