Thanks. I only recently figured this out as i was driving at night and realized i was a little more comfortable when semis passed. Then realized i had quit staring at my mirrors cuz i cant see a dam thing back there anyway! LoL. Its much better.

 

The way I have been doing it for decades now. Know whats behind you, know whats in front of not YOU, but the one in FRONT of YOU! Keep the head on a swivel at all times, check left mirror, right mirror, look ahead, check the gauges, and so on. Hard to miss something when you do this, and you will be prepared for when that semi goes to pass you, or some other large vehicle so the push wont take you by surprise, since that is when sway can happen, you are not ready for a push, suddenly there is one and you overreact and set the trailer up to sway.

That video of the Excursion is great example of someone not prepared and overreacting. Regardless of how he was setup, by going past that Semi at the speed he was doing, when that blast of wind hit the trailer, he was not prepared for it and overreacted and amplified the sway.

I only look at my trailer when I suspect something isn't quite right, which in the 2016 has been quite often, but I never see the trailer actually sway, its in lock step with the truck. For the most part I look at the main mirrors because they are st to look into the lane next to me, not behind me, the tow mirrors are set to see what is behind the trailer. I can't even see the trailer in the main mirrors.

 

I just realized I fell off the face of the earth here. I couldn't be happier with my 2014 Max Tow. My trailer is about 8300 lbs loaded, and I moved things around (and added a quad) so now TW is around 1000 lbs. It tows like a dream. I can go 65-70 mph and pass and be passed by tractor trailers without any issues, even on the stock Load Range C tires. I'm still not sure what the difference is, but I like it better. I miss my Sync 3 though

 

Totally agree with your comment. Just moving over a little makes a big difference. I try to keep a good eye out for when a semi is about to pass me and make the move, hate it when they catch me off guard. I've also noticed some semi's I get nothing, others I get the vacuum effect. Suppose it has to do with the nose of the cab?

 

I agree about my 2014, although my 2014 tows a lighter TT, and I drive a tad slower, but it's rare when my truck moves the slightest when being passed, or passing an 18 wheeler. But my truck also has the HDPP. That may have something to do with it.

 

Yeah, I believe the shape of the nose of the semi tractor affects how much air is pushed to the sides. This air is squeezed through the tight space between the side of the semi and your trailer. As it's squeezed through, the speed at which the air is travelling increases, creating a low pressure area which sucks the two vehicles towards each other. Bernoulli's principle in practice .

Moving over just a little increases the space between the vehicles so the air is not as squeezed so the low pressure (or vacuum effect) is diminished.