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Old 05-04-2020, 12:47 PM   #1
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RV is swaying at +55mph?

So this weekend I drove the 27ft Aspen Trail to a nearby RV resort. 20 min drive. It was driving great til I put it on the interstate.

I took the time to install the 1000lb eaz lift weight equalizing hitch. Plus installed the sway bar. The chains were extra tight at 3 links on both sides. Could barely move after preloaded.

On the road the wind was pretty strong but once I got up above 50mph it felt like the TT was wanting to take over the tow vehicle. The steering wheel seemed very sensitive to the touch. As if any sudden small movement would cause the TT to take over. So I slowed down to 50mph to maintain control of the vehicle. Pulled off the nearest exit and looked at it.

I have a 2011 Crewcab Ford 150 3.5L ecoboost. So it has enough horse power to pull it. Wasn't sure if the truck might be the issue.

The truck appears to be level with the trailer. I have no clue how much toung weight it has on the front.

Im wondering if adding another sway bar would help this problem. However, I'm thinking it might be a weight distribution issue.

Not sure if I should purchase a toung weight scale for the hitch or take it to be weighed.

What would you recommend for this situation? Click image for larger version

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Old 05-04-2020, 01:05 PM   #2
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Just from looking at the picture I think the rear end is still squatting down.

Measure wheel well to ground then put trailer on. Difference should be minimal, less than an inch. Your front end looks high so it gets light at speed.

Just my opinion.

Hope this helps.

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Old 05-04-2020, 01:10 PM   #3
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That is a common battle. I had a maxed out Honda Ridgeline that was great the way I was using it. Local on back roads with a max speed limit of 55mph and a lot of it at 35 and 45 mph. I used the Honda Ridgeline for 3 years this way. It was not until I took a longer trip and tried towing at 65 mph in a 70mph zone. I was making continued steering corrections and every semi that passed would 1st suck me to the left then as it passed would push me to the right. I was passed 100's of times.

In my case, I traded the Honda Ridgeline on a new F-150. This same set-up allowed me to tow at 72mph easy with one hand on the steering wheel. The trailer was 26.5' long and weighed 5,500lbs so it was well within the travel trailer limit of my truck.

Your truck is probably big enough so my educated guess is you need to add 300 - 500 lbs to the front of your travel trailer as adding weight to the tongue may stabilize your rig.

And just so you know, when your truck has a tow limit of say 10,000lbs it does not mean you can tow a 10,000lb. travel trailer at 72 mph on freeway. There are many types of trailers from cargo, to flatbed to boat. Each one of these trailers are easier to tow than the most difficult which is a travel trailer because if the boxy shape.
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Old 05-04-2020, 01:11 PM   #4
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Is that a true 27 foot trailer, or is that a model number?
Is the trailer when hitched level or slightly nose down?
So many things effect correct trailer control.
How about weight?
Tires on your truck? P metric tires have too soft a side walls to safely tow heavy.
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Old 05-04-2020, 01:12 PM   #5
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Front end looks high. I don’t know about your particular hitch, but…
Most say take a measurement of the front fenders unloaded and another with the trailer on the ball. Subtract the difference, and you should be able to get about half of that back.
Your nose looks high in the picture. It would make the steering light which would get worse at highway speeds with the air also pushing under the truck.
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Old 05-04-2020, 01:31 PM   #6
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Hard to tell from the pic, but I agree with others that the front end of the trailer might be a little high. Adjust the hitch so that it is slightly down and see what it does. You could also do a little checking of how much gear is forward or back of the axle, and move some of the heavier items forward.

You may get more helpful advice if you can tell us the weight of your trailer. Have you weighed the trailer after loading up all the stuff that stays in it. Exactly what hitch are you using, i.e. is it an Equalizer brand hitch?
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Old 05-04-2020, 01:37 PM   #7
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Im not sure if you have seen this short 48 second demonstration of what causes trailer sway. If your trailer isn't loaded correctly, it can cause this problem. I believe the proper distribution is approx. 12 to 15% of the trailer weight should be on the tongue. Loading it up, and having it weighed can tell you if you are loaded correctly. Cheers.
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Old 05-04-2020, 04:35 PM   #8
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You need to look at the section on Travel Trailers that has the detailed instructions on how to set up a weight distributing hitch properly. First you need to make sure the truck and trailer are loaded as you normally travel.

Is your fresh water tank located behind the axle. If so, so not travel with the tank full.

