Trailer Sway

[rwj146]

I have a small (18 ft) Terry Resort trailer, it's nothing fancy a 1988 but in good shape. I picked it up in California, combining a visit with a friend and getting this trailer.

I had it loaded wrong and jack-knifed it in the middle of I-10. No one hurt, except my pride and a small ding on the trailer and a large ding on the truck.

I bought a weight distribution hitch (Equalizer Elite w/sway control)and finished the trip home to Ft Worth.

I had the trailer repaired, the dent was small and no structural damage just the metal.

Pulling it home from the repair shop in Oklahoma with the w/d hitch and sway set up I still noticed a small wiggle. Maybe I'm just snake-bit but each wiggle tightened my grip on the wheel.

I plan on some extensive travels until my health grounds me and worrying about another spin-out doesn't help.

Any ideas? or is it just normal?

Thanks

[Gulfcoast]

Kind sir, my answer was serious as I now use a dually to tow a 25' trailer. WOW

[rwj146]

I appreciate the answers, I was not expecting to have no "wiggle" I just want a safe rig.

Gulfcoast, I have a 2001 GMC half ton P/U with a long bed. I have what I can afford.

Edited to take out my rudeness. I do know life would be easier with a one ton dually, unfortunately I cannot afford to buy one. Nor can I afford to buy a Hensley hitch. I am making do with what I have.

[Gulfcoast]

If you don't want to feel a little wiggle... get a one-ton dually with dual wheels. Problem solved...

[bobndot]

clicky

eaz lift install videos are terrible and dont show instructions very well.
The Reese Pro Series is very close to the eaz lift as far as the set up is concerned. I think the eaz lift washers on the tilt head are a little different but close enough. The tilt changes the bars being level to the tt frame.

When you level the trailer, measure the 'frame to the ground' front and rear should be equal height . After you do this and your all hooked up, the combo should appear level. If the TT tongue is a little nose down it will be fine and should ride normal. Some people prefer to have it that way and that's fine. The truck should be close to level as well. If you have too much hitch lift on the rear of the truck the rear tires will spin on gravel or sand. You need to have enough weight distribution on the rear of the truck in order to have traction. After you do this, hitch up and go for a ride. IF you still have sway, then the load and packing of stuff is off as long as your tires and suspension are fine.

** every so often, a specific model (floorplan) of trailer will sway no matter what you do. Sometimes the axles have to be moved rearward an inch or so to offer addition tongue weight but this is rare, just thought i would mention it if all else fails.

Follow the videos method and you'll be fine and this will all behind you. (no pun intended 🙂 )

thread about your hitch and set up advice

[rwj146]

This is the hitch I have, Inexpensive and probably not as effective as most, but I was stuck in Yuma and needed to get home.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005SB6S3Y?tag=mcaveman-20

[Downwindtracke1]

The tongue weight mantra is always brought up, but almost never mentioned is inadequate rear suspension except for Myreracer . His suggestion for new rear shocks and tires are golden. Though I dislike them, adjustable Rancho shocks can be adjusted hard and will cover many suspension sins.

I towed a 10 and 1/2' StarCraft tent trailer with a '91 Jeep Cherokee. In spite of an upgraded rear suspension, we had some sway. A big cooler across the rear was bit of a dumb design. My beloved Jeep died and I upgraded to Dodge 1ton. Driving down a gravel road in the Cariboo , I looked in the mirror, "My,gawd, that trailer wags like a friendly dog's tail." I hadn't noticed until I looked !We have a travel trailer, now.

Myredracer missed this, but a simple upgrade to the truck is to add a leaf to the rear, around here, it's pretty inexpensive.


A trailer will sway with wind and road conditions. Heh, you have to steer the truck, don't you? So how come you expect the trailer to track like an arrow ? The thing is you don't want the trailer's misbehaving to affect the TV. It's not healthy for your hands to have all the blood squeezed out for those long drives.

[myredracer]

opnspaces wrote:
BUT, after all is said and done, your trailer will always have a little bit of wiggle as you pull it down the road.

