Which makes more impact on sway

[sgrizzle]

Here's my dilemma...which makes more impact on potential to sway? Too much tongue weight or too little tongue weight?

[coolbreeze01]

sgrizzle wrote:
Thanks for the comments... I was putting away my new registration papers today and came across my scale sheets from last year...

Front axle - 3280 lbs (3750 lbs max)
Rear axle - 3680 lbs (3850 lbs max)
Truck w/trailer hooked, but trailer off scale - 6960 lbs (tongue wt - 700lbs)
Truck + trailer - 13,500 lbs
Truck unhitched - 6260

I see this as my tongue wt is less than 10%...here's my "sway problem". I have the capacity to load my cargo in the front of trailer, thus increasing my tongue wt...can I also lower my hitch ht a notch?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Yes you can, and glad you figured out your problem. Good luck.

[camperforlife]

I had an intermittent problem as well and here is my theory and how I finally figured it out. Where is your fresh water tank and is the problem related to when the tank is full or empty? I set my hitch up with a full fresh tank thinking that I would want it set for max capacity. My tank is up front so when it was empty I was tongue light. I also sometimes wait to dump when I get home and have 2 grey and 1 black tank, 2 of which are behind the axles only compounding the problem shifting all the water weight from front to rear.

I re-weighed and set up the hitch with the front fresh water empty and 1 rear grey full and this has eliminated sway 100% for me. When I do carry a full fresh water tank I am tongue heavy a good part of the time but that is far better than when it was light.

[sgrizzle]

Thanks for the comments... I was putting away my new registration papers today and came across my scale sheets from last year...

Front axle - 3280 lbs (3750 lbs max)
Rear axle - 3680 lbs (3850 lbs max)
Truck w/trailer hooked, but trailer off scale - 6960 lbs (tongue wt - 700lbs)
Truck + trailer - 13,500 lbs
Truck unhitched - 6260

I see this as my tongue wt is less than 10%...here's my "sway problem". I have the capacity to load my cargo in the front of trailer, thus increasing my tongue wt...can I also lower my hitch ht a notch?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Ivylog wrote:
Only time I've ever had sway problems was when I loaded 200+ lbs of bargains in the back of a TT. Almost took me to the scene of the accident. Unless you grossly overload the TV I do not think you can have too much tongue weight.

OP, please read this ^^^^^ then read it again, and then memorize it.

A trailer with a light tongue weight will shake a 3/4 ton truck like a dog with a rat in his mouth.

I can make my car trailer handle like a angel or and angry devil depending on how I load it.

[JBarca]

sgrizzle wrote:
I added a picture to "my profile"...this was the day I brought it home, no WD/anti-sway bars attached. It came home fine.

I think this spring I will hookup and go back to the scales to see exactly what my truck wt is, the camper weight, and the total wt. Someone suggested to get the tongue wt...don't I get that by driving up to the scales and just have my truck (while hooked) on the scale???

My goal should be: 10-15% of my trailer wt on the tongue...The heavier the better, provided I don't go over my truck's payload capacity.

I know to some, it may seem like I am asking the same question over and over again, but this is not intuitive to me and I want to make sure I can get a consistent set-up and know what factors need to be adjusted.

Francesca mentions ball-ht...when I did my setup on my WD hitch, I set it at the ht that made the trailer level...and adjusted the angle that best kept my truck level...I am not convinced my setup is perfect. With that said, it looks good.

I appreciate your thoughts and I would love to hear more! Thanks guys!

Hi,

A few questions, do you have air bags on the back of the truck?

You are declaring "looks good" and "truck level" for your indication of proper WD.

WD being set optimum does not really fit always to being truck level or looks good.

Tell us how you adjust the WD on the truck and what you go by and why.

What tire pressure do you run on the truck and what is max cold pressure on the tire?

[Francesca_Knowl]

Towing as close to level as possible is definitely best, especially with a dual axle trailer. You want the load on those tires/axles to be as evenly split as possible.

You're right about tongue weight math- weigh the truck separately, then while it's hooked up (trailer off scale). Difference between those two numbers will be tongue weight.

