trailer sway

I went from a F-150 to a F-250 and the little bit of sway disappeared. I went from a Silverado 1500 with WD hitch and sway control to a 2500HD without either and every trace of sway was gone. Hauled a 900 pound backhoe bucket in my El Camino and couldn't keep it on the road. It's all about choices.

mmbrevo wrote:
Hi all!
I am planning on buying an RV to go on the road as a travelling temp worker.
I am a bit apprehensive about towing an RV, don't know muck about trucks/hitches, but I'm trying to learn.
A 5th wheel seems like the best option for me, but I haven't ruled out a travel trailer as it would allow me to buy a more more practical truck.
So, my question is about trailer sway. Can this be mostly eliminated by using a sway control hitch?

I prefer fifth wheels. They just tow super nice and you can shorten up the total length cause the trailer overlaps some of the truck. The higher ceilings are nice too cause they make the interior feel more airy. The main advantage to a travel trailer is you leave the bed free for stuff but you still have some bed space with a fiver plus you generally get more storage in the trailer.

To me a fifth wheel is the better option overall but obviously that's just my opinion.

TomG2 wrote:
An adequate tow vehicle is an adequate tow vehicle, regardless of the hitch type. Heavy duty models make towing great. Some, like the GM HD models, don't even require a Weight distributing hitch. Don't be fooled into thinking that just because it is a "bumper pull" that any and all tow vehicles will be sufficient.

I drove a GMC with an enclosed car hauler for GM. Always used a WDH.

You can use a WDH without sway control, and vise versa.

GMC owners manual states to consult the trailer manufacturers recommendation.

I have not used any sway control in 30 years and only then because the TT came with it. If you have enough tongue weight sway will not be a problem unless you try to pull a long trailer with a short tow vehicle... then passing trucks will move you all over the road. Buy more tow vehicle than you think you need as trailers have a way of growing over time.

TomG2 wrote:
If you need an expensive hitch to control sway, you have bigger problems than what hitch to purchase. A good combination does not sway.

Very true! We recently ordered a 2017 Jayco 28RLS TT to replace our 5th wheel. I'm not anticipating any sway other than a little push as trucks pass us by or gusty wind.

Do not go by the manufactures tow rating when looking at a 1500/150 series truck!!! They are a marketing number only.....

Look in the drivers door jamb of all vehicles built since '06 (think it is). It states, "All passengers and cargo not to exceed XXXXlbs". As it states, all the passengers in the tv, all cargo (coolers, firewood,bikes,etc), any accessories added after the truck was built (truck topper/tonneau cover, step bars, etc), the wdh (weight distribution hitch), and the tt tw (travel trailer tongue weight).

As an example: our last tt weighed ~7200lbs loaded, ready to go with ~920lbs tw. Our last truck, with the family (~475lbs total or so), about 200lbs in the bed: cooler/4 bikes/tool box/leveling boards, bed liner, cab high truck topper, the wdh, and the 920lb tw, we were over gvwr by about 200lbs. Combined was just under 14klbs. The gcvwr was about 16klbs I think for our '10 Chevy ccsb 1500 5.3/6spd/3.42 4x4. As a result, we bought a 2500HD, then 2yrs later ended up buying a new trailer, that was bigger.... Lol

Thanks for the advice, you guys are awesome!
So is there more to selecting a tow vehicle than just finding one that has an adequate tow rating for your RV?

MudChucker wrote:
So much can be done to mitigate sway you don't need to give it another thought.
Trailer loading, tire type and pressure, weight distribution, driving style, will all play into sway. Adding sway control shouldnt be thought of as a solution to avoid the afformentioned points but rather a safety device like a fall arrest harness, you hope you never have to rely on it... Until the day a deer walks out on the highway, if you didn't invest in sway control you'll wish you had a straight line or Hensley setup.

If you understand how to panic stop a trailer properly there is no need to have any additional equipment that just leads you to a false sense of security.

Learn to drive the trailer. That is the answer. No additional gizmo is going to save you if you don't know how to properly stop your trailer.

If you need an expensive hitch to control sway, you have bigger problems than what hitch to purchase. A good combination does not sway.

So, my question is about trailer sway. Can this be mostly eliminated by using a sway control hitch?

Yes! Don't skimp on the hitch. Get a Hensley, ProPride or PullRite hitch. Hensley often sells refurbished hitches for far less than new or you can often find one of these pre-owned hitches for sale at a good price.