Swaying

[timsos]

Need some help, I just picked up my Reflection 312BHTS travel trailer today. I am towing with my 2500 Ram with Cummins Engine. The prior owner threw in a weight distribution hitch, everything looks good and level. I have never dealt with these hitches before, so I hit the interstate and get up to 63mph and notice some swaying and the rear end feeling light. Below 60mph through the mountains and hills everything pulls great. Anyone have any advice for me?

[jim1521]

Increase your tongue weight. Try and move about 100-200 lbs to the front of the trailer and see if that helps. Best thing would be to get actual weight of trailer and truck and determine what the actual cause of the sway is.

[SouthTX]

Adding tongue weight may make things worse if you've unloaded your steer axle. Get to a CAT scale and weigh your truck with and without the trailer attached. If the front axle is lighter with the trailer attached, you need to adjust your WDH.

[jim1521]

Adding tongue weight may make things worse if you've unloaded your steer axle. Get to a CAT scale and weigh your truck with and without the trailer attached. If the front axle is lighter with the trailer attached, you need to adjust your WDH.

Every time I tow my trailer - even with my WDH - my drive axle is always heavier than my steer axle by anywhere from 300 - 400 lbs.

The only way I know of to ensure you get is right is to get your weight measurements from a scale.

[SouthTX]

Every time I tow my trailer - even with my WDH - my drive axle is always heavier than my steer axle by anywhere from 300 - 400 lbs.

The only way I know of to ensure you get is right is to get your weight measurements from a scale.

That's normal for the drive axle to be heavier, but if you take weight off of the unloaded weight of the steer axle some trucks get really squirley. Some times as little as a 20# reduction on the front is enough to do it.

I agree that the only way to accurately set up a WDH is with a scale. I've tried measuring the wheelwell heights and never had any luck.

The OP indicated that he wasn't familiar with how to set up a WDH so that's the first thing I'd check and my guess is that there isn't enough weight transfer to the front.

[jim1521]

Tim (OP), can you provide us with some details on the WDH that you've got? From there we can give you some ideas on what to do in the immediate-term, short-term, and then long-term.

[Bob/OlallaWA]

Try to get the trailer level or slightly nose down when hitched. Return the front axle weight of tow rig close to the weight, but not more than, before hitching the trailer. Leave plenty of space between bars and take up brackets. Reese wants at least 5 chain links. Follow instructions with other style hitch. Should have either integrated sway hitch or a sway bar to help with sway control. Trailer tires should be at max inflated psi, tow rig should carry close to max psi at rear, and P rated tires are not your friend. Tire sidewall flex on the tow rig and/or trailer can be a big problem.

[klenger]

P rated tires are not your friend. Tire sidewall flex on the tow rig and/or trailer can be a big problem.

The Ram 2500 won't have P rated tires. Should be LT tires. The truck should handle it trailer fine, but it appears the hitch needs some tuning, or possibly upgrade to a better hitch. Need more details.

I have some detailed info on my website at the link in my signature on the Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch.

[Rapid1]

The whole idea of a WDH is putting some of that weight back on the front. If you don't scale it, you can still do it by measuring your front height. Just make sure you front height is no more than 1" more than unloaded when hooked up. It may require you to jack the the front of the trailer, as well as the back of the tow vehicle, hooked to the ball, when you crank in your bars. Another trick is to adjust the tilt of your hitch backwards, which will give you more preload on your bars without raising the hitch height. All of this transfers weight to the front axle.

[huntr70]

A WDH is not necessarily a sway control.

All good advice above, but if you don't have sway control (friction, Blue Ox, dual cam, Equalizer), you won't stop sway.