Best sway control & Yukon towing

I can absolutely attest to the effectiveness of the Hensley hitch. Used it with the older design of Dodge Durango (2004) with a Hemi and a 30 ft TT. With the Hensley there was NO sway. On TWO different occasions when I had to make an emergency maneuver, the TT just followed the path of the TV. No drama. No white knuckling at anytime including in the Rocky Mountains. It took me a long time to get over the cost but NEVER regretted it. There is a learning curve to using it but again, so worth it for the peace of mind, safety, and improved towing experience. Oh, also used it with a 3/4 ton Yukon XL with the same results.

Hi OP,

Just for the record on the air ride for a 2015 Tahoe here is the owners manual...



Sway vs Natural Movement

We need you to clarify something... Are you getting real sway or is the trailer moving around some when you get passed?

there is a natural push-pull motion that you will get from passing vehicles...no matter what...the idea is to make the push pull motion act against the TV and the TT as one unit... The unnerving part about towing is when you can feel this suck pull act on the trailer, then as the pressure wave reaches the TV you can feel the trailer moving back into the lane as the TV is pushed in another...

Ideally, the pressure waves from passing vehicles and the wind blowing on the side of the vehicle push the entire rig as one...no independent Movement between the TV and the TT... One solid push is much easier to deal with than lots of little movements.

If you are Swaying.. as in this video then we have some serious issues to address. Your trailer should not be swaying.

We need to deal with the "other factors" that impact these little movements.

Wheelbase vs rear Overhang

....the Tahoe/Yukon does have a shorter wheelbase than the Suburban but the rear overhang on the shorter Tahoe/Yukons is much less. Rear overhang is the distance from the rear bumper to the axles.... The less rear overhang the better. I don't have the figures in front of me know but the long rear overhang on the suburban offsets some of the benefits of the longer wheelbase, and vice-versa for Tahoe/Yukon shorter wheelbase with short overhang.

In the end the towing prowess of the 2015 LWB Suburbans/Yukon XL's vs the shorter Tahoe/Yukons are basically the same.

Tires

One of the reasons that people see an improvement when they move from a half ton to a 3/4 ton is due to tires....

No, I don't recommend you change your tires to LT tires that are found on 3/4 ton trucks... not yet.. lets work with what you have for now.

Check out your payload sticker on your door.. Here is an example from one from a 2015 Suburban that I had as a rental...



Notice that the tire pressure is listed at 35 PSI? Huge chance that this is your problem unless you are already doing what I am about to recommend.

Here is the tires off of the same Suburban....



you may have to zoom in to see it.. but these tires are rated to 51 PSI max... Guess what PSI I would be towing a TT at? You got it.. 51 PSI. I highly recommend airing your tires up to MAX PSI before every tow. It should improve your towing experience... possibly significantly...

Airing up the tires to 51 PSI (or whatever the max PSI is on your sidewalls) will stiffen up the tires and help keep the squishy out of the tires.

Weight Distribution

I have not adjusted a hitch with the air ride suspension.. what I am hearing from the screenshot above and other users is to let the air ride air up, preloading the shocks... then turn off the air ride and hitch up, adjust the wd hitch.. then turn on the air ride again.... The same owners manual says that you need to try and get the front fenders back to factory height. basically, no rise or drop on your front fenders once the WD hitch is adjusted.

Sway Control

You have a single sway bar... one of these type devices..



You need two... one on either side of the tongue.. I am sorry for this terrible picture, but its what I have readily accessible



To run two bars with your current hitch you will need to weld on a sway bar mount to the hitch head because Reese in their infinite wisdom thought that adding only one mount to your Reese head was totally awesome. (Truth is they want to "upgrade you to Dual Cam Sway Control"

A new tab that a welder can weld to your hitch head will be provided with the new Sway bar if you choose to go this route.

or you can add Dual Cam Sway Control to your current hitch. its finicky.. and I don't like it personally. Many run it with no problems. I personally prefer the old fashioned friction bars.

Hensley hitches, ProPride, and the PullRite hitches are all options that eliminate sway period.. But these are HEAVY beasts of a hitch (150-200 ish lbs) and can put Half Ton towers over their receiver capacity if they are running close to max already. GREAT HITCHES though.

Vehicle Loading

I would pay attention to your vehicle loading... I would try to keep only light stuff in the back.. load the trailer with the stuff as much as you can.

Try to keep it so that the TV is doing two things from a payload standpoint while towing...

1) Carrying People
2) Carrying the Tongue Weight

Heavy stuff needs to be in the trailer.

