V-Lite Sway Problem

[Heldapay]

My husband & I traded our 2003 Mountaineer 34" for a 2013 V-Lite 28WRBS a couple of months ago. Overall, we've been very happy but we have experienced alot of sway when towing, more than we're comfortable with. We never had any sway with our Mountaineer and we're using the same equipment on our V-Lite. Hitch setup was done by the dealer. Our TV is a 2010 Tundra 5.7 with a Reese round bar WD hitch and friction sway control. I'm curious to know if anyone else has had the same problem with their V-Lite and what was done to solve it. We're considering dual cam sway control but really hate to spend money one something that may not fix the problem. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[MtnGuy]

The hitch setup by the dealer might be a clue. Most dealers do not take the time to properly setup the hitch. My dealer had only replaced 60 lbs. of the 300 lbs lost on the front axle.

You said friction control, but how many ??? A trailer that size needs 2 friction control bars, and ideally a WDH with integrated sway control would work better.

You also need to make sure the tongue weight is over 10% of the total trailer weight, and ideally 12-15% would be better. That trailer has a ~10% tongue weight coming off the line, so you will have to load your trailer front heavy.

The best thing to do is to make at least 3 trips over some CAT scales. 1 with the Tundra only, 1 with the combo minus the spring bars, and 1 with the spring bars in place. These measurements will give you the tongue weight (truck axles with trailer attached without spring bars minus the truck axles without the trailer), plus it will show how well the WDH is doing putting weight back on the front axle.

A local quarry, landfill, grain facility will also work, but a little more trouble. You would need to weigh just the truck front axle, then both TV axles, then the total weight, and then just the trailer axles. Again, you would need to do 3 of these weigh-ins....truck alone, truck and trailer without spring bars, truck and trailer with spring bars.

[Heldapay]

Thanks for so graciously taking the time to reply in such great detail! Camping people are just the best!

I think you're probably right about the dealer setup. The only thing I know they did differently from our previous setup was to flip the head over and check the weight distribution but of course we were completely empty at that time. We are only using one sway bar which, again, seemed to do the job on our 34 footer. Something just keeps telling us that the Reese dual cam might be the way to go.

[Rockinwood]

you cant go wrong with the Dual cam, we tow a 34 ft Rockwood, for the last 5 years, and have been in high cross winds, and worked like a charm, also make sure your trailer and tow vehicle look level, happy camping!

[Rockinwood]

also remember, I believe your new trailer (congrats) has 2 slides which make it heavier, but do not know the specs of your other trailer, but little things like that will make a difference.

[MIKE44460]

Hensley Arrow.

[DDC]

Look for a Hensley and you don't need to worry about sway there is none.

[SaskCampers]

Hensley hitches are nice as are the Pro Pride but with a V type trailer the ball receiver is at the bottom of the frame, not the top and it puts the hitch much closer to the ground as well you really need to go with the chain type snapups vs the jacks as the jacks prevent the propane access doors from opening on a V nose. Then there is the 2K price tag to deal with. In most situations the Blue Ox, Reese DC or Equalizer 4P are just fine. Pick any one of those 3 and you will be quite happy with the results when they are setup correctly per Chap's most excellent instructions.

[maxwell18]

I own a V-Lite also only 29 ft.. It will sway on you alot if the weight is not balanced right. I solved my problem by filling my fresh water tank full, and on our last trip from Tenn. to Virginia I had a black tank that was almost full and never got any sway out of it. So after that I always try to make sure I have more weight in the rear than the front.

[jjarrard]

We have a Lacrosse 301 RLS and use the Reese Dual Cam setup with 1200# bars. After we got it setup correctly it has prevented sway very well. I recommend it!

[vlite2011]

We own the v-lite also and have been dealing with the comfort level of pulling such a big camper. Ours is the 30WTBS (our previous camper was a 26' wildwood). This is our second year with the camper and just upgraded this spring to the Equalizer 4 pt hitch (use to have the chain style weight distrubution with one sway bar - it worked because we only camped locally). I was excited that the new hitch would make the experience of pulling better but so far not as good as I had hoped. I think we do have a few kinks to work out and hopefully that will help. We also had the problem with the outside link plates bending (there is another forum on this). I called equalizer and they replaced them with the new redesigned ones at no cost. So we will be taking our first trip with them this weekend. I don't think it is going to solve our problem but will make me feel a little bit better. I think we just need a little more adjustment. Will keep you informed on how our trip goes. This is the longest trip we have taken with this camper. Heading from SE MN to the north shore (Lake Superior).

[tentcamper1]

I started with the friction on my V-Lite and switched to the Reese Dual Cam - huge difference, makes towing a lot nicer. I had a hitch shop set mine up.

