Reduce Sway

[albertsonr]

So we upgraded from a 26Ft to a 37Ft TT and we have lots of sway now when windy or passed by a semi. We are currently using a WD system with a friction sway bar. We were wondering if we should switch to an Equalizer or Reese dual cam to help with the sway more due to a larger trailer. Suggestions?

[busterbrown73]

Maury82 wrote:

busterbrown73 wrote:
I owned a 1/2 ton TV prior to my currrent 3/4 ton RAM. Pulled my 35 foot travel trailer the first season with white knuckles on the windy days. The 1/2 ton was mated to a $500 Blue Ox Sway Pro WDH. After a hair raising experience in 30 MPH crosswinds on a trip back home, it was either a new truck or new hitch. I choose the latter and invested in a Hensley Arrow. The hitch completely eliminated all sway in all conditions. It was a revolution for me.

Unfortunately, the achilles heel of any 1/2 ton vehicle is payload, and I ran out of it quickly. Since I was maxed out on payload with the added weight of the Hensley hitch, I decided to upgrade TVs to my current 3/4 ton RAM. The ride is stiffer but I reclaimed about 1400 more lbs of payload. I can now bring all the children toys. So it was another appropriate investment.

I did use the Blue Ox with the HD Ram to tow my same 35 foot trailer on a couple of trips. Believe it or not but the sway was back as I drove on the interstate. Not as bad as with the 1/2 ton truck but I had similar inputs into the steering wheel while traveling at highway speeds. My knuckles were hurting again. And yes, the trailer was loaded ideally with 15% TW.

I truly believe that Hensley and Propride are the only two hitches on the market that will eliminate all trailer sway with longer pull behind trailers. There is no guess work or requirements of loading the trailer perfectly. If the weights are appropriate, a Hensley will allow you to travel with a full fresh water tank or bicyles coupled to the trailer's rear receiver hitch without changing the dynamics of the ride. Traditional mid-grade WDH's with sway control are great with smaller and medium sized trailers. But as length approaches 32 feet or more, the mechanical design of friction won't stop the sail from sailing.

In summary, if you have the payload available for a premium Hensley or Propride, it's worth the investment over a TV trade up or all the other TV bandaid remedies.

Very good information in your post. I have the 1500 Blue Ox and I will give it a honest try when my 1/2 ton truck arrive, but if I'm not comfortable with sway, I will have no reservations in getting the HA to resolve the issue.

I'm considering selling the BO and getting a HA next year anyways, unless the BO tows exceptionally well.

I'm anticipating ~2,500lbs of payload with the HDPP XLT 4x4, EB, S.Crew with the 6.5ft bed, there aren't any wife and kids, and I can't imagine adding very much clothes and stuff for a two weeks trip with a girlfriend, or tailgating at homecoming, so there should be more than enough payload to spare for a more robust hitch.

If you have that much payload and have the budget, I would personally skip the BO and head straight for a HA. I bought mine reconditioned and it looked brand new. Picked it up from their distribution center for no cost as I live 15 miles near them. The reconditioned hitch was $1900 vs $2700 new. Still looks new after 2 full seasons of extensive cross-country use. All parts are warranteed for life. I bought the Arrow Swift version as I felt it was simpler and quicker to engage the weight distribution bars. Less bulk on the A-frame too. I can hitch my trailer with the HA in about the same time as it took me with the BO...under 2 minutes. Let me know if you have questions.

[PhilipB]

Hensley or Pro Pride are both great options. I have personally had a Hensley. Won't fix overloading, but it'll fix sway.

[goducks10]

Maury82 wrote:

busterbrown73 wrote:
I owned a 1/2 ton TV prior to my currrent 3/4 ton RAM. Pulled my 35 foot travel trailer the first season with white knuckles on the windy days. The 1/2 ton was mated to a $500 Blue Ox Sway Pro WDH. After a hair raising experience in 30 MPH crosswinds on a trip back home, it was either a new truck or new hitch. I choose the latter and invested in a Hensley Arrow. The hitch completely eliminated all sway in all conditions. It was a revolution for me.

