2022 RAM 1500 sways when towing

[TimtheToolGy]

Originally Posted by runamuck

my '19 ram 1500 laramie tows our 6000# trailer pretty well. most of the folks that we pal around with are pulling around the same size or larger trailers than ours with ram 1500's have no problem. my son recently bought a 8500# 5er so traded his 1500 for a 2500 but his 1500 towed fine. because the gm 1500's with the 6 speed are so bad at towing, I only kept my '17 gmc sierra a year before I upgraded to the ram. if you are having trouble there's bound to be something in the setup that needs tweaking.

You have a lot of useful available information on what it takes to get reasonable results from RAM 1500 trucks. What has your group done that worked and what did not help?

[LETMGROW]

Last Saturday we went to a campground 40 miles away north of where we live. This is the third time Marc has hauled the trailer on the same route including the interstate for about 25 miles. This is the first time since the Timberns were installed. Going up the interstate we had some cross winds but as I was following him I could clearly see the trailer didn't sway anywhere as much as it did the first time I followed him with about the same conditions. After we got to the campground and set up I asked him what he thought about the handling. His response was it was still a little unnerving but much better than before. His assessment was on a scale of 1-10 it was about a 7 better or 70%. He's glad he installed the Timbrens. Money well spent.
Last evening we made the return trip. The air was still and as I followed him I could clearly see the trailer was behaving quite well. We were traveling at the same speed as we were going to the campground on the same interstate at the same 65 Mph speed. In our discussion after we returned home he said for the first time he could relax and drive one handed and comfortably. The front to rear rocking was nearly non existent now with the Timbrens. The sway doesn't get pronounced nearly as much until the truck bounces from front to rear.
As soon as we can we are going to scale the tongue weight on the trailer. There may be some adjustments to load distribution we can make if we aren't within the window of the recommended percentages or we can add or subtract weight and test again. This last trip the trailer was loaded almost exactly the same as the first two trips up the same route. This was intentional.
Marc is at liberty to pull the trailer up the same route as he travels the same route we take to go camping each day as he works a short distance from where the campground is located. His only drawback is the gas mileage suffers and is a strain on the wallet. That 5.7 is powerful but it likes it's fuel.
In preparation for the 165 mile trip planned for next week we plan to add his Camp Chef grille with the grille box. the griddle, spare filled 5 gallon gas cans, extra propane tanks, wooden corn hole game etc. to get a feel for how the truck trailer combination is going to drive on the trip. We are both convinced without the Timbrens the handling would be much worse. We're not that far from the interstate so we can travel about 8 miles of it, get off and return home.
One other side note: The Timbrens haven't appeared to hurt the quality of the ride running with no trailer or load in the box.

[tuffr2]

That is great news. You know I deducted the same thing from reading this thread. That Timbrens would probably improve the towing experience. Good decision so far.

I do know half ton trucks are really good at towing 6,000lbs. My non Ram truck was really rock solid towing that weight.

Agree with get the rig weighed and make any needed adjustments. For the longer trip try to load the extra stuff in the front of trailer.

Good luck

[LETMGROW]

We finally were able to get together last evening with my son in law and his 2019 Chevrolet 1500 4 WD pickup. After hooking the trailer up we ran the same route we did with my truck hauling the trailer when my son and I did our first tests. Same result. The 2019 hauled the trailer with no noticeable bouncing or sway and we took the speed up faster than we had tried before. This truck has standard load tires but we did add 5# of pressure to the rear tires to duplicate what I did with my truck.
For the time being any other changes are on hold unless we get some verifiable information of what would improve the handling with the Ram.

[GIjoe]

If you don't like a RAM. don't buy one, really simple! Mine does a great job and has done a great job towing our TT all across the fruited plains!

[tuffr2]

I test drove the Ram and like it. I buy it from the test drive. A few days after I buy it I tow my travel trailer and notice sway. So I can take the Ram back and say I don't want it? Very few places allow you to return a truck.

[carybosse]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

I test drove the Ram and like it. I buy it from the test drive. A few days after I buy it I tow my travel trailer and notice sway. So I can take the Ram back and say I don't want it? Very few places allow you to return a truck.

I guess if you buy what you think will work from one of the online places that give you 7 days to return?

The real issue is you have to go through all the setup to determine that it will not work.

One of the reasons I prefer to purchase new versus used: At least I know for certain what options I am getting in my wheels.