Hope this helps some...

Thanks!

Jeremiah

Hello kfp673, I tow a Flagstaff V-Lite 26 which measures 29'7" with a Ford Expedition. Our vehciles are similar in size. As others have said here, the best is to have a vehicle fully capable to tow what you have, a larger vehicle. However, if you have to stay with what you have, the Hensley is the safest way to go. They are expensive but mine took the white knuckle driving out of it. Wheel base is too short on our vehicles for the length of trailer we are towing. This can lead to losing control in wind or quick maneuvers. There is a video you can watch on YouTude from Hensley. It will show you what difference it can make especially on a shorter wheel based vehicle. If you call the company, they have reconditioned hitches that are about a third less than new. They will match your vehicle and trailer with what you need. The best solution is a larger tow vehicle but this is the next best thing safety wise. Good luck.

Absolute best sway control, is probably Hensley or Propride hitches. They are both quite spendy. Used one could run 1000.00+

You asked about a second friction sway bar. -- Some sellers recommend dual sway control on anything over 25 foot.


You asked about your air suspension system. -- Turn it off and set WD bars first. Then turn the air system back on.

If you allow air system to work first, it could be raising your rear end and making the combination look level, and in turn, give you a false sense of security in weight being restored to your front axle. The air system doesn't restore weight to the front axle. Leave that function to the WD hitch.

If your front axle is too light, your subconscious hand movements could be causing some tow vehicle wiggle. That in turn, causes some trailer sway. Passing big rigs could also be inducing some tail wagging the dog issues.

Maybe, your air system is helping with mis-adjustment on the WD hitch.

Questions you should ask yourself:

Is my tongue weight exceeding the weight rating on the hitch bars?

Am I actually (real scale weights) within all of my ratings? (receiver, payload, GVWR, GCVWR, tow rating)

Is the WD hitch set up correctly? If your air ride is active while hitching up, maybe not.

Is sway control set up correctly? Due to your trailer length, you should have dual sway control, but, adding another sway bar, may not be enough to fix your problem. Take a look at the other things in addition to the second sway bar.

Your wheelbase is a bit short for a 30' trailer.

I would think that eliminating the cause of the sway rather than bandaiding it with a different hitch should be a priority.
Is the tongue weight of the TT at least 12 to 15% of the loaded up weight?
I use a Sureline scale to check my tongue weight before pulling out. I've had to move some weight to the back to bring it under 15%. But I've added extra batteries, larger propane tanks and gas can to the tongue. My fresh water tank is forward of the axles As well as a heavier memory foam mattress and the forward storage compartment full of tools, grill, air tank, ladder, bottle jack, etc.

If the OP’s Reese WD bars have the crook in the end (not straight) then the next step up would be to add the Reese Straight Line (other name-> Twin Cam) to the existing hitch. The only way to change tongue weight is to shift cargo in the trailer from the rear to the front. Changing the links on the WD only changes the distribution of the tongue weight from the rear to the front of the tow vehicle. Too little WD bar “could” cause a bit of over-steer.

Thats a mighty short wheel base TV for a 30' trailer

It would be easier to offer advice on a good hitch if you would give specifics on the trailer being towed and the tow vehicle.

If all you're looking for is general info, I guess your question is adequate.

I prefer Reese or Equalizer hitches (weight distribution and sway control). Hensley hitches and the like are good, some argue the best, but if you have enough tow vehicle for your trailer then they are really overkill and extremely expensive for whatever perceived benefit there may be. My opinion only.

Hensley "prevents" sway by transferring the forces involved in sway into the vehicles in question - your truck and trailer. If you don't have enough truck to begin with....

I've towed with a Hensley and couldn't tell the difference from my Reese dual cam, but then again, my priority is making sure I have enough truck to pull my trailer.

I'm awaiting delivery of an Arctic Fox 28F with a GVWR of 10.4K. I'm pulling it with a Reese SC hitch w/1200 pound bars because it's a good hitch and I'm tired of dealing with chains. I'm dragging it with a 1 ton.

Trying to recommend a hitch for pulling 30 feet behind an light SUV without even knowing what your target tongue weight is would be a SWAG at best.

The absolute best sway system is either the Hensley Arrow or ProPride P3 hitch system, hands down. These are the only 2 that use the geometry of the 4-bar linkage to prevent sway sway, not just manage it. Another good choice is the Pull-Rite if they make one for your vehicle.

Regarding the auto-level on the Yukon, read your owner's manual, it should tell you the specific steps for hitching a WD hitch with auto-leveling.