Help with trailer sway/weave

[tking]

My 99 (see sig) sways, bobs and weaves to the point of being scary when pulling a trailer. My 91 250 was solid as a rock. A month ago I pulled a 26ft enclosed race trailer w/ 4 quads and a dune buggy in it. In 600mi I probably hit the trailer brakes over a dozen times to get the thing straighten out.

We hooked the same setup to a 1/2 ton Chevy and he hammer down the road at 75mph no problem. Embarrassing as hell. How can that be?



I have no idea of the trailer or tongue weight but this is not the first time I've had problems.

Every substantial trailer I've towed has done this to some degree.

Towing my 18ft enclosed w/ just the dune buggy does the same thing but on a less severe level.



Cranking the tire pressures to max seems to help but it's still not confidence inspiring. The tires are 285/75R/16 Mastercraft Courser C/T's on the stock chrome wheels. Is it possible the cheap tires are a problem? They are load range D. If I keep the speed down around 60 or so it's tolerable but still unnerving.



It also seems to squat more than I think it should, definitely more than the 91 did.



Comments? Suggestions?

 

[rluft]

How is your track bar? When mine was getting loose it made the truck feel like the front wheels were coated with grease and this was pulling a 5th wheel. I would also suspect your shocks, I use adjustable Rancho's and can feel a big difference between the low and the high setting and how the motion of the trailer is controlled. I also just had my ball joints replaced due to the lack of stability when towing, I've not towed since the repair but it runs down the road empty alot better.

 

[tking]

The truck has just over 100,000 mile on it. I have a Luke's Link on the track bar that's less than 8000 miles old.



I replaced the shocks w/ Bilstein's probably 10k ago. I check the ball joints last year and couldn't find any play. At that mileage are ball joints typically due?

 

[KSears]

I am thinking maybe some of your problem could be the hitch height. Does your trailer set level when loaded? Is it your trailer or someone else's? It could be ball joints but I would say doubtful, more likely in my opinion to be shocks or worn tires (weak sidewalls) or tire pressure. Could also be a worn steering box or steering shaft joints. The extra weight of the trailer multiply a problem otherwise not noticable.

 

[Eric_77]

I second the hitch height being the issue

 

[tking]

The 18 footer is mine but the 26 belongs to a friend.



I've got an adjustable drawbar and set it up so the trailer is approx. level so I think I OK there.



More thoughts?

 

[KennethS]

How the trailer loaded?Could be to much weight in rear

My friend went to a auction down south and they bought a old car and loaded it on the trailer but when the auction was over there was two motors that was not sold and they were given to him. They loaded them on the rear of the trailer. On the way home the trailer started to sway and they wrecked. Once the sway started to sway he could not stop it and before he could stop he wrecked and tore up his truck and trailer and the car they bought. Anyway the trailer must be loaded correct so this don't happen. He sure did learn a lesson. He had a 3/4 ton Dodge Diesel with 10 ply tires too.

 

[Latenight6]

mine did the same thing put swat bars on the trailer it will stop i know it sounds funny but my 2001 gas truck did this to me. my 2005 is fine. also check the bushing you may find one ripped or lose. take the time to look

 

[y-knot]

Sorry to here about your troubles, there is nothing more scary then an unruly trailer.

I have had many trailers my self and we even sell them, most trailers towing problems seem to come down to four (4) things, the set-up (hitch,height and tongue), the the balance (how the trailer is loaded),the trailer it self (how the trailer was built) and the pull vehicle (engine, size and capacity). Over the years when anyone has ever had a problem one or more of the above conditions were the cause.