Unfortunately, the achilles heel of any 1/2 ton vehicle is payload, and I ran out of it quickly. Since I was maxed out on payload with the added weight of the Hensley hitch, I decided to upgrade TVs to my current 3/4 ton RAM. The ride is stiffer but I reclaimed about 1400 more lbs of payload. I can now bring all the children toys. So it was another appropriate investment.

I did use the Blue Ox with the HD Ram to tow my same 35 foot trailer on a couple of trips. Believe it or not but the sway was back as I drove on the interstate. Not as bad as with the 1/2 ton truck but I had similar inputs into the steering wheel while traveling at highway speeds. My knuckles were hurting again. And yes, the trailer was loaded ideally with 15% TW.

I truly believe that Hensley and Propride are the only two hitches on the market that will eliminate all trailer sway with longer pull behind trailers. There is no guess work or requirements of loading the trailer perfectly. If the weights are appropriate, a Hensley will allow you to travel with a full fresh water tank or bicyles coupled to the trailer's rear receiver hitch without changing the dynamics of the ride. Traditional mid-grade WDH's with sway control are great with smaller and medium sized trailers. But as length approaches 32 feet or more, the mechanical design of friction won't stop the sail from sailing.

In summary, if you have the payload available for a premium Hensley or Propride, it's worth the investment over a TV trade up or all the other TV bandaid remedies.

Very good information in your post. I have the 1500 Blue Ox and I will give it a honest try when my 1/2 ton truck arrive, but if I'm not comfortable with sway, I will have no reservations in getting the HA to resolve the issue.

I'm considering selling the BO and getting a HA next year anyways, unless the BO tows exceptionally well.

I'm anticipating ~2,500lbs of payload with the HDPP XLT 4x4, EB, S.Crew with the 6.5ft bed, there aren't any wife and kids, and I can't imagine adding very much clothes and stuff for a two weeks trip with a girlfriend, or tailgating at homecoming, so there should be more than enough payload to spare for a more robust hitch.

This one has 2390 lbs for payload.
https://www.doherty-ford.com/new/Ford/2018-Ford-F-150-for-sale-Portland-Oregon-f2dfbca50a0e0ae75506a...

[Maury82]

busterbrown73 wrote:
I owned a 1/2 ton TV prior to my currrent 3/4 ton RAM. Pulled my 35 foot travel trailer the first season with white knuckles on the windy days. The 1/2 ton was mated to a $500 Blue Ox Sway Pro WDH. After a hair raising experience in 30 MPH crosswinds on a trip back home, it was either a new truck or new hitch. I choose the latter and invested in a Hensley Arrow. The hitch completely eliminated all sway in all conditions. It was a revolution for me.

Unfortunately, the achilles heel of any 1/2 ton vehicle is payload, and I ran out of it quickly. Since I was maxed out on payload with the added weight of the Hensley hitch, I decided to upgrade TVs to my current 3/4 ton RAM. The ride is stiffer but I reclaimed about 1400 more lbs of payload. I can now bring all the children toys. So it was another appropriate investment.

I did use the Blue Ox with the HD Ram to tow my same 35 foot trailer on a couple of trips. Believe it or not but the sway was back as I drove on the interstate. Not as bad as with the 1/2 ton truck but I had similar inputs into the steering wheel while traveling at highway speeds. My knuckles were hurting again. And yes, the trailer was loaded ideally with 15% TW.

I truly believe that Hensley and Propride are the only two hitches on the market that will eliminate all trailer sway with longer pull behind trailers. There is no guess work or requirements of loading the trailer perfectly. If the weights are appropriate, a Hensley will allow you to travel with a full fresh water tank or bicyles coupled to the trailer's rear receiver hitch without changing the dynamics of the ride. Traditional mid-grade WDH's with sway control are great with smaller and medium sized trailers. But as length approaches 32 feet or more, the mechanical design of friction won't stop the sail from sailing.

In summary, if you have the payload available for a premium Hensley or Propride, it's worth the investment over a TV trade up or all the other TV bandaid remedies.