Ken
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Old 05-04-2020, 05:02 PM   #9
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Are you raising the rear of the truck up before snapping up the chains and then lowering if it down?
You need to measure the front of the truck before hitching, then again after dropping the coupler on the ball without the WDH bars snapped up.
Then raise the truck up and grab some links to snap up. Then lower the trucks rear down and remeasure the front.
You want the front of the truck to be 1/2 way or less between the unloaded number and the number with just the coupler on the ball.
Make sure your TT is parallel to the ground.
Don't worry about the rear of the truck. It usually sorts it's self out.

E.g,
40" unhitched
43" coupler only on the ball
41.5 or less but not less than 40" with the spring bars.
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Old 05-04-2020, 06:26 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethan1 View Post
So this weekend I drove the 27ft Aspen Trail to a nearby RV resort. 20 min drive. It was driving great til I put it on the interstate.

I took the time to install the 1000lb eaz lift weight equalizing hitch. Plus installed the sway bar. The chains were extra tight at 3 links on both sides. Could barely move after preloaded.

On the road the wind was pretty strong but once I got up above 50mph it felt like the TT was wanting to take over the tow vehicle. The steering wheel seemed very sensitive to the touch. As if any sudden small movement would cause the TT to take over. So I slowed down to 50mph to maintain control of the vehicle. Pulled off the nearest exit and looked at it.

I have a 2011 Crewcab Ford 150 3.5L ecoboost. So it has enough horse power to pull it. Wasn't sure if the truck might be the issue.

The truck appears to be level with the trailer. I have no clue how much toung weight it has on the front.

Im wondering if adding another sway bar would help this problem. However, I'm thinking it might be a weight distribution issue.

Not sure if I should purchase a toung weight scale for the hitch or take it to be weighed.

What would you recommend for this situation? Attachment 284113
Lots of good advice here for you. Load it according to how you normally are loaded, truck and trailer, and take it to a scale to get your baseline numbers. Without those you are shooting in the dark. Then make sure you have a good WDH with integrated sway control and get to a reputable dealer and pay them to set it up properly. This is a job best done by a professional. Sure, many of you will say you can do it yourself, and maybe you can, but you're not there yet. And this set up is critical to your safety and enjoyment of camping trips. Plus when you drive past me I want you to stay in your lane!
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Old 05-05-2020, 06:10 AM   #11
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All good advice above.

So, two possibilities. Sway, and Porpoising. Sway is usually from the tongue weight being less than 10%. Porpoising is from overloaded rear suspension and from light load on front steering axle of tow vehicle. Sway and porpoising are both sensitive to towing speed.

The picture shows the back end of the tow vehicle is low and front is light. This could be due to WDH needing to be adjusted to raise the rear of the tow vehicle. Weight distribution hithes have a tongue weight range they work with. I assume yours is matched to your actual tongue weight. Or, it could be due to an over weight tongue.

A trip to the CAT scales for axle weights is called for. Most places charge $15 or so. Weight fully loaded trailer attached to fully loaded tow vehicle. Then repeat with only fully loaded tow vehicle. The difference between TV with TT and without TT is the tongue weight. It needs to be 10% to 15% of of trailer actual weight.

I bought a tongue weight gauge. It cost about $130 and is handy until everything is balanced. Then I stopped using it.
I wish you good luck and happy trails ahead!
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Old 05-05-2020, 10:16 AM   #12
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it looks like you have plenty of tongue weight by the way it has the rear of your truck squatted down. you might need to lower your ball a little and pull up on the bars more. you need to make adjustments so your truck and trailer are setting level. check to see if your loaded heavy in the front of the T/T, load distribution is important. air up all tires to their max.
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Old 05-05-2020, 08:42 PM   #13
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Everything else being equal (i.e. tongue weight within spec, weight of trailer and tow vehicle with passenger/cargo weight NOT exceeding 80% of tow vehicle towing capacity), a swaying trailer is a classic sign that you are too heavy in the rear of the trailer.
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Old 05-06-2020, 11:42 AM   #14
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[QUOTE=NomadBD;5251757]Everything else being equal (i.e. tongue weight within spec, weight of trailer and tow vehicle with passenger/cargo weight NOT exceeding 80% of tow vehicle towing capacity), a swaying trailer is a classic sign that you are too heavy in the rear of The laws of physics say; "heavy in the rear" is the same as "too little tongue weight".
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