Husky towing 800 lbs - 1200 lbs WDH

[Alucke]

I towed my travel trailer to Texas and back at the beginning of July. While driving the interstate, I noticed that everytime a tractor trailer would come up and pass me, my truck and trailer would sway a bit. My wdh manual says it has a built in sway control with the trunnion bars and the friction. I was wondering if maybe my wdh wasn't set up properly by the dealer when I picked the trailer up. I know nothing about this stuff. I'll post a picture of my truck and my travel trailer in a little bit. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Alucke

[CurtPutnam]

I used (and still have) a Husky Centerline with integral sway control and 800 - 1200 bars. It performed well. To determine the probable cause of your sway we need more information.

What is your TV? (Year, Make, Model, Options/Upgrades)
What is the TV's payload (from sticker in the driver's doorframe?)
All tires inflated properly?
What are you towing?
Are tires inflated to the number on the sidewall?

De[ending on the answers, might be more questions coming.
What are you towing?

[Alucke]

My TV is a 2014 ford f150 XLT with chrome package, supercrew 5.0 3.55 axle ratio 7700lbs tow package (standard tow package). My truck only has towing mirrors added, everything else is stock. The payload is 1552 from the door sticker. Tires are properly inflated. I used 116t weight rated tires. I am 200lbs under my payload capacity of my truck. I tow a 2012 Cherokee grey wolf 28bhks the dry weight is 5296lbs, the dry hitch weight is 752lbs, that 14.2%. I put 500lbs in the trailer when towing. So 5796lbs and the hitch weight of 823lbs. my wdh is rated up to 1200lbs tongue weight. I hope this info helps.

Alucke

[CurtPutnam]

Originally Posted by Alucke

My TV is a 2014 ford f150 XLT with chrome package, supercrew 5.0 3.55 axle ratio 7700lbs tow package (standard tow package). My truck only has towing mirrors added, everything else is stock. The payload is 1552 from the door sticker. Tires are properly inflated. I used 116t weight rated tires. I am 200lbs under my payload capacity of my truck. I tow a 2012 Cherokee grey wolf 28bhks the dry weight is 5296lbs, the dry hitch weight is 752lbs, that 14.2%. I put 500lbs in the trailer when towing. So 5796lbs and the hitch weight of 823lbs. my wdh is rated up to 1200lbs tongue weight. I hope this info helps.

AluckeAttachment 211304

Yup, that pretty well nailed it. Unless you have malaligned axles it sure seems that the most likely culprit is a poorly set up hitch. Download the manual from Husky (assuming you do not have it) and check all the measurements. Husky has good tech support, from all reports. Sorry I couldn't help.

[clarkbre]

Agreed. It sounds like it was poorly set up by the dealer and likely needs more tension on the bars. From your picture, everything looks level. You may try raising the perches on the trailer tongue a hole or two to see if it rides better.

Also, don't guess on weights and settings. Use a scale and the 3 pass weight method and get the axle weights right. There's a sticky at the top of this section and plenty of info on your exact hitch and dialing it it.

[Alucke]

Originally Posted by clarkbre

Agreed. It sounds like it was poorly set up by the dealer and likely needs more tension on the bars. From your picture, everything looks level. You may try raising the perches on the trailer tongue a hole or two to see if it rides better.

Also, don't guess on weights and settings. Use a scale and the 3 pass weight method and get the axle weights right. There's a sticky at the top of this section and plenty of info on your exact hitch and dialing it it.

I'm sure in the next few posts, the Hensley, Popride, Blue-Ox and Anderson vultures will inform you how inferior your hitch choice is!

I was camping north of columbus, oh a few weeks ago. Most trucks that came in the campground towing a travel trailer had a husky centerline ts WDH. Just in my section, out of 20 travel trailers 19 used a husky WDH. So I'll just ignore the haters comments.

[rsdata]

Your payload sticker shows P rated tires... same as my sticker which are OEM...
I have upgraded to LT rated tires, which is a different load range, higher inflation and less sidewall flex which decreases the tendency to sway...

Most sway is related to tongue weight, but TV sidewall flex will also give you some sway.