I think it's best to do this with W/D disconnected just so you get "real" tongue weight numbers before the weight gets "distributed". I may well be wrong about that- and I'm sure that if so, someone will be along with a correction.

[sgrizzle]

I added a picture to "my profile"...this was the day I brought it home, no WD/anti-sway bars attached. It came home fine.

I think this spring I will hookup and go back to the scales to see exactly what my truck wt is, the camper weight, and the total wt. Someone suggested to get the tongue wt...don't I get that by driving up to the scales and just have my truck (while hooked) on the scale???

My goal should be: 10-15% of my trailer wt on the tongue...The heavier the better, provided I don't go over my truck's payload capacity.

I know to some, it may seem like I am asking the same question over and over again, but this is not intuitive to me and I want to make sure I can get a consistent set-up and know what factors need to be adjusted.

Francesca mentions ball-ht...when I did my setup on my WD hitch, I set it at the ht that made the trailer level...and adjusted the angle that best kept my truck level...I am not convinced my setup is perfect. With that said, it looks good.

I appreciate your thoughts and I would love to hear more! Thanks guys!

[Francesca_Knowl]

Ivylog wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Being nose-high will cause sway even if the weights are Otherwise fine.

I do not agree with this statement as towing high increases tongue weight.

It's my understanding that Ivylog is right- raising ball height increases tongue weight, at least on trailers with more than one axle. Lifting the tongue above level means you're also sort of "lifting" the frontmost axle on the trailer and pushing down on the rearmost.

Single axle trailers are different- raising the ball height will definitely lighten the tongue since in those cases one's simply pivoting the trailer on the axle.

[Ivylog]

ScottG wrote:
Being nose-high will cause sway even if the weights are Otherwise fine.

I do not agree with this statement as towing high increases tongue weight. I own over 10 trailers from flat beds, gooseneck, cargo, dump, 5er, plus a tilt and a 31' Airstream which have Torque Flex axles. If I DO NOT tow these two with the nose high they want to sway as there is no equalization between the T F axles. I tried towing the Airstream slightly nose low because of dragging the tool box I added to the back. NO, I do not put heavy things in the tool box and YES it has plenty of tongue weight plus I carry a generator on the tongue. I'll probably lower the rear axle 1/2" so I can tow it with the nose slightly low.
The tilt trailer is only a problem when empty as I can put the load far enough forward to increase the tongue weight to where it does not sway. Even adding a tool box to the front with chains and binders in it did not help but raising the ball 2-3" above level solves the problem.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Wanderoo wrote:
Does it matter whether the additional tongue weight is added via the tow vehicle (near the axle) or the trailer near the front?

Tongue weight is strictly related to the trailer, especially as it applies to stability. Rear axle weight/capacity is another thing altogether.

[ScottG]

Wanderoo wrote:
Does it matter whether the additional tongue weight is added via the tow vehicle (near the axle) or the trailer near the front?

Yes, because of the leverage it has to be on the trailer. Adding weight to the back of the truck wont help.

[Wanderoo]

Does it matter whether the additional tongue weight is added via the tow vehicle (near the axle) or the trailer near the front?

[jmtandem]

If you could provide the tow vehicle, the trailer size and make, and find the scale weight slips it would really help.

Hooked and loaded, drove onto scale. stopped when only truck axles where on the scale. Got weight.

This is the weight of the tow vehicle and the tongue. What is the number?


I pulled forward with both truck and trailer on scale. Got weight.

This is the weight of both the truck and trailer but has no differentiation of weight distribution.


I pulled forward until only trailer was on the scale. Got weight.


This is the weight of the trailer without the tongue weight and possibly some weight distributed back to the trailer axles from the WD hitch. But, it tells nothing about percent loading on tongue or how the trailer weight is distributed.

What would really help would be just the tongue weight of the trailer not connected to the truck. You have provided narrative, if you can provide numbers we might be able to give you some ideas. Narrative saying the numbers looked OK does not really help. What does the truck weigh alone and what is the trailer's loaded weight?

[ScottG]

Being nose-high will cause sway even if the weights are Otherwise fine.