New trailer swaying, looking for advice

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

Gussie757 wrote:
Thank you all for your comments, all very helpful! Tongue weight will definitely be checked and weight added if needed.

The scamp is a single axle, and brand new, picked up from the factory early July. It has a side bathroom, I think the fresh water tank is in the back and empty. We don't have anything on the back, but there is a spare there that it came with. The swaying occurs when on the highway, speeds between 55 and 60, not braking. The Scamp salesman said the hitch height should be at 21", and we had to get a new ball mount(?), but my husband felt it was too nose up, and changed it to be more level. I will tell him about some preferring it nose down a bit.

Had it weighed at a Cat scale, It weighs 2280 pounds, not completely loaded for camping, but close. I thought it would weigh more than that, considering all the options we added. We will weigh it again hooked and unhooked. I'm not sure how to add photos, maybe I can try later. Once again, thanks, all advice much appreciated! Karin

Karin, the problem with super light trailers is it's VERY easy to get them out of balance.

IOW's your little trailer may only have 300 lbs of tongue weight on it. If you put lets say 150 lbs of cloths in the very back you can get rid of 50% of your tongue weight and that will instantly put you into a sway situation.

Where lets say if you have a trailer with 1,500 lbs of tongue weight and you put 150 lbs of cloths in the very back it will not effect the tongue weight % very much.

IOW's you have to REALLY be careful with light trailers and pack them accordingly. Make sense?

What Turtle said is very true. They are very sensitive to how they're loaded, and I definitely would want it a bit nose down and NEVER nose up.

A buddy had a Coleman popup that he towed behind his F150. It weighed maybe 2,500 lbs fully loaded. The first time he towed it, he could barely keep it on the road due to extreme sway at about 50 mph. Those little trailers can be very finicky. He just added a single friction sway bar and that worked for him. I don't know if they make WD hitches for trailers that small or even if they're recommended, but generally the WD hitches make a HUGE difference. Good luck and you're on the right path to getting your problem solved.

BTW, the Scamp has a HUGE following and forums of their own so you might want to check there also for Scamp specific recommendations. The last time I was at Zion, a Scamp club was there with about 50 Scamps, all having a great time!