Real towing advise please

Scubydg wrote:
So we had the trailer loaded the same way for both the tacoma and the tundra. And there was considerable difference in sway..Could I have too much weight loaded forward and that cause sway?

Sway is caused by a lack of tongue weight, not to much. If your tow vehicle is overloaded on the back axle it will cause your steering to become to light, but not cause trailer sway. I pull a 450lb utility trailer thats all over the road if I don't add tongue weight. My TT is 7,800lbs loaded and tows fine behind my Tundra. I did switch switch out the P rated tires with E rated LT tires though.

GrandpaKip wrote:
Payload is more important than tow weight.
Tongue weight+WD+stuff in bed+passengers+stuff in cab=?
Subtract that from payload sticker on your truck to see where you are at.
If you don’t know the actual, real world tongue weight, then take 13-15% of the trailer’s gross as the tongue weight.
A properly set up rig shouldn’t have any sway issues and certainly should not be scary.

^^This

What is your payload on your truck? And don't try to guess what your trailer weight will be by starting with dry weight.

Stick to about 6k dry, get a good WDH with integrated sway control, and enjoy the journey as we ll as the destination.

Scubydg wrote:
So we had the trailer loaded the same way for both the tacoma and the tundra. And there was considerable difference in sway..Could I have too much weight loaded forward and that cause sway?

Without actual weight numbers, no one can tell you much of anything practical for your rig. Everybody can guess to their heart’s content and it won’t mean much.
A good start is to load up and go to a CAT scale.

Payload is more important than tow weight.
Tongue weight+WD+stuff in bed+passengers+stuff in cab=?
Subtract that from payload sticker on your truck to see where you are at.
If you don’t know the actual, real world tongue weight, then take 13-15% of the trailer’s gross as the tongue weight.
A properly set up rig shouldn’t have any sway issues and certainly should not be scary.

So we had the trailer loaded the same way for both the tacoma and the tundra. And there was considerable difference in sway..Could I have too much weight loaded forward and that cause sway?

Sway is a function of not having your trailer loaded correctly. While a tow vehicle with a longer wheelbase, stiffer suspension, and stiffer tires does make a difference, a trailer that is loaded correctly will not sway.

Now if you have a tow vehicle that lacks the payload to properly load the trailer, then you're going to be on the edge of stability the whole time. That's why those of us who have been doing this a while insist on a heavy duty pickup and a lot of tongue weight (plus excess for your extra gear and so that if you have any extra weight, you can focus it on the tongue).

While in theory, a good 1/2 ton truck will probably pull 8k pounds okay on an occasional basis, if I knew I was going to buy a travel trailer that heavy, I would buy a 3/4 ton truck. And while the manufacturer of the Tundra might tell you it can pull 10,000 pounds, I think that would be cheating death the whole time, especially because with the limited payload, you're going to have to keep the tongue lighter than you otherwise would.

Weight distribution has nothing to do with sway. Sway control is a band-aid for a trailer that is on the edge of stability. With the right tow vehicle, you will be able to load your tongue heavy and your trailer will never misbehave again.

Or you can go to the ultimate tongue weight increaser.....the 5th wheel.

Yeah as wanderingaimlessly stated tongue weight must be between 10 and 15% the closer to 15 the better. A good weight distribution hitch will work BUT it must also be dialed in correctly or towing will be a disaster. The longer the trailer is the more you will feel sway also. Alot of times people think the trailer is swaying but really all it is doing is being pushed by winds and technically not swaying.

tongue weight is fine and yes I do have sway control from previous camper. Actually I see us jumping up in weight by aobut 1200lbs. also, the newer camper will be 1ft taller...

Three main questions
What if any sway control WDH are you/will you be using?
Have you verified that you have tongue weight at 12% to 15%?
How much more trailer are you expecting by only increasing about 700 lbs?