Do I have a sway problem?

[rctoyguy]

Sounds like a dumb question, I know... I've never pulled anything bigger/heavier than a 14' utility trailer with 3 4-wheelers on it - until now.
I've got a 33' ~7500# TT behind a Ram 1500. I've pulled it about 300 miles so far and I'm nervous as a cat every mile.
As far as I can tell, it pulls fine, but I don't know what to look/feel for. When a tractor trailer passes me, sure it moves me around a little, but once he's by it settles back pretty much immediately. I do feel quite a bit of "bounce", but it seems to all be up-down, kind of a wallowy feel - and really only when there are dips/bumps in the road.

What does sway (or sway problems) feel like from the drivers seat?

[LIKE2BUILD]

rctoyguy wrote:
I'll have to do some research on how to set it up and look at some of these other hitches/systems that yall have mentioned. Until I do some digging I have no idea about adjusting this hitch, and the main folks I know with campers have 5th wheels so I can't get them to help.

Here's a good place to start:
E-Trailer.com hitch set up video.

[BarneyS]

rctoyguy wrote:
I'll have to do some research on how to set it up and look at some of these other hitches/systems that yall have mentioned. Until I do some digging I have no idea about adjusting this hitch, and the main folks I know with campers have 5th wheels so I can't get them to help.

See this thread on how to set up and/or adjust your hitch.
Barney

[rctoyguy]

I'll have to do some research on how to set it up and look at some of these other hitches/systems that yall have mentioned. Until I do some digging I have no idea about adjusting this hitch, and the main folks I know with campers have 5th wheels so I can't get them to help.

[LIKE2BUILD]

rctoyguy wrote:
I do have a eaz-lift WD hitch with the friction sway control.. All installed/setup at Camping World.

Double check the setup for yourself. I have a friend that bought a WD hitch at a local dealer and they 'set it up for him'. In his case I know he has too much trailer for the truck. However, he said when he towed it home in 10MPH winds it swayed all over the place. I'm going to his house next week to re-check his hitch and set it up right.

You can add a Dual Cam system to your Eaz-Lift. I'm not a fan of the friction sway arms. You can buy WD bars with cam detent built into them that will work with your hitch head. Then, you buy the Dual Cam trailing arms that go on your camper and voila, you have a great sway control system. This is exactly what I did with my camper and it has been great.

KJ

[LIKE2BUILD]

BarneyS wrote:

I believe you are talking about member BenK and not Blt2ski. 🙂
Example
Barney

You're right, correction has been made.

[APT]

You may be one of your truck's ratings, but I would focus on the WDH adjustment. Here is a good place to help.

[rctoyguy]

I was going by numbers I thought I remembered (had in my head max wt was 7900 - so I'm probably really at 6500, not 7500 - don't think I'm over trailer weight at all. I do have a eaz-lift WD hitch with the friction sway control.. All installed/setup at Camping World. I'm already looking at a tire upgrade on the truck, but that's more from an appearance/preference standpoint. Will keep towing in mind when I buy for sure.
I'm probably really OK - just learning what "normal" should feel like.
Wouldn't be opposed to buying a new hitch/sway system for peace of mind. This is just what CW recommend and "included" in the TT purchase.

[BarneyS]

LIKE2BUILD wrote:
Snip... There is a member here that goes by Blt2Ski and is a retired engineer. I recall him saying not to engineer for the good days, but to set up your system so that you're rated for the worst possible conditions.

KJ

I believe you are talking about member BenK and not Blt2ski. 🙂
Example
Barney

[Community Alumni]

First get to a CAT scale and get weights for your truck and trailer combo. If you aren't sure how to do it then ask. Make sure you aren't exceeding any of your limits. If you are then you'll need to look into getting a different truck if you want to pull that trailer.

If you have to ask, then it's probably not sway. A sway event is pretty scary and nerve racking. It feels like no matter what you do, you just can't keep control of the combination and things keep getting worse. The pucker factor normally goes off the charts, your heart races, and you're breathing more heavily lol.

You'll get moved around by big rigs, that's normal. Even the guys in 1 ton duallys get moved by large vehicles. You'll also get little wiggles from the wind; this is normal as well. When you say that the combo recovers immediately then that makes me think everything is working. When the rig is having problems recovering then that's a sign that there's a problem.

