Forum Discussion

Explorer

May 13, 2014

Serious Trailer Sway at Times

I have a 2014 Wildwood 30FKBS. There are apparently two different styles and mine is the one with the king size bed in the rear past the axles. The trailer is 35 feet long and I tow with a 2012 3/4 ton Suburban. From the dealer, driving home empty was no problem at all, but then after adding our stuff inside, I had some serious trailer sway going on. I basically couldn't tow above 55 safely. I then checked our setup, and the tongue weight with my Sherline said it was only 800 pounds. So I changed things around. All the storage compartments are in the rear, so I put the tool bags and stuff in the back of the suburban; I put the spare tire in front of the trailer axles; I removed the plywood boards for leveling and bought lynx blocks and store in TV. There is basically nothing left in the rear storage compartments and now the thing tows safely between 60-65. But wait, then I make a trip to Florida and after stopping and using the facilities a few times, I had horrific sway and bow-suction effect from semi's. I couldn't get the thing above 50 safely. So I removed the clothes from the closet in back, and dumped the black tank(which is behind the axles) and then it pulls better again. Is this trailer just destined to fail from the beginning due to the design of it? Or do I need to basically move the mattress and such in front of the axles to balance the thing? I'm ready to take out the rear stairs to save weight in back. Or does this TT desperately need a ProPride Hitch? Any suggestions would be great, so I can get back home without putting a death grip on the steering wheel.

Edit: After I removed most things from the back, the tongue weight was 980 pounds. And the TT loaded weight is 9100 pounds.

36 Replies

therink
Explorer
May 13, 2014
I had similar problem with a 33' TT I once owned. Most of the storage was located in the rear under the quad bunk set up. I came to the conclusion that it was a poorly designed trailer with the axles too far forward for the weight disbursement. I too towed with a 3/4 ton and had a Reese dual cam hitch. Nothing I did made a difference. That was when I decided to go with a fifth wheel.
Good luck.
MeandMyLabs
Explorer
May 13, 2014
What your experiencing is similar to those with toy haulers which are the TT type(not 5ers). The weight behind the axles has a serious effect on tongue weight and handing. As another post mentioned, if your fresh water tank is in front of the axles, try filling that. This could be the easiest fix. Other wise a premium hitch setup may be the only fix.

Is your trailer level or slightly nose low? If it is nose high or even level, try lowering the hitch 1 hole. Might be the ticket.

I feel that some of the manufacturers have not done a very good job of designing the longer TT's. Floorplan seems to be the only priority without actually thinking about the trailer functioning correctly after it is loaded.
Terryallan
Explorer II
May 13, 2014
What do you have in the dinette storage? Should be able to get a couple hundred lb in there. Then there is the kitchen cabinets. Maybe you could load some of the heavier things in those, and the lighter stuff in the rear storage.

Should be able to get a lot of stuff in the kitchen cabinets.

Just a thought
K_Charles
Explorer
May 13, 2014
If the fresh water is in front of the axles try filling that.
SDcampowneroper
Explorer
May 13, 2014
Keep the weight forward. Seems like the mfgr. set the axles too far forward for the design with tanks and storage behind them. After all, where does the weight go?
Enjoy your rig, all have some thing to teach us.
jmtandem
Explorer II
May 13, 2014
Look for 13 percent of the trailer's weight on the tongue. You might benefit from a premium hitch (ProPride, Hensley, PullRite).