My dad thought he was a goner

[Kennedy64]

My 72 YO dad, retired trucker, not afraid to tow anything, has a early to mid 2000 Cedar Creek, 26-28 ft long. When he bought it, he also got the "chain" type WDH. He has always hated it, doesn't eliminate a lot of sway. After talking to several salesmen (thinking of buying a smaller TT), the neighbor and myself (from reading this forum), he decided to buy a WDH similar to the Equa-l-izer hitch.
Him and the neighbor who also is a retired trucker and now professionally hauls trailers all over the US and Canada, hooked up the hitch and off dad went for a test drive. Not knowing, I called him a couple of miles from home and immediately got a ear full. At first I thought he was calling my mom a B*&^% because it sounds a lot like hitch when he was yelling, thought the old man finally lost his marbles!! He said "I thought I was going to die, that trailer had so much sway on the expressway, I thought for sure I was going to end up in the ditch with the truck and trailer on the roof" Good Lord, my dad never gets scared driving.
After he got home, him and the neighbor made adjustments 3x's with a ride after each. Dad said the sway was slightly better but he would never attempt the e-way again. In fact, he is thinking of selling the whole thing and being done with it. Which can't happen cuz I am looking forward to camping with them this summer. We brainstormed, tires at max PSI, Yes, TT tires at max PSI, Yes. WDH hooked up correctly, Yes. My husband asked about the tongue height but I haven't heard back. I think maybe broken belt in the TT tires, neighbor thinks rear tires on his TV. It was also windy here yesterday. Dad thinks his TV is to small. I told him to take it to his local RV dealer today for an inspection.
Dad's TV is a '12 Chevy Silverado, 1/2 ton, 2WD, bought all set up for towing.
Do any of you have any suggestions for me to throw out to him? Don't want the old coot to stop just yet!!!

[mowermech]

A properly built, properly loaded trailer should not sway, even without any kind of anti-sway hitch.
If it does, find out what is wrong, and fix it!
If there is not enough tongue weight, the trailer will sway. Fix it!
If the trailer is nose high on the hitch, it may sway. Fix it!
If, as stated, the tires are properly inflated (that does NOT mean they are inflated to the maximum air pressure, unless they are also carrying the maximum load), then the problem is very likely too light on the tongue, or too high in the front.
A last resort type thing would be to trade the tongue type trailer for a fifth wheel, then sway will never be a problem.
Good luck in finding out what is wrong, and fixing it. IMO, an anti-sway hitch is a band-aid, trying to cover up a problem that needs to be fixed.

[mich800]

Either the hitch is not installed correctly or there is something wrong with the TT or perhaps the tow vehicle is inadequate if the trailer is heavier than thought. Remember an anti sway hitch is insurance against sway if/when it happens not to make an ill handling trailer better.

There are many on here very knowledgeable on this subject. But they will most likely need the exact truck configuration, hitch make and model, and hopefully some weights on the TT to help you out.

Would it be possible to have someone experienced towing travel trailers tow it with their vehicle to confirm if it is something with the trailer?

[Kennedy64]

gemsworld wrote:
"...he decided to buy a WDH similar to the Equa-l-izer hitch.

What exactly did he buy?

Not sure. I know he bought it from PPL RV Parts. I asked him last night which brand it was, but he couldn't remember. I'll check in with mom today, she has the paperwork on it.

[DavidP]

Could be too many things to list but I would look first at trailer suspension as well as not enough tongue weight. A trailer should not sway even if there is NO WDH installed. A properly installed WDH with sway control helps prevent sway from occurring and control it if it does. Adjusting the WDH to deal with sway is just masking a problem. I would look at those two things and go from there.

[Terryallan]

I'm betting the hitch is not setup correctly. How high is the front bumper? Is it noticeably higher hooked than unhooked? Could be the problem.

[Community Alumni]

"...he decided to buy a WDH similar to the Equa-l-izer hitch.

What exactly did he buy?

[ScottG]

Make sure the trailer sits close to level or slightly nose-down. If it's very much nose-up it will sway and there's not much a WDH can do about it.