No answer for sway

[Jay D.]

Originally Posted by Normal_Dave

Mercy...after going through both threads, it has been quite the whirlwind of well-meaning and experienced answers/suggestions/purchase recommendation A few things you posted stuck out to me:
-Sway
-Perfectly level trailer
-Tongue weight
-and now you discover you don't have a genuine Equal-i-zer brand WD hitch, with built-in sway control.

I vote "setup issue".

I'm still not sure we know what we need to know. In troubleshooting, I always get in to trouble assuming certain components are "right".

Let's start over fresh. Unless I missed it somewhere, If you haven't done "SmokeyWren's" truck scale weigh procedure as follows, then IMO, nothing else matters.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f45/what...ml#post4239483

"Visually level" trailer doesn't always translate to properly loaded. Multiple recommendations say not enough tongue weight, symptoms support that.

Let's take a look at another video on weight distribution hitches from our Aussie friends...yes metric and some different terms, but it's a great teaching example, maybe it will turn on a light bulb for you.
https://youtu.be/3-PyN0EY3Ww

While a bigger truck, and all those other things will help, let's nail your current setup first. It certainly will fit into your budget and camping plans much better.

Master Yoda trailer gurus (not me), say "you must un-learn what you have learned...".

Hang in there, I think you can make this setup work with the right data.

i think your on to something Normal Dave
Jay D.

[DougJames65]

Your truck is too small. Tow Vehicle weight should be equal to or greater than the trailer to properly control sway on a bumper pull trailer. Your trailer weight is 2,000 pounds more the the tow vehicle, no sway control can fix that weight balance difference.

[falconview]

35 psi isn't enough for the tow vehicle tires. At that pressure, the tires are squirming. I don't know what LT tires you have and the rating on them. 35 psi is for passenger car tires, you need tires that can handle at least 60 psi. Here is what you do. Go to someone or to a used car lot and find a 3/4 ton pickup with E rated LT tires on it with 80 psi in the tires. Hook up the trailer and I KNOW most of the sway will be gone if not all. If I was near you I would come over with my pickup and show you the difference. With my 32 ft trailer that weighs 7200 empty and the pickup weighs 6100 empty with E rated LT cooper tires there is no sway unless there is a side wind gusts. The trailer tires are E rated also but you might be able to get by with D rated but nothing less on the trailer. E rated have a max pressure of 80 psi and D rated 60 psi max presure. Check the rating on your tires.

[clev]

You need a sway control and tires that hold more than 35 psi.

[MnRBuck]

Feeling your misery... I'm had a 5th wheel for about a year, and it moved a lot until I put airlift bags on the truck. Night and day, I coukd level the truck and it was a much, much smoother ride and a pleasure to pull the trailer after that. Would that help on a TT?

[glwinger]

Originally Posted by falconview

35 psi isn't enough for the tow vehicle tires. At that pressure, the tires are squirming. I don't know what LT tires you have and the rating on them. 35 psi is for passenger car tires, you need tires that can handle at least 60 psi. Here is what you do. Go to someone or to a used car lot and find a 3/4 ton pickup with E rated LT tires on it with 80 psi in the tires. Hook up the trailer and I KNOW most of the sway will be gone if not all. If I was near you I would come over with my pickup and show you the difference. With my 32 ft trailer that weighs 7200 empty and the pickup weighs 6100 empty with E rated LT cooper tires there is no sway unless there is a side wind gusts. The trailer tires are E rated also but you might be able to get by with D rated but nothing less on the trailer. E rated have a max pressure of 80 psi and D rated 60 psi max presure. Check the rating on your tires.

\


OP says he has Michelin LT tires. I am assuming those are on the TV. With only 35lbs of air, the truck will POGO which could cause the sway also. Being level at a standstill is OK, but while driving the tires will squat when the trailer bounces.

I have a 2015 Silverado and pull a 6500lb toy hauler. I had basically the same problem. I changed the tires to Cooper LT AT3's and run them at 50lb cold. Made a huge difference. Also changed my hitch to an Equalizer 1400, suggested by my installer. I noticed the differnce immediately. I had a Proride with added sway control that did not do the job. I also added Timbrens on the rear of the truck.

The Silverado weighs more than the F-150 so that also helps.

