toy hauler sway

otrfun is correct in his post, those are some odd #'s. I owned a 2006 wolf pack 30 wp , measured 35' overall length and towed like crap!! I pulled it with a 1995 ext cab long box f250 diesel. I changed the tires to 3 ply side walls rather than the standard 2 ply side walls and cranked the wd hitch 10 ways to sun and nothing and I mean nothing helped. I changed the wd to a 14k because I discovered this unit had 18% tw loaded with my 1800lb sand rail and I had to back it in so the 400 lb motor and 110lb trans along with rear of the rail were past the axles into the kitchen slightly. it did tow a little better empty than loaded but a 25 mph side wind would blow me into the next lane!!!! took 1 day to settle down once I got to the dunes from pulling that thing. I couldn't take it anymore and loved the pull through th'r and floor plan so I decided either I would get it figured out or convert it to gooseneck. I use go pro camera's on my rail so I strapped it underneath my truck to see what the susp was doing going down the road. when I was going straight is when I always felt the sway and through a curve the truck always felt tight and true. well I discovered the rear leaf springs were actually squatting under the load and this was giving me the sensation of sway. so I added air bags and re-built my front and rear sway bars and changed the front coils out to 1k lb heavier ones and added kyb mono max shock absorbers. did make the empty ride rougher but nothing that bothered me. I jacked the camper up and grabbed the wheels to make sure the hubs were snug, they were not, there was 1/8" to 3/16" play in and out per wheel. I got the tq spec on line and tq'd them. the leaf spring bushings got re-built at the same time because them were worn and I had it up anyways. all this helped greatly but still wasn't great so on my last trip back from the dunes I decided to take all our lawn chairs and cases of water and pop and my 3 tool boxes ( tool combined prob 500 lbs) and stacked them all up against the ramp gate. wow what a diff that made, tounge heavy in my case. never hauled water or fuel in tanks since the camp sites at the dunes have full hook ups.

I have a friend that bought a 2010 30 wp and hauled a rail and a bike down to the dunes too. his 2007 duramax 2500 crew long bed and equal 4 point hitch still had sway. on his return trip I told him to take the bike out of the truck box and put it behind the rail up against the ramp door. night and day diff for him too. still not a rock solid tow at interstate speeds though. I finally figured out the how to for interstate speeds, sold it and bought a 2011 295 wp fifth! now I could drive one handed at 75 mph! so I sold that truck and bought a 99 f350 dually quad long box 6 speed diesel and now I have to try and stay awake for the drive! lol also right off the bat, I added kyb mono max shocks, replaced the factory 8 ply tires and added 10 ply to be 20% over gvw ( so I could exceed 65 mph) and two 10 ply spares, dexter ezflex, bronze bushings with wet bolts and removed the reese solid fifth hitch and replaced it with and air ride hitch that dropped right into the rails in the bed of the truck. I can hang a coat on the hook and it's still there 2 state lines later. now that 06 30wp was rated as half ton towable by FR and my dying a$$ it was half ton towable! only way I could see that would be on a dead calm day on flat ground under 45 mph!! don't believe what the dealership says cause they are there to make money not figure out anything. camper manufacturers don't care either. you have to weigh you th'r and go from there and if your truck is rated for 10k lbs towing drop 10% and start there. just my opinion of course.

lincster wrote:

otrfun wrote:
I cannot make it sway no matter the wind or how aggressively I drive.

Let me and my rig blow by you heading towards Yuma and I bet I can make you move all over the road. :) I see many, many trailers get sucked in and pushed onto the side of the road as I go by them.

Lol!! I hear ya! Been on I8 headin' to San Diego/Yuma many times.

Appreciate the offer to "blow by" with your rig. But, thanks, I'm good. Those 18-wheelers in AZ going 75-80 mph blow even harder :)

otrfun wrote:
I cannot make it sway no matter the wind or how aggressively I drive.

Let me and my rig blow by you heading towards Yuma and I bet I can make you move all over the road. :) I see many, many trailers get sucked in and pushed onto the side of the road as I go by them.

Yup, appears to be a classic case of low tongue weight.

