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Tundra sways when brand new camper is on it

Discussion in '2nd Gen Tundras (2007-2013)' started by Oracertified, Aug 11, 2019.

  1. Aug 11, 2019 at 8:33 AM
    #1
    Oracertified

    Oracertified [OP] New Member

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    I have a 2008 crewmax and I just bought a new jayco six 324bds camper. Empty weight is 7300 lbs and max weight is 9000 loaded on the camper.

    My truck is rated to pull 10,500 lbs.

    When i got on the interstated at 65 mph, the truck started veering left and right.

    I bought the truck with cheap tires made in Thailand. Road one something. These are passenger tires.

    Would LT tires help stabilize the swaying.

    I have a load levelizer with the built in sway bars.
     
  2. Aug 11, 2019 at 8:43 AM
    #2
    Stewartac

    Stewartac New Member

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    Was the trailer loaded? Improper loading of the trailer is the primary cause of sway as im sure you know. If you're towing a trailer that heavy you're definitely going to need a tire with a load range to handle that weight. Also make sure they're properly inflated for the tongue weight, low tires can also cause issues towing. I think you're likely on the right track with the passenger tire issue, they probably don't have the side wall strength to handle that load and you're lucky you didn't have a blow out
     
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  3. Aug 11, 2019 at 8:48 AM
    #3
    Hbjeff

    Hbjeff New Member

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    Cheap tires suck on an unloaded tundra as well. Everyone should be running quality tires, i agree get LT rated if you are towing. I prefer the handling of LT tires even unloaded

    Did you have a sway bar and load distribution bars on your hitch as well.
     
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  4. Aug 11, 2019 at 8:55 AM
    #4
    Capt J-Rod

    Capt J-Rod New Member

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    MANY factors play into towing a trailer... Good tires on both the truck and trailer with proper air comes first. I "over-inflate" my truck tires if you go by the door jamb sticker. They call for 35ish pounds and I take them up to the pressure on the sidewall of 45. Next comes the hitch... Is it properly installed and set? You have to pull the rig onto level concrete and set it up, preferably with the rig loaded as it runs down the road. Next comes a true weight and balance. A trip to the scales is not a bad idea for this. When you add everything including the stuff in the bed and the passengers things can get a little crazy. In big round numbers if your total weight of the trailer is around 75% of the mfg's truck capacity then you are usually safe. When you get over those numbers then you need to start doing some math. How you load the stuff in the camper will also affect how it tows. My buddy had a 29' bumper pull that was behind a 1 ton cummins. All the numbers were good and we never could get it to stop swaying once we hit 60+ mph. Needless to say he sold the trailer. Camper stealerships will tell you ANYTHING to get the trailer sold. They make a car dealership look like a church.
     
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  5. Aug 11, 2019 at 9:04 AM
    #5
    Stewartac

    Stewartac New Member

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    I once worked on a brand new rv where the axles we're crooked and it would run sideways all the time. RV company bought it back when I proved it with a ton of measurements
     
  6. Aug 11, 2019 at 9:18 AM
    #6
    thaflood

    thaflood New Member

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    Since you bought new, I’m sure the dealership required it before you left the lot, but do you have a weight distribution hitch?

    That could be the main cause, and it’s dangerous to pull a trailer that heavy without one.
     
  7. Aug 11, 2019 at 10:38 AM
    #7
    Oracertified

    Oracertified [OP] New Member

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    The trailer is new and the distribution hitch was set up and configured by the dealership. I did not want to invest in tires if I have to get a 3/4 to .
     
  8. Aug 11, 2019 at 11:13 AM
    #8
    Capt J-Rod

    Capt J-Rod New Member

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    I see no reason that the tundra won't handle that trailer. Setting up a new trailer is a trial and error event. Even when you get it done, you will change something. Tires on the truck shouldn't make the trailer sway. You have a weight issue. Consider full and empty tanks as well. Tanks in a camper end up where they fit, not necessarily where they ride the best. My old single axle jayco had the water tank in the front driver's corner. The black and grey tanks were in the back. Too much tongue weight when the water was full, not enough when the others were full. Is there a lot of pressure when you set the bars on the weight distribution hitch? Which hitch are you using?
     
  9. Aug 11, 2019 at 11:28 AM
    #9
    Scuba

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    As long as the tires have the same load rating that the truck came with from the factory then he is a-ok to tow with the tires he has.

    A higher than door placard tire pressure would probably help with trailer sway. I don't recommend maxing them out to what the sidewall says, though. That's a good way to ensure you have a tread separation.
    If your tires are rated at 44 max while cold I would start with 40PSI and give it a go.
    However, considering the no name brand of tires I would be hesitant to trust them.. Can't make a shitty tire perform better by changing the air pressure.
     
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  10. Aug 11, 2019 at 11:32 AM
    #10
    Scuba

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    To be honest the tires are the first thing I would start with.
    They're the first thing I look at when I buy a vehicle.

    I run 275/65/20 LTE 126 BFG AT KO2's. When I tow I run 60psi rear and 55 front. When I'm not towing I run 55 all the way around.

     
  11. Aug 16, 2019 at 10:34 AM
    #11
    Oracertified

    Oracertified [OP] New Member

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    Without resolving the issue, I did the unthinkable. I traded the Tundra in for a 2006 Ford F-350. I think addressing the tires with something beefier would have resolved it. I just did not like the idea of the trailer steering the truck... So, now onto the dreaded bullet-proofing forums.

