Sway Elimination hitch recommendation

[bestbarton]

Hi. looking for recommendations/suggestions/thoughts about sway elimination weight distribution hitch. Towing a 2015 Forest River Salem - dry weight 6700# plus 1100# of gear - I am at 7800#. Towed with a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500, 5.7 Hemi Ext. cab with weight distribution hitch. HORRIBLE sway. Used Add on sway controller, that made it worse. Now have a 2015 Ford F150 Super crew 5.0 V8. Same deal The sway, especially with ANY wind is horrid. Are there any sway elimination hitches out there that don't cost 2k?

[move on]

Your truck is probably on the light side for a 7800 lb trailer. You probably should get a 2500. That said, you can guard against sway by making sure you have sufficient tongue weight (10%) and maximum air pressure in your trailer and tow vehicle rear tires. Also, minimize the spring tension in your WD hitch, as taking weight off your rear tires will make it easier for the trailer to push your truck around.

[bneukam]

In order to give you good advice the following info would help.

What WDH are you using
Overall length of TT
Loaded Tongue weight

If you are too light weight on the tongue that alone can produce your issue.

[LanceKeys]

Like the others have said, you probably don’t have enough tongue weight. It is better to prevent sway in the first place by having your trailer set up correctly than trying to stop it with a contraption on your hitch. If your water tank is forward of your axles, fill it up to add tongue weight. If you have anything hanging off the back of your trailer, take it off. You’ll be amazed at what these few changes can do for you.

[tuffr2]

My knee jerk thought is your truck is too small for a 7,800 lb travel trailer. If you need a small truck as a daily driver then you just might need to spring for an expensive Pro Pride WD with built in sway control.

Or take back roads where the speed limit does not exceed 50mph.

[Dave Pelletier]

what they said; TT is too big for the tow vehicle and you may not have enough tongue weight. The only hitches that eliminate sway are the expensive Hensley and ProPride units which are often used in situations where the tow vehicle is too light duty.

Start by checking that the tongue weight is 12 - 15% or 950 - 1200 lbs in your case.....assuming your 7800 lbs is accurate.


Dave

[Cumminsfan]

TT needs to be parallel to the ground or the front slightly down depending on adjust ability.
The trucks front end needs to be returned to at least 50% of OEM height. Or per the owners manual.

TT and truck tires need to be aired to the sidewall max.

Any good friction hitch will help. I would suggest an Equalizer with 4 point sway. Reese DC is also good.

My guess is though that even after all the above that you'll still have issues. The TT's too big for the truck to control.

Only way you'll control that TT with your current truck is with a Hensley Arrow or Pro Pride hitch. But you're looking a $3K. I think I'd invest that $3K in a 3/4 ton truck.

[move on]

I wouldn't go with a Hensley. While it does do a good job on trailer sway it is probably the worst hitch on the market when it comes to oversteer. It's good for travelling in a straight line but don't use it if you have to make sharp turns. I would rather spend that $2000 cost on upgrading to a larger vehicle. A new 2500 costs about $5000 more than a 1500, plus you'll get some of that back in resale value.

[Redfour5]

Originally Posted by bestbarton

Hi. looking for recommendations/suggestions/thoughts about sway elimination weight distribution hitch. Towing a 2015 Forest River Salem - dry weight 6700# plus 1100# of gear - I am at 7800#. Towed with a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500, 5.7 Hemi Ext. cab with weight distribution hitch. HORRIBLE sway. Used Add on sway controller, that made it worse. Now have a 2015 Ford F150 Super crew 5.0 V8. Same deal The sway, especially with ANY wind is horrid. Are there any sway elimination hitches out there that don't cost 2k?

I'm a bit less weight, and I use a "fastway 10K" hitch and it works great. It is made by the company that makes the "Equalizer" anti-sway hitch. You can get the Fastway for 500 bucks now days. The equalizer will run likely in the 800 range.

