bad sway problem

[CHRIS-123]

hey everyone I am new to this forum, and am looking for some help or advise with a sway problem I have, first of I have a 2013 torque 261 toyhauler, bought this trailer last fall and put it to its full use may long weekend, and than again july long weekend, both times I ran into a seriouse problem with sway, a little more information, I am running a 2010 dodge ram 2500 cummins, resse pro wd hitch, with a husky friction sway control, in the trailer I have 2 20lbs propane bottles in the nose, 2 6 volt batteries, along with a champion 4000 watt generator, full fresh tank of water 50 gallons, not to sure but thinking it is in the front, 2 atvs in the back cargo are (10' closed garage) roughly 1400lbs for the 2, and full 70L of fuel in my fuel station, I have tried a few things like running no bars on my hitch, running them a little tighter than normal, don't seem to matter what I do once I hit around 90km an hour we start to go for a ride. any ideas on what might be my issue would be good.

 

[oldmannj]

I have a rear kitchen TT which pretty much is equal to your problem I think. Too much weight in the rear. The only way I was able to solve my problem was to change my hitch to a pro pride 3 p hitch. Went from white knuckle driving no matter what I did to is the trailer still back there? eating a burger going down the road. They are pricey, (not as bad as a Hensley though) but the testimonials you'll read are true, it happened to me. Sean Woodruff (the owner) of pro pride is there to answer your questions, even after hours. You'll get other cures from folks I'm sure. But the only thing that helped me was to throw away the reese hitch and spend the $2400. ED.

 

[CHRIS-123]

That royally sucks, I really don't want to shell out 2400$ for a new hitch when I just bought this one with the trailer, thanks for your input.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

CHris, I can't imagine the hitch being the cause. I'd bet it's not set up correctly.
You already know what you have for weights so you just have to figure out a way to balance things out. The fresh tank is likely near the axles. Have you tried towing without the toys? Can you move the toys as far forward as possible?
I'm assuming you have a ball that can be raised up and down and tilted. Get the ball as vertical as possible and at the right height. Before tensioning the torsion bars, raise the truck & trailer together before hooking up the chain link. Once you get the bars hooked up, retract the front jack. Is everything level? You might try borrowing a 2nd anti-sway device from a dealer or friend to see if that helps.
Check your tire pressures too! Both truck & trailer.
Another thing that can be looked at is alignment of the trailer axles. With 1400 lbs in the back it can sure make a world of difference in towing characteristics. Good Luck!

 

[CHRIS-123]

yes I put the toys as far forward as possible, about 3 inches away from the glass door just incase, and yes I can adjust the ball level on my hitch, I was looking back at a few pictures and it seems to me like it might be a bit high, but than others it looks level so not to sure, also you say the axel alignment that is not something I can do I would have to take to a shop??? yes I have pulled it empty and had no issues, I have read that tire pressure is a factor to, checked my air and tires are all around 60psi, and the cold rating is 65 psi would this possibly be part of the issue??

 

[cookie]

It would be a good idea to inflate your tires to the max cold pressure listed on the sidewall of the tires.

Peace
Dave

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Another thought. I if your hitch was set up while the trailer was unloaded and you then loaded the ATVs, that could be a problem too.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[TXTiger]

I am confused. Isn't the Torque a 5th wheel? There would be no ball hitch or sway bars on a 5th wheel. If you have a 5th wheel at you are getting a lot of sway check your alignment.

 

[jnbhobe]

they make a torque trailer to Tony

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[CHRIS-123]

yes come to think of it ray when I bought the trailer they set it up when it was empty,so I may need to adjust a few things on the hitch, well I am going to try I few things suggested and take it to the scale all loaded up and will post my findings thanks again everyone one.

 

[goducks11]

You need to start from scratch. Forget what the dealer did. They usually are all about getting you off the lot and getting the next one in line. First thing to do is measure your truck at the wheel wells empty. Now hitch up and without the WD measure again. Now hook up the WD. You want the front to be close to the original measurement. Don't worry about the back too much. After you get the front right the back should only drop maybe 1-1/2". Now measure the TH. Don't just look at it. Measure the frame at the rear and front. It should be level or at most 1/2-1" low in front. I really wouldn't want more than a 1/2" low in the front but sometimes the holes and stuff just make it closer to 1". Better low than high. Next you should have a sticker on the side of your TH that say inflate to 65psi. That means 65 not 60psi. Probably won't make that much difference but your tires will thank you. Then take load all your gear in and head for the scales. Your TW should be at a min 10% and better at 12+%. Also if you are using the add on friction plates with the little ball cups at the end. Throw them away. With the load and length of your TH you need a WD hitch with built in sway control like a Reese DC or an EQ with the 4pt sway. IMO a Hensley or ProPride is an expensive band aid that just compensates for an inadequate truck/SUV. Good Luck.

