Sway control on new trailer

[garyleahkent]

My son has purchased a 1/2 ton 2011 Suburban & a new 28' Puma travel trailer. The dealer sold them a hitch that has weight distribution & sway control built in. They are having terrible sway problems, to the point of getting off the interstate to travel back roads. They have taken the whole rig back to the dealer & they supposedly made adjustments but it has not helped. They have not over loaded the trailer or Suburban. What else can they do?

[hohenwald48]

jerem0621 wrote:
A standard old fashioned WD hitch and add on friction sway control is not junk...it is highly effective when used properly.

The key is to make sure the spring bars are rated the next level up above the loaded tongue weight...example..if the tongue weight is 900 lbs use 1000 lb spring bars not 800...etc...

Set the hitch up correctly per the instructions...and if the trailer is long enough (24 ft IIRC) use two sway bars ... Not just one.

Set up is critical to any WD hitch. Once set up is accomplished the rig should tow well...

Also, I always air my tires up to max PSI when towing...just me maybe...but it takes a lot of the squirminess that the P rated tired have at unloaded PSI. I never had an issue with P rated tired after doing this.

So basically,
ensure he has the right spring bars (need to know the LOADED tongue weight)
set up the hitch per the instructions that came with the hitch
If using friction away control bars...use 2..not 1
Air up the tires to MAX PSI per the tire sidewall

Thanks!

Jeremiah

That's what I have and what I did and what I do. Works great for many miles. Just got home from a 3,000 mile pull to Texas and back with wind gusts to 30-35 MPH and had no problems at all.

[TomG2]

Post the actual weights and ratings of your equipment before jumping hitch to hitch. Gets expensive.

[rbpru]

There is no simple answer to sway control. If there was, there would be one standard set up.

I have a 1/2 ton F-150 and the scales say my TT is 6200 lbs loaded to go. I have a tongue wieght of about 750 lbs. I use the Blue Ox WD hitch supplied by the dealer and have very little difficulty. I do up my tire pressure to 40 lbs, and I noticed that after 50,000 miles the OEM shocks are getting soft, creating a bit more bounce.

I have just spent last week in windy conditions. Head, tail and cross winds that are about the same as a Semi bump. We did drive into some nasty 60 mph side gusts that get your attension quickly.

In all cases the rig straightened out immediately.

The point is you have to understand what is wrong and what is normal for your TV and TT combination. Does it waggle side to side, bounce up and down or rock back and forth on smooth roads with little wind.

[jerem0621]

A standard old fashioned WD hitch and add on friction sway control is not junk...it is highly effective when used properly.

The key is to make sure the spring bars are rated the next level up above the loaded tongue weight...example..if the tongue weight is 900 lbs use 1000 lb spring bars not 800...etc...

Set the hitch up correctly per the instructions...and if the trailer is long enough (24 ft IIRC) use two sway bars ... Not just one.

Set up is critical to any WD hitch. Once set up is accomplished the rig should tow well...

Also, I always air my tires up to max PSI when towing...just me maybe...but it takes a lot of the squirminess that the P rated tired have at unloaded PSI. I never had an issue with P rated tired after doing this.

So basically,
ensure he has the right spring bars (need to know the LOADED tongue weight)
set up the hitch per the instructions that came with the hitch
If using friction away control bars...use 2..not 1
Air up the tires to MAX PSI per the tire sidewall

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[GaryWT]

Usually combo wdh and sway are good, I love my Equil I zer hitch. Without seeing numbers it is hard to tell anything but in general Suburbans will have a lower payload and tow capacity than an equivalent pick up truck. Also Pums's tend to be heavier than some. As noted, tongue weight is important as is how much weight is behind the axels. Does he have anything on the back bumper? My previous trailer has some sway but I believe an axle was bent which led to problems.

[bowebow]

I use a Reese dual cam. I mark the bars so they get put back on the same side so the ware surface is the same. I now feel I should have removed the paint where the sway friction will be. I felt that it took 2500 miles for the sway control to work decent.since 1980 3 dual cam setups 5 tts, this trailer 35' needs sway control help.

[Community Alumni]

Clearly the current system is not work, however if it is setup incorrectly then it will never work correctly. Even a Hensley will fail to control sway properly if it's set it up improperly. The first steps should be to verify the basics and verify that the hitch is setup according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Sinking money into a new hitch would be fool hearty if it turns out the problem was just with the setup of the original.

[MarkTwain]

beemerphile1 wrote:

djgarcia wrote:


Throw the weight distribution and control sway control into the junk pile. RV dealers tend to install the cheapest hitch in order to make some profit on the total sale of the trailer. There are a number of good hitch/sway control units out there.
Reese Dual Cam and Hensley but there are others.

Seems like a silly thing to say when you have no idea what system they are using.

I have only one question? Is his current weight distribution and sway control WORKING???????

[Hannibal]

I remember the first time I towed a travel trailer. My cheeks about tore up the seat with every passing truck. Box trucks were the worst. Once I got used to it, it was just passing trucks. We're going back to a travel trailer after 20 yrs of 5th wheels. I might have to get used to it all over again but not a problem.

[JWRoberts]

Agree. Very inappropriate statement.

beemerphile1 wrote:

djgarcia wrote:


Throw the weight distribution and control sway control into the junk pile. RV dealers tend to install the cheapest hitch in order to make some profit on the total sale of the trailer. There are a number of good hitch/sway control units out there.
Reese Dual Cam and Hensley but there are others.

Seems like a silly thing to say when you have no idea what system they are using.

[Community Alumni]

I would first verify that the truck is not or close to being overloaded with the trailer attached via a CAT scale. I'm not sure which 28' Puma trailer he has, but the ones I see have a GVWR of 8,000+. That may be a little much.

How to use scales.

Doing this will also help you determine if the hitch is transferring weight correctly. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get a copy of the instructions for your hitch, follow the directions, and verify everything is setup correctly.

[beemerphile1]

djgarcia wrote:


Throw the weight distribution and control sway control into the junk pile. RV dealers tend to install the cheapest hitch in order to make some profit on the total sale of the trailer. There are a number of good hitch/sway control units out there.
Reese Dual Cam and Hensley but there are others.

Seems like a silly thing to say when you have no idea what system they are using.

[beemerphile1]

Tell us exactly what hitch, brand and rating.
Tell us year and model of trailer.
Tell us the specs (ratings and equipment) on the Suburban.
Does the Suburban have P-metric passenger car tires?

Read this;
Weight Distribution (WD) Hitch --- How it Works

Read and thoroughly understand the owner's manual of the hitch.

Read and do this;
Travel Trailer Hitch Set-up Procedure

[Lynnmor]

bobndot wrote:

#2. if you are using a friction type sway control , tighten the handle enough to limit the sway.

That's not how it's done, please read the instructions.