You stated that the trailer was just fine when the other truck, a gas 1/2 ton truck pulled it, so we know the trailer itself is OK. And we know the way it was loaded was OK. That leaves us with set-up and pull vehicle. I will assume this is a twin axle, since the trail is so short. The tri-axle trailer are much more sensitive to being level. Most ball trailers are designed to be level at 19", you should check yours. Just take a 4' level and lye it on one of the bed rails and adjust the tongue till level, measure the distance from the ground to the top of where the ball would be and record it for future use. Next measure the distance from the ground to the top of the ball on the hitch of your truck. It should be set at the same distance the trailer measured out. While your there, you said you have an adjustable hitch. Make sure the hitch ball is level, this can be changed by adding or subtracting washers from the adjusting bolt under neath the ball. It is very important that the hitch be in good condition. Is it bent down from over use?? I see this all the time and people wonder why they have trouble towing. DA, you need a new hitch... Also, is your ball in good shape? Does it latch into the trailer hitch and hold firmly? Finally, do you know the tongue weight? This is one of the most valuable pieces of information when setting up a trailer. It's important enough that I use a small tongue weight scale, but there are sites that will show you why to get the tongue weight with a bathroom scale.



I hope something here might have helped, pulling a ill mannered trailer is nervracking and dangerous. If all else fails, I would invest in a good quality (Reese, Valley,) equalizer hitch Assembly, with a sway control.

 

[mberry]

Excellent info y-knot. I, however, vote for the D range tires being a major contributor to the sway problem. Sidewalls are just not stiff enough in a D range for the weights of our trucks and trailers in my opinion.

 

[Foil Freak 1211]

Excellent info y-knot. I, however, vote for the D range tires being a major contributor to the sway problem. Sidewalls are just not stiff enough in a D range for the weights of our trucks and trailers in my opinion.

You could be right, but I wouldn't say so for sure. I've towed with D range for a number of years, and have not experienced any trailer sway. Also, it's unlikely that the 1/2 ton the pulled the trailer fine had E rated tires.

 

[msperos]

I would take a close look at the tires also. On my 01' I tried a less expensive brand of tire that a local tire warehouse carried. When I pulled my 26' Toyhauler with my Harley in it to New York it scared the hell out of me with sway. I had towed it many time with BFG 295/70/16 with no problems but the less expensive "D" range tire where very squirley. Not all d range tires are the same. lesson learned. By the way it scared my wife enough that she "made" me trade for an 05' dually

 

[mberry]

You could be right, but I wouldn't say so for sure. I've towed with D range for a number of years, and have not experienced any trailer sway. Also, it's unlikely that the 1/2 ton the pulled the trailer fine had E rated tires.

You are correct about the 1/2 ton probably not having E rated tires. However, you will have to show me a 1/2 ton pickup that has as heavy an engine, drivetrain, frame, etc. as our trucks moving. It's not an apples to apples comparison. The only thing you've proved is that you have a properly balanced and equipped rig with D range tires on your truck and not had a problem with the tires. I mean no disrespect or offense.

 

[tking]

I was hoping for the "Oh, you just need to torque your muffler bearings and all will be fine" kind of answer. But it looks like this is gonna require some investigation.



I don't have access to the truck right now but I'm pretty sure the ball does tilt back some. I'll try leveling that out. Otherwise the hitch is in good shape.



Both trailers are twin axle. I did wonder about the way it was loaded. All of the quad were behind the rear axle The buggy was loaded in nose first and 90% of the buggy's weight is in the rear. So lack of tongue weight may be an issue but it compresses the suspension pretty good, and why then does the Chevy tow it OK?



The steering box seems tight but I read a thread about swapping the 4 1/4 turn box for a 3 1/4 turn box. It's supposed to make the truck wander around less. I may do that even if it's not the answer to my trailer problem.



It would be pretty easy to swap out the wheels and tires to see if that makes a difference. Just need to find a buddy w/ a 3/4 ton truck.



Anybody else want to chime in?

 

[Megadesertdiesel]

anti swaybar(uses the 1" ball on hitch and trailer frame)from camping world will fix it and a properly loaded trailer. this helped me with my 15oo gasser and 22' toyhauler.