Last weekend we took the new TT out and everything went perfect,and it pulled great up and back,This weekend we were going quite a bit further only this camp ground has electric only and I had to fill the fresh water tank...it sits about 4' from the back bumper,well 320lbs.that far back has a HUGE effect on the tongue weight! About 5 mis. from home I was just ready to say something to the DW and she said this thing isn't pulling right....and I agreed,I got up on the interstate and it was feeling light on the tongue and the TT was doing that little "dance",we stopped at the first rest area and took a link out of the bars and it got a little better but it still wasn't right,stopped again and did a little measuring and tried to remember some of my setup #s,couldn't take anymore links out as the front of the truck started to raise a little,so I left it alone,didn't have much further to go.Had a great weekend,great weather,good wine and steaks,made sure all water was out of fresh tank,went back to original setup and she pulled perfect all the way home,stable and straight no sway,nothing....I may have to go to a scale and maybe go back to my 750# bars with water and my 1000# bars without,or move some things around although my huge storage area is in the front and I have a lot of stuff in there,may need to take spare off rear bumper and put in the bed of TV,any Ideas?
2008 Keystone Cougar XLite 29RLS
2006 Super Duty V10 6 Speed 4.10S Tow Command Tow Pkg. 4X4
I never travel with full tanks: fresh water, black or gray tank. My current TT has the fresh water tank right over the axles and the black and gray are forward of the axles. And I'm towing with a dually. Still, with liquids in the tanks, it makes a "weird" tow. It makes me wonder how tanker trucks (semi's) do it with all that liquid sloshing around.
Our Dutchmen Sport Lite had the tanks behind the axles and I towed with a Suburban. I figured that out after the very first trip with a full fresh water tank to never do that again! That started me down the path of always towing empty.
We don't boondock, but do camp at campgrounds that do not have water on the site, but have to use a fill station (like many Indiana State Parks). I've never had a problem filling the tank there and moving the trailer to the campsite as I'm not barreling down the road at 65 mph! At 5 or 10 mph in a campground, it doesn't really matter. So we tow empty!
DutchmenSport
2005 Chevy Silverado 3500 Dually Duramax 6.6L V8 Turbo
Century Truck Cap Commercial /Toolboxes
Northeast Outfitters Canoe
When your fresh water tank is full your trailer is tail heavy. They do not tow very well. Much like my model airplanes. A plane does not fly well when it is tail heavy. The saying in the Model Airplane business is a nose heavy plane will fly poor but will fly again. A tail heavy plane will fly only once. They are almost impossible to land. Similar for trailers. My 5th wheel has the waste tanks in the rear. I have to dump them and fill the fresh water tank which is in front of the axles before the trailer will pull decent. I was able to move my spare to the front of the trailer. Helped put more pin weight on the truck. See if you can find a place to mount it on the front of the trailer. The weight on front of the trailer will help more than if it is in the bed of the truck.
SuperDutyMan wrote: Last weekend we took the new TT out and everything went perfect,and it pulled great up and back,This weekend we were going quite a bit further only this camp ground has electric only and I had to fill the fresh water tank...it sits about 4' from the back bumper,well 320lbs.that far back has a HUGE effect on the tongue weight! About 5 mis. from home I was just ready to say something to the DW and she said this thing isn't pulling right....and I agreed,I got up on the interstate and it was feeling light on the tongue and the TT was doing that little "dance",we stopped at the first rest area and took a link out of the bars and it got a little better but it still wasn't right,stopped again and did a little measuring and tried to remember some of my setup #s,couldn't take anymore links out as the front of the truck started to raise a little,so I left it alone,didn't have much further to go.Had a great weekend,great weather,good wine and steaks,made sure all water was out of fresh tank,went back to original setup and she pulled perfect all the way home,stable and straight no sway,nothing....I may have to go to a scale and maybe go back to my 750# bars with water and my 1000# bars without,or move some things around although my huge storage area is in the front and I have a lot of stuff in there,may need to take spare off rear bumper and put in the bed of TV,any Ideas?
On the longer trips try and find somewhere close to where your going to fill the tanks. Most campgrounds have water available, maybe even a gas station close by?
