Is the TT too light?

[thecasketlady]

We recently bought a 2013 Ford F150 with a 302 5.0 STX with a towing package. Our camper is a 2012 Wildwood 26 ft TT. The GVWR on the camper is 7,805 LB. We are also using a Equalizer weight distribution hitch. The problem we are having is the tail is wagging the dog. Or the truck is all over the road with just a slight wind or semi truck going by. Is this too much trailer for this truck? Is the TT too light? HELP...white knuckle driving!!

[APT]

The Equal-i-zer 4-pt WDH has integrated sway control. It is a great WDH with many satisfied owners.


Your truck should tow that TT pretty well at or slightly over any of its ratings. I recommend not relying on the RV dealer to properly adjust the WDH. Some are good, many are bad. Start reading here. Learn how to adjust your own hitch as some changes to the truck will require adjustment anyway. A CAT scale will help, but I have been satisfied with the fender height measurement using 2 tow vehicles with the same trailer.

[owenssailor]

Check your whole setup again.
Trailer when hooked up level or very slightly nose down. Adjust as necessary by raising or lowering hitch ball.
Equalizer bars parallel to trailer tongue - adjust L brackets if necessary.
Measure front fender height with no trail and with trailer on but no WD hooked up. Then measure with WD hooked up. Fender height should be back to requirement from truck manufacturer - for Fords it should be 1/2 the difference of the first 2 measurements. If it is not adjust using the washers. Ensure all fittings are tightened to torque specs from Equalizer.
I run tires - trailer 50 PSI truck 44 PSI.

After getting this all set unit should tow fine. Mine is similar weight with 1/2 ton truck and 1200 lb bars.

For piece of mind and confirmation weigh at a CAT scale as outlined in other posts here.

[Terryallan]

bldrbuck wrote:
You need to add a anti-sway setup to your hitch. Any good trailer supply can help you.

NO!. You need to fix, and STOP the sway FIRST. Then, after there is no more sway, and only then. Add sway control. NEVER use sway control to correct a sway problem. That is not what it is designed to do.

[69_Avion]

From the original post, is the trailer causing sway just when there is a significant cross wind or semi going past, or is it doing this all the time?

I agree with some of the above posts, it is probably an issue with not enough tongue weight. A trailer that tows bad will still try to sway a heavier truck, it just isn't as noticable. Either way, it needs to be improved. Let us know what it does after you increase the tongue weight.
Having a sway control setup mask a serious problem is not a good idea. You want that trailer to tow well and the WDH and sway control to make it even better.

[S_more_campers]

If you think it's tough with a full size Ford truck you should try it in a Jeep Liberty with a 3800LB TT! As mentioned above by DesertHawk

All stowed weight in trailer is kept forward of the trailer's axles (we've even removed the bicycle rack from the rear bumper), reduced travel speed (no more than 90 Kph / 55 Mph) we have 1 anti sway (friction type)and I have tried the hitch in every reasonable position (yes, we have plans to replace our Liberty with a more reasonably sized tow rig).

What also made a significant improvement was replacing the tires on our Jeep. We recently replaced the worn OEM Goodyear tires with a c rated BF Goodrich AT - they hold the road much better and so far exhibit a strong reduction in sway.

[skipnchar]

I've never heard of any handling problems caused by trailer weight (light or heavy). Most likely cause of your problems is the adjustment or the strength of your hitch. Both elements must be correct for good results.

[Jack_Diane_Free]

Make sure your electronic sway control is turned on through your steering wheel DIC. Not a replacement for sway control but will help in extreme conditions. I never ever turn mine off.

[Sea_scape]

Your truck might be on the verge of it'd gvwr rating with a 7800 pound trailer. It depends upon loading in the truck and trailer. However, it will not show in the systems you described. The symptoms you are describing are typical of weight balance in the trailer. Someone more wise may comment if a trailer tracking problem may show some of these symptoms.

It doesn't matter how light (or heavy) the trailer is if it is balanced. A utility trailer, loaded with boards hanging over the rear too far taught me my lesson. Until then I would never have believed how a vehicle can be thrown around. Redistributed the load, bought new shorts, and I was good to go.

Too little tongue weight is frightening. The swinging trailer could throw you off the road. You should have about 12 % of the trailers weight on the hitch. Protect yourself and measure. Don't use a friction sway bar to try to mask this symptom.

Carrying water in the trailer, or not, is usually not a issue. In many cases the fresh a d grey water tanks are over the trailer axle, and don't impact the balance a lot. 30 gallons of water is about 300 pounds. This 'could' require you to change tongue by about 30 pounds. It just isn't that critical. The only time I would worry about carrying or not carrying water, is if I am loading the trailer to maximum. 300 pounds more in the trailer, when I'm already pulling a big wind break isn't going to affect my gas mileage enough to worry a out.

Did you have full propane tanks, and a battery on the tongue? Do you have anything hanging on the back of bumper?

Why don't you load more weight into the front of the trailer and give it try
Borrow some five gallon water jugs (or someone's set of free weights) and load them into the front and see if it makes a difference.

Solve the loading problem and then worry about sway control

[SprinklerMan]

What tires do you have on the truck ? They may be too lite for the weight .

[beemerphile1]

You need more tongue weight. You need to get your hitch adjusted correctly.

If you are using an Equal-i-zer brand hitch they have integral sway control, nothing else is needed.

Read this;
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/14265335.cfm

and then this;
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/17730894.cfm

and then adjust your hitch using the instructions that came with it.

[donn0128]

Inflate your trucks tires to the maximum pressure listed on the sidewalls and see what happens on your way to the scales.

[wski]

Might want to consider a Hensley hitch. I have heard great things about them.

[thecasketlady]

Today we took the camper and truck to our local RV center and they adjusted everything and it was better, but still kinda scary Our weight distribution hitch does have a 4 point sway control. I have been driving a large commercial vehicle for 10 years and never had this problem. Frustrating....when driving takes the fun out of camping!!

[LukeS]

You need to start at the basics how did it tow when you bought it. The main culprit is loading trailer wrong to much tail weight will cause sway. Drain all tanks try not to carry unnecessary stuff etc. When you see Tractor Trailer double or triples or vans heavy front light rear. Plus these rigs brake rear to front and have sliders. Speed is a killer these trailers do not have 22 ply tires and not made to run at high speeds. If my trailers were hooked wrong by someone else and were swaying, just had to take the time to stop and switch safety first. WD bars and sway control are extra measures of safety. Equipment still has to be setup correctly to avoid an accident or worse.

I can tell a hundred examples of pros and cons but it first starts with safety, check tires, hook ups and whatever else do a pretrip and double check when stopped before taking off.