Just looked at the pics/floorplan/specs for the 27FS. First off, I can't believe they designed this thing with an empty tongue weight of just 830 lbs. . . . WITH A REAR GARAGE!!! Please tell me I'm missing something here?! When you load your toys in the rear garage area this minimal amount of tongue weight can only go lower! The garage appears to be located almost entirely behind the rear axles. There's no way to move your toys over, or in front of, the axles to increase tongue weight. You're only option is to load EVERYTHING loose inside your toy hauler (gear, food, etc.) to the very front (preferably in the front bedroom), and significantly fill your forward tanks. They should have designed this thing with the axles positioned farther back, underneath the garage more.

Anywhoser, been there , done that. I will not buy a toy hauler unless it has a completely open garage area directly over the axles. I want the option to load nothing or everything and have complete control over my tongue weight.

IMO, a lot of folks seriously underestimate the loaded weight and the **potential** tongue weight of these toy haulers when loaded. Due to luck, most get away with it. I own the smallest Ultra Work & Play toy hauler (18ft cab, 22 ft overall). Unloaded weight (using nearby scales) is 5,000 lbs. Forest River advertises the empty tongue weight to be ~770 lbs. After loading my 11ft. jetski & trailer, gear, water (partial fill), and food, it hovers vacation ready at approx. 7,000 lbs. (again using nearby scales). Fully loaded, with my black/grey tanks empty, I can keep my tongue weight just below 1,000 lbs., which is optimum (14-15%) for my tastes. FWIW, if I take a couple of showers on the road (partial fill of my grey tank) my tongue weight increases to ~1100 lbs. The max payload on my 2012 Tundra is 1,500 lbs. Try very hard to put absolutely nothing in the truck (in the bed or in the cab)--put everything in the toy hauler. Got plenty of tow capability (over 10,000 lbs.), but I'm acutely aware that I have very little payload capacity (true for all 1/2 ton trucks). I also make sure to keep the tongue weight balanced between the front/rear axles of my Tundra with a properly adjusted WD hitch. The result of all this planning? It tows like a dream! I cannot make it sway no matter the wind or how aggressively I drive.

Peg Leg wrote:
The tongue does not have enough weight.

You said it was acceptable empty.

You can test this. Add weight to the forward floor area. Put a piece of carpet down and put some cement blocks in or my personal favorite, use cases of beer. 20 cases will give you 360 lbs. You might need another 10 if it's going to be a long weekend.

Only 30 cases - You my friend are a light weight.

Sand bags, 5 gallon water bottles or spare tires can be substituted for the tea drinkers.

Get a doolie

Fill the fresh tank even if staying with hookups. It's designed that way to balance the wgt. I know guys that won't want to drag the extra wgt up the mtn but it really helps especially with a tongue pull. Not so with a 5er.

You definitely have too little tongue weight. Your description of it being fine when empty, but when you load it up (toys in the rear) it gets squirrely tells me it is the tongue weight. As a former manufacturer of equipment trailers, my analysis (without actually checking it out in person) is that the axles are too far forward for the trailer when fully loaded.

A little extra tongue weight won't hurt anything as long as the TV can handle it. Too little tongue weight can get you, or someone else, killed.

The tongue does not have enough weight.

You said it was acceptable empty.

Then you load it. Just like the see-saw in the playground, the more weight you put on one side of your axle = less weight on the other side. You need to adjust your load so the heavy side it toward the front of the trailer. Once you get the balance corrected it will follow you happily.

You can test this. Add weight to the forward floor area. Put a piece of carpet down and put some cement blocks in or my personal favorite, use cases of beer. 20 cases will give you 360 lbs. You might need another 10 if it's going to be a long weekend.

I once pulled a utility trailer 300 miles. It started wagging at 30 mph, I stopped 3 times moving heavy item forward each time. Each time the speed that the wagging started at went up, until finally I could travel the interstate at speed without any problem.

Sir

You have heard from the others and they offer excellent advice. Get it weighed. I too believe that you are too light on the tongue weight. I had a bumper pull toy hauler and the hitch weight was 1650 lbs, and it was smaller than yours.
Unfortunately, I too believe that your truck will be insufficient for that trailer.
Please post the weights when you get them.

Good luck

Bill