First tow with new TT
The DW (that stands for Deranged Woman, right?) and I recently purchased our first TT. I'm not new to towing in general, but this was my first experience with a WD hitch, electric trailer brakes and a trailer with such a large profile. After we purchased the trailer I towed it 200 miles to my parents' house near the TX coast (mostly interstate and mostly with a headwind.) The experience was OK, but I certainly can't claim that "I almost forgot the trailer was back there." The truck felt a bit...wallowy and the trailer would easily get sucked-into the airflow of any passing 18-wheelers. I'm hoping to get some advice to help dial-in my setup.
The WD hitch is a standard round-bar type with a friction sway control. The RV dealership installed the hitch on the trailer and had the head/stinger setup prior to installing on my TV. I took a pre-hookup front wheel well measurement of 37.5". We hooked-up the trailer and put the full weight on the truck (bars not installed) and I took another measurement at 38". Was surprised to see only 1/2" movement. The technician set the chain length on the WD bars so that the front wheel well was back to 37.5".
After about 20 miles, my seat-of-the-pants gauge said there was too much float going on in the rear end, so I lengthened the chains by one link, which brought the front end to 37.75". That helped, but the truck still felt like it had too much lateral movement.
I'm running the original P275/65R18 tires that came from the factory. I'll probably step up to a stiffer tire when the time comes to replace these.
After comparing my setup to other pics I see on RV.net, I think my trailer is setup with the nose too high. How much difference in towing performance would there be between a trailer that's a bit nose-high vs level (or a bit nose-low?)
Regarding the friction sway control adjustment, the Technician said just tighten it up, but not too tight (pretty precise instructions.) I may not have had it tight enough. The label on the sway control says to run-out all of the threads on the adjustment bolt. Any opinions here?
Would appreciate any suggestions.
Here are some pics of my setup for reference:
The WD hitch is a standard round-bar type with a friction sway control. The RV dealership installed the hitch on the trailer and had the head/stinger setup prior to installing on my TV. I took a pre-hookup front wheel well measurement of 37.5". We hooked-up the trailer and put the full weight on the truck (bars not installed) and I took another measurement at 38". Was surprised to see only 1/2" movement. The technician set the chain length on the WD bars so that the front wheel well was back to 37.5".
After about 20 miles, my seat-of-the-pants gauge said there was too much float going on in the rear end, so I lengthened the chains by one link, which brought the front end to 37.75". That helped, but the truck still felt like it had too much lateral movement.
I'm running the original P275/65R18 tires that came from the factory. I'll probably step up to a stiffer tire when the time comes to replace these.
After comparing my setup to other pics I see on RV.net, I think my trailer is setup with the nose too high. How much difference in towing performance would there be between a trailer that's a bit nose-high vs level (or a bit nose-low?)
Regarding the friction sway control adjustment, the Technician said just tighten it up, but not too tight (pretty precise instructions.) I may not have had it tight enough. The label on the sway control says to run-out all of the threads on the adjustment bolt. Any opinions here?
Would appreciate any suggestions.
Here are some pics of my setup for reference:
