Towing Stability - Do I need a different 1/2 ton or should I go 3/4 ton?

[Zulu Kono]

Originally Posted by sasquatchsam

Hey everyone,

We picked up our first TT last year, a Winnebago 2306BHS (GVWR 6,000lbs). No towing experience prior. Currently we're towing it with a 2021 Ram 1500 Hemi crew cab, 3.92 axle ratio, 1,655lbs payload with a Blue Ox TrackPro WDH, running in tow/haul mode.

We've taken it out on 4 trips so far, the farthest being 2.5 hours away. A few of those have including traveling up mild grades, on highways, as well as winding back roads. During this time, the towing experience has felt uncomfortable at times. We hit some strong cross-winds on the highway, and the experience felt white-knuckle. Going up a grade, there seemed to be an almost slight forward and back motion felt in the truck from the trailer. And just towing in general feels exhausting.

Doing some research, some people seem to say that the Ram trucks suffer in towing stability due to coil suspension. My thought is maybe moving to another 1/2 ton with leaf springs like an F150 with ecoboost for better stability, or should I move up to a 3/4 ton?

Or am I missing something and this is just what towing is and as a newbie I'm trying to fix something that's not broken?

No way I'd yank around a 6000 pound trailer with a half-ton rig.
My new-to-me camper is less than 5000 pounds UVW
and I'm towing it with a '96 K2500 Suburban/7.4 Vortec.
When I see big trailers for sale with the description
"half-ton towable", I just roll my eyes and laugh.
If you want to tow and know your truck
is breathing easy, get a 3/4 ton or bigger.

[Cumminsfan]

His TT isn't big. It's only 25.5" long and the UVW is only 4668lbs with a TW of 584lbs per brochure. The GVWR is 6,000 lbs which the OP probably won't see.
The TW is already more than 10%.
The dual axles are set pretty far back so stability wise it should be great.

Just because the truck and TT look level it still may not be set up right.
Like mentioned before make sure you're returning the front of the trucks ride height to as close to it's unloaded height as possible'
E.g 40" unhitched, 41" hitched without spring bars, 40" with spring bars attached. Don't go under 40" hitched.

That truck should have zero issues with that TT.
Are you raising the TT tongue before attaching the spring bars to create downward force on the front of the truck? The more pressure you put on the spring bars the more friction added to the WDH for control.

[Marine359]

X2 Cumminsfan
OP’s trailer is a Micro Minnie, which is probably the easiest towing dual axle trailers on the market. The line was designed by Winnebago to be 100% 1/2 ton towable. They sell larger trailers that may require larger trucks. OP’s trailer if properly balanced is well within his tow vehicles limits for GAWR, GVWR, payload, and tow weight. Plus, as mentioned, he’s not likely to approach the trailer’s GVWR.

Of course bigger trucks afford more flexibility to change out your trailer, but there’s a price to pay in fuel economy, maneuverability, and comfort. Some people would advise that a one ton diesel dually is needed to tow a pop-up.

[Roy-c]

We can all talk about how a different 1/2 ton or a different hitch or adding air bags or something else to the suspension will make a difference. We need to keep in mind that all of us don't have the same level of experience' expertise or comfort level.
That being said, the OP is not comfortable with the rig he has and that is what matters.
Get the bigger truck, eat the fuel mileage and be happy in your travels.
THAT IS WHAT MATTERS.

[dizcom]

Originally Posted by sasquatchsam

Hey everyone,

We picked up our first TT last year, a Winnebago 2306BHS (GVWR 6,000lbs). No towing experience prior. Currently we're towing it with a 2021 Ram 1500 Hemi crew cab, 3.92 axle ratio, 1,655lbs payload with a Blue Ox TrackPro WDH, running in tow/haul mode.

We've taken it out on 4 trips so far, the farthest being 2.5 hours away. A few of those have including traveling up mild grades, on highways, as well as winding back roads. During this time, the towing experience has felt uncomfortable at times. We hit some strong cross-winds on the highway, and the experience felt white-knuckle. Going up a grade, there seemed to be an almost slight forward and back motion felt in the truck from the trailer. And just towing in general feels exhausting.

Doing some research, some people seem to say that the Ram trucks suffer in towing stability due to coil suspension. My thought is maybe moving to another 1/2 ton with leaf springs like an F150 with ecoboost for better stability, or should I move up to a 3/4 ton?

Or am I missing something and this is just what towing is and as a newbie I'm trying to fix something that's not broken?

You're trying to fix something that isn't broken. Relax your hands. You'll find that you're better able to react when your hands aren't tense. Relax your arms and your shoulders also. It will make you a better driver. A bigger truck will make everything more stable and the price difference is small enough not to matter. This isn't a great time to go truck shopping, but you aren't overloaded and it won't hurt to learn on a less capable vehicle. Ignore all the hype and learn your rig. We pulled with an F150 for years and never had a problem once we learned how. Take your time, you're on vacation. Slow down and enjoy the adventure. Before long, you'll be slinging that trailer around like it's a part of you.

