MyersAvionics
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Re: How to avoid getting blown all over the road
JRscooby wrote: MyersAvionics wrote: time2roll wrote: time2roll wrote: Does the front suspension rise or compress when you get all hooked up? I am still curious on the weight distribution effect on the front suspension. It looked pretty level even without the bags. I did notice the front end steering was a bit lighter without the bags though. I watched a friend hook up, as we where discussing his handling issue. The front of TV came up when the tongue was lowered. Latched coupler, jacked back up to hook the bars. When lifted jack off ground, the front was still higher than before hooked up. When he aired up the bags, the TV was level. Made a bet the scale would tell him front was still light. Never measured, but bet both ends of TV where riding higher with trailer than without. When readjusted the bars, handling improved The dealer hooked up our hitch when we purchased the camper. They very well may have not done it correctly. I never redid their install. I will be taking my time when I receive the ProPride next week when I install it to ensure it is done correctly.1.3KViews0likes0CommentsRe: How to avoid getting blown all over the road
time2roll wrote: time2roll wrote: Does the front suspension rise or compress when you get all hooked up? I am still curious on the weight distribution effect on the front suspension. It looked pretty level even without the bags. I did notice the front end steering was a bit lighter without the bags though.1.3KViews0likes0CommentsRe: How to avoid getting blown all over the road
BarneyS wrote: Personally, I would set the WD to the heaviest tongue weight (no toys in your case) and call it good unless the handling of the vehicle deteriorated too much with the toys loaded. Of course, each person uses their rig differently and if you always tow with the toys loaded then you should probably set the WD for the loaded condition.:) Barney We only use it when hauling bikes quite honestly. I may weigh it loaded and unloaded just out of curiosity sake. I also just puked a bit and bought the ProPride hitch. Thought about the Equilizer, but figured if you're doing it, you might as well go all the way and be happy you did when you've got a 15hr trip ahead!1.3KViews0likes0CommentsRe: How to avoid getting blown all over the road
BarneyS wrote: Keep in mind that toy hauler trailers usually have the heaviest tongue weights when they are EMPTY of the toys. Adding them makes the tongue weight lighter because the toys are normally loaded behind the trailers axles. Barney Duly noted and understood. The axles are set fairly far back for this reason as well. I still plan to weigh everything to get proper weight distribution.1.3KViews0likes0CommentsRe: How to avoid getting blown all over the road
mr_andyj wrote: You did not say which Ram you have. Is it one of those dinky short wheelbase trucks with single cab and 5 foot bed, or is it a crew cab with an 8 foot bed? Wheelbase makes a difference. A long wheel base will make towing easier than with a short wheelbase. I have doubt about what changing tires will do to combat wind. If the wind blows against the side of your huge, yet fairly light-for-the-size trailer, then it is going to move. The guy mentioned AirTabs, and that, or doing something to smooth out the airflow behind the trailer might be the biggest thing you can do to help. Think of those door flap things the big rigs have on some of their 53 foot trailers. That helps with mpg's but also with control as it smooths out the air flowing off the rear. On my trailers I put all the roof junk at the front and nothing on the roof on the rear half as I want the air the have time to smooth out before dropping off the back. Every little bit helps. I have the quad cab with the 6'4" bed. Looking at all the options, the wife and I are going to spring for the ProPride 3P hitch. It's a good investment in the long run. It retains its value well and if I do go to a 2500 we'll transfer its use over to that. I just need to determine the loaded tongue weight to determine which version to purchase. I'm thinking the 1000 or 1400. The toyhauler is just shy of 7k lbs dry. Add water, bikes, and materials and I'm easily 8k lbs.1.3KViews0likes0CommentsRe: How to avoid getting blown all over the road
Thanks for all the feedback. I think I have a solid plan going forward. $1,300 later, I have some solid tires on the truck. I'm going to look up to see how much pressure I should be running in them when towing. The dealer put 40psi in and when using a tire pressure calculator it shows I should run 52psi. Next weekend, I'm doing a short drive for a race. I'm going to load up the camper and then take it to a CAT scale. I'll do 2 passes. One with the TV by itself and then another with the camper to see how the weight is distributed. I'll get it all sorted to ensure weight is properly distributed. Note that I don't have any 'big' toys in the back. Just a couple modern dirtbikes so they weigh a little over 200lbs each. No big 1500lbs SXS's being loaded! After that trip, if I still feel it is warranted, I'll spring from the ProPride hitch so I have it for a trip to the UP to race later this month. That will be a bit longer 10hr drive so it would be nice to have.359Views0likes0CommentsRe: How to avoid getting blown all over the road
Thank you for all the input. I added the airbags just as a recommendation from a friend. I sometimes forget to fill them up when towing and don't really notice a difference to be honest. The plan at the moment is putting better tires on. It is currently at the shop getting the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo 3's installed. Then I'm going to load up the trailer and take it to a CAT scale and get it weighed; Once without the weight distribution and once with to see the different load points for the axels. At that point, I'll readjust as needed. I don't carry anything too heavy in the back. Just up to 3 dirt bikes (<700lbs). We then put all luggage and so forth in the front bedroom to help distribute the weight. After doing the above, I'll take it for a test drive and see how it does. If it's still white knuckled driving, I will spring for the ProPride hitch. That's a tough 3k bill to swallow for a hitch, but it's cheaper than a 60k+ truck. Finally, if all else fails we have discussed selling the trailer and getting a toyhauler RV. Talking big bucks there, so I'd like to avoid that!359Views0likes0CommentsHow to avoid getting blown all over the road
Hello All, Curious on how I can avoid wind blowing the camper and my truck all over the place to the point of it being really annoying to drive and causing me to not even want to use it. I have RAM 1500 with the 5.7 V8. It doesn't work too hard to pull my 29' toy hauler (7k lbs empty and ~8.5k with stuff loaded) at 65mph down the road. The problem comes in that even with slight side wind gusts I'm blown all over the place and I have to slow down to about 50mph to keep it drivable. I have a BlueOx hitch with sway controls as well as the trailer friction sway control. I have LT tires and after getting the weight distribution down pat, I have also installed airbags in the springs to keep the truck level. This helped, but I am still getting blown around the road. I'm to the point of looking at a larger 2500 diesel RAM, or a full on drivable RV toyhauler, or just an RV that I would put a standard trail behind. Before I go to these (expensive) extremes. Does anyone on here have any advice on something I could be missing? Thank you,14KViews0likes62Comments
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