2008 F250 SD 4.10 gears and HD towing package.
2008 299BHS Tango
Jerry & Sharon
Bindi & Cody....the furry kids
I set mine up with a full FW tank and almost always have a full tank when leaving and drain and replace what is left every few weeks...
I find little difference when the tank is empty and the tongue a little heavier...
about the only time my tank is empty is when I am at my seasonal site... even then on holiday weekends when the park is very busy I fill my tank in case there is a problem with the park water...
my FW is at the rear of the axle also, with waste tanks over and just ahead of the axles...
* This post was
edited 04/27/08 09:47pm by JJBIRISH *
Love my mass produced, entry level, built by Lazy American Workers, Hornet
DutchmenSport wrote: I never travel with full tanks: fresh water, black or gray tank. My current TT has the fresh water tank right over the axles and the black and gray are forward of the axles. And I'm towing with a dually. Still, with liquids in the tanks, it makes a "weird" tow. It makes me wonder how tanker trucks (semi's) do it with all that liquid sloshing around.
Our Dutchmen Sport Lite had the tanks behind the axles and I towed with a Suburban. I figured that out after the very first trip with a full fresh water tank to never do that again! That started me down the path of always towing empty.
We don't boondock, but do camp at campgrounds that do not have water on the site, but have to use a fill station (like many Indiana State Parks). I've never had a problem filling the tank there and moving the trailer to the campsite as I'm not barreling down the road at 65 mph! At 5 or 10 mph in a campground, it doesn't really matter. So we tow empty!
My two gray and one black tank are in front of the axles,and I always run empty unless going to a "waterless" state campground,I haven't boondocked yet,If I had my gray/black tanks full and my fresh full it would probably pull great! My last TT had the black in back gray in the middle and fresh ahead of axle and it didn't matter what was full or empty,but it was only 24' long,That extra weight that far back on the new TT reallys makes a difference.
Your truck should be able to tow the trailer without the WD bars being very tight at all. The rear axle should be rated at around 6,500 pounds, and I don't think it will have more than 4,500 pounds on it. Also don't worry about the front end getting light, it has around 4,200 pounds to keep it on the ground and in front of the back part. Even a hitch weight of 1,000 pounds that is 53" behind the rear axle and your wheelbase of 158", only 1/3 of the hitch weight will come off the front axles with the WD bars removed! That is only about 300 - 400 pounds in your case.
And your rear axle is rated to have an extra 1,500 - 2,500 pounds put on it, without any problems. When empty, the rear axle weight is probably between 2,600 and 3,200 pounds. So adding 3,000 pounds to the rear axle will make the springs sag a bit, but the tires will not be overloaded.
Putting the water tank behind the rear axle was a really stupid idea on the designer's part. I guess one remedy is to install a 20 gallon tank in the forward storage area, with another water pump that can be your primary pump when you are using that tank, or can be used to transfer water to the rear tank. That will give you plenty of hitch weight!
Yep, found the same thing. Really unloads the tonque wt and the TT devolps "squiggles". I even had that happen when both propane bottles went empty. I suspect that lighter wt TT's are much more susceptible to that affect then heavy ones.
Dick
2008 Toyota Tundra Crew Max Limited TRD
2009 Cougar 268 RLS ~8400 lbs road wt
Equal-i-zer 12,000 lb hitch, Prodigy BC.
2006 Jeep Liberty Turbo Diesel.....TV in Training
2005 Jeep GC 5.7 HEMI,(retired)
2005 Jayco Jay Feather 25Z, 4" lift (Retired)
Yep! my FW tank is also approx. 4 ft from the bumper. I was only filling it with 12 gals. of water, but that water would slosh side to side while also reducing tongue weight! made for an interesting ride! sometimes it`s the simplest things that make the biggest changes.
Wife kim
Son brandon 7yrs
Daughter marissa 6yrs
Dog shadow
07 Cherokee 32B
02 Excursion 4X4 V-10 4.30 gear
Reese HP dualcam,Prodigy brake controller,
Air lift air bags.
Better to have a bad day of
camping than a good day at work!
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