Toad Tracking Issue

[Craig P.]

I tow a 2007 crew cab long bed Toyota Tacoma pickup behind my motorhome. The truck has always tracked perfectly since it was new.

We just set out for our first trip of the season. The truck has suddenly become a nightmare to tow. It tracks terribly and pushes the front end of the coach around. In other words the tail is wagging the dog.

Neither vehicle has alignment issues or tracking problems when solo. The only thing that has changed since last season are tires....both vehicles are riding on new tires. The truck originally cane with Bridgestones, I replaced them with Continentals. The MH had Goodyears and I replaced them with Yokohamas.

I can see the truck moving side to side alot via my camera when towing. Could the new set of Continentals be the culprit?

Craig

[wa8yxm]

I'd still have alignment checked on the Tacoma.. You migh also check your tow bar for damage or latch failure.

[Gary RVRoamer]

I would suspect a problem with the tow bar or maybe a a bent base plate on the Tacoma. Easiest check (other than visual) is to tow the Tacoma with another coach, or pull another car with your motorhome. If it's a erratic as you say, you don't have to go far or fast to find out.

[Ed-Sommers]

Over inflated tires can sometimes cause this, especially if the tires are made from harder than normal material.

Ed

[Craig P.]

UPDATE:

Returning home from our trip, I drove the same stretch of highway. This time I disconnected the Tacoma and had the DW drive it behind me. The area that we drove through (Temecula CA) is known to be windy. I’ve driven my coach in winds before, but I’ve never been pushed around by it this badly. I’ve always assumed it was due to the weight of the MH. My old 31' gasser was a nightmare to drive in high winds.

Although more subdued, I experienced similar problems driving the coach solo along the this same stretch of highway. I had to constantly over-correct to keep the coach going straight. It was windy, but I’ve driven in worse before with less effect on the coach.

I installed a Steer Safe system and had the coach aligned about 1200 miles ago. It’s driven straight as an arrow until now.

Could the new tires possibly be the issue? I have them inflated according to Yokohama’s inflation chart, armed with the motorhome’s scale weight. They are the same size as the factory original Goodyears, which had tread wear issues.

Craig

[Gary RVRoamer]

Different tread designs will track differently, but it is usually unnoticeable on smooth pavement. On steel deck bridges, grates, etc. the difference may be pronounced.

[Francesca]

I have no experience with motorhomes, but "sway" is a topic I'm always interested in reading about.
For what it's worth, the trailer I tow came with passenger car tires and replacing those with stiffer Special Trailer tires made a dramatic difference in the "sway" department.
I'm sure you weren't running trailer tires on your truck before, but is it possible that you changed tire types when you changed brands?
Maybe your new tires are made to give a softer ride than your old ones?

[ImagineIF]

If nothing else has changed my bet is that there's not enough toe-in adjustment on the TOAD.