Advice to reduce truck camper sway (2018 Ram 2500)
Hi all,
I have experience with fifth wheels and bumper-pull travel trailers, but am new to truck campers. Recently bought a very old Lance truck camper and I'm experiencing some extremely bad back-and-forth sway even when driving straight. It usually starts at about 45 mph, but gets significantly worse at ~60 mph. I've been told to expect some sway, but this does not feel safe at all.
My truck is a 2018 Ram 2500 (Cummins engine). It came with a factory rear sway bar, but I'm told that these aren't very good. It also has rear coil springs. I haven't had a chance to weigh the camper yet, but I believe I'm well within payload capacity.
I went with frame mounted torklift tie-downs and the torklift fast gun turnbuckles, so I think I'm good there. The truck bed has a very thin rubber mat (to avoid sliding) followed by half-inch plywood that completely covers the area of the bed where the camper sits (two 4' x 4' pieces of plywood). Also, the truck and camper seem to be swaying together, so I don't think the camper is moving, shifting, or sliding inside of the bed.
Do you think upgrading the sway bar to something better (Hellwig?) is the next best move? That's my current thought, but based on other research I've also seen advice to upgrade shocks/dampeners or maybe even consider an airbag suspension upgrade. I'd definitely like to try one thing at a time, but am looking for the biggest bang for my buck to reduce this ridiculous camper sway. Any suggestions?
I have experience with fifth wheels and bumper-pull travel trailers, but am new to truck campers. Recently bought a very old Lance truck camper and I'm experiencing some extremely bad back-and-forth sway even when driving straight. It usually starts at about 45 mph, but gets significantly worse at ~60 mph. I've been told to expect some sway, but this does not feel safe at all.
My truck is a 2018 Ram 2500 (Cummins engine). It came with a factory rear sway bar, but I'm told that these aren't very good. It also has rear coil springs. I haven't had a chance to weigh the camper yet, but I believe I'm well within payload capacity.
I went with frame mounted torklift tie-downs and the torklift fast gun turnbuckles, so I think I'm good there. The truck bed has a very thin rubber mat (to avoid sliding) followed by half-inch plywood that completely covers the area of the bed where the camper sits (two 4' x 4' pieces of plywood). Also, the truck and camper seem to be swaying together, so I don't think the camper is moving, shifting, or sliding inside of the bed.
Do you think upgrading the sway bar to something better (Hellwig?) is the next best move? That's my current thought, but based on other research I've also seen advice to upgrade shocks/dampeners or maybe even consider an airbag suspension upgrade. I'd definitely like to try one thing at a time, but am looking for the biggest bang for my buck to reduce this ridiculous camper sway. Any suggestions?