Very good information in your post. I have the 1500 Blue Ox and I will give it a honest try when my 1/2 ton truck arrive, but if I'm not comfortable with sway, I will have no reservations in getting the HA to resolve the issue.

I'm considering selling the BO and getting a HA next year anyways, unless the BO tows exceptionally well.

I'm anticipating ~2,500lbs of payload with the HDPP XLT 4x4, EB, S.Crew with the 6.5ft bed, there aren't any wife and kids, and I can't imagine adding very much clothes and stuff for a two weeks trip with a girlfriend, or tailgating at homecoming, so there should be more than enough payload to spare for a more robust hitch.

[busterbrown73]

I owned a 1/2 ton TV prior to my currrent 3/4 ton RAM. Pulled my 35 foot travel trailer the first season with white knuckles on the windy days. The 1/2 ton was mated to a $500 Blue Ox Sway Pro WDH. After a hair raising experience in 30 MPH crosswinds on a trip back home, it was either a new truck or new hitch. I choose the latter and invested in a Hensley Arrow. The hitch completely eliminated all sway in all conditions. It was a revolution for me.

Unfortunately, the achilles heel of any 1/2 ton vehicle is payload, and I ran out of it quickly. Since I was maxed out on payload with the added weight of the Hensley hitch, I decided to upgrade TVs to my current 3/4 ton RAM. The ride is stiffer but I reclaimed about 1400 more lbs of payload. I can now bring all the children toys. So it was another appropriate investment.

I did use the Blue Ox with the HD Ram to tow my same 35 foot trailer on a couple of trips. Believe it or not but the sway was back as I drove on the interstate. Not as bad as with the 1/2 ton truck but I had similar inputs into the steering wheel while traveling at highway speeds. My knuckles were hurting again. And yes, the trailer was loaded ideally with 15% TW.

I truly believe that Hensley and Propride are the only two hitches on the market that will eliminate all trailer sway with longer pull behind trailers. There is no guess work or requirements of loading the trailer perfectly. If the weights are appropriate, a Hensley will allow you to travel with a full fresh water tank or bicyles coupled to the trailer's rear receiver hitch without changing the dynamics of the ride. Traditional mid-grade WDH's with sway control are great with smaller and medium sized trailers. But as length approaches 32 feet or more, the mechanical design of friction won't stop the sail from sailing.

In summary, if you have the payload available for a premium Hensley or Propride, it's worth the investment over a TV trade up or all the other TV bandaid remedies.

[albertsonr]

myredracer wrote:
Other than the question of the truck not compatible with the TT (I think this is a big part of the issue) and weights, minimizing sway can involve a number of factors that add up and work together:

- run TT tires at max sidewall psi.
- run next higher load range than the TT came with so the tires can be inflated to a higher psi (65 vs 50, 80 vs 65)
- tires on TV should be LT type
- inflate TV tires to near max psi (I use 80 rear & 75 front)
- get some good HD shocks like Bilstein for the truck
- add shocks to the TT
- ensure TT is level when fully loaded to slightly nose down (I found slightly nose down is noticeably better)
- ensure the TT suspension is in good order - even a new TT can have spring bushings that are totally shot
- ensure there isn't excessive play in the WDH/receiver
- longer wheelbase TV
- ensure that you have the WDH spring bars correctly tensioned to transfer enough weight back onto the steer axle. A trip to a scale can help do this more accurately.
- towing with one or more full holding tanks can throw TW off enough to affect sway & handling (depending on tank location too)
- don't tow at excessive speeds - 65 mph is a good max (watch your tire max speed rating)
- slow way down in gusting winds - a 34' TT can get pushed all over the place due to sidewall area and is hard to control with any WDH

I highly recommend the Reese DC WDH. It has a self-centering pro-active action that the others don't. It is more work to install and set up but is def. worth it. It's what we have and it's great (no sway on a 29' TT) A good overall setup also improves handling on twisty mountain roads at speed when the TT wants to jostle all over the place. Don't get a Hensley or Propride to mask underlying issues.

Thank you.