The bounce and squishy feeling is most likely coming from a combination of tires and the suspension. Most of your half tons have a tire and suspension that's aimed more towards comfort. It's meant to ride like a car or an SUV. But when you add significant weight things get bouncy quickly.

Your tires are probably P Metric (Passenger) tires aired to the pressure listed in the door jamb. They're nice and soft which help absorb those road imperfections, but that's not what you want when carrying weight. You want something stiffer. The first thing I would do is increase your tire pressure to the max cold pressure listed on the sidewall of your tires. For some this is enough. If there's still too much squirm going on then you can upgrade your tires to P-XL or LT tires. Stiffer tires will give you more stability since they're more resistant to compression.

When it comes to the suspension you can add Firestone Work Rites or Timbrens. These devices are basically really large bump stops. When they're engaged they help to take some of the travel out of your suspension when your truck is loaded. This will also reduce the bounce and will give you a little more stability.

I'm not sure what hitch you have, but since you say you're getting a decent recovery you probably don't need to replace the hitch. Have a look at the setup instructions and see what you can do to adjust it to get better performance out of it.

[goducks10]

Your TT only has a GVWR of 6900lbs according to Heartlands brochure.
If in fact you're 7500lbs loaded then you're 600lbs overweight.
Also the M29 has an inherently low tongue weight. You need to address that.
Have you made sure that your trucks front end is setup right with the proper weight transfer?

Also the M29 has the axles towards the center of the TT. That will make for an unstable tow especially if the truck and trailer aren't setup right. BTDT with a different Heartland TT.

[LIKE2BUILD]

rctoyguy wrote:
I've got a 33' ~7500# TT behind a Ram 1500. When a tractor trailer passes me, sure it moves me around a little, but once he's by it settles back pretty much immediately. I do feel quite a bit of "bounce", but it seems to all be up-down.....when there are dips/bumps in the road.

1) What Weight Distributing Hitch do you have? If that is not set up correctly you will most certainly feel that porpoising effect you describe as "bounce".

2) We cannot assume that your RAM1500 is not up to the task. Look at your truck GVWR and GCWR, then look at the GVWR of the trailer. If the TT does not exceed your truck's ratings then it's just a matter of dialing in the set up. If the TT IS too much for your truck, there isn't much we can do here except to suggest a more capable tow vehicle.

3) With a trailer that long I would strongly encourage a WD hitch with built-in sway control. If the hitch is set up correctly you won't have sway under normal conditions. However, a trailer that long can really get pushed by high winds (or a passing truck) and a sway control hitch goes a long way to keep everything in line. I have personally used a Reese Dual Cam system for 12 years on my 34' TT and have never had a sway condition. Many other members use the Blue Ox Sway Pro or the Equal-I-Zer with great success. I won't tell you one system is better than the other because I only have experience with Reese. But you really should have some kind of sway control. There is a member here that goes by BenK (thanks for the correction BarneyS) and is a retired engineer. I recall him saying not to engineer for the good days, but to set up your system so that you're rated for the worst possible conditions.

KJ

[dodge_guy]

You will feel the push/pull of larger rigs, semis, tour buses etc. even a fifth wheel will feel that. If your set up right then it will not sway. It sounds like your setup properly. What kind of sway control are you running? The "bounce" you feel is from the tongue weight. If it's too light a tongue and the bars are rated for more it will want to lift the rear of the truck up when it starts to bounce, and if it's too heavy with not enough weight distribution it will want to push down on the back of the truck. For some people it takes hundreds of miles to get a particular combo dialed in, and even after that a bit of tweaking makes it perfect!

[rbpru]

Sometimes in life you just get in and drive. Every trailer I have hauled including in more recent times a Utility, Pop-up, 14 ft. TT and now my 25 ft. Dutchmen has a different feel.

For every TT and TV combination you drive you need to establish;
* How fast can I stop. Including really hard stops.
* How fast can I accelerate.
* How much swaying do I get, if any, when towing a straight line.
* How much side bumps do I get from trucks, busses and wind etc.
* How bouncy is the combo on rough roads.

As previously mentioned a lot of this is normal, particularly when you are towing something that weighs as much as your tow vehicle.

My standard advice to the first time buyer is to rent a TT similar to what you think you want. You learn a lot in a short time about pulling one of these barns down the road.

Good luck and enjoy the RV

[newman_fulltime]

Its simple you don't have enough truck period to handle that weight correctly