Ram Truck Owners

[SgtMark]

Has anyone had experience with the Hellwig rear sway bars. With the poor rear end suspension design by Dodge I feel a little sway in the rear end when towing my TT. Was wondering if they were worth the money.
Thanks
Sgt Mark

[Community Alumni]

I would first make sure you're not overweight, but at only 27' I wouldn't imagine so. But you never know until you get that scale ticket. I'm leaning more towards suspecting your setup. There's a ton of 1500's out there that are towing trailers that are equal or greater on coils without an issue. I would first verify that the hitch is setup and transferring weight correctly. You can also try increasing the tension on your sway bar.

It's also possible that your current hitch and sway control is inferior for your setup. A single sway bar can only do so much. It works great with the smaller trailers, but there are much better options for larger trailers. At that size you really should be running at least a pair of them. Even then there's only so much friction bar units can do and that may end up still not being enough. A better idea would be to upgrade to an hitch with integrated sway control.

[SgtMark]

Yes I'm currently running ten ply tires with 45 PSI. The dry weight of the camper is approx. 5200 lbs.

[mrkoje]

If only they designed it better!

Truth is it probably has nothing to do with the design and everything to do with your setup. A Ram 1500 with coils can have a payload rating from 900-1600lbs. I would make sure that your trailer weights are within spec and that you're not busting any limits. Like others have said as well I would get a trailer sway device if you haven't already. Also get your trailer weights..

[wcjeep]

I am running something similar to the Hellwig on my 2006 Dodge 2500. I think it's called IPD. IPD became a new name by merger or buyout. Anyway, it works great with my Truck Camper. If you are towing and not hauling I'm not sure if it's necessary. Agree with earlier comment about tires. Are the tires correct for towing? Pressure?

[Calicajun]

Quick fix to your WDH system would be to add a second sway bar to the TT. We towed your 31'6" TT with a 2014 Ram Eco Diesel with air suspension using two sway bars and found it worked great. We how tow the same TT using the same WDH system and sway bars with a Ram 2500 diesel with no sway problem.

Keep in mind that a big rig passing you will almost always be something you will feel.

[dodge_guy]

First off are you using a WD hitch? And what kind of sway control with that hitch? Second what is the loaded ready to travel weight? If you know that then you should know the loaded tongue weight also (12.5%).

[TurnThePage]

I always feel the need to mention tires. On my F150, I typically ran the tires around 35PSI, which was great for daily driving, but was really mushy when towing. If they're aired to max, towing was solid. So far, I've kept my Ram at 44PSI from day one. Don't know if this applies or not.

[MarkTwain]

SgtMark wrote:
Oh Lord I did open a can of worms lol. I have a 2014, 1500 pulling a 27 foot Aspen Trial. Its mainly on the freeway and its not trailer sway I can feel it in the rear end. The sway is not bad but I can feel it every so often especially when being passed by larger trucks. I also added ten ply tires which handle the load a lot better then the factory Firestone tires did. And the reason I said poor design I have owned a lot of pickup trucks over the years and I am a dodge fan, but he coil spring design is not as good for heavy hauling as leaf springs in my opinion.

Take a look at the Reese Dual Cam hitch to solve your sway issues. A 1500 truck is pretty light truck to towing a 27' trailer as you have discovered.

[SgtMark]

Yes I'm using the Reese hitch system and it has sway bar attachment which I use.

[Relheok]

When I had the 1500 with coils I put in air bags. A must have if you use it as a truck if you ask me. Cheap too!

[jmtandem]

And the reason I said poor design I have owned a lot of pickup trucks over the years and I am a dodge fan, but he coil spring design is not as good for heavy hauling as leaf springs in my opinion.

Are you using a sway mitigation feature as part of your trailer hitch set-up?

[jmtandem]

Sway peoblem? Poor design?
must be something in your setup. Have never heard of any issues with Rams.
Maybe if you were to post more information on your setup someone would offer some advise.

That is a first. Mine is rock solid towing; tracks perfect. All OEM parts.

[SgtMark]

Oh Lord I did open a can of worms lol. I have a 2014, 1500 pulling a 27 foot Aspen Trial. Its mainly on the freeway and its not trailer sway I can feel it in the rear end. The sway is not bad but I can feel it every so often especially when being passed by larger trucks. I also added ten ply tires which handle the load a lot better then the factory Firestone tires did. And the reason I said poor design I have owned a lot of pickup trucks over the years and I am a dodge fan, but he coil spring design is not as good for heavy hauling as leaf springs in my opinion.

[icanon]

Same here I'm hauling a loaded 6,800-lbs with my Ram 1500 and no sway with my set-up.