Wagging the tail

p220sigman wrote:
It is hard to tell from your picture, but it also looks like your tongue is high so the Pup angles up to the TV. You may also need to look at a drawbar with a drop to it so that the Pup is level or slightly lower at the tongue.

Good eye! The current signature pic is with the hitch my FIL gave me - it's when I picked the camper up to bring to my house (about 10 miles).

I've since bought a drop hitch that has the nose just below level. It looks perfect now.

RinconVTR wrote:
#1 ***Get the camper weighed on a scale!
#2. THEN verify #270lbs on the tongue is 10% or more of that scale weight.

- You may very well need a little more weight on the tongue, but dont go crazy.
- Trailer nose angle can greatly help reduce sway and trailer control on single axle trailer. (should be level or slightly nose down)
- What PSI are you running in your trailer tires? If not max cold, try it.
- Is this an older camper? Have you had a shop look at tire/axle alignment?

I do intend to weigh the camper the next time I get it out. There's a Pilot just down the road with scales. This is the biggest piece of missing information.

I run the tires at 65 PSI cold, which is max. They were brand new before our trip. I also checked them before each major leg of driving.

The camper is a 2008 and has only been on one major trip (in-laws took it to Niagara Falls).

popupcamping wrote:
All you are seeing is the trailer naturally trying to get back on track, No biggie.

This is exactly what it is happening. As I said, in 1,800 miles, it only happened a handful of times after a quick steering maneuver e.g. to avoid tire debris in the road, for no more than 5 seconds each time. I also didn't mean to portray the hopping as extreme. . . it's inches, not feet. It was not felt in the van, but I saw it. Otherwise, the camper tracks very well behind the van. The camper did not move due to extreme West Texas winds or when being passed by big rigs, either.

The feedback has been thought provoking. I'm not new to RVing by any means. . . this is our 3rd trailer as a family (we also both grew up towing) and the first time I remember seeing this with any of our rigs.

Old rigs:
2000 Coleman popup towed by 2003 Chevy Silverado 1500 ext cab short bed 5.3 liter

2005 Fleetwood 180CK towed by same truck above and then 2005 Chevy Silverado 2500HD 4x4 6.0 liter 4 speed Crew Cab Short Bed

My default is always safety: I pour over ratings, setup, configuration, etc. As you can see from the previous rigs, I've always had significantly more TV than any of my campers required.

I'm still open to hear any other anecdotes from other popup owners who have seen this. I'll post again if we end up talking to the experts, adding the sway, or when I get the exact weight.

Thanks again!