Trailer wagging

I'm headed out the door, so here's the short version ;)

1. Make sure your trailer tongue is level or slightly tilted downwards.
2. More tongue weight can help, but is tough in a camper.
3. Get a WDH and a sway control bar. It will tow much better and control the swaying.
4. Make sure you are using a proportional brake controller. Hitting the manual brake lever when it wags will help straighten out the wag.
5. Be sure your tires are in good shape and inflated to MAX on the sidewall.


Hope this helps.

You just need to use a stabilizer bar on it. I had the same problem with our new 17ft TT. I bought the stabilizer from our dealer and it totally cured the problem.

Vic

Did you set your hitch up again for the new trailer. If not i would start there.

Equalizer. fixed mine totally.

trickyvic3 wrote:
You just need to use a stabilizer bar on it. I had the same problem with our new 17ft TT. I bought the stabilizer from our dealer and it totally cured the problem.

Vic

:M

This is very poor advice.

You can not "bandaid" this via WD or sway bars.

A properly loaded trailer DOES NOT sway.

If you rely on WD bandaid to fix this what happens when you need to make an emergency maneuver? You "fix" will ultimately not be able to cover up the problem.

First you need to WEIGH the trailer, get tongue weight along with the weight on the axles. The tongue weight MUST be at least 10% of the axle weight. Ideally it should be 13%-15% for a stabil tow.

To me it sounds like too little tongue weight but that is only a guess. Some trailers may be light on the tongue and when loading you must make sure you add more weight in front of the axles.

:M

This is very poor advice.

You can not "bandaid" this via WD or sway bars.

A properly loaded trailer DOES NOT sway.

If you rely on WD bandaid to fix this what happens when you need to make an emergency maneuver? You "fix" will ultimately not be able to cover up the problem.

First you need to WEIGH the trailer, get tongue weight along with the weight on the axles. The tongue weight MUST be at least 10% of the axle weight. Ideally it should be 13%-15% for a stabil tow.

To me it sounds like too little tongue weight but that is only a guess. Some trailers may be light on the tongue and when loading you must make sure you add more weight in front of the axles.

***************


Dead solid advice! Fix the wag (likely more hitch weight/less after axle weight), THEN add the sway control!

I have an EQ hitch and had it set up to my current truck. The truck is a 03 Chevy 2500HD D-max crew cab short box. When I first bought the TT, I had a 99 Ford 250 crew cab short box and it did the same thing. The hitch was lowered and tilted more flat than forward. I bought the hitch used in 98 when we bought our first TT. Can a hitch wear out? The fresh water tank in behind the wheels and the gray/black is over the wheels. I also have a bumper rack which holds my Honda 3000 generator.

If it is to little tongue weight, how can I solve this issues with out moving my generator. It also had the same issue without the generator. We do a lot of dry camping here so I need both the generator and a full tank of water.

The TT is a front kitchen unit.

Gdetrailer wrote:

trickyvic3 wrote:
You just need to use a stabilizer bar on it. I had the same problem with our new 17ft TT. I bought the stabilizer from our dealer and it totally cured the problem.

Vic

:M

This is very poor advice.

You can not "bandaid" this via WD or sway bars.

A properly loaded trailer DOES NOT sway.

If you rely on WD bandaid to fix this what happens when you need to make an emergency maneuver? You "fix" will ultimately not be able to cover up the problem.

First you need to WEIGH the trailer, get tongue weight along with the weight on the axles. The tongue weight MUST be at least 10% of the axle weight. Ideally it should be 13%-15% for a stabil tow.

To me it sounds like too little tongue weight but that is only a guess. Some trailers may be light on the tongue and when loading you must make sure you add more weight in front of the axles.

I'll add one more thing to this great advice. Look at the angle of the trailer itself. The tongue should not be raised nose high. It should be level, or pointing slightly downward is most preferred.

TWolf wrote:
I have an EQ hitch and had it set up to my current truck. The truck is a 03 Chevy 2500HD D-max crew cab short box. When I first bought the TT, I had a 99 Ford 250 crew cab short box and it did the same thing. The hitch was lowered and tilted more flat than forward. I bought the hitch used in 98 when we bought our first TT. Can a hitch wear out? The fresh water tank in behind the wheels and the gray/black is over the wheels. I also have a bumper rack which holds my Honda 3000 generator.

If it is to little tongue weight, how can I solve this issues with out moving my generator. It also had the same issue without the generator. We do a lot of dry camping here so I need both the generator and a full tank of water.

The TT is a front kitchen unit.

Get'er weighed before you worry too much.

The Honda 3000 on the back bumper is definitely a something to look at though. Its around 150lbs gassed up, which is more than 2 bikes and a bike rack (80-100lbs typical). You could simply remove it and take'er for a drive to see. I'd be surprised if that single item corrects the issue for you, because of the severity you describe.

I would be very concerned about a trailer that wags like a dog's tail without a WDH. The WDH may mask the real problem. First, I would check to see if the tongue weight is between 10-15% of weight of the trailer. Then I would check the alignment of the axles to the centerline of the frame. A professional could also check the axle alignment for you to make sure the wheels are tracking properly. Some trailers that are short coupled will inherently be unstable, but that is probably not the case if the tongue weight is correct. A short coupled trailer will magnify the imperfections because the distance between the axles and the coupler is so short. If all of the above are correct and the frame is relatively straight, it should tow good, excluding external forces such as cross winds. Once you get it towning properly, then a WDH can be added for extra insurance. The reason I didn't mention the tow vehicle is because the OP mentioned that his tow vehicle towed a much heavier trailer with no issues.