[Alucke]

Originally Posted by rsdata

Your payload sticker shows P rated tires... same as my sticker which are OEM...
I have upgraded to LT rated tires, which is a different load range, higher inflation and less sidewall flex which decreases the tendency to sway...

Most sway is related to tongue weight, but TV sidewall flex will also give you some sway.

I did switch from using 275/65r18 114t tires to using 275/65r18 116t/h tires.

I got this truck in September of 2017 and got the travel trailer in January of 2018. Only used the travel trailer once last year in April, due lung cancer diagnosed at the end of May 2018. From the beginning of June 2018 - middle of December 2018, I barely drove because of being very sick during 7 month my cancer fight. I'm over 6 months cancer free, now. This year, I have learned a lot about my truck, travel trailer, towing, weights. I still have so much more to learn. But having neuropathy, unable to keep my body temp down during the summer, my physical strength, stamina, etc keep my from doing the strenuous work on my truck and travel trailer. So I have get most of the travel trailer work done at a rv dealer/service center.

[Boomerweps]

Thank God for your last cancer diagnosis!

Getting actual weights is a great thing but not used to set up the hitch, more to check the results. Download the manual if you don't have it already for the WDH. Measuring the front and rear heights at the top of the wheel well arcs is what you use. ON A LEVEL SURFACE. Just the truck, then the truck with the tongue weight on it, then the truck with the WDH spring bars attached. Proper location of the spring bar brackets, angle range of the bars, angle of the hitch head & ball are covered in the setup procedure.
If your bars are set right, you need to be Hercules to place them on their perch without having the tongue jack lifting the truck rear up high
Current Ford guidance has you return the truck front down with the spring bars to under one half of the lift without the spring bars, using the unloaded truck heights as the zero baseline.

[Alucke]

Originally Posted by Boomerweps

Thank God for your last cancer diagnosis!

Getting actual weights is a great thing but not used to set up the hitch, more to check the results. Download the manual if you don't have it already for the WDH. Measuring the front and rear heights at the top of the wheel well arcs is what you use. ON A LEVEL SURFACE. Just the truck, then the truck with the tongue weight on it, then the truck with the WDH spring bars attached. Proper location of the spring bar brackets, angle range of the bars, angle of the hitch head & ball are covered in the setup procedure.
If your bars are set right, you need to be Hercules to place them on their perch without having the tongue jack lifting the truck rear up high
Current Ford guidance has you return the truck front down with the spring bars to under one half of the lift without the spring bars, using the unloaded truck heights as the zero baseline.

Ok, with the second to last paragraph you said, the dealer, after they install/setup the WDH, told me that I have to raise the tongue jack/rear end of the truck to put the trunnion bars in their perch. With that said we are doing it all wrong. I currently have an appointment at the very friendly helpful rv place for them to adjust the WDH, not the same dealer where I bought the trailer or CW.

[Alucke]

I did forget to mention, I do have the WDH manual. Never thought to read it, I thought at that time, the dealer would know how to set it up properly and show the buyer how to properly use the WDH. But I am learning that a lot of dealers just do a quick install and improper setup of the WDH, just to get the customer out of the lot with their new travel trailer. But don't get me wrong, the RV dealer my parents bought their trailer from took the time to properly setup their WDH and show them how to use it properly. So there are a lot good dealers, too.

[trustyrusty436]

Do you have a lot of weight in the rear of the trailer? Loading the rear up will cause it to sway a lot more. If the rear is too heavy it can cause loss of control and a wreak!

[Grey Wolf 26RR]

This video (lengthy) will show an owner hooking up his Centerline TS hitch. You get an idea of the tension on the bars and brackets.

https://youtu.be/QTQanNVkrlc

[Alucke]

Originally Posted by trustyrusty436

Do you have a lot of weight in the rear of the trailer? Loading the rear up will cause it to sway a lot more. If the rear is too heavy it can cause loss of control and a wreak!

No I don't, my wife and I usually put stuff near the front of the trailer. It also used to have a heavy double hitch spare tire holder that weighed between 200lbs - 300lbs bolted to the back frame and bumper, which I took off, and ordering different less heavy spare tire carrier.

