New tires new trailer sway

rvfixer · 08-28-2008, 04:17 AM

I recently put new tires on my 3/4ton truck 'E' load range and new tires on my TT. The trailer towed fine before this was done but now has considerable sway. The trailers were switched from biased ply to radial ply. Any help, please!

rvfixer · 08-28-2008, 04:17 AM

I recently put new tires on my 3/4ton truck 'E' load range and new tires on my TT. The trailer towed fine before this was done but now has considerable sway. The trailers were switched from biased ply to radial ply. Any help, please!

RustyJC · 08-28-2008, 04:33 AM

First, welcome to iRV2.com. We're glad you finally decided to make that first post!

Can you give us some more information to go on, such as the year, make and model of your trailer, what tires were on it before and what tires are on it now, what inflation pressures you're running, what kind of hitch, weight distribution and anti-sway arrangement is in use, etc. It's challenging enough to try to diagnose a problem like this over the internet to begin with, but especially so without all of the facts. The more you can tell us, the more we can help you.

Rusty

450Donn · 08-28-2008, 04:44 AM

Without further information I will take a stab in the dark. You installed an aggressive tread tire on the truck, right? If this is true, your problem is the tires. Aggressive tread will generally induce more movement as the tread blocks squirm around.

Jeff_in_The_Dalles · 08-28-2008, 05:00 AM

I was wondering if the tire shop could have put tires of too low of a weight rating on the trailer?

Anyway, first step would be to verify correct pressure on the truck and trailer tires.

I'd probably also go back to the tire store ASAP and tell them about the problem. A while back tires got changed on a vehicle at work and for whatever reason it just didn't handle well. The tire place refunded the cost of the tires towards some different ones.

Lastly, I see this is your first post. Welcome to the forums.

RedGuy · 08-28-2008, 05:24 AM

Youcould too have gotten a bad tire in there somewhere. I don't remeber what caused the problem, but I remember learing in high school auto shop that a tire could have a problem where it can actually cause a vehicle to pull one way or the other. The solution, short of replacing the tire was to put the offending tire(s) on the rear of the vehicle. However I'd imagine that if you had a tire like this on your trailer it could cause some major problems.

I think the problem could have been shifted belts? That sound framilar to anybody?

CD · 08-28-2008, 05:51 AM

rvfixer
Welcome aboard. About 2 yrs. ago I replaced the rear truck tires with Les Schwab tires that are a little more agressive than highway tires in Portland, Or. I noticed right away that it was squirley w/TT. We stopped @ a Les Schwab in Ca. and complained. They blamed it on a front tire that was showing a little weather checking on the side wall. I didn't buy it and went on. It went away in about a 1000 miles and don't have any problem any more. Thats just one possibility.

BryanL · 08-28-2008, 09:47 AM

What you highlight is just how important tire selection can be in trailer handling. The sad part is that it is very difficult to figure out what tire for the truck is best for trailer handling.

If the trailer tires are ST rated, I don't think the bias ply or radial is an issue.

As noted, the truck tire sidewall stiffness and tread can be major issues in trailer handling.

My suggestion would be to inflate the rear axle truck tires and the trailer tires to the max pressure indicated on the sidewall. For load range E (truck) this would be 80 psi and for load range C or D on the trailer it would probably be 45 or 65 psi.

If max pressures doen't bring the handling to a comfortable level, you are stuck with either trying different tires or adding sway control at the hitch.