Trailer Sway

jad1978

Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2019
Posts
24
Hello,
I have a 2022 Wildwood 29vbud and I'm pulling with a 2021 RAM 1500 Crew Cab. I just got this truck last June and I'm noticing some sway when pulling my camper. I'm on link 4 on my stabilizer bars, should I try another link? Thanks in advance for answeres
 
Hello,
I have a 2022 Wildwood 29vbud and I'm pulling with a 2021 RAM 1500 Crew Cab. I just got this truck last June and I'm noticing some sway when pulling my camper. I'm on link 4 on my stabilizer bars, should I try another link? Thanks in advance for answeres
IMHO, towing a 36ft tt with a 1/2 ton is crazy. Especially with a coil spring suspension Ram 1500.
And with a fictional dry tongue weight of 910lbs, I'm betting that you're over the truck's payload capacity when loaded for camping.
Using 12% of the GVWR, for a ballpark loaded tongue weight, comes up with a loaded tongue weight of around 1200lbs.
You are also probably exceeding the truck's hitch weight capacity.
 
Now you know how it feels to be at or over the limit of your tow vehicle. My TT is 5550 empty, I've towed it one time with a 1/2 ton, and it's a no-go for me. This subject always ends in debate, but I'm sharing my .02 anyway.
 
Now you know how it feels to be at or over the limit of your tow vehicle. My TT is 5550 empty, I've towed it one time with a 1/2 ton, and it's a no-go for me. This subject always ends in debate, but I'm sharing my .02 anyway.
I appreciate that. I guess what i'm trying to understand is I have towed it 6 hours before and felt totally comfortable. I feel like something has changed, tire pressure is good all the way around but I also towed the same travel trailer for a year with a 2014 RAM 1500 crew cab and never had the issue.
 
I appreciate that. I guess what i'm trying to understand is I have towed it 6 hours before and felt totally comfortable. I feel like something has changed, tire pressure is good all the way around but I also towed the same travel trailer for a year with a 2014 RAM 1500 crew cab and never had the issue.

The 2021 is coil sprung rear end and the 2014 is still leaf sprung IIRC. Huge difference in handling and ride.
 
You have a classic case of too little truck and too much trailer. A trailer that size and weight really needs at least a 3/4 ton truck.
 
I agree with the idea it is probably over the payload capacity of the truck.

Your profile says you are in Central Iowa. If the sway problem was real excessive this last weekend I would attribute some of that to the wind. (35+ mph winds much of the day) On such a long trailer with a light truck those winds would be a factor. We were pulling to Minnesota Friday and had to pull slower. Do you tow fast?
 
Almost any additional weight in the rear of the TT could create your problem since you are over the edge with the capabilities of your truck. Our first TT was a 36ft bunk house. Towed with a 3/4 ton and standard WDH. That truck was at its limit for GCVW. One trip I put a few extra things in the bunk house, towards the back of the TT. They sway was something I'd never experienced. I immediately knew why. I pulled over and moved the stuff forward and the sway went away. When you're on the edge, doesn't take much.
 
a 14 ram 1500 was also coil sprung
The half ton I towed my trailer with one time was a 14 and it had neither. It had air suspension. Honestly, it was not a suspension problem I had with that truck, it was the fact the transmission had to hunt gears between 4th and 5th, and even down to 3rd at times, due to the truck being underpowered, even though I had the 3.0 EcoDiesel and every single towing option available, even had 3.92 gears. It just wasn't enough truck for my trailer, and I'm nowhere near the weight and length of the OP's trailer.
 
I agree with the idea it is probably over the payload capacity of the truck.

Your profile says you are in Central Iowa. If the sway problem was real excessive this last weekend I would attribute some of that to the wind. (35+ mph winds much of the day) On such a long trailer with a light truck those winds would be a factor. We were pulling to Minnesota Friday and had to pull slower. Do you tow fast?
I wasn't towing last weekend but the weekend I was it was quite windy. I try and stay on the highways doing 55-60
 
I wasn't towing last weekend but the weekend I was it was quite windy. I try and stay on the highways doing 55-60
That's usually a reasonable speed. Your dry weight is 100lbs more than the GVWR of our unit. You are probably on the heavy side of the truck's cargo rating. Your door sticker will give you an idea how much your truck is rated for cargo. That number should cover the tongue weight and everything in the truck (you, wife, kids, grills, gas, etc). It gets eaten up fast.

As mentioned by someone above, when at or over the limits, where stuff is placed in the trailer makes a difference on tongue weight. Wind will be a factor as well.

If unsure it is a good idea to go to the scales and weigh everything. There are several threads giving specific instructions. There are two CAT scales in Des Moines and looks like one east of Newton near the speedway.
 