I still wonder what is specific to this Ram that is causing the issues. I hope the root cause is figured out.

[tuffr2]

Actually they want 1,000 miles on a lot of trucks before you tow anything. No way would they take a truck back after 1,000 miles and probably 2 or 3 weeks while you rack up 1,000 miles.

[GIjoe]

Originally Posted by carybosse

I guess if you buy what you think will work from one of the online places that give you 7 days to return?

The real issue is you have to go through all the setup to determine that it will not work.

One of the reasons I prefer to purchase new versus used: At least I know for certain what options I am getting in my wheels.

I still wonder what is specific to this Ram that is causing the issues. I hope the root cause is figured out.

Have no clue what these people are talking about! Has to be hitch configuration/tongue weight/air pressure as I have yet to have any sway issues with mine even in some pretty damn stiff cross winds out West!

[carybosse]

Originally Posted by GIjoe

Have no clue what these people are talking about! Has to be hitch configuration/tongue weight/air pressure as I have yet to have any sway issues with mine even in some pretty damn stiff cross winds out West!

It would be nice to compare your Ram to the OP's Ram. That is from tires/wheels/suspension, etc.

I suspect when the final solution is found, it will be something so simple, we will all go DUH!

[tuffr2]

My guess is there is something different on 'The Off-road Edition' Ram. My basic understanding is you buy a regular truck to tow and 'The Off-road' trucks to go off road.

[move on]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

My guess is there is something different on 'The Off-road Edition' Ram. My basic understanding is you buy a regular truck to tow and 'The Off-road' trucks to go off road.

Exactly. So, what's different between the two? I'd be looking at springs, shocks and tires.

Apparently the Timbrens helped, but I wonder if it would have been cheaper to replace the rear coil springs with non-off road springs.

[carybosse]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

My guess is there is something different on 'The Off-road Edition' Ram. My basic understanding is you buy a regular truck to tow and 'The Off-road' trucks to go off road.

Almost all of the factory offroad versions de-rate the payload & tow capacity of a truck.

The ZR2 version of the Chevy Colorado drops from 7K to 5k in tow rating, payload drops 200 pounds. On the Silverado, I haven't found the numbers for tow capacity, but payload drops by over 200 pounds with a factory lift.

I cannot remember now if the OP ever posted the door label for the Ram truck.

[tom92]

I believe the Ram Big Horn Off Road edition is the equivalent of what my 2013 Ram Outdoorsman was. They are the same truck except the Outdoorsman/Off Road gets 18" LT tires vs 20" P tires, minimally aggressive AT tires vs road, a bit stiffer shocks in the back and some skid plates. It actually increased payload/towing capacity, at least back in 2013. It is not a lifted, oversized tire rock crawling machine. It is for hunters that might drive through some fields to their blinds.



My trailer is a few feet shorter and lighter than the OPs. I never had sway problems with the Ram, but I also have a Husky Centerline hitch that has the friction based sway control, not a sway bar. It is also a toy hauler which is tongue heavy (without a toy in the back) and I do have issues with porpoising if I am not careful on my weight management.


For my last trip with the Ram I had loaded the truck bed with firewood. It bounced horribly. Coming home it was fine, since all of the wood had been burned.



I switched to a new Silverado over the winter with slightly lower capacities. I could tell immediately when I pulled the camper from storage that my hitch needed to be adjusted. I raised the brackets on the trailer frame a notch and that took care of the rear end squat I was getting. I also bought a Sherline tongue weight scale since the dry tongue weight and rated tongue capacity on the truck were both 950 pounds.


My first test with the tongue weight gauge showed it was right at 950. Moving all my gear to the back dropped it to 850 and it rode better. I also tested it with a full fresh tank which didn't change the tongue weight - which makes sense since the tank is directly over the axles. I also moved another 30-40 pounds of gear from the basement storage at the nose to a tool box in the trailer. The only stuff I keep up front now are chocks, levelers and Lego blocks.



Pulling it home after the first trip did have a bit more porpoising. I'm guessing it was because my waste tanks (forward of the axle) were partially full, as was the water heater. I also pulled through a CAT scale and was within my specs on everything with about 1500 pounds of capacity on the trailer and much more on the truck.



I now know that to avoid porpoising.

• Empty the truck bed.
• Heavy gear to the back of the camper.
• Dump the waste at the campground.
• Drain the water heater.