[sasquatchsam]

Guys, I feel like such a noob here. We did a trip over the weekend that was 3 hours away. For the first half of it, towing was rough, as previously described. I had even loaded differently, putting more weight on the tongue.

I was complaining about it to my wife and she pulled up the manual for our WDH on her phone, and asked “did you turn off the anti-sway function on the truck?”

I didn’t know where it was, so she looked it up and turns out it’s lumped in with the traction control button. I turned it off, and everything smoothed out. Seems the anti-sway feature of the truck was fighting the anti-sway bars? It towed great the rest of the way to the campground and the return trip. I even got to the point where sometimes it “felt like it wasn’t back there”.

Occasionally there was a little squishiness over bumps, but I might assume that’s due to the P rates tires on the truck. I might switch those out with LT tires and hopefully be good to go.

[Cumminsfan]

Well that was easy.
Good that you got it figured out. Guess you don't need that 3500 DRW after all.

[bross]

Kudo's to your wife for "RTFM" . As I taught all our kids to drive and bought them their first used beater cars, I would always hand them their owners manuals, you know those big heavy 300+ page ones, and tell them to read it. These were all kids who basically didn't even have text books in school anymore. They would laugh and say "You serious". And I would reply "Dead serious" and don't call and ask for help until you have.

And then I had a taste of my own medicine shortly after buying my new F-150. Had towed our trailer home and stored it but the trailer message kept coming up on the dash every time I started the truck. Was driving past my Ford dealer one day so pulled in and asked. They sent a mechanic out whose first question was "Where's your manual?" he looked in the index, found the page and said "Here it is." Felt kinda foolish but I now know what all the menu items do in the dash.

[sasquatchsam]

Originally Posted by bross

Kudo's to your wife for "RTFM" . As I taught all our kids to drive and bought them their first used beater cars, I would always hand them their owners manuals, you know those big heavy 300+ page ones, and tell them to read it. These were all kids who basically didn't even have text books in school anymore. They would laugh and say "You serious". And I would reply "Dead serious" and don't call and ask for help until you have.

And then I had a taste of my own medicine shortly after buying my new F-150. Had towed our trailer home and stored it but the trailer message kept coming up on the dash every time I started the truck. Was driving past my Ford dealer one day so pulled in and asked. They sent a mechanic out whose first question was "Where's your manual?" he looked in the index, found the page and said "Here it is." Felt kinda foolish but I now know what all the menu items do in the dash.

When I originally read the manual last year, I remember seeing it mention it, but I made the mistake of assuming that since there wasn't an apparent button to turn it off in the truck, that my truck wasn't equipped with anti-sway. Guess i was wrong and and the first three letters of "assume" now apply to me

[runamuck]

I have a similar truck and pull a similar trailer. my '19 Ram 1500 laramie ccsb 4x4 with 5.7L and 8 speed with 3.92 rear end and 33 gal tank pulls fine. I can set cruise for 68-69 and putt along with no trouble. you may want to consider air bags for the rear to stiffen the springs and change out the sway bar to a stiffer one and add some air to the truck tires when towing. all these things have improved the towing experience for me. my travel trailer weighs 6000# when towed and is 28' long. I only run 20# in the airbags to give some stiffness to the back end and I pack enough stuff in the front storage bin of the trailer to get around 600# of tongue wt. you may be running a little light in the front. LT tires might also be a good add but a lot depends on your loading. we have towed from ft. worth to Big Bend..580 each way and from ft. worth to Custer S.D. 1100 each way plus many other shorter trips with no problem. you might also want to change out your trailer tires to a set of good ones. I took off the china bombs for a set of the carlisles and that seems to have helped the trailer track a little better.

[CamperLifer]

I am towing 8000 with an anti-sway WDH and never turn off the Trailer Sway Control on the pickup. It makes no difference. The 2 systems work very well together, as I have found on windy days towing. The computer will cut power and apply the trailer brakes.

[bross]

Originally Posted by CamperLifer

I am towing 8000 with an anti-sway WDH and never turn off the Trailer Sway Control on the pickup. It makes no difference. The 2 systems work very well together, as I have found on windy days towing. The computer will cut power and apply the trailer brakes.

I have Anti-sway on my 2016 F-150 but wouldn't know it's there as I've never felt anything but stable towing.

[Dodge Guy]

Good find. But the problem is that the anti sway function was trying to stop something. You shouldn’t need to turn it off, it’s there for that reason. I’m thinking you may still have a hitch setup issue.

[Zulu Kono]

Originally Posted by sasquatchsam

Occasionally there was a little squishiness over bumps,
but I might assume that’s due to the P rates tires on the truck.
I might switch those out with LT tires and hopefully be good to go.

P rated tires on a truck is an oxymoron.
Until you get some load-range D or E tires
on it, it's just a car with a big open trunk.