Sway with new truck

[hujorgan1]

I have a 27' Salem travel trailer with a Reese WD hitch, and previously towed it with a 2005 Tundra. I would get a little bit of sway on the highway when a big rig would pass, but no big deal. Just bought a 2016 Tundra - bigger and more powerful than the 2005. Nothing changed except the truck - same trailer, WD hitch, etc. - but I am now experiencing sway when anything passes me (even cars and minivans). Any ideas?

[BenK]

Step back and take a look at the goal of all of these adjustments, dials,
knobs, etc...have seen advisers run folks in circles adjusting everything
out of context

First, decide if you believe in the OEM ratings or not.

If not, then academic...but know you will take the OEMs off the warranty
and liability hook

If yes, then gather all of their ratings for both your TV and trailer
GVWR, front/rear GAWR, GCWR and forget about MTWR...that is based on the
curb TV, which is the stripper model

The trailer should be level or pointed slightly down...FULLY LOADED and
after all adjustments are DONE. The WD Hitch Head/Shank holes is the
main adjustment for this and the others fine tuning this

The TV should drop and/or transfer (WD) weight per your OEM's manual
recommendations. On that...'recommendations' are not as most think...don't
follow and they can deny warranty/liability/etc coverage...as their
'recommendations' were not followed

Next most important is the trailer tongue weight percentage of the
trailers ACTUAL weight. It should be north of 12% and I like closer
to 15%...but with the lowest TV class...they general like to stick
closer to 10% because of the TV's rear axle rating and over all GVWR
rating

Knowing your actual weights is necessary, otherwise guessing. If you
have been towing for a looooong time...many will have an eyeball to
get in the ball park... How else can you know that you have the right
WD bars?


Hitch adjustments/dials/knobs/etc are to WD weight and control sway below

Head tilt back towards the trailer increases the WD bars tension travel
Meaning can tension them more without going above horizontal at full
adjustment. Ditto washers/etc

Then number of chain links is not a one size fits all. What you need
to get to is the TV OEM's recommendation for Weight Distribution. Either
or both the amount of drop on the TV and/or the amount of weight WD'd
back to the TV's front axle

On tires...'P' class (passenger car class) has to be de-rated a min
of 9% from its molded in sidewall weight rating when used on light

uty trucks. The OEM did that with what they provided from the factory,
but if you change sizes...you have to do that during the re-engineering

Most half tons comes with 'P' class and the fake half tons comes with
the next higher class tire 'LT' (light truck)

I do NOT go by over inflation. Not going to risk for that little gain
and cost savings to stick in the lower class tire. If going to 'LT'
tires...the wheels must also be rated for them. 'LT' tires cost and
weigh more than the same OEM/model line/size/tread/etc for a reason.
Ditto wheels

'P' class has better 'ride quality' and read here and other forums
where most weight that higher on their have to have list than ability
Not me. 'Ride quality' is not on my have to have and very low on my
nice to have list

Just going to a wider rim (to that tire size recommendation...they
differ from size to size) and running at max molded sidewall PSI rating
will stiffen up the sidewalls. Both from PSI increase and reduced
sidewall bend-back...to ultimately reduce fold over

I run 10" bead to bead for LT265/75R16E and is wider than recommended,
but I know what wanted when re-engineering this. Almost no sidewall
bend-back and fold-over. Almost no 'ride quality' to speak of, but that
is me and love it that way

Side view pictures on level ground would help us help you on this

[shum02]

carringb wrote:

hujorgan1 wrote:
LT tires, inflated to the sidewall max.

Regarding the truck tires, I have now read conflicting information. Some say to inflate the truck tires to the sidewall max, and some say to keep them at the manufacturers recommended pressure.

Stick to the MFGs specification. There's no reason to exceed that spec, unless you over the axle rating of the truck. more isn't better.

My seat of the pants feeling with "door pillar" tire recommendations for P rated tires on half ton trucks with all my F150's was for ride quality not load carry capability. Still air my half ton to max sidewall and it always feels stiffer when carrying load. Just my experience.

[carringb]

hujorgan1 wrote:
LT tires, inflated to the sidewall max.

Regarding the truck tires, I have now read conflicting information. Some say to inflate the truck tires to the sidewall max, and some say to keep them at the manufacturers recommended pressure.

Stick to the MFGs specification. There's no reason to exceed that spec, unless you over the axle rating of the truck. more isn't better.

[rhagfo]

donn0128 wrote:
Hitch head adjuatment and or tires.
A hitch head that is not at the correct angle because the new truck is a bit higher or lower will create problems. Also tires can cause all sorts of problems.

X2 to this, better truck, but what about tires?? What tires were you running on the old Tundra, LT's maybe, new rig P rated??

[hujorgan1]

Regarding the truck tires, I have now read conflicting information. Some say to inflate the truck tires to the sidewall max, and some say to keep them at the manufacturers recommended pressure. I generally inflate them higher than the recommended when towing, but a little lower than the sidewall max.

Regarding the hitch head adjustment, everything appears fine with the new truck - even better actually than the old truck, which always sagged slightly.

[fla-gypsy]

P tires or LT tires?

[donn0128]

Hitch head adjuatment and or tires.
A hitch head that is not at the correct angle because the new truck is a bit higher or lower will create problems. Also tires can cause all sorts of problems.

[carringb]

Also make sure your truck's tires aren't over-inflated. Some shops and dealers still put tires at max sidewall, instead of the door sticker pressure. Too much pressure reduces your contact patch. TPMS only alarms if its low or too hot.

[hujorgan1]

At first look, the trailer actually appeared to be a bit nose-down on the new truck, so I was considering raising it a notch. Perhaps that is not a good idea if a bit nose down is preferable to a bit nose high.

[BarneyS]

Your new truck may sit higher than the old one and be causing your trailer to tow with the nose high. You might have to lower the hitch head on your shank one hole to compensate. Towing nose high tends to cause a trailer to be less stable in many cases. Check to see that your trailer is level or slightly nose down. If not, adjust your hitch.

Another cause of the different towing action may be the new tires on the new truck. Often, new tires are "squirmy" which causes weird towing feelings and will settle down once the newness wears off. Check tire pressures also.
Barney

[hujorgan1]

Tongue weight is always the first thing I consider - however, nothing has changed as far as the weight distribution of the trailer and it pulled fine with the old truck.

[JBarca]

I would verify the tongue weight of the camper is up in the 12 to 13% or higher per the GVW of the camper.

And, if you changed trucks, did you totally reset the WD hitch for proper weight distribution (WD) on the truck and then adjust the hitch up and down to level out the camper?

If the WD is all wrong and the camper is nose high, it can affect the towing. Depending on the actual camper, some lose tongue weight when a lot of nose high. And on some, nose high can create wind currents at the top front of the camper that can cause unstable towing.

Hope this helps

John

[rsaylor3]

Did you re-adjust the hitch for the possibly higher truck height? Probably did, but it was my first thought with all other things being the same.

[skiles]

I found that tongue weight seems to make a big difference with regards to that. I added some gear to my forward storage bay and all is well even with big rigs going by.

[wing_zealot]

Not enough tongue weight? Do you have a large load behind the axles causing your tongue weight to be to light?