Newbie Towing Issues

[steelhands]

Hello folks,

My SO and I bought a 2013 25' Puma (by Palimino?) TT with no miles on it and it seems really nice, with a few issues to fix (for a later post)but my current problem is a bit of trailer sway when trucks pass me. I bought a Ford F250 with the 6.1 gas engine and it seems to tow the TT just fine. There is no sway bars or WDH. Will they be necessary? We have taken a couple of week long trips but mostly drove a day and camped for six days. I'd guess I've driven the rig about 600 miles so far.

We are planning to take a cross country trip, Atlanta to BC, Canada at the end of June so I need to get my butt ready to go.

Thanks in advance,
Sam

[steelhands]

Thanks,

The specs say that the tongue weight is 600 lbs and I'd guess that seems about right. The TT weight is 5,700 dry and we don't have much inside and I travel with the tanks nearly empty. I am running 80 psi in the trucks back tires and 60 in the front as per the label on the door frame. 50 psi on the TT tires.

With the Reese hitch the TT seems about level and the truck does not sag much when the TT goes on the ball. Honesty, I am not sure what a WDH hitch does nor how sway bars work either. The sway I get is usually at speeds above 65 mph and is not too bad and it settles down quickly. Still, it can be somewhat unnerving.

Over all, I am happy with the truck and TT. I want to get a camper shell on the truck bed so that I can put stuff in it and lock it up when we go sightseeing.

Handye9, I looked at your mods and they look really good. I did ten years in the good old USN. 72 to 82. MM1 on some sea going, bad to the bone combatant ships.

Thanks again and I'm sure I'll have more questions as we get started on this new adventure. We plan on being on the road about three months.

[westend]

The tongue weight of the trailer probably exceeds your hitch rating if you have the stock hitch receiver. The attitude of the trailer should be at level or slightly down, never up.

[handye9]

There are several causes / contributors to sway issues. Trailer sway can be caused by just one, or, a combination of two or more contributors.

1. Not enough tongue weight -- You may have this issue
2. Impropper adjustment of WDH-- We know you have this issue
3. Impropper adjustment of sway control device -- We know you have this issue
3. Unbalanced tire pressures in truck or trailer
4. Soft suspension on tow vehicle -- Not likely with your combo
5. Tire sidewall flex on tow vehicle -- Not likely with your combo
6. Bad roads
7. Wind
8. Hitch ball set too high. Trailer tows nose up


From your description, it sounds like you have a possible issue with item one, and definate issues with items 2 and 3.

You need to get some accurate weights on truck and trailer, and most likely, you'll need to invest in a weight distributing hitch along with some type of sway control.

[anaro]

Most likely you need a wdh. I'm guessing (not knowing specs for your tt) thAt your tongue weight is heavier than your hitch is rated for as load bearing vs weight distributing (specs should be printed on hitch) At 25 ft you can get away with using a sway bar or integrated sway control like Reese dual cam or equal-i-zer.

Sway is often times related to how your tt is loaded, you may need more weight on the tongue. If it was true sway (increasing oscillations from side to side). There are varying things it could be depending on what exactly it was doing but I would say, yes start with a wdh.

[avoidcrowds]

You don't mention tongue or trailer weights, but those are important to know. A WDH helps level your truck, so your headlights don't blind oncoming drivers, and it keeps the weight properly distributed. Some will say an F250 doesn't need a WDH, but since you are having sway problems, that is one of the ways to overcome it. Not all WDH systems have anti-sway, so be careful of what you buy.

Sway can also be caused by improper loading. Tongue wt. should be 12%-15% of trailer weight. How you have the trailer packed impacts your tongue weight. You need to get your setup weighed, so you know how much your truck weighs (loaded for travel), how much your trailer weighs, weight on each axle, and tongue wt. Then, you can figure out why you are swaying.