The only difference between the two is that the Equalizer has four friction points vs two on the Fastway. The advantage of these units imho is ease of use and daily travel install AND you can back up with them within reason. Getting in my driveway requires me to remove the bars, but that just takes a minute or two usually. These will add around 80 lbs. to your hitch weight but will distribute nicely and isn't any real difference between others. I live in Montana and it is windy and sway isn't a concern or something I note. You sound a bit "sensitive" to sway so the Equalizer might give you a bit more assurance but definitely not in the 2K range on pricing. Having a Ram 1500, I also got aftermarket airbags for like 300 installed (126 Amazon the rest install) that help some but not really in the sway area although they do play a role in damping movement in general.

[Redfour5]

Originally Posted by bestbarton

Hi. looking for recommendations/suggestions/thoughts about sway elimination weight distribution hitch. Towing a 2015 Forest River Salem - dry weight 6700# plus 1100# of gear - I am at 7800#. Towed with a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500, 5.7 Hemi Ext. cab with weight distribution hitch. HORRIBLE sway. Used Add on sway controller, that made it worse. Now have a 2015 Ford F150 Super crew 5.0 V8. Same deal The sway, especially with ANY wind is horrid. Are there any sway elimination hitches out there that don't cost 2k?

I'm a bit less weight, and I use a "fastway 10K" hitch and it works great. It is made by the company that makes the "Equalizer" anti-sway hitch. You can get the Fastway for 350 bucks now days. The equalizer will run likely in the 650 range.

The only difference between the two is that the Equalizer has four friction points vs two on the Fastway. The advantage of these units imho is ease of use and daily travel install AND you can back up with them within reason. Getting in my driveway requires me to remove the bars, but that just takes a minute or two usually. These will add around 80 lbs. to your hitch weight but will distribute nicely and isn't any real difference between others. I live in Montana and it is windy and sway isn't a concern or something I note with a 28 foot TT. You sound a bit "sensitive" to sway so the Equalizer might give you a bit more assurance but definitely not in the 2K range on pricing. Having a Ram 1500, I also got aftermarket airbags for like 300 installed (126 Amazon the rest install) that help some but not really in the sway area although they do play a role in damping movement in general.

I see a round bar (like mine) for 333 on etrailer https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Dist...4-00-1033.html without a ball.

Here is the equalizer for 660 https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Dist...EQ37100ET.html

The Equalizer is said to be a bit more rigid than the Fastway (four point friction vs 2) but IF sway is an issue then that is important. But I don't mind my set up functioning as one thing either...

[bneukam]

Agree with those answers above that your better off getting a bigger truck, or downsizing the trailer. You could go through the hassle, and expense of a better WDH, but you still probably won’t be satisfied with how it tows.

Increase your tongue weight, and see if it helps. Not sure but misaligned axles are common, and could also be the issue.

[tuffr2]

The cheapest thing to try is increase tongue weight. Fill the front pass thru storage with all your tools or even jugs of water just to test it. There is a good video showing the difference where the weight is placed. It was posted on this forum many times over the last several years.

If that does not help alot then a bigger truck is needed.

My experiece has been a lot of sway with a 4,500 lb travel trailer with a Honda Ridgeline but zero sway with the same trailer and a F-150. Wheelbase increased was 25" between the Ridgeline and longer F-150.

[tuffr2]

Here is that video:


https://youtu.be/6mW_gzdh6to

[Cumminsfan]

Originally Posted by move on

I wouldn't go with a Hensley. While it does do a good job on trailer sway it is probably the worst hitch on the market when it comes to oversteer. It's good for travelling in a straight line but don't use it if you have to make sharp turns. I would rather spend that $2000 cost on upgrading to a larger vehicle. A new 2500 costs about $5000 more than a 1500, plus you'll get some of that back in resale value.

Have you ever used a Hensley style hitch? I have and have no clue what you're talking about.