Sway Fatigue
I am wondering if there are parts of the tow vehicle/trailer that will suffer fatigue over a long haul trip resulting in increased trailer sway while you travel. And what can be done to reduce those p...
Forum Discussion
Do scale weights with truck and trailer loaded for camping. Without actual weights, you (and we) are only guessing.
There are several things that can cause or contribute to trailer sway. Your problem could be any one, or a combination of them. Some, you can do nothing about, some you have already ruled out. Most common causes:
1. Trailer is too lite on the tongue
Tongue weight should be 10 - 15% of loaded trailer weight. Average is 12 - 13%.
2. Hitch not set up correctly
If hitch is not restoring enough weight to front axles of the truck, subconscious movement on steering wheel, oversteering, cross winds, or subtle changes in road surface, can cause sway. If hitch ball is set too high, trailer tows nose up and you have similar situation to lite tongue weight. In original post, OP stated 1000 lb bars on his WD hitch. If OP's estimate (8500 lb) for loaded trailer weight is correct, and, if he has an average tongue weight (12 - 13% = 1020 - 1105 lb), his bars could be undersized.
3. Unbalanced loading
4. Overloading or soft suspension
If you are close or over your payload, you could have tire sidewall flex or body roll on tow vehicle. Compare loaded weights to payload / GVWR of tow vehicle. With a long trailer hitched to a short / lite truck, you don't need much crosswind to affect stability.
5. Unbalanced or low tire pressure (either truck or trailer)
6. Insufficient sway control
7. Cross winds.
8. Bad roads.
9. Trailer axles out of alignment.
10. Bad trailer tires.
11. Bow wave from passing vehicles.
There are several things that can cause or contribute to trailer sway. Your problem could be any one, or a combination of them. Some, you can do nothing about, some you have already ruled out. Most common causes:
1. Trailer is too lite on the tongue
Tongue weight should be 10 - 15% of loaded trailer weight. Average is 12 - 13%.
2. Hitch not set up correctly
If hitch is not restoring enough weight to front axles of the truck, subconscious movement on steering wheel, oversteering, cross winds, or subtle changes in road surface, can cause sway. If hitch ball is set too high, trailer tows nose up and you have similar situation to lite tongue weight. In original post, OP stated 1000 lb bars on his WD hitch. If OP's estimate (8500 lb) for loaded trailer weight is correct, and, if he has an average tongue weight (12 - 13% = 1020 - 1105 lb), his bars could be undersized.
3. Unbalanced loading
4. Overloading or soft suspension
If you are close or over your payload, you could have tire sidewall flex or body roll on tow vehicle. Compare loaded weights to payload / GVWR of tow vehicle. With a long trailer hitched to a short / lite truck, you don't need much crosswind to affect stability.
5. Unbalanced or low tire pressure (either truck or trailer)
6. Insufficient sway control
7. Cross winds.
8. Bad roads.
9. Trailer axles out of alignment.
10. Bad trailer tires.
11. Bow wave from passing vehicles.