[Heldapay]

Thanks for the info on the Hensley. We had done a little research on them because we'd heard they worked great. Kinda glad to know that it's not the best fit for us 'cause, dang, they're sure proud of those things!

[Heldapay]

Thanks for all the great info! We've been leaning toward the Dual Cam and will probably end up going that route. We're going on a short trip in a couple of weeks and are going to try filling our fresh water tank and see what happens....great suggestion! We've had sway issues from day one, when we pulled our new camper home from Charlotte, NC, about an hour and a half away and entirely via interstate. Almost all of our trips involve some interstate travel because we're within a couple of miles from two interstates so it gets a little scary at times. The worst trip was last week on a trip to James Island Campground in Charleston (incredible campground, highly recommend it!). It was all over the place and was so bad that we have been considering trading it but we know we'd lose our butts on trade in. Thanks to all of your suggestions, I think we'll eventually get it worked out and come to love our new camper as much as we did when we first looked at it. Other than the sway issue, we've been very pleased with it. Will keep you posted and let you know what happens. In the meantime, keep the suggestions coming!

Thanks again, all!

[MIKE44460]

Originally Posted by jwebb6262

Thanks for the info on the Hensley. We had done a little research on them because we'd heard they worked great. Kinda glad to know that it's not the best fit for us 'cause, dang, they're sure proud of those things!

Add the cost of your TT & TV. Now divide the cost of the Hensley, I'll say $2,800 by the total investment of your rig. Is peace of mind worth the answer to the math problem? Mine was .035%, and that is well worth it.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by jwebb6262

Thanks for all the great info! We've been leaning toward the Dual Cam and will probably end up going that route. We're going on a short trip in a couple of weeks and are going to try filling our fresh water tank and see what happens....great suggestion! We've had sway issues from day one, when we pulled our new camper home from Charlotte, NC, about an hour and a half away and entirely via interstate. Almost all of our trips involve some interstate travel because we're within a couple of miles from two interstates so it gets a little scary at times. The worst trip was last week on a trip to James Island Campground in Charleston (incredible campground, highly recommend it!). It was all over the place and was so bad that we have been considering trading it but we know we'd lose our butts on trade in. Thanks to all of your suggestions, I think we'll eventually get it worked out and come to love our new camper as much as we did when we first looked at it. Other than the sway issue, we've been very pleased with it. Will keep you posted and let you know what happens. In the meantime, keep the suggestions coming!

Thanks again, all!

With the dual cam, you still have the option of adding dual friction sway bars also if needed.

[kz08h5]

Tongue weight on the V-Lites makes is a huge variable. You need to have 15% of the trailer weight on the tongue. Do the weight at the scales. You might also invest in a scale for the tongue. I bought one from this outfit: Sherline Trailer Tongue Weight Scales.

Also make sure your hitch ball height is correct. It also makes a big difference.

With a tank full of fresh water, the hitch height incorrect my V-Lite and truck felt like I was driving on ice the last trip I made. After adjustments everything was fine.

[youroo]

Originally Posted by kz08h5

Tongue weight on the V-Lites makes is a huge variable. You need to have 15% of the trailer weight on the tongue. Do the weight at the scales. You might also invest in a scale for the tongue. I bought one from this outfit: Sherline Trailer Tongue Weight Scales.

Also make sure your hitch ball height is correct. It also makes a big difference.

With a tank full of fresh water, the hitch height incorrect my V-Lite and truck felt like I was driving on ice the last trip I made. After adjustments everything was fine.

All true,but our V-lite F/W tank is in the rear as is the W/H,cant travel with full F/W tank,1/4 tank limit. Front Kit. units now have F/W tank foward as well as the W/H. Some units have the axles moved to the rear also. Our V didnt tow correctly until we replaced the flimsily Fac. tires with better Maxxis tires. Youroo!!

[VacaBill]

We purchased a 2012 Rockwood 2703SS. The trailer was almost un-towable.
The hitch dry weight is way too low. I did weigh it out at a cat scale, trailer 6165 pounds hitch 405 pounds. What confused me was that as I increased the hitch weight the trailer swayed worse. I purchased a Hensley and that made the trailer towable.

What I did do was take the trailer to an alignment shop. The front axel was set 1/4 of an inch too far to the rear on the drivers side of the trailer. The trailer axels being that far from parallel made the trailer tow poorly.

Alignment repaired, last trip over 800 miles, towed great up and down hwy 101 northern coast of California.

[donjuanss]

I also have a V Lite 28. I have one friction sway bar and only have a little sway when a big rig goes by. I agree with most on here that it is a balance problem and hitch set up.