Waggle not sway....

drsteve wrote:
As others have said, go lower on the hitch and heavier on the tongue.

This! Better to be a tad low up front than high. I told my DW she can load anything she can carry into the trailer as long as it's in front of the axles. I learned the hard way many years ago about tongue weight with my dad's boat. We got the bright idea to move the boat back on the trailer to lighten tongue weight. Those britches never did dry.
On the other hand, feeling a little push from passing trucks or gusty side winds is normal. Once I got used to it, it doesn't bother me anymore. The worst are the box trucks that push and pull at the same time as they pass.

A slight adjustment from nose-high to nose-down will not increase tongue weight any real amount.
Try putting your trailer tongue jack on a scale and see for yourself.
What it will do if you level it is load the two rear axles evenly. That will help it tow straight.

Once you get the set up right (which is your first order of business), you can still experience the cross wind and large truck pull. We use just a low-end round bar WD hitch and friction sway bar. We towed with it for 3-4 years.
Finally, I decided it wouldn't cost a lot to add a second sway bar.
I hardly ever feel trucks passing me any more.
Well worth the few dollars.

Like2build is right. After 800+ miles so far on our Christmas trip with very heavy traffic passing us almost non stop, I'm ready to give in and install the dual cam arms. The wiggle is normal but nonstop, it gets tiring to be constantly making minor steering corrections with crosswinds and trains of passing trucks. Gotta love I-75.

Hey, Hannibal
What type of hitch are you currently using? Your profile says Reese HP Trunion, what is that?

LIKE2BUILD wrote:

Bayoubass wrote:
I pull my Keystone Hideout 19FLB, 4200lbs dry with a 2014 F-150 , 5.0 litre, tow package. Most of the time it tows nice and straight...a fair cross wind...a semi to blow by and I get enough waggle to bother me some.....I am just a tad high on the hitch but I'm on the bottom of my EZ lift W.D. hitch shank.

Getting the trailer parallel to the ground while towing is mission #1. Definitely get a longer shank so the trailer sets properly.

More tongue weight? That can help too and as others stated is free to try.

If you still get a wiggle after that, you might adding sway control. I'm not a fan of the add-on friction bars. On my old TT I used an Eaz-Lift hitch head with a Reese Dual Cam system. My trailer was almost 35' ball to bumper and would catch some pretty good cross winds. With the dual cam system I would get pushed, but the truck and trailer moved as one unit. In 10 years of towing I don't recall a point where I felt sway or wiggle.

Do your WD bars have a bend (cam receiver) molded in the end of them or are they straight? If your bars are straight, Reese used to sell Dual Cam Model 26001 which came with adapters to convert straight bars too have a cam receiver. That is no longer for sale new, but you could possibly find a used set. If you can't locate and old model then you can purchase new WD bars with the cam receiver. That's what I did with my Eaz-Lift hitch and found that DrawTite round bars fit just fine.

If your bars already have a bend in the end you only need to purchase and install Reese Model 26002 Dual Cam System.

KJ

X-2

I use the 'Dual Cam Model 26001' and a longer shank pulling a 32' TT and eliminated 98% of unexpected movement. There is always going to be that one unexpected vehicle, stray wind gust or road condition that gets your attention. I prefer the TT to be level or slightly nose down, never up.
The instructions that are included with the Reese Dual Cam 26001 are spot on. I have used this system for years on many types of vehicles with good success.

Bayoubass wrote:
I have Michelim LTX A/S tires on my 150.

Tires can make or break a tow rig. Are these P or LT tires?

And what tire pressure are you running front and rear in the truck?

A tire pressure experiment is in order. Michelin ranks up there with about the softest sidewalls of any tire brand. In P or LT tires. That is part of how they ride so well none towing, but for towing a camper, that softness is a negative.

Suggest this. Look at the tire sidewall max cold air pressure. That is the max you can air up. On the front, you want the highest air pressure up to max cold side wall, it can take until you get a hard bounce that seems to shift the truck left to right. If you do not get this bounce, then great. If you reach that bounce limit, then air down 5 psi and try again. On the rear, go to the max to start with.

I had a set of the older LTX M & S LT E load range that changed a very stable 3/4 ton truck and turned it into a waggler.... I wore out the OEM tires and had to change tires. So I went the premium route with the LTX. Bad move... On the LTX, I found that there was a global shift in stability when going from 50 psi on the front (door sticker) to 60 psi. Then kept up'ing the pressure 65, then 70psi. at 70, the front of the K2500 Suburban would literally bounce left or right going over a hard bump. I found the high end edge of that tire and the weights of the truck to the pressure I could run. Back it down to 65psi and that was all I could do short of changing tires again. The back was already at 80psi also door sticker.

I'm assuming you have P tires, and they are even softer than LT. Even if you go to LT, you have to run the LTX at higher pressure to get the stiffness.

You can air down the tires down to normal door sticker when not towing. Yes I know, a pain to air up and down, but it beats the waggle.

If you want to "feel" the difference, go to the back of the truck, lean into the truck bed and get the truck rocking with side wiggle. Look at the side walls and rim on the front and rear tire. The tire is planted to the ground but the side wall is flexing and the truck a wagggl'ing. After you air up, try the wiggle test again. You can feel the difference.

Good luck and hop this helps.

John

PS. For sure know your TT tongue weight and get it up in the 13 % of loaded GVW of the TT. You need to do this regardless or any other fix. And level out the camper. That nose high on some rigs will create instability.

I had the same experience going from worn Firestone Transforce AS to new Firestone Transforce AS. Aired to 80psi rear, 65psi front but the new deep tread causes a lot of tread squirm in the valleys on the interstates from heavy truck traffic. Side winds push us around now with the trailer where we had no trouble before. Hoping the dual cam arms will help until the new tires settle in.
I once put a set of MS tires on a pickup years ago and tread squirm was so bad I couldn't drive it on worn interstates.

If you are running a single sway bar you could also add a second for cheap... if p rated tires, air up to the max sidewall pressure... adjust the hitch with a longer shank...

I have Dual Cam sitting in my bucket-o-parts in my shop... made no noticeable difference vs my standard wd hitch properly set up with dual friction sway bars...literally no difference in feel...both were rock solid stable...

If you go with Dual Cam please ensure your install is 'spot on' this set up can grenade parts if you don't do it right. I'm not knocking it as I will probably use it on my next trailer...why? Because if a sway force is applied to the trailer in excess of the friction bars tension the trailer will still sway... the Dual Cam will break before it lets the trailer sway...it's a much more robust system.

Thanks!

Jeremiah