[JRoyer]

Originally Posted by cmcguire48

Well guys for those of you that have been following my sway issues i have given up. I have weighed my tongue and it is perfect. Trailer and TV are perfectly level. Equalizer has been set up right. Tires are LT michelins. No weight in back of trailer. Added sand bags to get my tongue weight correct. After all this my trailer still sways and bounces down the road. I have a 2020 Imagine with loaded weight 6500, we travel lite. TV is F150 2.7 ecoboost weighing in at 4500 lbs. Saying all that do I get a 250 or Propride hitch can not do both. Is there a way out or am I stuck with a swaying trailer. This is my last post on this subject I have beat this issue to death.

Go to Amazon. com search sway bar for travel trailers. $41.95 for a Reese sway bar. Problem solved. Henley is a great tow hitch but you already have all you need. Get the bar, install it. Ya da!

[Louie0913]

Originally Posted by cmcguire48

Well guys for those of you that have been following my sway issues i have given up. I have weighed my tongue and it is perfect. Trailer and TV are perfectly level. Equalizer has been set up right. Tires are LT michelins. No weight in back of trailer. Added sand bags to get my tongue weight correct. After all this my trailer still sways and bounces down the road. I have a 2020 Imagine with loaded weight 6500, we travel lite. TV is F150 2.7 ecoboost weighing in at 4500 lbs. Saying all that do I get a 250 or Propride hitch can not do both. Is there a way out or am I stuck with a swaying trailer. This is my last post on this subject I have beat this issue to death.

Buy a Hensley guaranteed your trailer wont sway it cant I bought mine 3 years ago and will never tow with anything else The have a Refurbished program that will save you a bunch on a purchase if you are on facebook go to their users group and read away

[David Jarrett]

This is the type sway control I have always used for all sorts of trailers, both with and without an equalizer, and it has always prevented swaying, even when I was young & stupid and knew nothing about tongue weights, equalization, tire pressures, etc.

https://www.bulletproofhitches.com/p...control-system

[Orangecrash]

Have you ever had anyone else drive? maybe your driving technique needs to be adjusted. I have a friend that put $$$$ into the suspension on his Class A motorhome because it didn't drive or handle like "it should".. He found that his wife could drive it just fine..She now does all of the driving..and he's only 66. I"m just "saying"..

[DenCath]

My guess is the Ford suspension isn't properly accommodating the weight. Assuming you already verified the truck can tow that much, I would look into either stiffer springs, air bags, or both. If it feels like the trailer is driving the truck, that is a strong sign that the suspension isn't offsetting the normal back and forth tendency.

[Qwimby1]

I think your truck is too small, but I'm no expert. My own experience...26,000-pound motorhome on a Freightliner chassis pulling a 24-foot trailer weighing 10,000 pounds. I fought sway for a long time, but one day in Texas I followed a truck and trailer and watched the trailer pushing the truck back and forth like a metronome. I pulled into the next town and got one of these:
After that I could run faster and spend a couple more hours a day behind the wheel. I had resisted getting one because I thought it would prevent my backing up. That was no problem and was a major improvement. Wouldn't be without one now.

[KRE]

I have not read all the posts in this thread but how much weight do you have in the back of the pick-up? If you tow with nothing in the bed try adding a few hundred pounds of sandbags over the rear axle. Make sure that everything else is set to manufactures specs IE tire pressures, tongue weight at 15% of trailer weight etc.


Too light a rear end on the tow vehicle can cause the tail to wag the dog.


Keith

[fabricater]

Your tow vehicle is not the problem. Your tires are not heavy enough and your hitch isn’t right. Equalizing hitch does not mean it has sway control. A hitch can shift the weight but not have sway control. My dad pulled a airstream with a Cadillac.2 different ones. I pulled camper with a car. Many have pulled campers with cars over the years without issue. I pulled a 35 ft bumper pull that weighed 9500 lbs emty without problem. The hitch has to have sway control of some kind. Some are better than others . I use the old Reese cam sway control. They don’t make this anymore. Always worked well for me. I have pulled camper much heavier Han my tow vehicle. If the hitch was set right,there was know problem. My dad now uses the friction type with the brake pad that is tightened down against a bar. He uses one on each side of the ball. He doesn’t have any problems. He will be 77 years old in September. 28’ camper with 1/2 ton GMC 1999. You can make this work with the right equipment. And it will definitely take the stress out of towing.

When I say equalizing hitch ,I am not referring to a brand ,but rather a weight distribution hitch.