Flagstaff design harder to tow?
We have a 2013 Flagstaff that we purchased brand new to replace our 2009 Passport 290BH. When we bought the camper I had a Dodge Ram half ton thinking that I’d be able to tow the new trailer with but ...
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First, specs say a Flagstaff 831BHDS is 34' with 8700 lb GVWR. I would expect TW to be up to around 1200-1300 lbs, or maybe even higher when fully loaded. Only way to know for sure is you've simply gotta go to a scale or buy a tongue wt. scale. There can be lots of places to find a scale (to drive through). That is starting to be a long-ish TT and be harder to tame from the start.
We have a Reese DC WDH. We have zero sway, all the time. It is imperative to have the cams centered exactly in the "crooks" in the bar ends. It could be that you might benefit with the next rating of spring bars but I believe this means you have to upgrade the hitch head as well. When TWs get up to around 1200 lbs, keep an eye on the forming bolts that attach the cam arm and snap-up brackets as they can loosen up. There are a few ways to address this if it happens. It happened on our setup with a TW of only 900+ lbs. You may need to install Reese's heavy duty snap-up brackets for that high a TW.
What tires are on the TT? Load range E might be a good idea and keep them inflated to 80 psi. Or check out specs on GY Endurance at LRD. Going one load range up will get you wider tires and that alone can help.
What pressure on the truck? You might find higher psi works better. I run 75 front and 80 rear on our LRE tires for towing and it runs better that way.
Is the TT level to slightly nose down when fully loaded up for camping? I found that being slightly nose down made a noticeable improvement. Had to get a ball with a 1" rise to make it work (along with lowering the hitch head on shank).
Are the bars set up at the correct angle and with the correct number of chain links engaged? Is there any play in the hitch shank to receiver? Reese has shims for that. May not help much but every little bit helps.
We installed shocks on our TT and it made a huge improvement. Not only in sway, but also on twisty mountain roads at speed. It's not a cheap upgrade and I wouldn't spend the $$ until you've looked at everything else. We installed Bilsteins on our F250 and they also helped a lot.
Unlikely, but in some cases it can help to install a better/stonger receiver when you have above average TWs. What rating are the axles on the TT? I would also check the location of the axles on the frame. The truck is fairly new but is there any chance something in the front end is worn? I had to rebuild the front end in our F250 when we bought it at 3 years old as a lease return.
Reducing sway to a minimum involves looking at a number of different factors and no single adjustment or change is going to be the magic bullet. Yes, a 1 ton TV should tow that TT with ease but you still need to look at all the variables that can affect sway.
We have a Reese DC WDH. We have zero sway, all the time. It is imperative to have the cams centered exactly in the "crooks" in the bar ends. It could be that you might benefit with the next rating of spring bars but I believe this means you have to upgrade the hitch head as well. When TWs get up to around 1200 lbs, keep an eye on the forming bolts that attach the cam arm and snap-up brackets as they can loosen up. There are a few ways to address this if it happens. It happened on our setup with a TW of only 900+ lbs. You may need to install Reese's heavy duty snap-up brackets for that high a TW.
What tires are on the TT? Load range E might be a good idea and keep them inflated to 80 psi. Or check out specs on GY Endurance at LRD. Going one load range up will get you wider tires and that alone can help.
What pressure on the truck? You might find higher psi works better. I run 75 front and 80 rear on our LRE tires for towing and it runs better that way.
Is the TT level to slightly nose down when fully loaded up for camping? I found that being slightly nose down made a noticeable improvement. Had to get a ball with a 1" rise to make it work (along with lowering the hitch head on shank).
Are the bars set up at the correct angle and with the correct number of chain links engaged? Is there any play in the hitch shank to receiver? Reese has shims for that. May not help much but every little bit helps.
We installed shocks on our TT and it made a huge improvement. Not only in sway, but also on twisty mountain roads at speed. It's not a cheap upgrade and I wouldn't spend the $$ until you've looked at everything else. We installed Bilsteins on our F250 and they also helped a lot.
Unlikely, but in some cases it can help to install a better/stonger receiver when you have above average TWs. What rating are the axles on the TT? I would also check the location of the axles on the frame. The truck is fairly new but is there any chance something in the front end is worn? I had to rebuild the front end in our F250 when we bought it at 3 years old as a lease return.
Reducing sway to a minimum involves looking at a number of different factors and no single adjustment or change is going to be the magic bullet. Yes, a 1 ton TV should tow that TT with ease but you still need to look at all the variables that can affect sway.
