Trailer Sway

That's a lot of trailer! We have a new 28RLS Jayco and while we don't have any sway problems at all, we do feel cross wind gusts and those pesky little box trucks that push and pull the front and rear of the trailer at the same time. This with our big ol' heavy F250. Once used to it, we just ride with it as long as it's not true sway, the rhythmic oscillation that can ruin your day. Air all tires to max psi trailer and truck.

The dry weight of the 2016 28BHBE is actually 6,450lbs. I had the 7,400lb figure in my head from another trailer I almost purchased, but decided against due to the weight. So...not as bad as it sounded at first. I keep the truck mostly empty, except for my wife and I (figured out the cargo vs. towing capacity thing early on). I used Toyota's specs that claim to utilize the SAE J2807 methodology for towing capabilities and used that as an upper-limit when compared to the GVWR of the trailer. Toyota claims a 10,000lb towing capacity and the GVWR of the trailer is 9,250 lbs. While I can see adding 1,000 lbs of gear, my wife and I travel fairly light and I couldn't see coming close to the 9,250, so I figured we'd be okay...at least with a decent hitch. I have used the Reese Strait Line before with excellent results on a smaller trailer and read a lot of positive reviews for this size. Having CW do the install and assuming they tuned it correctly is indeed probably my first mistake...agreed.

This weekend will be spent tuning the hitch myself, after heading to the local Flying J scales to get the true weight of the loaded rig (sans wife who has to work...she says I'm only allowed to add 100 lbs for her BTW... :) ).

Thanks again for all of the perspectives. It's good to get the hands-on, real-life experience from guys like you. I'm a mechanical engineer and I can tend to focus more on the published specs. Having come of age working in a power plant, I learned that book learning would only get you so far. The experience and time-tested knowledge of those who had come before me was always the true test. Much appreciated.

camp-n-family wrote:
I'm not sure where you're getting your numbers from and how you figure you are within the truck's capabilities but I think you need to get some real numbers.

The Tundra is a great truck, I really miss my '07 Crewmax, and it can pull 8k worth of trailer with ease, but in most cases not within its ratings once you load the family up. Like most 1/2 tons, it doesn't have the payload.

Jayco shows the tt in your sig with a UVW of 6500lbs. Where do you get 7400lbs dry weight from? Your tt should have a yellow sticker (usually on the screen door or in a cupboard) with its weight as it left the factory. What is that weight?

In either case, lets say it weighs 8k loaded. For best stability it should have at least 12 percent of that weight on the tongue (~1k). A Crewmax Tundra only has about 1200lbs of available payload (see door sticker) so after the tongue weight is subtracted, you don't have much left for passengers, including yourself. Seeing as you have a Crewmax and a bunkhouse tt I'm going to assume you have a family with you. See where I'm going with this? You may be well under the tow rating but you're definitely not within all ratings.

We were in a very similar scenario. The trailer in my sig is 34' and 7600lbs loaded. Towed it with our '07 crewmax and family of 4 plus large dog on board. We had upgraded tires and airbags as well. Truck towed the setup great (pulled better than my current Ram) but we were always 400lbs over payload. That won't kill it but more importantly be under the tire and axle ratings. We do also use a $3k Hensley hitch which won't allow sway.

In short, get your rig weighed and get your tongue weight. I think you'll be surprised. Then readjust your hitch.

This is all assuming it is actually sway you are experiencing and not just getting pushed around by the bow wave of passing trucks and crosswinds. Not much you can do about that but get a heavier truck. Even big rigs will feel that.

With the new SAE J2807 standard the Tundra Crewmax tow rating for 2012 dropped to 9k. IMHO the standard is still flawed as it really only measures power to pull. All the current half tons on the market have plenty of power to pull 10+k but few have the payload to carry the tongue weight it would have. Pretty much all the 1/2 ton trucks will far exceed several other ratings before coming anywhere near the magical tow rating.

From experience, you should be able to tow that tt with ease but proper balance and hitch setup is key.

OkieGreg wrote:
I'm pulling a 30-foot Jayco Jay Flight TT with a 2012 Toyota Crewmax. I'm using a Reese Strait-Line weight distribution hitch with trunnion bar sway control. Even with air bags on the TV, and the sway control hitch, I still get a bit of swaying as I get to highway speed (usually 60-65mph), most especially with a cross-wind. I've not experienced anything dramatic yet, thank goodness, but was wondering if the anti sway hitch ought to be preventing the swaying, or this just normal pulling such a long TT?

First thing you ought to do is go to a scale and do the correct 3-pass weighing procedure. Then you can figure out your truck's payload capacity, actual weight of the TT and the tongue weight and you'll also be able to calculate the actual wt. transferred back onto the steering axle. Do anything else is just guesswork.

Notwithstanding the truck's towing and payload capacity relative to the actual TW & GVW, there's a lot of different things that go into minimizing sway. Don't want to repeat what's been said already, but things that come to mind are:
- never let a dealer install and set up a WDH, esp. a Reese DC.
- run max. sidewall psi on TT tires.
- experiment with higher psi in TV's tires. I run 75F & 80R to get it to handle so that it feels good.
- TT should be level to slightly nose down at the tongue.
- A WDH can be adjusted by before and after front fender heights. Going to a scale is more accurate tho.
- angle of the spring bars is important on the Reese DC and may require adjustment of the hitch head. You want 5-6 links engaged.
- spring bar rating is important and should be matched to the actual TW.
- it is VERY important to have the cams centered exactly in the spring bar notches. This can even change if you load the TV and front of a TT heavier than normal. If they're not centered, the handling can feel somewhat squirrely.
- if there is play between the hitch head and shank, Reese has shims to remove the play.
- you want a min. of 10 percent TW. 12 to 13 percent is average and even another percent or two higher is okay. We're at about 14.5 percent.

Also, ensure nothing in the front end of the truck is worn and that the shocks are working properly. Installing some HD shocks like Bilstein can help a lot.

We tow a 29' TT weight about 7K lbs and have a Reese DC WDH and have no sway problems, but I have done just about everything possible that can be done, including adding shocks to the TT. It can take quite a while to get the WDH and everything else set up correctly. It took me pretty much a full season to play around with the variables to get it optimized. However, we tow with a 3/4 ton and are well under the payload and towing capacities. If it were me, I'd want a bigger TV with that length and weight of TT.

1) Tongue weight
2) Tongue weight....a trailer has zero idea what it is being towed by. It only knows it's connected by a ball. A proper setup won't have sway. If soft tires start sway, the trailer shouldn't continue it.
3) loading. 1000 lbs over the trailer axles is not the same as 500 lbs 10 ft fwd and 500lbs 10 ft back, even though the CG and tongue weight would be the same. Inertia, pendulum motion, etc. Center your load over the axles.
4) More tension on the WD bars creates more friction which dampens sway, but again it shouldn't sway if properly loaded.

That's plenty of truck for that trailer if it's only you and your wife. And J2807 is NOT only pulling power as someone said, it is quite a bit more.

Let me renumber:

1) loading
2) loading
3) loading
4) everything else (tires, hitch, tongue height, etc)

I tow a small 20' Hideout with a 1/2 ton F150, 5.0 litre, tow package and I get trailer wag when windy or trucks pass fast. It's annoying but its not real sway. I usually drive 60 mph. I hate towing because of this but its not all the time, conditiions change , even different roads make a difference in towing a trailer. My trailer weighs 4200lbs. empty. A guy once told me, ' you're pulling a billboard, expect it ( wag, slight sway)'