Hello! Brand new posting, but have read the forum for a long time.Brief intro.. We have camped for many years, our first camper was a 17 foot Palomino Stampede Hybrid. We towed it with a Nissan Pathfinder, and more recently a Honda Pilot. Both towed it fine, no issues whatsoever. We recently bought a 16 foot Scamp Deluxe. When my husband towed it back empty from the factory here in MN, he had some sway issues at highway speeds, 55-60. Since then, there have been more sway issues locally, so we don't want to take it out until we get the problem solved. We did take it to the cat scale, it weighs 2280 pounds, with not much in it. I now know we need to get the tongue weight to see if it is too light. The tongue has just the battery and one full propane tank, not yet used.Ok, my questions, I didn't want to get too long-- Where to go from here? Get the tongue weight. If the tongue weight is too light how do we increase it? We're really light weekend campers, and besides clothes and food, it wouldn't be much. I get that the cooler would be heavy, but it would be empty coming home so that would be a problem? And in my starting research, just getting a weight distribution hitch or anti sway bars without finding out the reason behind the sway sometimes isn't the best solution? Could there be something wrong with the Scamp? How would I find that out? Anyway thanks for reading, hope I covered everything, any ideas would be great. My husband is super busy at work so I thought I'd read up and see what I can find out. We've just never experienced this before. I'm pretty sure the Palomino weighed more and for sure had a higher and wider profile, but the weight distribution must have been right or something. Thanks! Karin

I think you're right on track. Weigh the tongue first. If it's too light, rebalance the load. But I would not be hesitant at all to use purchase and use a weight distributing/anti sway hitch.

That is really strange! It is not at all common to hear of sway issues with a Scamp. My first thought has to be a low tongue weight. You should have at least 200 lbs. on there. With a battery and LP tank on the front it seems like you would have at least that much, though. If it is less than that, easiest way to add more is to add another battery or another LP tank on there.Your trailer doesn't have a storage box added onto the rear bumper, does it? That could be contributing.Was the sway just a little bit of occasional wag that quickly stopped, or was it a back-and-forth oscillation that didn't want to quit? The former is probably not a concern, but the latter is.If you don't get the knowledge you need over here, consider also asking at the FiberglassRV.com forum. The folks there are nearly all owners of egg trailers similar to yours: Scamps, Casitas, Bolers, and the like. Maybe they would have additional insight.

I would do the hitch wt first, ie add some. THEN if you get the correct amount, and STILL have sway, if you have dual axels, check the alignment of them, make sure both are perpendicular to the frame, and not V'd in some way shape or form. Another issue, make sure the trailer is reasonably level to slightly nose down. I prefer slightly nose down vs level myself. Those are the first three things I would look for.Another, altho harder to tell, is if you can get a scale that will weigh you side to side, make sure you are equal here, 200-300 lbs one way or the other will not cause an issue, but get more than this, you may get sway as the tires on the heavier side will be turning a higher amount due to a smaller radius when loaded. This could be sorta kinda alleviated by inflating the tires on that side so the active radius is the same.....but not my first choice in a fix. look and fix issues like described, THEN buy bars to handle weight distribution and anti sway as a safety fix. Otherwise if you use an AS system now, you are hiding the issue! and if the bars fail, fall off, you are screwed. Better to have a trailer that will tow straight, then add bars, vs not towing straight but doing so after bars are added.Marty

I would get 200lbs of stuff from your house and load it in the front of the trailer and take it for a ride to see how it handles with high tongue weight.You know, stuff!! My wife can do it and so can you. :W Cement bags, cases of water or soda...........you get the point. You don't have any heavy stuff in the back do you?Some trailers are poorly designed and have their axels to far forward. This makes for low tongue weight and this causes sway. It your trailer this way? I have know idea. Load up the front end and take it for a little road trip and find out.

Offhand I’m not familiar with your Scamp, but I’m pretty confident it’s a single axle. I pull an older 16’ SA TT. When I pulled it with a full size Bronco I’d occasionally get some minor sway which I immediately tweaked out with the manual controller. It wasn’t bad, but I always had to be conscious of it. When I went to an F150 I never had a hint of a sway again, it tracks like a rock. I attributed it to the longer wheelbase, but I don’t know that for a fact. Oddly enough, I only have 10% of my TT GVW on the tongue, which is light. I’d expect 12-15%. My water tank is right at the axle and if I fill it I put 20# more on my TW. So I wonder where your tank is in relation to the axle. You wouldn’t want it behind the axle because that’s a lot of weight to take off the tongue. And it sounds like your problem is light TW. If I were in your shoes the next trip I made loaded to go I’d hit a scale and weigh the TV only and then the TV and TT hooked up. You’d then have real numbers to work with and you’d know your TW. Dry weights aren’t much use to you. I don’t use wd or sway control and I wouldn’t think you should need it either on that light a TT. If your water tank is toward the front of the axle you could fill it, that would put weight on the tongue. Or you could load as much as possible forward to get the same effect. But until you confirm your TW is good you don’t know what else to look for.

New trailer swaying, looking for advice | Good Sam Community

Hybridhunter
Explorer
Aug 21, 2013
rexlion wrote:
A 3/4 ton pickup to tow a 16' TT weighing less than 2500 lbs. Yup. Better make sure it's a diesel, too. :R

Good grief is right.

