How to avoid getting blown all over the road

[MyersAvionics]

Hello All,

Curious on how I can avoid wind blowing the camper and my truck all over the place to the point of it being really annoying to drive and causing me to not even want to use it.

I have RAM 1500 with the 5.7 V8. It doesn't work too hard to pull my 29' toy hauler (7k lbs empty and ~8.5k with stuff loaded) at 65mph down the road. The problem comes in that even with slight side wind gusts I'm blown all over the place and I have to slow down to about 50mph to keep it drivable.

I have a BlueOx hitch with sway controls as well as the trailer friction sway control.

I have LT tires and after getting the weight distribution down pat, I have also installed airbags in the springs to keep the truck level. This helped, but I am still getting blown around the road.

I'm to the point of looking at a larger 2500 diesel RAM, or a full on drivable RV toyhauler, or just an RV that I would put a standard trail behind.

Before I go to these (expensive) extremes. Does anyone on here have any advice on something I could be missing?

Thank you,

[memtb]

IMO .....the felt effects of a cross-wind are directly related to the square footage of the rv side wall area and the weight of the rv.

Again.....my opinion.......your unit is pretty light for it’s surface area. On a recent trip we had several hundred miles of high winds (Oklahoma well into Wyoming). We had no control issues, while others (semi’s and rv’s) appeared to be struggling. But, our 40’ 5th wheel weighs in at 20K. In a wind situation, heavy weight is your friend.....until the wind overcomes the rv weight! Then things get real ugly....real fast!

Many folks get uncomfortable movement with their towed unit when passing a tractor/trailer at highway speeds. We rarely feel the wind from a passing semi! Weight is your friend......until it’s not! 😉

You simply have to determine your comfort level with your particular unit. In some situations.....that may mean parking her nose into the wind (like a boat on the water) until the wind subsides! memtb

[noteven]

RV "bumper tow trailers" have their wheels in the pivot mount for a weather vane position, crossed with a teeter totter fulcrum.

Modern light duty trucks have fluffy suspensions.

I used a (bought used) ProPride hitch on a won ton single wheeler towing a heavy 32ft travel trailer (12500lbs). It stopped the wig wag from traffic bow waves and cross wind. It had certain other pains in the keester but it did not "sway". The rig went down the road like it was on rails.

[CarnationSailor]

BarneyS wrote:
Slow down to 60mph or less and put a Hensley hitch on the trailer.
Barney

X2 and verify proper setup of WDH.

[mkirsch]

Toy haulers tend to have EXCESSIVE tongue weight, because the rear is left open for the garage, and all the "house" part of the trailer is ahead of the axles.

The fact that he needs airbags after the WDH is supposedly correctly adjusted strongly hints at this.

[Devo_the_dog]

atreis wrote:
How heavy is the tongue? Tongue weight should be 11-15% of total trailer weight. If you don't have enough tongue weight when fully loaded, it'll be all over the road, and potentially very unsafe.

Being a toy hauler, too light of a tongue is also the most likely scenario.

This is what I'd guess is the problem. Tongue weight is too light.

One of my trailers is a 34 ft bumper pull and I always check it with a tongue weight scale.

[pitch]

What velocity winds are you talking? Even 80,000 lb semis get blown around by crosswinds. One trip westbound across Nebraska we saw two tractor trailers flipped by the wind and at one point I pulled over and stopped. If you are having trouble in 15 or 20 mph winds you have a problem, faster than that is normal.

[SDcampowneroper]

Air bags says it all to me, if you needed them to level the load,then your WDH is not set up right or your WD bars are not sized right. .
Measure unloaded front and rear bumper height adjust until near equal front to rear loaded truck and trailer , thats the Weight distibution job. Air bags tells me your WD bars are not set up right.
Done right your 1/2 ton can do the job fairly, LT tires and air bags ? might as well bought a 3/4 ton

[Trackrig]

Your truck may pull it, but in my opinion, you don't have enough truck as to weight and wheelbase length to control that long of a trailer. The tail is wagging the dog.

I pull a 26' trailer with a 3/4 ton crew cab truck and eight ft bed. I have no wind problems at all. The tires are load range E.

Bill

[1320Fastback]

I heard a rumor opening a window on each side of the trailer even just a little bit helps reduce the sway from cross winds or big rigs bow wave.

[BurbMan]

Our 34' TT was 6900 lbs empty and 8500 lbs loaded, and it wasn't even a toy hauler....I suspect you are much heavier than you think you are. You may just need to move the toy(s) forward some in the garage to add some tongue weight.

Sounds like you're headed down a path that many on this forum, including myself, have been down before. The coil springs in the 1500 trucks aren't able to resist lateral forces like the leaf springs in HD trucks. The fact that you added air bags in the coils to level the truck not only aggravates the problem, but is a red flag that the WD hitch is not as "dialed in" as you think it is. LT tires help some but there's only so much you can do there.

Load the trailer and get it weighed, see if you can adjust loaded to improve performance. At the end of the day, I think a 2500 is in your future. BTW, you don't need a diesel, the 6.4 hemi will handle that weight just fine.

[JRscooby]

The tongue weight will make trailer less stable. But it would be unstable in calm too. Fact is the large profile vehicle will be affected by wind. A lot of the solution must happen between the drivers ears.

[time2roll]

Does the front suspension rise or compress when you get all hooked up?

[atreis]

How heavy is the tongue? Tongue weight should be 11-15% of total trailer weight. If you don't have enough tongue weight when fully loaded, it'll be all over the road, and potentially very unsafe.

Being a toy hauler, too light of a tongue is also the most likely scenario.

[Lwiddis]

Responders can't say "slow down" too many times. Check the tongue weight.

[Sjm9911]

What year is the ram? And specs? The trailer is larger. What are you putting in the hauler section? As some said it might be taking weight off the toung.