Just as you might need more cowbell, you might need more tongue weight. Many have touched on this, but 10% of GVWR is the minimum tongue weight. 13% or so is recommended. 15% is the typical max tongue weight.

So, to illustrate, if your GVWR is 5000 pounds, you want a minimum of 500# tongue weight. "Ideal" 13% is 650# and max would be 750#.

Now the bad news. That's a whole lot of trailer to tow with a half-ton pickup. GVWR of 9710# puts ideal tongue weight at 1263#. Your RAM half-ton MIGHT have a payload capacity of 2000#. More likely, it's about 1750#. With ideal tongue weight plus roughly 70# of WDH, that comes to 1333#. Take roughly 1750# (estimated) payload capacity and subtract 1333#, and that leaves you with 417# of remaining capacity for humans, pets, and various cargo. Put differently, you are really pushing the limits of your tow vehicle's capacity. Note that the chart I shared includes "Gross Axle Weight Ratings" front and rear. All those numbers will come in handy at the CAT scales others have already mentioned.

Two other factors come into play. This trailer is over 36' long. That's one huge "sail" for crosswinds and semi-truck bow waves to push on. I can't overstate how much leverage an oncoming or overtaking semi can apply to that VERY long lever behind you. With oncoming semis (or wind gusts around underpasses in particular), the forces hit hard and fast. The oncoming semi first pushes the front of the rig toward the shoulder, but within a second, all that force is applied at the rear bumper of the RV. So this hard twist must be resisted, and the longer the distance between the RV's axles and the extreme ends of the RV, the more force can be applied.

Next, the tires commonly specified on a half-ton are on the "soft" side for ride...and this is particularly true for RAMs. They are known for ride quality, but that makes them softly sprung and their tires are biased toward ride comfort. I have a RAM, and when I tow my rig, I always increase the tire pressure in the rear tires to sidewall max. When unladen, my recommended tire pressure is 35 PSI. I run Michelins, and the tire is marked with a max pressure of 44 PSI. When towing, I increase the pressure to 44 PSI, and that takes out a bunch of spongy wallow and side to side wiggle as the RV applies loads plunging up and down and side to side. Sway is "side to side" and firming up the tires a bit resists that sway just a little bit more. Some will say that tire pressure specs are designed to handle the truck's full payload. Perhaps so, but when you hang 36' of wiggling RV behind the tow vehicle, stiffer tires help. And it's the rear axle that matters most, because that's where the big hinge is.

I won't repeat the guidance you've received about CAT scales. Only a couple of configurations of your RAM are set-up to handle your trailer. Hopefully you have one of those. But regardless, you are running near the edge, so your weights and balance (tongue weight) are critically important. Sure, add more tension to the WDH, but you're putting every bit of 10 pounds into that 10-pound bag, so you must be 100% aware of how much weight is where...and that you're not overloaded. Between the CAT scale, the PRECISE model of RAM you have, and that RAM weight chart, be sure you are dialed in as well as you can be.

And remember, Ford, Chevy, and RAM have really been in "towing wars" ever since Ford came out with the v-6 turbos that could tow 12,000#. (By comparison, my old RAM is only rated to tow 7700 pounds.) Like many such wars, expect exagerations and hyperbole - a.k.a. boasting. One specific configuration of the RAM claims it can tow 12,750#. Bear in mind that's on a perfectly sunny day, downhill, with the wind at your back, and no semis or crosswinds. :rolleyes::facepalm: 13% of that is 1658# of tongue weight. With the WDH thrown in, the remining payload capacity of the truck is less than 200#. They must have performed these tests with jockies doing the driving.

Did I exagerate? Yup, but perhaps less than RAM did with it's towing specs. You have serious work to do to dial in your RV and TV for the safest possible tow...even if you have the mondo model on that chart.
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I agree about loading and maximum GVRW and hitch weight. Likely you are over the towing limits for the truck and likely inadequate hitch weight.

Loaded for camping, head to the CAT scales and weigh everything as described in the following. Then plug in the numbers in the following link and you will know the truth and the facts. TowingPlanner - towing capability calculators

A properly set up WDH is needed. Emphasis on "properly". Just adding a link is a SWAG factor (Scientific WildAss Guess).

We pull a 25' trailer, less GVRW than yours, with a 1/2 ton Chev Silverado Crew Cab, LTZ, 4x4, with factory tow package. While clearly under the weights and limits of the truck for the trailer, it is all this truck wants to handle.

Bob
 
Ram 1500 have been notorious for low payload capacities, for many years. Only Tundras are as bad.
Depending on the trim level, I'm guessing his Ram has between 1500lbs-1600lbs of payload capacity at best.
 

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