My situation - My trailer has water tank in front of the axle. The trailer weighs 3800# loaded, with about 480# on the tongue. Without water, it sits just under 3600#, with about 360# on the tongue. It tows fine, with the odd provoked wobble. I purposely tow with the tank full when I can, but when coming home front remote camping, I'm dry with by behind the axle black tank with prolly 100# in it. That leaves me in the low 300#'s on the hitch, and it gets jiggly, maybe wobbly, but never sways appreciably, but at that point I can feel it.

Point being, 10% can yield a very nice balanced tow setup, especially with the Honda, which recommends against WDH, and does not like heavy tongue weight. Note that it's a fine line at or below that number.

Something else going on here. When you loaded the extra 40# in the trailer, (call it 30 on the tongue), that should equal close to 12%, that should have quelled the sway completely.
rexlion
Explorer
Aug 19, 2013
A 3/4 ton pickup to tow a 16' TT weighing less than 2500 lbs. Yup. Better make sure it's a diesel, too. :R
RCMAN46
Explorer
Aug 18, 2013
If the trailer is level or slightly nose down and sways it probably needs more tongue weight period. If the TV can not handle the extra tongue weight try WD and if that does not work get a real TV such as a 3/4 ton pick-up.
You already had the trailer on a Cat scale and for a couple more dollars you could have determined what the tongue weight really was and in addition you could have determined if the tires on the trailer and TV are up to the job.
RinconVTR
Explorer
Aug 18, 2013
I tow with a 2012 Honda Pilot, and I can tell you what to look for.

1. The Pilot does not do well with a heavy tonque weight. Anyone telling you to go for 13-15% is out of their mind. If your trailer weights 2800lbs ish....shoot for a 280-300lbs tongue weight.

2. You dont need a WDH at that weight.

3. Check tire pressures of both the trailer and the Pilot. The trailer should be at max cold, and may be try bumping the Pilot up too.

4. Check the angle of the trailer. It shoud be level, or pointed slightly down.
tekman741
Explorer
Aug 13, 2013
Check tire pressure, and tongue weight. Then get a sway bar or friction bar=cheap money for piece of mind.
Road_Ruler
Explorer
Aug 13, 2013
If you suspect an issue with the trailer as a test try to tow it with a different tow vehicle.

Would also like to see some pics of the Scamp hooked up to your tow vehicle.

Thnxs.
rexlion
Explorer
Aug 12, 2013
Well, yeah, Scamp never seems to change anything even if everyone wanted them to, I know...

But suppose they started buying axles from a different manufacturer? Or started mounting some heavy interior component a couple inches farther back, for reasons only they know? Something like that. Maybe even a different tire brand. Or some new employee is using a jig the wrong way and the axle is getting attached slightly crooked. Stuff happens.

I have always felt that 10% tongue weight should be plenty. But maybe I'm wrong.

I think some Scamps may have their fresh tank in the rear. If such is the OP's case, and if it's half full, perhaps the sloshing water could be influencing sway.
Turtle_n_Peeps
Explorer
Aug 12, 2013
Gussie757 wrote:
Turtle n Peeps wrote:
We tried a few different things this past weekend,

Like?

Hi-- Well, first we tried to weight the tongue with a bathroom scale, 236 pounds, but not sure how accurate that was.... My husband got a hitch with a lower mount, we put a 40 pound bag of water softener salt in the trailer, at the very front. He thought it was better, I was following behind him, I thought at one point on the freeway he was swaying quite a bit, but he said he wasn't aware of it like he was before. It was a lot more bouncy though, and the curtains rods all fell off, and that never happened before. That was all we had time to do...

I guess I should mention this is close to an empty trailer, there are two camping chairs, two hoses, a few pans and silverware and paper plates and cups, a bucket with some cleaning supplies, sheets and a comforter, that's about it, we haven't stocked it much yet. Oh, my husband has some tools, but they are in the SUV. So it's hard when people say to distribute the weight because we haven't camped in it really yet so not much to move around. Once again, thanks in advance for any advice!

IMHO there is your problem. You are right at 10% on the tongue. Too light. I would put at least 200+ more pounds in the front of the trailer if your TV is ok with it and take it for a drive!
Gussie757
Explorer
Aug 12, 2013
McZippie wrote:
Do the easy stuff first .... Check tire pressure of trailer and tow vehicle. Try different tire pressures.
I've had trailers that swayed a bit when new and settled down after a 1000 miles or so.

Noted, thanks!
Gussie757
Explorer
Aug 12, 2013
Turtle n Peeps wrote:
We tried a few different things this past weekend,

Like?

Hi-- Well, first we tried to weight the tongue with a bathroom scale, 236 pounds, but not sure how accurate that was.... My husband got a hitch with a lower mount, we put a 40 pound bag of water softener salt in the trailer, at the very front. He thought it was better, I was following behind him, I thought at one point on the freeway he was swaying quite a bit, but he said he wasn't aware of it like he was before. It was a lot more bouncy though, and the curtains rods all fell off, and that never happened before. That was all we had time to do...

I guess I should mention this is close to an empty trailer, there are two camping chairs, two hoses, a few pans and silverware and paper plates and cups, a bucket with some cleaning supplies, sheets and a comforter, that's about it, we haven't stocked it much yet. Oh, my husband has some tools, but they are in the SUV. So it's hard when people say to distribute the weight because we haven't camped in it really yet so not much to move around. Once again, thanks in advance for any advice!

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