    Thanks guys.
     
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  12. Aug 16, 2019 at 10:37 AM
    #12
    NWExplorer

    NWExplorer this guy

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  13. Aug 16, 2019 at 10:42 AM
    #13
    Moon Puppy

    Moon Puppy I'm not new!

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    My wife did that to me. I looked at the Sienna and said "we're gonna need new tires", next thing I knew I was signing papers for a Buick Enclave (that left me on the side of the road). Yeah, cheaper to get tires but whatever.
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2019
  14. Aug 16, 2019 at 10:48 AM
    #14
    Scuba

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    I can’t count how many people I’ve met who said “my wife may want to trade it in but it really just needs new tires..”

    Doesn’t make much financial sense to trade a paid off vehicle instead of put $500 in tires. Just my opinion.
     
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  15. Aug 16, 2019 at 10:51 AM
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    Moon Puppy

    Moon Puppy I'm not new!

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    Preach on Bro..
     
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  16. Aug 16, 2019 at 11:04 AM
    #16
    shawn474

    shawn474 Lego connoisseur

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    The other thing to account for is that trailer is 32 feet long. ANY variable could effect the handling of that trailer - road conditions, unbalanced tires, improperly installed WDH, improperly loaded trailer, etc. especially on a trailer that long.
     
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  17. Aug 16, 2019 at 11:09 AM
    #17
    Warreng

    Warreng New Member

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    That escalated quickly...
     
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  18. Aug 16, 2019 at 11:09 AM
    #18
    WNY PAT

    WNY PAT New Member

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    Hopefully he hooked the trailer up to the F350 to see if a new tow vehicle resolved the sway issue. Lol Expensive fix.
     
  19. Aug 16, 2019 at 11:13 AM
    #19
    MistrRoboto

    MistrRoboto '17 MGM SR5 TRD CrewMax

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    I gotta say... that's not how I expected this to end.
     
  20. Aug 16, 2019 at 11:29 AM
    #20
    sbxx312

    sbxx312 New Member

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    32 feet is a big trailer.
     
  21. Aug 16, 2019 at 11:47 AM
    #21
    Windsor

    Windsor New Member

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    Too late, but dont think that if a dealer hooks up the WD, it is correct.
    What WD hitch did they sell you? Did they put the trailer on a tongue scale to tell you actual tongue weight?
     
  22. Aug 16, 2019 at 11:53 AM
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    Dr_Al

    Dr_Al New Member

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    It's his money and if he wants to spend it foolishly then that's his choice. My parents rolled over their F-250 while pulling a new 28' camper that was set up by the dealership when it stared swaying. It was nice and level when sitting in the parking lot so they assumed it was good. The trailer wasn't anywhere near close to what the V10 could pull. Best guess was the tongue weight wasn't enough but it could have been a problem with the trailer axles.

    A friend who was pulling his 10,000 flatbed trailer with staging planks on it lost control when the same thing happened. No problem until he got over 40mph. He was lucky and just ended up stuck in cornfield. But he's pulled that trailer 100s of times before with his 1/2 Ram without issues. Once he got towed out he moved more boards towards the front and finished driving to the jobsite.

    The fact is that pickups are light in the rear. Care must be taken when pulling a trailer. It's easy to think you have the rear axle properly loaded when, in fact, you don't. A weight distributing hitch is great but it also masks the problem. When connected up before you load the trailer you can't tell how much weight is on it. That's a real problem for a camper where people connect them up like they always do and then start to load all the junk they are going to take with them. Often they don't think twice about how they are changing the loading.

    I suspect the OP may be ok if he's bought a heavy enough truck. of course he may find out the hard way that he didn't. Unfortunately if he does find out that he was wrong it'll most likely be on the interstate at 65mph when a cross wind hits. My parents ended up closing down a southbound New Hampshire interstate for 3 hours and a couple days in the hospital.

    If nothing else drivers need to know that if it happens applying the tow vehicle's brakes is going to make it worse, not better. You need to apply just the trailer brakes.
     
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  23. Aug 16, 2019 at 1:46 PM
    #23
    sbxx312

    sbxx312 New Member

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    Some good information in this post.

    Part of the problem is any moron can buy a truck and a travel trailer, myself included. Now six years later towing the same trailer, I'm starting to feel more comfortable. I could never own a big trailer.
     
  24. Aug 16, 2019 at 3:10 PM
    #24
    Capt J-Rod

    Capt J-Rod New Member

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    I have 15 years of trailer towing with pick-ups... Boats, flat bed car haulers, enclosed trailers, dump trailers... Hell even log splitters and mortar mixers. The worst one that I move is a construction scissor lift... We painted the deck of the trailer to know EXACTLY where it needs to be. Front to back side to side. Get it wrong and it will whip like crazy. Get it right and you don't even know you have it. 30' bumper pull is never a good set up. In boats you will see 3 and 4 axles. It helps. The new enclosed trailers are putting 2 and 3 feet between the axles. Bottom line campers are the trash of the trailer industry. They BARELY put enough axle under them to carry the load and they are slapped together with staples and particle board. My custom built aluminum enclosed trailer tows like a dream. Engineering is everything.
     

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