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fowlthing's avatar
fowlthing
Explorer
Sep 03, 2022

Trailer sway issies

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Posted: 09/03/22 08:26am Link | Quote | Edit | Print | Notify Moderator
2020 Model. Pulling with 2021 Ram 2500 Diesel. Have 3000 miles plus with no issues.

Now at speeds as low as 30 mph can hit a bump and side to side rocking translates into trailer sway. Worse going uphill. Had a trip this weekend and put two new tires on the rear axle. My tire shop only had two.

Is this axles out of alignment?? Shocks on the truck? ( 30k miles on truck).

I pulled the tires off and bearings are good. Measured and axles are same distance between tires. Did not measure to the pin.

Tread is still good on front axle. And was good on the two that were replaced. Wear is even. Could not detect that they were out of round when jacked up and spun the wheels.

Any help is welcome. Have years experience of towing trailers. The sway is dangerous. Not a slight annoyance. Thanks.
  • fowlthing's avatar
    fowlthing
    Explorer
    Sep 03, 2022
    Not a dumb question. We just checked them and all tight.

    Measured from axle to the pin and they are the same distance.
  • ssthrd's avatar
    ssthrd
    Explorer
    Sep 03, 2022
    Looks like you have checked out the trailer, but what about the truck? On a vehicle as new as yours with few miles, it would seem to be unlikely that there would be a suspension problem. But ya never know. That would be my next step.

    If you can find an empty parking lot somewhere, maybe you can put the truck through some slalom type turns at a speed that would challenge the suspension and see what happens.

    Have you scaled your rig? Maybe you have too much weight to the rear.

    That’s all I got…………..
  • bgum's avatar
    bgum
    Explorer
    Sep 03, 2022
    Check all tire pressures truck and trailer. Is the two new tires the same size and grade ( C D E F)as the front two?
  • MFL's avatar
    MFL
    Nomad II
    Sep 03, 2022
    That is a big FW, may be close to 4K pin wt when loaded. A bit much for the 2500 with softer springs than your F350 had.

    You likely do need some suspension help. Some airbags, Timbrens, or other.

    Jerry
  • ford_truck_guy's avatar
    ford_truck_guy
    Nomad
    Sep 03, 2022
    I’m with Jerry on this.. my buddy has a Solitude 375RES that we took my truck to pick up down in Nashville (16 hrs) ..

    Towing that trailer with a 2500 is a stretch… I'm assuming your RAWR and tire capacity are both well over max…. Those are the 2 numbers that i look at..

    If your over your tire capacity, that could give you the feeling of squishy/squirming..
  • fj12ryder's avatar
    fj12ryder
    Explorer III
    Sep 03, 2022
    What kind of tires, and what psi are you running them on the truck? What kind of hitch? Do you see any movement in the front of the trailer when you set it down on the truck, like it's flexing some? I'm assuming you've checked all the shackles, and any related suspension bolts, and hangers.

    And I'll agree that is one big a$$ trailer for a 3/4 ton truck. Have you scaled the truck and trailer?
  • JIMNLIN's avatar
    JIMNLIN
    Explorer III
    Sep 03, 2022
    Agree with weighing your trucks front and rear axle while hooked to the trailer and road ready.

    Your 2500 has a 6000 rawr for carrying all the load in the bed.
    Many newer gen 2500 Ram trucks rear axle can weigh in the 3000 lb range leaving around 3000 lb in the bed payload.

    Overloaded rear axle (tires/wheels/rear spring pack) and worn out shocks on a truck with rear coil springs can make a bad handling combo.

    A 2500 with a 6k rawr isn't a good replacement for a one ton srw truck with a 7230 rawr = a 1230 lb loss for carrying weight in the bed.

    A 5th wheel trailer adds little to no weight on the trucks front axle.

    Get all the trucks axle weights first and go from there.
  • TXiceman's avatar
    TXiceman
    Explorer II
    Sep 03, 2022
    UVW1
    14200 lbs

    Hitch Weight1
    2900 lbs

    GVWR
    16800 lbs

    Length2
    41' 4"

    I think you do not have enough horse to pull that trailer per the above numbers. A loaded camper of 16,800 lbs will have a loaded pin weight of roughly 3400#.

    Forget the unloaded weights unless you never plan to add anything to the trailer including food, clothes, water or propane. But I have yet to see a camper that does not bring along clothes, food, propane, pets, wife and kids.

    Ken

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