[Maury82]

myredracer wrote:
Other than the question of the truck not compatible with the TT (I think this is a big part of the issue) and weights, minimizing sway can involve a number of factors that add up and work together:

- run TT tires at max sidewall psi.
- run next higher load range than the TT came with so the tires can be inflated to a higher psi (65 vs 50, 80 vs 65)
- tires on TV should be LT type
- inflate TV tires to near max psi (I use 80 rear & 75 front)
- get some good HD shocks like Bilstein for the truck
- add shocks to the TT
- ensure TT is level when fully loaded to slightly nose down (I found slightly nose down is noticeably better)
- ensure the TT suspension is in good order - even a new TT can have spring bushings that are totally shot
- ensure there isn't excessive play in the WDH/receiver
- longer wheelbase TV
- ensure that you have the WDH spring bars correctly tensioned to transfer enough weight back onto the steer axle. A trip to a scale can help do this more accurately.
- towing with one or more full holding tanks can throw TW off enough to affect sway & handling (depending on tank location too)
- don't tow at excessive speeds - 65 mph is a good max (watch your tire max speed rating)
- slow way down in gusting winds - a 34' TT can get pushed all over the place due to sidewall area and is hard to control with any WDH

I highly recommend the Reese DC WDH. It has a self-centering pro-active action that the others don't. It is more work to install and set up but is def. worth it. It's what we have and it's great (no sway on a 29' TT) A good overall setup also improves handling on twisty mountain roads at speed when the TT wants to jostle all over the place. Don't get a Hensley or Propride to mask underlying issues.

That was great advice.

[myredracer]

Other than the question of the truck not compatible with the TT (I think this is a big part of the issue) and weights, minimizing sway can involve a number of factors that add up and work together:

- run TT tires at max sidewall psi.
- run next higher load range than the TT came with so the tires can be inflated to a higher psi (65 vs 50, 80 vs 65)
- tires on TV should be LT type
- inflate TV tires to near max psi (I use 80 rear & 75 front)
- get some good HD shocks like Bilstein for the truck
- add shocks to the TT
- ensure TT is level when fully loaded to slightly nose down (I found slightly nose down is noticeably better)
- ensure the TT suspension is in good order - even a new TT can have spring bushings that are totally shot
- ensure there isn't excessive play in the WDH/receiver
- longer wheelbase TV
- ensure that you have the WDH spring bars correctly tensioned to transfer enough weight back onto the steer axle. A trip to a scale can help do this more accurately.
- towing with one or more full holding tanks can throw TW off enough to affect sway & handling (depending on tank location too)
- don't tow at excessive speeds - 65 mph is a good max (watch your tire max speed rating)
- slow way down in gusting winds - a 34' TT can get pushed all over the place due to sidewall area and is hard to control with any WDH

I highly recommend the Reese DC WDH. It has a self-centering pro-active action that the others don't. It is more work to install and set up but is def. worth it. It's what we have and it's great (no sway on a 29' TT) A good overall setup also improves handling on twisty mountain roads at speed when the TT wants to jostle all over the place. Don't get a Hensley or Propride to mask underlying issues.

[drsteve]

ScottG wrote:

albertsonr wrote:
I believe the payload is little over 2000, and yes they installed the same WD with 1000 lb bars and a friction sway bar. I am not 100% sure it wasn’t setup incorrectly. I will look into the tires and shocks and the equalizer setup.

I've bought a few new TT's and not once did they get the hitch setup even remotely close.
You'd think they know what they're doing but they don't seem to. My last one was no different. It was terrible!

The dealer who I bought my Coachmen from, whose service department is generally terrible at doing anything, set my new hitch up almost perfectly. And the guy who did it was one of their summer help crew, probably not old enough to buy his own beer.

Go figure.