 

[Manzan]

goducks11 has it right. I have a Reese DC that I have been using since '89 and it is now on our third TT. Very steady whether in big winds or being passed by big trucks. TW is around 13%. Dealer set it up for my 21FBS, did not do it right so I redid it when I got home after loading it. Tweaked it a bit after Gillet by tilting the ball a bit just to put a bit more weight on the front wheels of my TV

 

[CHRIS-123]

ok a little bit of an update, went and picked up my toyhauler this am to bring it home and try and get this sway problem solved before the long weekend, took it to the scale, and here is that I am working with empty truck weights no trailer full of fuel and the family in it, front axle 2210kg rear axle 1430kg, hooked up the empty trailer and this is were I am at truck front axle 2080kg, rear truck axle 2130kg, trailer axle 3560kg, this is with my wd bars on,on the second chain link. going to load it up tonight and and head back over tomorrow and weight it again and see what happens.

 

[berky]

You might be experiencing the "dumbbell" effect. Think about trying to twist a dumbbell back and forth. It's not easy because all of the weight is at the ends, rather than being lumped in the middle.

I reread your original post, and it sounds like you have a lot on the A-frame - propane, two batteries, and a generator. Couple that with 1400# of toys in the back, likely overhanging the axles in the rear, and you have a dumbbell. Just as it's hard for you to control a dumbbell at the end of your arm, so it is difficult for a typical TT sway control to handle a "dumbbell" trailer.

As much as you can, shift weight toward the center of the trailer. If you have one of the friction type sway controls, add a second one (if you dont have two now). Read the sway control instructions and tighten them up pretty good for your situation.

If all of that doesn't improve your sway, you may need to go to a more advanced hitch/sway system as others have suggested.

 

[Manzan]

Chris, you need to crank up you WD hitch a bit more. The weight on your front axle should increase, not decrease when hitched up. The lighter front end will increase sway problems. Measure the wheel wells of you truck--when hitched up, both the front end and rear end should settle close to the same amount. With less weight on you front axle, the front of your truck is going up.

 

[CHRIS-123]

ok everyone I think I came up with a solution to my problem, brought my trailer home yesterday after weighing it, and did a little exploring underneath it, founf out my fresh water tank is directly above my axels so I figured this was not helping my tongue weight when full, but did find that my bathroom grey tank is up front, so my solution and seem to have worked as I loaded up and went for a 70 mile trip and only swayed a little bit but no were near as bad. so here it is, I filled my shower tank up full, put all the gear in the trailer quads,bbq everything we normally take and went to the scale and weight it, with the wd bars on 2nd chain link truck front axle 2060kg, truck rear axle 1990kg, and trailer axle 4690kg trailer swayed a bit, and truck was pretty solid no bouncing, on the way back, threw the wd bars on the last link, so pretty much not doing anything, truck front axle 2030kg, truck rear axle 2020 kg, and trailer axle 4670kg. with this being said I feel I need to get about 100lbs more on the front to keep my tongue weight up but still be able to us the wd bars on the second link to keep the weight on the front of the truck to, pretty sure I am going in the right direction, but as always opinions are welcome thanks.

 

[Bob&Patty]

I think you should try using 3 links up. It seems you need to transfer more weight to the steering axle. JMHO

 

[CHRIS-123]

ok I may be thinking wrong here, but if I tighten up the wd bars will that not take away from the tongue weight???

 

[priorguy]

Every WD I've set up required 3 links showing minimum so you should be hooked on the 4th link at least. Also, the bars shiuld be parallel to the trailer frame. Try www.reeseprod.com to find your instructions. Also, www.etrailer.com has many youtube videos as well for just about any towing product they sell.

 

[berky]

Are you positive about that TT axle weight of 4690 kg? Previously you were at 3560 kg on the TT axles.

If the correct weight is 4690 kg, you are probably overloading the trailer. 4690 kg works out to 10,340 lbs. IIRC the Heartland site lists the TT GVWR as 11,000 lbs, which means you most likely have two 5,000 lbs. axles. And the most common rating for D range tires is 2540 lbs., or 10,160 lbs. for the four.

I hope your last post was a typo and that your TT axle weight is actually 3690 kg.