27HFS towing problems

[ibjon]

Has anyone had problems with swaying while towing their camper?? I have 2 full dressed harleys in the garage. I am towing with a 2012 ford F150 with the E2 hitch. And air bags, when i get to 50 mph, the camper is all over the road. I know the weight is heavy in rear, buy the camper specs. Say you can haul 2000 lbs, the bikes weigh 800 each

[Top B]

Originally Posted by ibjon

Has anyone had problems with swaying while towing their camper?? I have 2 full dressed harleys in the garage. I am towing with a 2012 ford F150 with the E2 hitch. And air bags, when i get to 50 mph, the camper is all over the road. I know the weight is heavy in rear, buy the camper specs. Say you can haul 2000 lbs, the bikes weigh 800 each

I have a 2012 27WP and tow it with a 2011 Chevy 1500 with a 950 lb Kawasaki and a 900 lb Can Am Spyder using an Equalizer hitch with no problems at all. I've also towed it with a heavey rear (100 gals fresh water & 30+ gals in fuel station) with no problems. My guess is that you are hauling more weight than your truck can handle (GVW) or your E2 isn't set up right. You may also want to check your tire pressures. It should tow as smooth as butter if everything is working right.

[ibjon]

My truck is the max tow version with 373 rear end. The tire pressure is good. I have cert.scale tickets, camper weight is 7200 before bikes

[Dave_Monica]

Originally Posted by ibjon

My truck is the max tow version with 373 rear end. The tire pressure is good. I have cert.scale tickets, camper weight is 7200 before bikes

Did you scale your set-up with and without the W/D bars loaded and a separate weight for the truck alone. If so, post the numbers.

Dave

[fonzie]

Also what type of tires do you have on the truck: P or LT?

[Top B]

Originally Posted by ibjon

My truck is the max tow version with 373 rear end. The tire pressure is good. I have cert.scale tickets, camper weight is 7200 before bikes

Engine size, 2x4 or 4x4, wheel base, and cab type? Just trying to figure out your GCWR and max trailer weight. Assuming you have a V-8 your GCWR ranges from 13,300 to 17,100 and a max trailer weight of 7,300 to 11,300 with your 373 rear end.

[DDC]

Put a Heaney or a pro pride p3 on it and you will not need to controll the sway, there just won't be any.

[Top B]

Originally Posted by ibjon

I am towing with a 2012 ford F150 with the E2 hitch.

One more note. I talked to the Equalizer tech rep before purchasing my Equalizer. He didn't recommend the E2 for my toy hauler because it only had 2-way sway control and thought I would need the 4-way sway control because of the set up.

[djmac1964]

The first time I loaded ours up with all the gear, and headed for the scale, it was without any kind of sway control, and it had me a nervous wreck by the time I got it parked. Did a little research, and gave this a try, it made all the difference!

Pro Series Friction Sway Control Kit - Economy - by Draw-Tite, Reese and Hidden Hitch Pro Series Weight Distribution 83660

I use a Reese WD hitch like this one,

Reese Weight Distribution w/out Shank - Trunnion Bar - 15,000 lbs GTW, 1,500 lbs TW Reese Weight Distribution RP66131

The sway control had everything I needed to go along with my hitch, and worked wonders. Also, as mentioned before, make sure to put it on a scale, so you know where to make any needed adjustment to the cargo.

[meandmylabs]

I would guess the problem is with your hitch setup. Adding weight in the rear can make the nose higher and lighter which usually will cause the sway. I have towed my 27 HFS with a F150 before changing to a 3/4 ton and you should not have excessive sway with a good setup. Initially, I was using bent arm Curt WDH with 1 friction sway and then over the winter switched to Equal-i-zer 4pt and big difference but either worked. I have now switched TV to a Chevy 2500HD gasser and again ... big difference. E rated tires and heavier suspension really does make a difference.

Back to the initial question, I would try lowering the hitch by one hole and see if that helps. Good luck.

[bikepsych]

LBJON,
I had a KTM990 and a BMWR1200 GS Adventure in the back of my 27hFS over this past Memorial Day weekend. I did get quite a bit of sway at 65+ when being pushed down hill by the trailer. I was using a GMC 1500 4x4. When the sway got too much, the sway control kicked in and the trailer brakes applied. I was using a Reese Friction type sway control bar.

The day we got back from Moab I went out and traded the GMC in on a Ford F250. Since then, I've had more than 1200 miles on the trailer with the KTM990 in the back. No problems and not even feeling a hint of sway. Pulls like a dream.

I anticipate that part of the contributing factors was the weight in the back of the trailer and not enough up front. I don't have a generator. So I suspect that the hitch weight was not high enough.

BG

[Twisty]

"Heaney"
Great... another brand of hitch that will clog up the forums...

[JlpLhp]

If you r using a half ton truck, you MUST upgrade the tires. I went to a Nitto Highway tread, 10 ply tire. Stopped all of my sway. My other tires were not rated for the weight. Side walls were mushy when hooked up to TT. IT WAS A BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!!!'

[ibjon]

I looked at my fastway e2 hitch bars and they are rated for 1,000lbs to 10,000lbs the dealer said it was the best on the market. I can upgrade to 1,200lbs to 12,000lbs bars. Does anyone use this setup??? The towing capacity on the ecoboost i have is 11,300lbs. I have checked tire pressure and trailer tire pressure, all is right on. I had to take only 1 bike to sturgis and it pulled just fine, 70 to 80 mph with no sway, even the cross winds on I90 were not an issue.

[DDC]

Originally Posted by Twisty

"Heaney"
Great... another brand of hitch that will clog up the forums...

I can't believe it took this long for you to pick up on this.

[ibjon]

These were the bars at the dealership recommended. I told them numerous times that I was hauling to full dressed Harleys 850 pounds each

[ibjon]

The dealer just had me fill my fresh water tank and load both harleys. The idea here is to see if the water in the tank ahead of the axles will off set the weight of the harleys behind the axles. Just for information, it didnt work ....

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by ibjon

The dealer just had me fill my fresh water tank and load both harleys. The idea here is to see if the water in the tank ahead of the axles will off set the weight of the harleys behind the axles. Just for information, it didnt work ....

Until you know your tongue weight and it's percentage to your whole camper weight, it's really a guessing game. It sounds like you have weighed your whole setup- was that with bikes and water? What was your tongue weight in that weighing? And what is the percentage of that tongue weight?

You need to weigh everything like you normally travel and then calculate the tongue weight from there.

[ibjon]

Update, traded off the xlr and bought a larger and heavier rv ...pulling just fine so far

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