[Maury82]

evanrem wrote:
I had a 34 foot trailer and 1/2 Chevy to start with the came in at around 8000 lbs loaded. I think the trucks max tow was 9700lbs and thought all good. I did not look into or understand payload and all the other weights and was soon in the same predicament you are. After a crash course in weights I found myself to be at if not over a bit on payload. On good days it towed good but those days were not the norm and found the white knuckle experience was not worth it.
Just buying a new truck and explaing to the wife i really didnt know what i was doing was a bummer. After deciding selling the trailer was going to be the cheapest way out i stumbled across the ProPride and Hensley hitches. I thought if this does not work oh well i can send it back and take the hit on the trailer. It got me by for about 5 years and made a remarkable diffrence. When upgrading to a 2500 i saw the light everyone here talks about and they are correct. It towed so much nicer. With all this being said you need to know where you are with weights so you are not way overloaded somewhere.
Good Luck and a lot of us have been in your shoes.

remarkable might be an over statement. It was much better but still not as good as the jump to the 2500 using the ProPride.

When I was lurking and trying to decide what type of truck I needed for my 37ft TT, there were quite a few of these testimonials about how a HD truck solved their towing problems.

Towing overweight, unknown cargo capacity, unknown year of truck, etc, with their half ton, I look at these testimonials as they should have had mega problems.

This doesn't tell me that the problem was the 1/2 ton truck, and a 2/3 is needed, this points to the person choosing the wrong 1/2 ton truck for the job.

You can't help but to have a "night and day" towing experience going from an overcapacity older, most likely improperly towing geared 1/2 ton truck to a new 2/3 truck.

This doesn't say to me I need a 3/4 for my long trailer, versus a 1/2 ton, this says that the guy was careless in choosing the wrong 1/2 ton truck to trailer.

I look at these testimonials, not as a lesson to learn from, but that these are the type that should go straight to the biggest truck as a no-brainer option, because there is more work when matching up 1/2 to to trailers...he should get a big truck even for the smallest trailer.

[camp-n-family]

goducks10 wrote:
Too much TT for that truck.
Only way you'll eliminate any uncontrollable sway is to spend the big $$$$ and get a Hensley Arrow or a ProPride WDH.
Problem is that you'll be fighting the payload numbers for the truck.

A Hensley or ProPride hitch will not solve a mis matched tow vehicle problem. It may help to eliminate sway at the hitch point but those forces will transmit to the next weakest point, usually the tires, flexing them which will still cause a squirrelly white knuckle ride.

[tomman58]

I have had Jayco TT for years and was one of the 1st to add MOR/ryde to the suspension. Having that ended any semi issues and most sway issues.
I use the same torsion bar (1200#) that I have had in 2000 on a 32' TT. We drive all over the US and yes trailers don't like 45 mph winds coming from any direction but I've driven all day in 30 mph winds.
I think with most folks it takes more than a couple weeks usage a year to understand your TT.

Good luck

[Maury82]

Maury82 wrote:

albertsonr wrote:
HW 845
GVWR 9600
Dry 7245

The truck pulls the trailer with no problems other than sway in winds and Semi passing.

I would upgrade my tires to LT, Bilstein shocks, and upgrade to HD trailer tires.

Did you change hitch that is rated for your new trailer?

That trailer should be within capacity for that truck, and a few enhancements should solve your problem.

When I start towing my trailer with my truck, I don't anticipate a sway problem, but I do anticipate more wind push versus the F250 I rent from Enterprise now.

That F250 is roughly 2,000lbs heavier than the 5,200lbs F150 with the HDPP, but the payload is roughly 500lbs greater.

Besides the softer suspension in your typical off the lot F150, there are other areas that amplify sway when towing, such as those comfortable tires and shocks, and wind rocking and rotating that trailer on those soft ST tires. Stiffer HD trailer tires should also help reduce sway.

I believe that stiffening up those flex points, along with a good hitch setup will deminish most of that sway.

[ScottG]

albertsonr wrote:
I believe the payload is little over 2000, and yes they installed the same WD with 1000 lb bars and a friction sway bar. I am not 100% sure it wasn’t setup incorrectly. I will look into the tires and shocks and the equalizer setup.

I've bought a few new TT's and not once did they get the hitch setup even remotely close.
You'd think they know what they're doing but they don't seem to. My last one was no different. It was terrible!