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!

[MBarmer]

Joe,

I am experiencing the same thing with my 33RBTS as well. Towing with a RAM 2500 CTD and a sway pro also. Subscribing.

[RCMAN46]

I would defiantly get the system weighed before you take the trailer out again.

If you have some sway do not tow any further our you may find the whole system on its side. When towing a trailer as large as yours it does not matter what tow vehicle you have the trailer will win if it starts to sway badly.

This will require three weighs.

1. Truck only both axles.
2. Truck and trailer no WD all axles.
3. Truck and trailer WD engaged all axles

[BurbMan]

Believe it or not there are nuances in tire design that interact with the how the suspension is tuned on different vehicles. I ran Michelin LTX on the burb for a year and they were the worst tire I ever owned. JBarca reported similar results on his 2500 burb. I know Michelin makes good tires, I have them on my two other cars. Guys run them on Ford trucks and love them. But, for some reason, they are not a good match with a 2500 burb. Same size, E-rated, etc.

JoeTampa, chances are in your favor that the tires will break in and be fine, hopefully before your vacation trip.

[DutchmenSport]

Funny, I had all new tires (6 of them at the tune of $250 each) put on my dually just a month ago. I towed almost immediately. Never noticed anything different in towing, squirm, shake, fishtail, sway, passing truck suction and pull, or uneasiness. I replaced with the same identical brand and size and rated tires.

If you used a lesser tire, that might account for some problems. I'd sooner believe the air pressure in the tires is a bigger problem.

Make sure the tires are at the max on the tow vehicle and the trailer. If tires was the only change, then it has to be tires. ... unless you broke a shock on the tow vehicle.

[hawkeye-08]

I replaced my truck tires last fall, yes, it had some break in time needed. I had read about it on this forum so did not wait until spring to replace tires. I don't put many miles on. ~250 mile round trip was uneventful, drove better than ever.

[ScottG]

If you replaced them with a load range less than you had or even P type tires, you'll get some squirm.
Years ago I had a tire shop replace my load range E range tires with D's. I didn't notice until I got home so I called them. They said the D's had a higher weight rating than the E's.
The result was gawd awful towing. Had to get sway control when I had never needed it before for our then, 4500# TT.
So load rating is more important than weight rating when it comes to towing.

[ford_truck_guy]

Tread/tire flex for sure . . I had it with my Nitto's... my buddy just put new General's on his excursion and HATES the way it now sways.
It will/should go away at some point..

[JoeTampa]

BurbMan wrote:

JoeTampa wrote:
So it will resolve itself, or can an aggressive pattern be a permanent problem?

If you bought the same tires as you had before, and it towed fine before, then it will resolve itself when the tires break in.

If you bought different brand, model, size, load range, tread pattern, etc than you had on there before, then it might resolve itself when the tires break in.

They are a different tire. Guess I have to just hope - or get them changed.

[BurbMan]

JoeTampa wrote:
So it will resolve itself, or can an aggressive pattern be a permanent problem?

If you bought the same tires as you had before, and it towed fine before, then it will resolve itself when the tires break in.

If you bought different brand, model, size, load range, tread pattern, etc than you had on there before, then it might resolve itself when the tires break in.

It usually resolves itself when the tires break in, but not always.

[JoeTampa]

donn0128 wrote:
Truck tires for sure. New tires need a break in period. But if you chanhed tread pattern from sae AS to a more aggressive pattern that is probably your problem.

So it will resolve itself, or can an aggressive pattern be a permanent problem?

Also, the trip I just took was 200 miles round trip. I will have to try to drive as much as possible before we leave, I guess. 500-700 miles to break them in per what I am finding online.

[donn0128]

Truck tires for sure. New tires need a break in period. But if you chanhed tread pattern from sae AS to a more aggressive pattern that is probably your problem.

[BurbMan]

Yes, tires can make a difference. Tires take a few hundred miles to break in, and if they are brand new, that is likely what's causing your issues. Off-road tires with bigger tread blocks tend to "squirm" more than tires with an all-season or highway tread pattern.

Not every tire works well on every truck, not sure if it's how the suspension is tuned, tread pattern, etc. Your issue may or may not go away with the tires you selected. Post some details on what you bought.

Best thing you can do is put as many miles as you can on the new tires and get them broken in as best you can.

[Hondavalk]

If the tires are brand new I would give them a 100 miles before I got to concerned. I put BF Goodrich LT TAs on my truck and thought I had made a big mistake because they felt so squirrely. After I got some miles on them they settled in and I am very happy with them. Hope that's your problem also.