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Trailer Sway
- Thread starter Mattafact
- Start date
aczlan
Good Morning!
Good question, perhaps hold off dumping till you get home (if the grey/black tanks are also ahead of the axles)?
Is it the triple axle one like this? If so, it looks decently balanced weightwise (assuming the tanks, kitchen, etc are foward of the axles).
Pictures from: 2002 Weekend Warrior Fs3000 Toy Hauler Rental in Gilbert, AZ 2002 Weekend Warrior FS3000
Aaron Z
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TreeClimber
Well-known member
How many ply tires?
did you replace the ball joint on the axle that the track bar connects to?
aczlan
Good Morning!
Good point, but if the truck is rated for (and running at) 90PSI and the trailer is rated for (and running at) 80PSI, they are probbaly LT and 10 ply tires (per: Trailer Sway )
Aaron Z
arse_sidewards
Red Skull Member
- Joined
- May 19, 2020
- Member Number
- 71
- Messages
- 8,555
Have you actually weighed the tongue yet? Pretty easy to do with a bathroom scale, piece of cribbing and tape measure.
Download the Cat scale app, and go to the scale. Since the app removes the need to go deal with the moron working at the truck stop, it makes all this easier. Then, load up with everything, go weigh with the WD bars hooked up and tight. Then make your second weigh with WD bars disconnected. Third weigh (you’ll have to pay again) truck only. Then you’ll get an accurate weight for the trailer, an accurate tongue weight, and be able to tell how much weight the WD bars are moving to your steers. Use this to figure out if your tongue weight is right, and if your bars are the right tension.
white-rhino
Older than dirt
^^^ this right here. I've done this with at least 3 different combos.
ThePanzerFuhrer
The Rock Breaker God
Or go to your local mom and pop gravel pit and give them 10 and you can play on the scale all day lol.
Yep, good point. I’m spoiled with the steer weight/drive weight/trailer weight data resolution. You could get there on the gravel pit/grain silo/whatever scale, you’d just have to be disciplined.
But if I’m honest, it would just be laziness on my part. If I can download an app rather than asking for something out of the norm, that’s what I’d do. Laziness always wins out for me.
I agree with others that the airbags and WD hitch will fight each other. A WD hitch is meant to reduce the impact of tongue weight by effectively pushing the forces onto the front axle of the truck, and the rear half of the trailer. That can make sway worse.
Also, absolutely get scale weights on all axles with and without the WD hitch. Probably with the Jeep loaded as that's the most likely towing scenario. Leave the truck airbags at a minimum psi for now.
I'd personally address the trailer issues now anyway. Your buddy could have had the perfect hitch setup or somehow bandaided the trailer issues, or maybe he's just a retard and didn't even recognize the sway. Maybe even ask to borrow his truck/hitch to tow back to back and test the difference?
Also, absolutely get scale weights on all axles with and without the WD hitch. Probably with the Jeep loaded as that's the most likely towing scenario. Leave the truck airbags at a minimum psi for now.
I'd personally address the trailer issues now anyway. Your buddy could have had the perfect hitch setup or somehow bandaided the trailer issues, or maybe he's just a retard and didn't even recognize the sway. Maybe even ask to borrow his truck/hitch to tow back to back and test the difference?
ThePanzerFuhrer
The Rock Breaker God
All that can be done on a gravel pit scale no problem.
Just curious how much do they rip you off for using those things? Whenever I see one there is never anyone using it.
I agree with this. Duratracs are squirmy AF when new.
TreeClimber
Well-known member
Wouldn't be the first time someone pumped 90 psi into a 6 ply tire, which was my point. I worked at a dealer for 30 years, and the list of stupidity I've seen is long, so the first thing I always check, is the most obvious. (BTW, 6 ply tires make a big boom when they get hot with too much psi)
3 weighs would be ~$17. But again, each weigh is on 3 different scales, so you can do a lot with that.
HusabergRider
Member
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2021
- Member Number
- 4085
- Messages
- 13
OP - is the trailer swaying (tail wagging the dog) or is the truck/trailer combo wandering all over the road? Your descriptions seem to be a combination of the two.
Years ago when I was looking at Toy Haulers I really wanted something I could get my CJ-7 on 33's in - I quickly figured out that travel trailer/RV based toy haulers big enough to handle my small CJ-7 did not instill confidence in design & workmanship. I'm guessing you can't get your Jeep far enough forward/over or in front of the trailer axles in order to get enough tongue weight.
