Sway Problem / Need Help

01tundra wrote:

Slowmover wrote:
An Andersen shouldn’t ever be considered if a WDH is needed. It isn’t one.

An Andersen No-Sway WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION hitch is exactly that, a weight distribution hitch that also incorporates sway control.

I've used one for several years with a few different trailers and tow vehicles. It may not be as efficient at returning weight to the front end of the tow vehicle when used with heavy trailers (i.e., tongue weights greater than 1,000 lbs), but for sub 1,000 lb tongue weights the hitch works wonderful and it absolutely is a weight distribution hitch.

It offers nothing in sway resistance that the cheapest WDH doesn’t already have, and it FAILS by definition in distributing tongue weight.

Where are the scale tickets? CAT Scale. Three-Pass Method. See Ron Gratz post from 2010. Full fresh water & propane in trailer. Loaded for camping. TV with fuel topped off at truckstop, loaded for camping, all passengers aboard.

Do that procedure and post them.

Check tire pressure before heading to scale. Overnight cold. The scale values are how to dial in pressure correctly. From the Load & Pressure Table, but inside TV door sticker range.

Pic of axle/tire/wheel limit sticker.

Trailer needs to be dead-level once hitched and everyone aboard plus all liquids/gases topped off. Carpenters level across doorway. In, or mainly inside bubble.

— One of several tests of WDH is braking. It the combined rig DOESN'T stop faster than the loaded truck, solo, you’ve not gotten the hitch rigging right.

— Absent crosswinds, you should be able to “let go” of the steering wheel for at least a three-count. (1001, 1002, etc) without heading for the ditch.

— Passing traffic should have little effect. Minor, gradual, steering correction (singular, not plural) is the mark.

— Solid-axle 4WD pickup is the worst TV.

Ideally, the truck balances very closely to 50/50 FF/RR in weight BEFORE you hitch the trailer. Anything heavy in the bed (the same problem exists with the front axle) is ON or AHEAD of the Drive Axle. No exceptions. It’s ALSO secured against ANY movement. None of this is optional.

(My ‘04 Dodge is 8,940-lbs and within 40-lbs at all four corners. It was a pain to get it there as it remains loaded, always. The point is to get it right, get proper storage containers, lash down, and take some pics for reference).

— What’s the weight of yours when solo at this point (per axle) as against the limits?

The addition of TW (a static value; meaningless except as starting reference) SHOULD see the Steer & Drive Axles split the difference of 75% of TW. With about 10% more to the Drive Axle once done.

Extra spring capacity — unused — is detrimental. Means the Drive Axle is MORE LIKELY to get loose, even airborne, if that TT decides to get frisky. Keeping that set of tires in contact with the ground — then losing it momentarily— IS the reason that pickups have their poor safety record.

Upgrade the shocks today. I wouldn’t take it home from the dealership brand-new without this. Tires can’t control the springs (and if you have overinflated tires, even less so), and better shocks are first step. Second is replacing FF/RR anti-roll bar rubber bushings with polyurethane. They don’t give or wear. Those bars act sooner and more consistently.

Your TV needs issues addressed before a WDH can be best understood.

A WDH that can’t leverage TW is NOT a Weight-Distribution Hitch. It may be light in weight, etc, but as it offers no more sway resistance than the cheaper offerings, it’s an expensive way to have gotten next to nothing.

A 350-lb TW is where a WDH starts to become useful. So unless your trailer is 4,000-lbs, the Andersen is a really poor choice. As it hasn’t leverage enough BY DESIGN.

Get the baseline numbers. Do it correctly.
Address the truck problems.

Minimize problems with what you own, now.

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