Suddenly Swaying

[JoeTampa]

First time this year taking the TT out on the road, and suddenly I am experiencing (minor) swaying where I’ve never experienced it before. I literally had to remember that the TT was back there when towing it in the past, and on this trip, I was feeling the sway and was being pulled to the side as vehicles passed me. It was very unnerving.

I don’t have weights to cite currently, however:

* All tires were checked and are at proper inflation pressure.

* Nothing substantive has changed on the trailer in terms of loaded gear - total or position. Trailer is a Jayco 33RBTS.

* Nothing substantive has changed on the truck or with the hitch - Silverado 2500 and Blue Ox SwayPro - with ONE exception - I just put all new tires on the truck.

I can’t imagine that tire choice would impact sway, would it?

Anything else I may have overlooked?

Should I load more weight in the front of the TT and see what happens? I’ll have to get it to a scale, but I we are leaving on vacation in 2 weeks and I want to get a handle on this before I drive it all over the state for a week.

Thanks!

[LarryJM]

IMHO there is a LOT of sage advice, widsom, lessons learned that one should take to heart in the above post concerning hitches, trailer sizes and TV capacity. Problem is that until Mr. Murphy decides to visit one is often blind to the true limitations of their towing set up.

Larry

[busterbrown73]

Late to the party but I have to give my input on towing with the Blue OX Sway Pro. 3 years ago, I originally started out with one hooked up to my 35 ft TT. I towed with a Yukon XL Denali for a half dozen local trips; the rig was relatively stable with very minimal sway. Come mid summer, I was towing the camper home in a"wind storm" with 35-40 mph cross winds. Scariest drive ever for my wife and I. Didn't know if it was the 1/2 ton chassis I was towing with or the failure of the Blue Ox in threatening conditions.

So, I did my research and wanted to eliminate sway all together. It was either going to cost me a new HD truck or a new hitch. I chose the cheaper route with the purchase of a Hensley Arrow. The HA was the complete solution to my control issues. Not an a trace of sway in any condition. Unfortunately, the heavier Hensley put me a tad over on my payload and I knew an upgrade in TV was in order soon.

Six months later, I found my current truck, a 2017 RAM 2500 Megacab 6.4L. It offered me all the payload reserve in the world pulling my 7,600 lb TT. Come first trip of the season, I was reluctant to reinstall my Hensley so I installed the Blue Ox instead. Trailer was nice and level, weights were perfect, and it was clear skies ahead on our day of departure.

After getting on the interstate, the same movement I experienced with my Denali/Blue Ox began again. Not as bad, but I was back to looking at my mirrors constantly and making minor steering corrections pretty frequently. My wife could even feel the lateral forces move the trailer independently of the truck. This brought back some bad memories for the both of us.

We completed that trip and had our next a few weeks later. This time, I switched up the hitch to the Hensley Arrow. Now the truck felt like it was one with the trailer again. No lateral movement from passing semi's, hill cresting or crosswinds. The different I could feel over the Yukon was in the RAM's suspension as the ride much more stout. The Denali's rear air suspension was more forgiving over bumps.

This is not a write up for how great my Hensley hitch is. One can do an internet search to validate that. It's a write up on how poorly the Blue Ox performs with longer coaches. I been been on quite a few forums over the years and that seems to be the common denominator with those who have issues with the Blue OX. They have a longer trailer (ie > 33 feet) and after a few trips out, under the right conditions, the sway presents its ugly head and they proceed to write about their concerns.

I conclude with this. If you don't find a solution with your current setup, take a leap of faith on a better hitch. I'd recommend a premium like a Hensley or Propride but I'd also recommend a 4pt Equilizer as everyone I know swears by them. The latter would have been my 2nd choice if I hadn't discovered the Hensley. Good luck and safe travels.

[mt1729]

If you have a load distribution hitch, cinch it up a notch.

[JoeTampa]

Well, today we will be almost entirely on the interstate, so we'll see if the problem is resolved with all the miles on the tires.

[BarneyS]

myredracer wrote:

I tried various pressures and it wasn't until I went to 75 front & 80 rear when towing that I got the optimal handling (and no sway). Been doing that for many thousands of miles now over 4 years and no tread wear issues. I get tight/crisp handling on twisty mountain roads and no sway at 65 on interstates. I thought that was from rvtiresafety.net but I can't find it at the moment.

I did the same. My front tires were always at 75 and rear at 80 and never had any handling problems at all. Did it this way for more years than I want to admit! :E
Barney

[Hannibal]

Probably just tread squirm with the new tires, but these guys seem to believe there is better sway control to be had. The BO favors center like a pendulum but offers no friction to prevent sway from starting. I had sway like you describe with my Reese HP without the sway control arms installed. Not too bad but could be annoying with lines of trucks passing. Then I picked up a barely used Equalizer 4pt 10k off of Ebay for a song. Solid as a rock now even with crosswinds and trucks passing. Our Jayco is a little shorter but both have a long wheelbase and tow great without sway control. For the little bit of wind or road induced sway, a little friction will stop it.

https://www.etrailer.com/question-116001.html

[JoeTampa]

CharlesinGA wrote:
Where is the water tank located? was it full this time, and normally empty? (or the other way around for that matter) That can make a huge difference.

