Forum Discussion

TWolf's avatar
TWolf
Explorer
Jun 10, 2013

Trailer wagging

I have a 2013 Rockwood TT lite. It is 26 foot long. I traded my 04 Nash on it. I never had any problems towing the Nash which dry weight was 8300 lbs. The Rockwood which its dry weight is 5717 and wet is around 7600 lbs, I have trouble towing. When I get up to around 55 mph the trailer starts to wag like a dog's tail. It got so bad once that the traffic coming up behind me had to almost go off the road to prevent from getting hit. This happens even when I am not loaded but gets worse when loaded.

Does anyone have any idea what may be causing this to happen? I don't like towing it. I am taking it back to the Dealer in Spokane in 2 weeks to see if they can figure it out.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Tom Wolf
  • Gdetrailer's avatar
    Gdetrailer
    Explorer III
    Jun 10, 2013
    trickyvic3 wrote:
    You just need to use a stabilizer bar on it. I had the same problem with our new 17ft TT. I bought the stabilizer from our dealer and it totally cured the problem.

    Vic


    :M

    This is very poor advice.

    You can not "bandaid" this via WD or sway bars.

    A properly loaded trailer DOES NOT sway.

    If you rely on WD bandaid to fix this what happens when you need to make an emergency maneuver? You "fix" will ultimately not be able to cover up the problem.

    First you need to WEIGH the trailer, get tongue weight along with the weight on the axles. The tongue weight MUST be at least 10% of the axle weight. Ideally it should be 13%-15% for a stabil tow.

    To me it sounds like too little tongue weight but that is only a guess. Some trailers may be light on the tongue and when loading you must make sure you add more weight in front of the axles.
  • Mvander's avatar
    Mvander
    Explorer
    Jun 10, 2013
    Did you set your hitch up again for the new trailer. If not i would start there.
  • trickyvic3's avatar
    trickyvic3
    Explorer
    Jun 10, 2013
    You just need to use a stabilizer bar on it. I had the same problem with our new 17ft TT. I bought the stabilizer from our dealer and it totally cured the problem.

    Vic
  • DiskDoctr's avatar
    DiskDoctr
    Explorer
    Jun 10, 2013
    I'm headed out the door, so here's the short version ;)

    1. Make sure your trailer tongue is level or slightly tilted downwards.
    2. More tongue weight can help, but is tough in a camper.
    3. Get a WDH and a sway control bar. It will tow much better and control the swaying.
    4. Make sure you are using a proportional brake controller. Hitting the manual brake lever when it wags will help straighten out the wag.
    5. Be sure your tires are in good shape and inflated to MAX on the sidewall.


    Hope this helps.

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