Our truck and trailer combination has suddenly developed a bit of a sway problem. It's always run straight and smooth, but now the truck feels like it is light in the front end and wind and large vehicles passing in either direction make the combination feel like the tail is wagging the dog.
A bit of history. I hit a curb, pretty much head on, with the truck in a dark and rainy parking lot one night. Yes, I'll admit I didn't see it as it darted out in front of me. I hit it pretty hard. I've had the truck aligned since then (bit of a toe problem fixed), but the 'sway' is still there when towing.
I've tried shifting weights around in the trailer thinking I'd messed something up while reorganizing during the winter, but this hasn't made a difference. I've tried running with a full fresh water tank (as we usually do) and with an empty tank. The full tank did make the unit feel a bit tighter.
We are using a Reese WD setup, but don't have sway control as we've never needed it. I'm debating going to town and getting a basic Reese unit, but I'm wondering if anyone can think of anything I may have missed.
afraid of bears wrote: I've tried shifting weights around in the trailer thinking I'd messed something up while reorganizing during the winter, but this hasn't made a difference. I've tried running with a full fresh water tank (as we usually do) and with an empty tank. The full tank did make the unit feel a bit tighter.
We are using a Reese WD setup, but don't have sway control as we've never needed it. I'm debating going to town and getting a basic Reese unit, but I'm wondering if anyone can think of anything I may have missed.
When you reorganized, did you do anything that added weight to rear of trailer, thus, took weight off the tongue?
Maybe, have your TT weighed. Find out gross TT weight and actual tongue weight. If tongue weight is less than 10% of gross, this could cause sway.
I'd also look at welds and etc on TV receiver and TT tongue. Maybe TT didn't stop as fast as TV did and something is broken or bent.
If truck is a Government Motors product, I've read their receivers are prone to bending and the like.
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Australian Shepherd
2010 Ford Expedition TV
2010 Outback 230RS Toybox, 5390# UVW, 6800# 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
The bars on my reese hitch got worn and would hook up with less tension then when new. Just because you set up the hitch 100 years ago doesn't mean that it's still set up right. Measure the front and rear of the TV before and after the weight bars or go back to the scales.
Always go back to when the problem started - everything was OK before you hit the curb
Then have the front end of the truck checked out very thoroughly...
Les
2000 Ford F-250SD, XLT, 4X4 Off Road, SuperCab
w/ 6.8L (415 C.I.) V-10/3:73LS/4R100
Banks Power Pack w/Trans Command & OttoMind
Sold Trailer - not RV'ing at this point in time
Yes, check for a continued toe-out problem. My belief is that excess toe-out is a much worse experience than excess toe-in. I'm beginning to believe that faulty alignments are responsible for many sway problems. For some reason, ideal toe settings just get missed, expensive new computer alignment equipment and all.
I think marginal settings really rear their ugly head when trucks are called into towing service and suspension heights are changed. Add in a little extra steering momentum from the trailer, and things get white knuckle quickly.
A recent towing recommendation development is the recommendation by manufacturers to load the front suspension back to normal height using WD hitches, not more height, not less height.
Not surprisingly, this "normal height" also a critical element during pro-alignments so that the tie rods are adjusted to just the exact length at normal rest. Now think what happens when the steering sector arm/idler arm are not exactly centered vertically at the same height because of suspension compression/droop. The tie rod length will change, likely shorten, because the connected arms will pull it up, or down. Since most tie rods are behind the axle, shortening tie rod length will invariably cause greater toe-out and weird handling by wandering all over the road, the steering taking constant correction to maintain a straight path.
This is a great example of critical truck alignment specs, since really, only one major change has taken place. That of alignment.
Wes
...
Days spent camping are not subtracted from one's total.
- 2000 Excursion V-10 - 2004 Cougar Keystone M-294 RLS, 6140# tare
- Hensley Arrow - Champion 4000w/3500w gen
- Linda, Wes and Quincy the Standard Brown Poodle
...
Just for grins---go to the Reese website, and download the instal instructions for your hitch set up. Check to see if your rig is within normal limitations. It will mean you measure and hook up a couple times, but hey---a beer or two would fit in there somewhere and you would be sure the TV & TT are correctly connected.
I would bet the front end of the TV is the culpurt.
See ya out there
Offline
(1)(1).JPG)
