New to RV'ing...Towing question
New to the forums and to rv'ing in general. So I am in the process of purchasing up my first travel trailer. It's a Jayco Jay Flight SLX 264BH. It is relatively lightweight (4,615 unloaded). My tow ve...
Forum Discussion
Consult the on-line mfg. towing guide for your truck, but in general the order of priority is:
1. Can your receiver handle the tongue weight? There may be a sticker on it, or in the guide, stating what it's limits are with and without a weight distributing hitch (WDH). To be conservative, assume tongue weight will be 15% of the GVWR of the trailer. This limit can be surprisingly little (compared to the other two capacities).
2. Then, do you have enough payload capacity for the tongue weight, WDH, and all the people and stuff in the truck?
3. Then consider pulling capacity of the truck.
In general, rear sag is the wrong measurement to use in setting a WDH. You are trying to prevent too much front rise. Too much, and your steering gets really wonky or even uncontrollable! Your truck mfg. will have info on specifically how much weight the hitch has to return to the front to make driving safe. Some companies say to restore the rise to the unloaded position, other manufacturers say as long as 50% or more of the rise is take out, you are fine.
As far as sway - it is solely a function of tongue weight - too little, and you will sway. Period. BUT - various brands of hitches have schemes to resist or prevent sway, depending on friction, sway bars, or very different connections than the traditional ball. So, if you are having issues getting your tongue weight up enough to prevent all sway, one of those options is worth looking into. Or just getting to begin with.
1. Can your receiver handle the tongue weight? There may be a sticker on it, or in the guide, stating what it's limits are with and without a weight distributing hitch (WDH). To be conservative, assume tongue weight will be 15% of the GVWR of the trailer. This limit can be surprisingly little (compared to the other two capacities).
2. Then, do you have enough payload capacity for the tongue weight, WDH, and all the people and stuff in the truck?
3. Then consider pulling capacity of the truck.
In general, rear sag is the wrong measurement to use in setting a WDH. You are trying to prevent too much front rise. Too much, and your steering gets really wonky or even uncontrollable! Your truck mfg. will have info on specifically how much weight the hitch has to return to the front to make driving safe. Some companies say to restore the rise to the unloaded position, other manufacturers say as long as 50% or more of the rise is take out, you are fine.
As far as sway - it is solely a function of tongue weight - too little, and you will sway. Period. BUT - various brands of hitches have schemes to resist or prevent sway, depending on friction, sway bars, or very different connections than the traditional ball. So, if you are having issues getting your tongue weight up enough to prevent all sway, one of those options is worth looking into. Or just getting to begin with.
