WD Hitch, Still a large amount of sway occasionally... help

[T3rry1]

Hey all, I purchased a (used) E2 truunion 10k WD hitch for my trailer, the trailer is relatively small, it's a aerolite cub hybrid, about 20ft closed up, 4000 lbs loaded up...

I installed this hitch by the book, followed all of the instructions, but on a recent trip i was changing lanes during a rainstorm and the trailer swayed quite heavily, it only happened a couple of times during the trip, and i could attribute some of it to rutty roads. The only other thing i could think is lack of tongue weight, would this effect it? i recently moved my batteries inside the trailer for security reasons, and to get 250 lbs off the tongue (4x 6v's, moved to just in front of the axle, under the table bench, vented outside.), but i just wanted to put out a feeler to see if there are any tricks people could suggest to ensure everything is set up as intended.

unfortunately at this moment the trailer is 5 hours from me, so i am just collecting info to try some tweaks next time i am pulling it (in a few weeks)

this is a pic of the wd hitch, just for reference, i dont have any pics of it installed on the trailer.

[T3rry1]

nomad297 wrote:
Just install a Reese Straight Line and your problems will be solved.

Bruce

spend another $1000, it's just that easy.... right... i'll give you my paypal and you can send that right over..

[T3rry1]

sh410 wrote:
With the trailer weighing 4000# the tongue weight should be ideally 13% for best towing experience. Be removing 250# from the tongue weight that you stated was 550# leaving 300# or 7.5% increased the probability of severe sway, possibly more that the E-2 WDH can overcome.

The WDH that you purchased is much bigger than you need for the trailer that you have.

Here is the E2 installation Manual. It states that the tongue weight should be no less than 10% and no other sway control devise is necessary.

i am aware this is overkill, i was planning for the future, and i bought it used for a very good price... i assumed too much would be better than not enough.

[T3rry1]

sew0177 wrote:
T3rry1,

I had that same WDH on my 33ft Rockwood prior to moving to a Class A. You said it was adjusted correctly ... when hooked to the trailer the TV would lower front and rear the same amount. When I hooked mine up, the friction of the bars on the L bracket attached to the trailer tongue was such that there was no way it was going to sway. I'm thinking the rain lubricated it enough for them to slip.

yeah the front and rear both dropped between 1/2 and 1 inch, i dont recall the numbers right now, but it was well within the acceptable amounts based on the guide.

[T3rry1]

Dakota98 wrote:
OK, so you had 550# tongue weight before moving the batteries.

Was the WDH installed & being used when you had that 550# on the tongue ?

You indicated that you moved the batteries for security purposes & to lessen tongue weight.

If you were not using a WDH with the 550# tongue weight. I'd suggest putting the batteries back on the tongue.

At 4000 lbs TT loaded, 550# puts you at approx. 14% tongue weight, which is fine. Is 550# too much for your TV ?

Just curious, but why do you have 4-6 volt batteries ?

unfortunately i did a bunch of changes at once, i needed to move the batteries so the WD hitch could be installed.. i thought moving them more to the axle would be a positive thing, i suppose not. #500 is too much for my TV without WD, my hitch is rated #500

I got tired of messing with battery/power issues while dry camping so i went a little overkill 🙂 rather too much than not enough.

[T3rry1]

jayboogee wrote:

T3rry1 wrote:

is there an option for the sway control on this setup? i didn't think there was since it was theoretically supposed to be built in, that's why i got this one to start with.

Looking at the stock photo you posted of your WD hitch, yes, there is, you can see to the right and left of your hitch ball, there are two more holes, where the smaller, friction sway control ball would screw into, then the sway control would hook onto an identical ball that would be drilled in horizontally to the side of the trailer frame. Exactly how i have it set up. Might be a cheap resolution for you.

The one piece of advice I can give when using friction sway control, is once you get off the highway, pull over and disengage/losen the sway control, otherwise it makes a loud metalic grinding noise during those tight secondary road turns! Freaked me out at first. Hah

Ahh i guess the picture isn't exactly accurate, mine doesn't have those holes on it, my mistake.

[Dakota98]

RoyBell wrote:
Is trailer or a single or dual axle? Is it level when towing or slightly up/down in the front?

It's dual axle.

Dakota

[dodge_guy]

Are you guessing on the tongue weight? Or do you know for certain. Also what is the exact loaded weight of the trailer?

[nomad297]

Just install a Reese Straight Line and your problems will be solved.

Bruce

[RoyBell]

Is trailer or a single or dual axle? Is it level when towing or slightly up/down in the front?

[sh410]

With the trailer weighing 4000# the tongue weight should be ideally 13% for best towing experience. Be removing 250# from the tongue weight that you stated was 550# leaving 300# or 7.5% increased the probability of severe sway, possibly more that the E-2 WDH can overcome.

The WDH that you purchased is much bigger than you need for the trailer that you have.

Here is the E2 installation Manual. It states that the tongue weight should be no less than 10% and no other sway control devise is necessary.

[fallsrider]

Many of you know far more about WDHs than I do, because I have only ever worked with the one that came with my used trailer. But when the OP says that his hitch is rated for 10k lbs., doesn't that also mean his TW rating on his hitch is 1k lbs.? It seems to me that with a TW that is now lighter than 550 lbs., his hitch is too heavy for that trailer.

Am I wrong, and if not, does it matter?

[sew0177]

T3rry1,

I had that same WDH on my 33ft Rockwood prior to moving to a Class A. You said it was adjusted correctly ... when hooked to the trailer the TV would lower front and rear the same amount. When I hooked mine up, the friction of the bars on the L bracket attached to the trailer tongue was such that there was no way it was going to sway. I'm thinking the rain lubricated it enough for them to slip.

[Dakota98]

OK, so you had 550# tongue weight before moving the batteries.

Was the WDH installed & being used when you had that 550# on the tongue ?

You indicated that you moved the batteries for security purposes & to lessen tongue weight.

If you were not using a WDH with the 550# tongue weight. I'd suggest putting the batteries back on the tongue.

At 4000 lbs TT loaded, 550# puts you at approx. 14% tongue weight, which is fine. Is 550# too much for your TV ?

Just curious, but why do you have 4-6 volt batteries ?

[jayboogee]

T3rry1 wrote:

is there an option for the sway control on this setup? i didn't think there was since it was theoretically supposed to be built in, that's why i got this one to start with.

Looking at the stock photo you posted of your WD hitch, yes, there is, you can see to the right and left of your hitch ball, there are two more holes, where the smaller, friction sway control ball would screw into, then the sway control would hook onto an identical ball that would be drilled in horizontally to the side of the trailer frame. Exactly how i have it set up. Might be a cheap resolution for you.

The one piece of advice I can give when using friction sway control, is once you get off the highway, pull over and disengage/losen the sway control, otherwise it makes a loud metalic grinding noise during those tight secondary road turns! Freaked me out at first. Hah

[T3rry1]

yeah like i said, sorry i am unable to provide additional info as i dont have the trailer near me and wont for several weeks.

prior to moving the batteries it was swaying, probably the same amount, the tongue weight at that time was around 550#, which was my main reason for moving the batteries, and getting the WD hitch, based on the documentation, the truck and trailer do sit within the acceptable range when hitched.

is there an option for the sway control on this setup? i didn't think there was since it was theoretically supposed to be built in, that's why i got this one to start with.


I just dont feel that this provides the "bolted together" feeling that a lot of people report when using a good quality WD hitch, maybe i'm just expecting too much?