White knuckles for 600 miles!
First long tow with new camper and it was horrible. I cannot seem to get this combo anywhere close to what my Surburban and other camper felt like. I'm getting pushed by everything from big rigs to s...
Forum Discussion
CampingN.C. wrote:
Yellow sticker on the side says 8100lbs with full propane
and options. I'm running 1200lb bars so I know I could
be transferring a lot more weight.
It's not sway, it's severe effects from passing trucks. I can
jerk the wheel and the trailer will straighten out as it should,
tracks fine in curves. Truck has 80k on it, no idea what the
castor is lol, but it just had an alignment by a pro. Trailer
tires are at max 65psi. Trucks are 80 rear 55 front.
Having been through a bout of what you are describing, my 2003 2500 Suburban and my prior TT 26 footer with 17% loaded tongue weight, I'll ask this.
What brand size tries do you have? That 55psi front can be a big factor pending the brand
This much I can tell you, the DC nor the Equal-I-zer will not compensate for a soft side wall tire. Even in E load range LT's. Been there, proven that.
All tires are not created equal and there is no side wall stiffness rating on them to know. I was running LT 245/75R16's which I believe are the same size as your OEM tires where. The truck came with Firestone Steel Tex M&S and the rig was rock solid. I changed to Michelin LTX and the truck was all over running the fronts at 50psi which is door sticker and the same I ran the Steel Tex at.
Finally figured it out and at 60psi there was a global shift in side stability and the truck came back in line. I ended up running 65psi in the front as 70psi would make the front end bounce so hard it could shift the truck.
Here is the post Stability Effect When Changing Tires - GM 3/4 Ton Suburban
I 110% agree, get your loaded TW up in the 13 to 15% range. Only way to know this is take it to the scales. Get the hitch setup correct and get the tires pressure to behave. It is a pressure experiment.
Tire side wall stiffness can make or break the stability of the rig. If the front of the truck is too flexible, when the wind gust hits the camper, the front tires flex too much trying to resist the wind force. This give you a feeling in the truck the back of the truck just shifted and forces you into steering corrections. Even my wife got all upset, "what was that!!"
Hope this helps and good luck.
John
PS The alignment specs for that truck are on page 5 of that post.
