Most of us with "bumper puller" type toy haulers have learned that loading the toys properly makes a huge difference of how the trailer reacts going down the road. The manual says to load 60% of your cargo forward of the axles. That is impossible to do when only about 10% of the cargo area is forward of the axles. I load four "sport" quads into mine and it disrupts the weight distribution over the axles enough that trailer sway becomes a real problem. I have two "friction" type sway controllers and tighten them down as much as possible, but a passing truck can be a "white knuckle" experience. I have also tried adjusting the WD hitch and tension bars, but I still don't like the way it tows when loaded. I should have bought a 5th wheel instead.
Truck: 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 SLT, 4x4, "Big Horn Edition" w/Cummins 5.9L Turbo Diesel and 48RE auto trans.
Trailer: 2007 Weekend Warrior FSC2800 Toy Hauler
Retired truck driver, USN Vietnam Vet, and loving life!
I've had the same problem. I think the best thing to do would be to get a tongue weight scale and find out which loading configuration gives you the most tongue weight. Filling your fresh water tank may help.
I have a front bathroom so I load my beer in the shower .. seems to help :-P
I have the FSW3200 and loading is simple. I put 2 atvs sideways all the way up to the kitchen counters, then two in side by side. If I pull the two up as far as possible, I have room for chairs, BBQ or other small light items. I also have Timbrens on my rear axle to help with the load going down the highway, With these I can even go without the sway, and have no issues at all. I can post some pics if you like.
2004.5 Dodge Cummins
2005 Z400 (wife)ALBA pipe w/wisper tip,k&n filter,jet kit,cdi box and Elka suspension
2006 Z 400 same mods
2005 trx450r Modded by Factory HONDA and YES IT'S FAST
2008 250ex
2007 W/W FSW3200 fiberglass sides, and all the options
Excuse my ignorance but by making the tension bars tighter, wont that make the hitch wieght less? You could try and place as much of your items in the front of trailer if its that bad. On my 5er, I have to put most of my stuff to the rear of the trailer. Real heavy pin wieght.
Well I loaded mine, no fresh water in tank, then weighed it, then weighed tongue. Then, since my fresh water tank is in front, I added water until tongue was 13%. I then reweighed trailer, reweighed tongue, and added enough water to get to 13% on tongue. Why twice, cause water I added to get tongue weight right the first time, changed total weight. Once all was perfect I took a magic marker and drew a line on the tank (can see ours thru access door for pump).
More lines easily added for other loads.
Now it is simple, load toys, add water, go.
Note an Equal-i-zer or Dual Cam Reese will be FAR FAR better than friction sway bars.
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Lovely German Shepherd.
1999 Mercedes ML320 TV
2003 Wanderer 187TB Toybox (3620# UVW, 4800# loaded) Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories. I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
MQUnlimited wrote: Excuse my ignorance but by making the tension bars tighter, wont that make the hitch wieght less? You could try and place as much of your items in the front of trailer if its that bad. On my 5er, I have to put most of my stuff to the rear of the trailer. Real heavy pin wieght.
I think you're confusing the weight distribution bars for the sway control.
2007 Ford F350 PSD FX4 SB CC
2008 Eclipse Attitude F33AKSG
2007 H-D FLTRI
2008 Kawasaki Teryx 750 LE
2005 Polaris Predator 500
1959 Understanding DW
Fully loaded with full water, fuel, Full propane, full fridge I carried a Honda Rincon 650 in the Kitchen and a Rhino behind it.
I traded the Rincon for a boat so I only carry the Rhino and it stays in about the same spot- maybe a foot and 1/2 forward.
Trailer seems to tow exactly the same even empty.
Husky WD with Friction sway control.
Also- Sway will happen regardless of a Truck passing if it is due to the Trailer being loaded tail heavy- so if it is Sway you should see it just driving down an empty road.
Perhaps what you are experiencing is normal from the wake as the tucks pass.
06 F250 V10 SB 4x4 Gulp Gulp
WW FSC2800
Rhino 660- 1980 Cobalt 18DV
Power Wheels 750
"Shoot, I'm the world's best backwards driver!"
Also, do you think a rear sway bar added to the truck would help stabilize the truck. Hellwig makes a nice bar for that.
Timbren They compete against air bags, they are an overload/assist for towing or hauling heavy loads. The thing I like about them is once they are on, you never have to adjust or worry about them, they also come with a lifetime warranty, carry more weight, and are less expensive then air bags.
RTOYZ wrote: Timbren They compete against air bags, they are an overload/assist for towing or hauling heavy loads. The thing I like about them is once they are on, you never have to adjust or worry about them, they also come with a lifetime warranty, carry more weight, and are less expensive then air bags.
Thanks for the tip. I have never seen these before. They look very simple. They work like overload springs in that they don't come into play until you have enough load to activate them. I wish I had known of these before purchasing my airbags. Oh well, everyday's a school day!!
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