Towing "movement" - How much is normal?

[rfloyd99]

I took delivery of my first TT on Friday. It is a Jay Feather (Jayco) 26' OA which weighs 4837 dry, per the door sticker. I upgraded to the proper size (I called the techs at the factory) Equalizer W/D hitch. The guy who installed it at the dealership seemed very quality conscious, but I definitely plan to double check the installation.

I drove the rig home, about 25 miles, of which about ten were interstate hwy. Seemed okay, but remember I only have experience pulling my boat, which weighs about 2800-3500 lbs (guesstimate). The boat tows very stable, no sway or other "squirrelly" movement. It is a 19 ft, fairly low profile fishing boat.

I drove a range of speeds from 55 - 65 MPH. The day wasn't really windy, and it didn't seem to sway when I was passed by a few semi's. The road surface in general is quite good where I was.

My question: There seemed to be a lot of random "movement". I hesitate to call it sway, it just seemed to be kind of "alive" back there - a little more than I was expecting. TV is a 2012 Ram 1500 with the large V8. Power was not a problem, and the weight, even with an additional 800 -1000# seems well within the towing limits.

I know this is a very subjective point, but does this seem normal?

Next weekend I'm going on a 60 mile RT (half on the interstate). Any tips or ideas on what to look for or to expect would be appreciated. We plan to put quite a few miles on this rig over the next couple of years, and I definitely want to get this dialed in to have the best possible towing experience.

Thoughts?

[aftermath]

Has anyone mentioned the trailer tires? Air them up to the max on the sidewalls as well. Running them under inflated for the load is a disaster just waiting.

[Mike_Up]

Sound like normal P series tire side wall flex. Get LT tires and have a much more relaxed and stable tow experience. 🙂

[bguy]

Air up the tires to max psi cold and you will notice much less of what I call squirm.

You will find the trailer a little unsettled on older pavement with ruts.

[rbpru]

As camp n family mentioned you might try raising your TV tire pressure. My F-150 tire pressure is recommended at 32 psi. Since the max cold pressure on the side wall is 44 psi, I will run the tires at 38 to 40 psi. when towing.

[Slate_CM]

When I read your description, it sounded like something I noticed on my last trip. It looked more like the trailer was just kind of bouncing around on it's own suspension.

That was really the only time I have ever seen it, on I5 south of Eugene.

[rfloyd99]

OP here. The Equalizer hitch that was recommended was the one rated for a 1000# tongue wt/10,000# total trailer wt.

Once I get the TT/truck loaded up and make this 75 mile trip I will re-evaluate and make adjustments that you all have mentioned.

Thanks for all the info, keep it coming if anyone has something to add.

[fitznj]

Weighing your Truck and trailer will reveal the right numbers but I towed my race car for many years and it took me a couple of tows to get the car set correctly on the trailer.

If the car was set too far backwards by a couple of inches, then there was less weight on the tongue and made the trailer feel very "lively". When I had a WD hitch on my camper, I noticed that if I was too aggressive with the springs, that this too would make the camper "lively".

Try all the basics (tire pressure etc) and then adjust the WD hitch to put a bit more weight on the tongue - try a little bit at the time.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

🙂 Hi, I never had any sway, but handling was better when I increased air pressure in my rear tires. (F-150) My tires are to be set at 40 lbs, front and rear, but I set my rear tires to the max on the sidewall which is 50 lbs. I originally set my rear tires at 45 lbs. When I changed them to 50 lbs. it was great.

[owenssailor]

Once your WD hitch is set for the proper weight transfer and the trailer is level to slightly nose down make sure all your tires are aired up. The trailer to max. The rear truck tires to max (if P tires) and the fronts I find work well about 4 PSI below the rears.

With the Equal-i-zer hitch I find very little to no movement.

Good luck.

[aftermath]

I agree with what CoolMom said. That and this.....

camp-n-family wrote:
On top of all the above, one more thing to consider, truck tires. Air them to max pressure when towing. If you have the stock P rated tires (= soft and squishy sidewalls) consider upgrading to LT tires.

I towed a 21 ft hybrid with an Equalizer hitch and it was a very nice towing setup. I then bought an Airstream that was 5 feet longer and a full ton heavier. I also upgraded the hitch to a 10K/1K bar system. Got it set up nice and level but with the extra tongue wt I started to notice a little "squirm" at times. My Tundra came with P radials and even though I had them aired up, they were not as solid as I expected. Changed over to LRD truck tires and it really did make a difference.

Lastly, watch your mirrors and it the trailer is moving left and right then you need to dial in the hitch.

[OldRacer]

dont worry about a sway bar,just put you a weight distribution hitch on it and be done with it. As was mentioned, a little bit of movement is normal. If you simply pull it in a ball without the distribution hitch, when going by big rigs, the wind will most def. cause it to sway big time. I found this out the hard way back when i purchased an enclosed car carrier trailer. Once i put the WDH on, it was rock solid. Same with the brand new 30' Passport Ultralite we just purchased. I pulled it without the WDH just to see how she would do, and it was solid till i went past a big truck. Got it home, installed the WDH i kept when i sold my car hauler and boom, rock solid towing now.

[NanciL]

That doesn't sound normal to me.
I tow a 25 footer that is just about 5000 pounds, with a 2014 Dodge Ram, Hemi V-8, 4 x4 and most of the time I never even know the trailer is behind me. I tow on the interstates at 70 MPH.
Check your hitch, sway bar(s) and weight distribution bars for tightness, and then stand off to the side of your rig and make sure the trailer and truck are in the same parallel plane.

Jack L

[SparkDr]

OP didn't specifically mention sway as the condition, only "random movement". I'll offer up another thought that may be in play. A lot of other random movements such as lurching, bucking, road chatter, etc come back to the driver through the front to back transfer of motion. As an experienced boat hauler, I went through this same adjustment in "feel" when getting into a TT for the first time. I even considered a spring-style draw bar for a while. I'll be curious to see where the OP's research with his own rig takes him.

[Ron_Gratz]

rfloyd99 wrote:
I took delivery of my first TT on Friday. It is a Jay Feather (Jayco) 26' OA which weighs 4837 dry, per the door sticker. I upgraded to the proper size (I called the techs at the factory) Equalizer W/D hitch. The guy who installed it at the dealership seemed very quality conscious, but I definitely plan to double check the installation.

What rating of hitch did the techs recommend?

What criteria did the dealership guy use in setting up the hitch?

Ron