Years ago when I was looking at Toy Haulers I really wanted something I could get my CJ-7 on 33's in - I quickly figured out that travel trailer/RV based toy haulers big enough to handle my small CJ-7 did not instill confidence in design & workmanship. I'm guessing you can't get your Jeep far enough forward/over or in front of the trailer axles in order to get enough tongue weight.
aczlan
Good Morning!
We do it at work on our scale as well if you ask nicely, pull the steers on, stop, whoever is in the office weighs the steer axle, pull the rest of the truck on, do the same, pull the trailer on and repeat.
If you want to pull on and off a couple times, as long as you aren't getting in the way and you write down your own weights you can pull through a few times.
We charge $8 for a weight (single weight, or weigh in/out), usually see a few people a month getting some truck or trailer weighed for the DMV (saw a guy take half of a SXS apart once to get below whatever weight he wanted, that was entertaining :D )
Aaron Z
FordFascist
Ford Bigot
Too much tongue weight can affect your trailer towing. My guess is that is one heavy son of a bitch that is probably over your bumper pull towing capacity and rated tongue weight.
Another IBB member rents a 28 foot toy hauler to KOH that was supposedly 9900 lbs loaded (including 2500 lbs cargo capacity) and "half-ton towable" on twin 7k axles. When he weighed it - he was just shy of 14k on the axles and was dry (no water). I want to say that it had about 3-4000 lbs of tongue weight.
Heavy pumper pull RVs and enclosed can be a little sketchy with a light rig. They are fine behind a class 6 or 8 rig but they tend to toss around a light duty trucks. It may be time to consider going to a 5th or goose.
Another IBB member rents a 28 foot toy hauler to KOH that was supposedly 9900 lbs loaded (including 2500 lbs cargo capacity) and "half-ton towable" on twin 7k axles. When he weighed it - he was just shy of 14k on the axles and was dry (no water). I want to say that it had about 3-4000 lbs of tongue weight.
Heavy pumper pull RVs and enclosed can be a little sketchy with a light rig. They are fine behind a class 6 or 8 rig but they tend to toss around a light duty trucks. It may be time to consider going to a 5th or goose.
DRTDEVL
Mothfukle
Where do you think that water goes when it is used?
Phil
The Thrill
On my bumper pull toyhauler, the fresh tanks are close to the axles (but ahead), then black is forward, then grey is closest to the tongue. So using water all weekend puts even more tongue weight. This one is probably the same.
Edit: unless you dump at the campground of course. But still the fresh water on mine is really close to the axles.
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Mattafact
Yellow Skull
Ok, so we towed it with a lifted 2014 F250 on 37s and went 70 with no issues on just a drop hitch with no weight distribution or sway control.
Went back and hooked mine up for a comparison. It was immediately apparent that things weren't right. The hitch has a ton of play and we noticed that my wheel wasn't staying in the middle of my wheel well. My u-bolts were finger tight.
I'll fix it and report back.
Went back and hooked mine up for a comparison. It was immediately apparent that things weren't right. The hitch has a ton of play and we noticed that my wheel wasn't staying in the middle of my wheel well. My u-bolts were finger tight.
I'll fix it and report back.
![[486]](https://data.irate4x4.com/avatars/m/0/94.jpg?1700178133){kind=avatar}
[486]
ugh, that guy again?
there's a weigh station on the freeway somewhat near me, single axle scale, station's always closed but the scale's always on
ain't that a normal thing?
do they always got the stations manned near you (I wouldn't stop if there were anyone there) or do they turn the scales off?
tracyb
Well-known member
check for broken springs, and wore out spring eyes
brothers 03 superduty would break a spring in the pack and everything appeared normal other than it dog walking down the road. replaced 3 rear springs while he had it,
Into the sand at Glamis.
Trailers need shocks. If it doesn't have those I would start there.
I have no idea. Ive never been in one of the ODOT scale areas. 🤷
[486]
ugh, that guy again?
This one's nice because the scale display is visible from the road, even
WaterH
Well-known member
You have mentioned the steering box several times which makes me think you know there’s a problem there. Have you tried tightening the sector shaft? I’ve seen this make a world of differnce on a crewcab long box that you would never think would sway. Adjusting it didn’t last long, but at least it confirmed that was the problem and we replaced it.
aczlan
Good Morning!
Good point, have a friend with a 2010(ish) F350 ECLB and it kept "wandering" on him, ended up getting a new steering box put into it and it now goes exactly where it should.
Aaron Z
Derp
Involuntary Chest Slapper
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2020
- Member Number
- 2976
- Messages
- 291
Fuuuuck
That's scary.