No answer for sway

[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.

[fabricater]

Hensley or pro pride hitch should solve your problems. I see you have LT tires on your truck. What is the load range? What is the max air pressure the tire can hold?. If you have a LT tire that is 4 ply ,max air around 35 psi. That will cause your problem. You need at least a 6 ply tire. Hold 50 psi. I run load range E. 10 ply tire, max air is 80 psi. The lighter tires have to much sidewall flex.

[Xmcdog]

Went through the same deal. Spend a bunch.
Even upgrading to my 3/4 ton still felt as though I had little control.
Bought a fiver. Problem solved.
It tows like it is on rails.

[TXiceman]

Exactly what are you calling sway? Is it the little bit of push pull as a truck passes?

have you looked at the older style hitch called Reese Dual Cam? We towed several years with 3 different travel trailer using the Dual Cam.

Also, what speeds are you towing? The more speed, generally, you are more prone to sway.

Ken

[cmcguire48]

thanks again for everyones advice, all is good. I run 35psi in TV tires and never get above 60mph. I guess my sway is not as bad as I think it is however i have never been in a real wind situation. Most I have dealt with is about 15mph with a few gusts higher. We normally stay close to home but my wife wants to go west NM, NV, UTAH COLORADO. If my trailer moves around this much at home then out west is not going to happen. I am 72 and have a small budget to work with so I can only buy truck or hitch and if they dont work I am staying WD, class iv hitch. Tongue weight is perfect so other than a 250 or propride I dont think there is anything left I can afford to do. I guess I am looking for a sure thing as far as swaying goes and maybe that does not exist. Sorry to bore everyone with this issue but I want to please the wife and travel without so much fear that I am going to get blown off the road. No fun for me!!

[Nohurry]

Have you checked your trailers tires for alignment? Your setup sounds fine to me. The F-150 is plenty of truck for that trailer. It’s either your trailer, or the equal-I-zer set up. I’d buy a new trailer berfore replacing the truck. Course, there’s nothing wrong with a new truck too.

[Murf2]

Originally Posted by cmcguire48

thanks again for everyones advice, all is good. I run 35psi in TV tires and never get above 60mph. I guess my sway is not as bad as I think it is however i have never been in a real wind situation. Most I have dealt with is about 15mph with a few gusts higher. We normally stay close to home but my wife wants to go west NM, NV, UTAH COLORADO. If my trailer moves around this much at home then out west is not going to happen. I am 72 and have a small budget to work with so I can only buy truck or hitch and if they dont work I am staying WD, class iv hitch. Tongue weight is perfect so other than a 250 or propride I dont think there is anything left I can afford to do. I guess I am looking for a sure thing as far as swaying goes and maybe that does not exist. Sorry to bore everyone with this issue but I want to please the wife and travel without so much fear that I am going to get blown off the road. No fun for me!!

I think you should put some air in the tires before you go spending any money on it. What do you have to lose? It’s free.

Good luck!
Murf

[01blueox]

If you have to load sandbags up front then it sounds like your equalizer bars may have the truck sprung to light, do you run a sway bar also.

[450Donn]

Three things I would look at. TV tires? Are they P metrics or do they have an aggressive tread pattern?
Second, check axles. Are they square and true to the hitch?
Third, is the hitch head tilted too much?

[Cumminsfan]

So when you're towing and you feel or see the TT waggleing behind you are you having to make steering corrections? Of do you just see the TT moving a little from side to side.

The reason I ask is we had a TT that had the axles more towards the center and it would constantly waggle in the rear view mirror. It would only move the truck when I was getting passed or over taking another RV or semi. It couldn't seem to be able to decide which part of the lane it wanted to stay in. I never had any white knuckle experiences but I just never felt that the truck was in control 100%.

I did buy a used Hensly Arrow and it took out all semi passing movement. Also it felt more stable just cruising down the road.
I could still see the TT moving around some in the side view mirrors though.

Because I was maxed out on the F150's GVWR and RAWR I got a Ram CTD 2500.
The 2500 was rock solid but ironically I could still see the TT waggleing behind me. But semi's or large RV's didn't bother the 2500.

A 3/4 ton truck will certainly feel more stabile when towing. But if you really like your F150 then it would seem to be much cheaper to go the ProPride route.
Empty mpg's in a 3/4 ton gasser is terrible. and probably somewhat noisier when in higher rpms than a turbo 2.7.

FWIW I used an EQ 1000,10000 WDH with 4 pt sway before the HA.
Also the F150 had a 145" WB compared to the Rams 169" WB. The Ram weighed around 7800 lbs empty so a lot of big heavy metal to help mitigate the waggleing from the TT. TT was 31' @7200 or so lbs.

[rtbroke]

I had sway issues and ended up buying a Hensley hitch and also aired up my tires to the max on the sidewalls which was about 15 psi more than what it called for on the door sticker. If you decide to get a Hensley hitch you will have 60 days to try it out. If it doesn't do what you need it to do you can send it back and get your money back. But for me the hitch and air pressure made a huge difference.

[Jay D.]

35# in your T/V tires seam low to me. did you look on the sidewall of the tire it will say max load at max air pressure mine are 45# mine are 18" so I don't have the tall sidewall to flex. something else is that sway in the wind is a fact of towing life. if you have a 20-30 and higher mph wind hitting you on the side its going to move a little, whether you have a 3/4 or 1 ton T/V. my 1/2 ton GMC crew cab tows my 6500 - 7000 T/T real nice. I did get some swaying coming across western Idaho and eastern Oregon. drove about 250 mi. with a 20 -30 and higher side wind. the trailer move a little now and then but nothing to get excited about. you can always just slow down and go. I feel sorry for you you, have been bombarded with answers all over the board some good some not so good.
Jay D.

[davis2]

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.

Have you had the trailer axles aligned?

[deputydog]

I'd also take a good look at the components from the frame of the trailer to the axle - all the bolts/bushings/springs and spring hangers etc. to look for something loose or worn. You will have to jack it up to do it but otherwise it should be a cheap check.