Towing questions

[jermbob]

Hello all, I just bought a 2013 Jayflight 33bhts. I took for its 1st trip 3 days after buying it and it pulled pretty awful...I am towing with a 2002 F-350 7.3l diesel crew cab long wheel base with the 8ft bed and the camper weighs about 8900lbs dry. camper was a little down in the front as far as level goes but not by that much...it seemed to be really top heavy in the rear of the camper behind the axles of the camper...thats where it swayed real bad...from the front the truck to the camper axles seemed to tow straight. when I got home I lifted the hitch 1 notch and got the camper level and took it back to the interstate and it was a little better but still swaying(I can feel a little car passing me and get pushed a little bit so imagine the wind and big rigs)...filled camper tires to 55psi cold and truck had 70psi front and 75psi back cold and all tires are brand new E rated tires so i don't think tires could be the problem. It feels like there should be a 3rd axle in the back like theres just to much camper behind the axles

1. My truck has about 1-2 inches of play in the steering wheel(about to order a new steering gearbox to fix that problem)and am wondering if it could be alot to do with trying to overcorrect and playing catchup with the sway because of the steering that makes the sway way worse

2.The camper is not jam packed with stuff yet because we just got it and it's our 1st camper so it's going to take awhile to get every goodie we want so the back didnt have much in it...just some board games for the kids and clothes and stuff like that...it has the dinette table for the bottom bunk and the outdoor kitchen in the back though which I know adds alot of weight back there...could it be I just need alot more weight in the front or could it be something else?

3. should I run 2 sway bars?

4. Is there anything else I'm not thinking about that it could be...I want a nice smooth tow without the white knuckling which is why I did so much research when I bought my TV about a month before the camper and I was highly disappointed on the maiden voyage...please help me I dont want my family or anyone elses in danger everytime I tow

Thanks for any and all advice...its greatly appreciated

[jmtandem]

Hello all, I just bought a 2013 Jayflight 33bhts. I took for its 1st trip 3 days after buying it and it pulled pretty awful...I am towing with a 2002 F-350 7.3l diesel crew cab long wheel base with the 8ft bed and the camper weighs about 8900lbs dry. camper was a little down in the front as far as level goes but not by that much...it seemed to be really top heavy in the rear of the camper behind the axles of the camper...thats where it swayed real bad...from the front the truck to the camper axles seemed to tow straight. when I got home I lifted the hitch 1 notch and got the camper level and took it back to the interstate and it was a little better but still swaying(I can feel a little car passing me and get pushed a little bit so imagine the wind and big rigs)...filled camper tires to 55psi cold and truck had 70psi front and 75psi back cold and all tires are brand new E rated tires so i don't think tires could be the problem. It feels like there should be a 3rd axle in the back like theres just to much camper behind the axles

1. My truck has about 1-2 inches of play in the steering wheel

This certainly does not help the situation.


(about to order a new steering gearbox to fix that problem)and am wondering if it could be alot to do with trying to overcorrect and playing catchup with the sway because of the steering that makes the sway way worse

2.The camper is not jam packed with stuff yet because we just got it and it's our 1st camper so it's going to take awhile to get every goodie we want so the back didnt have much in it...just some board games for the kids and clothes and stuff like that...it has the dinette table for the bottom bunk and the outdoor kitchen in the back though which I know adds alot of weight back there...could it be I just need alot more weight in the front or could it be something else?

Use a scale and be sure you have 13 percent or close to it on the tongue. Don't use dry weights or brochure weights for the calculations.


3. should I run 2 sway bars?

4. Is there anything else I'm not thinking about that it could be...I want a nice smooth tow without the white knuckling which is why I did so much research when I bought my TV about a month before the camper and I was highly disappointed on the maiden voyage...please help me I dont want my family or anyone elses in danger everytime I tow

Thanks for any and all advice...its greatly appreciated

[jermbob]

I do use a WDH and a sway bar...the max tire pressure for the camper tires is 60 psi so I filled them to 55 psi cold so they probably get up to about 58psi after driving a lil...I didnt want to over inflate the tires and cause a problem...I also added a class V hitch rated at 1600 lbs...the truck and trailer seem to be perfectly level...truck sits like it doesnt even have a camper on it(I have 6980 GRAWR on the truck) you barely see the truck squat without the WDH...and camper is right on level(I have a level on the camper and I also put a 4' level on the floor inside and it read the same thing) I have a buddy with a TT also and he was only setup with 1 sway bar from the dealer and I was only setup with 1 sway bar from the dealer I went to...I don't know why they didnt come with 2 sway bars

[Mr_MrsSchleppro]

As far as one sway bar, we use an Eaz-Lift WDH(without built in sway control),when we got our TT it came with one sway bar. And using one has always been sufficient as sway has never been an issue. We have actually traveled without the one and couldn't tell a difference.

[Roundtwo-40]

My suggestion would be a 12k equalizer (but I'm a little biased :))

[dadmomh]

Question.....this is the first time I've heard of only using one sway bar. Why is that? Our Equalizer on the ROO has 2 and we've always used both. The new TT has a Blue OX 1000 hitch with 2 bars. Just wondering.

[Mr_MrsSchleppro]

^^This..it sounds like you need more tongue weight. When we travel we load all the drinks/water and food in the front ensuring we have enough tongue weight. Our fresh water tank is in the front also And definitely use a weight distributing hitch and at least one sway bar. We tow a 30'TT with a '99 F250 4x4 CC sb and we have to look in the mirror to know its there.

[VintageRacer]

Add tongue weight up to 12% or so, add a weight distributing hitch, level out the trailer, trailer tires at sidewall maximum and it should handle fine. Not sure how you can tell it's swaying behind the trailer axles and not in front of them - if it's swaying the whole thing is swaying, it's not a two part deal.

Lots of people with one ton trucks like the F350 think they don't need a weight distribution hitch, but the maximum tongue weight without WD is only 500 - 600 lbs depending on year. You will need to have 900 - 1000 lbs of tongue weight, so size the hitch you buy accordingly. I would buy a 1000 - 1200 lb hitch for your application.

Brian

[ScottG]

As others have stated, you must have a WDH. Also 55 PSI is way too low for the tires. Air them up to the max stated on the sidewall - probably 65 psi.

[jamnw]

I have a 2000 F250 and a 27 ft TT. I run WDH, and dual sway.
My TT pulls significantly better with the FW tank full.
My tank is between the axles, maybe slightly forward.

[JKQ]

It seems to me that your sway should be minimal with that truck provided a WD hitch in used & properly adjusted. I also use two friction sway control bars & the result is a smooth ride only getting a little push from strong winds.

[WyoTraveler]

Are you using something like the Reese WDH with dual cam?

[Technologiq]

Are you using a weight distributing hitch? If not, that's the first thing I'd do.

If you've got some sag you could consider putting RAS (roadmaster active suspension) or Airbags in the rear to level the body out. For me, adding the airbags after I installed the WDH made my ride darn near perfect with virtually no sway, even when semis are passing.