[Wishbone]

Originally Posted by Alucke

I towed my travel trailer to Texas and back at the beginning of July. While driving the interstate, I noticed that everytime a tractor trailer would come up and pass me, my truck and trailer would sway a bit. My wdh manual says it has a built in sway control with the trunnion bars and the friction. I was wondering if maybe my wdh wasn't set up properly by the dealer when I picked the trailer up. I know nothing about this stuff. I'll post a picture of my truck and my travel trailer in a little bit. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Alucke

What exactly does "my truck and trailer would sway a bit" mean? It sounds like from your description the whole rig, Truck & Trailer, gets pushed over. Or does it feel like the trailer is swaying behind you from the semi? If your whole rig is getting pushed over then I would say that's normal. There's a lot of pressure and air turbulence around a semi truck. And you have a lot of mass being pushed by all that pressure. If the trailer is not actually swaying then I would say your weight distributing hitch is set up properly. So back to the term "a bit", does that mean you feel like it pushed you or is it a white knuckles situation?

[SpyderMonkey]

A little late to the game here but have you worked out this issue? I just picked up my trailer on 8/10/2019. 2020 Cherokee 274vfk. I am using a 2020 F150 145wb Max tow -- 12,700 rated tow vehicle. I used Husky for the first time and was very under impressed. This hitch came highly recommended from 2 of our fellow camper friends or I don't think I would be giving it a second chance. I have been reading the install directions to rule out bad install as the dealer talked a good game. Numbers look good on paper so I contacted Husky support. They send me a form to fill out and email to them which I will be doing this weekend. They were 100% sure of themselves that my trailer should never sway. It can swing out to one side and come right back in line even if it had negative tongue weight (hard to believe since now we are talking a Hensley or proride hitch). Hope this helps.

[thebrakeman]

A passing truck will always suck the trailer (or a car without a trailer) in it's wake. That is normal, and not "sway". Sway is if (after the semi passes), your trailer continues to oscillate back and forth. Likewise for a crosswind. It will always push the trailer a bit, but is it really oscillating (swaying)?

[Alucke]

Originally Posted by thebrakeman

A passing truck will always suck the trailer (or a car without a trailer) in it's wake. That is normal, and not "sway". Sway is if (after the semi passes), your trailer continues to oscillate back and forth. Likewise for a crosswind. It will always push the trailer a bit, but is it really oscillating (swaying)?

This is what happens. I am sorry, this is the first year that I have towed the travel trailer a lot. Last year, I only towed the travel trailer once to a PA state park, about 3.5 hrs away, because of cancer diagnosis in May 28, 2018-treatment-cancer free Dec. 11, 2018-going on 9 months cancer free. I barely drove from June-end of Nov. So I really didn't know much about towing my travel trailer and stuff.



Thank you


Adrian

[Boomerweps]

Originally Posted by SpyderMonkey

A little late to the game here but have you worked out this issue? I just picked up my trailer on 8/10/2019. 2020 Cherokee 274vfk. I am using a 2020 F150 145wb Max tow -- 12,700 rated tow vehicle. I used Husky for the first time and was very under impressed. This hitch came highly recommended from 2 of our fellow camper friends or I don't think I would be giving it a second chance.

First, a 2020 F150 already? I just got a 2019 2 months ago ! (also 145wb, std tow pkg 11,600 rated)
My Husky works great. Granted it's sized and used for a smaller TT. When I switched TV to the F150 from a 2008 Explorer, I measured wheel well heights according to the install manual and could use it as set.

[SpyderMonkey]

Originally Posted by Boomerweps

First, a 2020 F150 already? I just got a 2019 2 months ago ! (also 145wb, std tow pkg 11,600 rated)
My Husky works great. Granted it's sized and used for a smaller TT. When I switched TV to the F150 from a 2008 Explorer, I measured wheel well heights according to the install manual and could use it as set.

Sorry, 2019 F150. I am going to go through the setup tonight. It does seem pretty straight forward and when I checked it today the trailer is tilted up slightly. I am hoping this is my issue.