I reject your reality and substitute my own. 🙂

I never feel sway. I just don't. I've done many miles of freeway driving with trucks passing all the time, occasionally one on either side and never feel even a slight twitch. I could drive with one hand on the steering wheel if I wanted to (but don't of course). Sway can be eliminated or at least minimized to near nothing if all the right stuff is done, but it's not always feasible mostly due to cost. We also have a long wheelbase truck which is another thing that helps and not everyone wants to or can upgrade to a more expensive TV.

A Hensley or PP WDH may perform great but any underlying factors contributing to sway should be addressed first, especially insufficient TW and weight transfer to steer axle rather than mask it.

[rwj146]

opnspaces, thanks for the morning chuckle. I know it's going to move some, I suppose i'll get accustomed to it and try my best to get it right with my cheap hitch.

Since I only paid $2500 for the trailer and I am but a poor man (stolen from Simon and Garfunkle) I have to make do with living cheap.


I still have images in my mind of facing west bound in the three middle east bound lanes of I-10 in Banning Ca... I really, really want to avoid doing anything like that again.

[opnspaces]

One other thing of note. Yes everybody is correct that correct weight distribution is very important. BUT, after all is said and done, your trailer will always have a little bit of wiggle as you pull it down the road. If you want no wiggle you have to find a used Hensley Arrow or Pro Pride hitch. But be prepared to spend $2500 for new or hopefully cheaper if used.

Hensley

ProPride

[rwj146]

All advice noted and actually written down. Thanks for taking the time to reply. My mechanic is going to check the truck next week and advise on it.

I do plan some lengthy trips and driving with one eye on the road and one on the rear view mirror is no fun.

Best regards to all.

[myredracer]

Controlling sway covers a number of factors.

- a WDH
- sway control friction bar or integral in WDH
- measure before & after front fender height to restore correct amount of weight back onto steer axle
- tongue wt. of 12-14% (or slightly more if TV payload cap. not exceeded)
- inflate TT tires to sidewall max.
- replace P rated tires on TV with load range E tires and increase psi for towing
- adjust hitch to get TT level to slightly nose down
- HD shocks on TV
- shocks on TT
- ensure no excessive play in receiver/shank/WDH
- as mentioned just above, ensure front end of TV is not worn if it is a few years old or more and has a lot of miles and/or hard use.


Inadequate TW and not having the spring bars adjusted properly is extremely important and the no.1 cause of accidents and incidents. A trip to a scale is always a good idea to get TV payload capacity, TW and TT GVW. The towing forum has a good sticky on WDH setup.

Our first TT was 20', towed with an F150. Sway was terrible but that was before I knew about any of the above. Now tow a 29' TT with an F250 and have zero sway but took a while to get there after addressing all the above. Addressing all of the above also helps substantially with handling on twisty/bouncy mountain roads, esp. at speed (max. 65mph). Zero sway is way cool to have... 🙂

[mgirardo]

If you haven't had the front suspension and steering of the Tow Vehicle inspected recently, I would also have that looked at. When we first started towing our Rockwood Hybrid TT (19' closed and about 5,000 lbs loaded), we towed with our Astro Mini Van. It was right at the limit of towing, but it towed well when the steering was tight and the ball joints were tight. The Astro would eat idler arms very easily and when there was play in the idler arms it made a noticeable difference in towing.

When we switched to using our Nissan Xterra for towing, it was like night and day. The Xterra did not have as much power, but the front end and steering was much stronger and held together much better. We used the same Equal-i-zer hitch on both Tow Vehicles. The Xterra towed so well, if it had more power, I wouldn't even notice the HTT was there. After a few years, the ball joints started to loosen up and it did not tow as well until they were replaced.

-Michael

[rwj146]

I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to help. I'll get the tongue weight figured out and go from there.

My little Jack-knife has given me a slight case of nerves when it wiggles..

Thanks to all.

[SoundGuy]

rwj146 wrote:
I had to get the trailer weighed for the Texas inspection/ no inspection determination, it weighs 4020 first weigh, 4040 second weigh.

I haven't gotten the tongue weight checked, That should have been done earlier I now realize.

Check it yourself with a bathroom scale - if your trailer's anticipated gross tongue weight is likely to exceed the limits of your scale just use a tongue weight beam to divide the actual weight so it's within the limits of the scale. If your rig's average gross weight is truly around 4000 lbs loaded & ready to camp then you should be running a gross tongue weight somewhere around 550 lbs.