Charles

The water tank is behind the axles. No substantial changes to its level. I should also add that the trailer towed fine in years past with both a full AND nearly empty water tank.

We are at the first stop on the trip, which involved driving on smaller, local roads - but thus far no issues except for a blowout on the right rear wheel of the trailer. Off to have that repaired this morning.

[CharlesinGA]

Where is the water tank located? was it full this time, and normally empty? (or the other way around for that matter) That can make a huge difference.

Charles

[myredracer]

BurbMan wrote:

myredracer wrote:
I really suggest that you inflate them to or near their max sidewall psi rating for towing as you will get better handling. Don't go by the placard psi for towing.

Bad advice...If Joe got the required load E tires for his 2500HD the door sticker will call for the max 80psi on the rears....if he inflates the fronts to 80 psi he will be all over the road.

Joe's 2500HD has plenty of GVWR to handle his trailer, and as such he should inflate the tires per Chevy's recommendations on the door jamb sticker. Over-inflating tires for the weight they carry has no benefit except to reduce the contact patch of the tire and ruin the suspension dynamics of the truck.

I tried various pressures and it wasn't until I went to 75 front & 80 rear when towing that I got the optimal handling (and no sway). Been doing that for many thousands of miles now over 4 years and no tread wear issues. I get tight/crisp handling on twisty mountain roads and no sway at 65 on interstates. I thought that was from rvtiresafety.net but I can't find it at the moment.

[BurbMan]

JoeTampa wrote:
My plan for this trip at the moment is to add dead weight to the front of the trailer, drive slower, and ratchet up yet another chain link. Once I get 400 more miles or so on these tires, I'll put the chains back to the usual link and try upping the speed to see if it recurs.

Sounds like a solid plan. Lots of folks run the Michelin tires and love them, I'm sure you'll get this dialed back in.

[BurbMan]

myredracer wrote:
I really suggest that you inflate them to or near their max sidewall psi rating for towing as you will get better handling. Don't go by the placard psi for towing.

Bad advice...If Joe got the required load E tires for his 2500HD the door sticker will call for the max 80psi on the rears....if he inflates the fronts to 80 psi he will be all over the road.

Joe's 2500HD has plenty of GVWR to handle his trailer, and as such he should inflate the tires per Chevy's recommendations on the door jamb sticker. Over-inflating tires for the weight they carry has no benefit except to reduce the contact patch of the tire and ruin the suspension dynamics of the truck.

[myredracer]

JoeTampa wrote:
Finally back in town and was able to look up the tires I got:

Michelin Defender LTX M/S

I would think from the description that these would be acceptable, no?

I have just shy of 1,000 miles on the tires at this point, and we leave for vacation on Friday. I have to check to see if the fresh water tank is forward of the axles or not, and if so, I will fill that tank. I’ll also load whatever we can - chairs, luggage, etc up front as well.

Same tires we bought. They are excellent for towing. We got them because they are highly regarded for towing. I really suggest that you inflate them to or near their max sidewall psi rating for towing as you will get better handling. Don't go by the placard psi for towing.

ST trailer tires should be run at max. sidewall psi. Same thing, don't go by what might be on the sticker and reduce the psi based on actual wt. of the TT. More pressure will raise the reserve load capacity and reduce the risk of a blowout and improve sway/handling.

Lots of excellent info. in RVtiresafety.net on all things related to RV tires and RV-ing. It's a blog run by a retired tire engineer who also RVs extensively.

[JoeTampa]

Finally back in town and was able to look up the tires I got:

Michelin Defender LTX M/S

I would think from the description that these would be acceptable, no?

I have just shy of 1,000 miles on the tires at this point, and we leave for vacation on Friday. I have to check to see if the fresh water tank is forward of the axles or not, and if so, I will fill that tank. I’ll also load whatever we can - chairs, luggage, etc up front as well.

[CincyGus]

Going to suggest adding water to any front tanks you have to increase the tongue weight if you have room to with your GVWR. I had a similar problem (without the tire change) when I first got my trailer and it was from not enough tongue weight, loading too much heavier stuff (cases of drinks, gallons of bottled water/etc) too far aft of the trailer axles. Realized that between the rear loading of the trailer and driving without water in the fresh water tank (at the front of the trailer), I had significantly changed the balance of the trailers weight over it's axles, inducing a sway problem I had never had in the 3-4 previous trips.

Now that I know to put my heavier stuff as far forward as I can in the trailer, I can travel with or without water in the tanks and not have issues but was one of those things I had to learn about as a new RVer.