Towing issues

I have a 2016 tundra 1794 crewmax. It has a 4" lift with 35x12.5x20 kenda klever rt tires. I am hauling a 28 ft jayco camper. When get around 60 the truck likes to sway. I have a weight distribution hitch which is set up correctly. I feel I have 2 options to make this better. 1. I can get way less aggressive at tires and get the ras system on the truck. 2. Take the lift kit off and go back to stock tires. Would rather go with option 1. What do you think?

 

Lifting trucks makes them suck at towing. On top of that you are already towing a trailer that is a huge wind sail with a half ton. Even stock you'd be more susceptible to sway, and with that big a trailer you may even be overloaded on payload. Basically, you'd likely be pushing the capability of the truck in stock form, and then with it lifted it's just not going to do as well.

Personally, I'd be looking for a smaller trailer or a bigger (1 ton) truck.

 

Are you loading a lot of weight behind the trailer axles? Just asking because doing so can induce sway. I have no sway towing my 32’ trailer, and also have a 2/1.5 lift on larger tires using a Blue Ox Swaypro WDH.

 

I'd tend to agree with Godzilla.

That's a lot of trailer for a 1/2T truck to begin with, the fact that it's lifted w/35's just amplifies and exacerbates the issue.

What's the total trailer weight and what's your tongue weight? (Actual weights, not the manufacturer's "published" weights or dry weights.)

If your tongue weight is too light (10% bare minimum) it'll create sway, but if you have a good percentage of that trailer in tongue weight you're probably over payload.

I personally much prefer how my trailer handles with about 13% in tongue weight, but then my trailer's only 5,500 lbs.

 

No I feel the weight is pretty even. The tires are pretty aggressive. It really sways bad when the wind blows. The tires sound like they are trying to pull asphalt off the road when taking off while towing.

 

Along with with @Silver17 asked, I can't tell from your post - is this a new'ish issue or is the entire combo new'ish? I assume the WDH has anti-sway as well?

Edit: along with everyone is asking about. y'all posted faster than I could type.

 

I have towed the trailer 4 times. The truck was set up like this when I bought it. It has anti sway also. It's the husky centerline ts. I need to take it to a camper place and make sure I have it set up correctly. I pulled it one time when the wind wasn't blasting and it was an easy pull no sway.

 

@Jyocum14 - that trailer isn’t 28 feet. My guess is hitch to tail it’s closer to 35 feet. Which model is it?

 

Jayco jayflight 28bhbe. The lift was ordered on the truck at the dealer when it was originally purchased.

 

Looks like they put a puck on the front strut and a block under the springs

 

The guru has arrived.

 

I think this is decent amount of weight for 60mph and what you’re feeling is normal.

truck weights 7k trailer weights 6k unloaded that’s 12,000 pounds driving through the wind so your going to feel little movement. I would say take it extremely slow driving it and you will be fine.

not sure if traction bars will help on the truck but they did with mine towing.

 

Just under 34 feet. That’s a big trailer for a half ton. But you still shouldn’t sway unless you are weighting it more to the rear or your WDH isn’t setup right.

Your trailer has a very large fresh water tank which I think is at the very back. Full that is close to 700 lbs.

 

Specifications
Weights
Dry Hitch Weight (lbs) 660
Unloaded Vehicle Weight (lbs) 6,665
Cargo Carrying Capacity (lbs) 2,585
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (lbs) 9,250

Measurements
Exterior Length (overall) 33' 5"
Exterior Width 8' 0"
Interior Height (main) 6' 9"
Awning Length 18' 0"

 

I never drive with water in the tanks. I will take it to a place that sells and installs that wdh. Maybe I don't have it set up right. Do you think changing to a/t tires will help?

 

no

 

No. It's not your tires.

 

No. Like others said, this is not about tires.

 

Hitch up the trailer, take a bunch of pics of the combo, hitch, etc and post them.

 

This is all I have right now. Will get more in a few days.

 

OP have you ever taken it across the scales? It would be helpful to know what your weights are, especially to know what percentage of the trailer's weight is on the tongue.

Even if it "feels" pretty even, being a bit too light on the tongue can have a pretty big impact on handling... especially when it's windy.



That's a lot of "sail" to catch the wind... the length of that lever arm in relation to your truck creates ample opportunity for the tail to try and wag the dog.

Just as an FYI, be aware that (unfortunately) just because someplace sells and installs WDH's doesn't necessarily mean their techs always set them up correctly.

 

A lot of people will lubricate their WDH where the spring bars ride because they make noise when turning... That's a BIG NO NO ... You aren't by any chance one of those ??

Do you have the friction bar that you clamp down for sway control, or is it built into the WDH ??

I see no problem with that size trailer... I pull a 33', But I also have airbags on the rear...

 

Scales don't lie. OP you need to go loaded a if you're headed out. The photos all look different, so I'm off to the bleachers to follow along.

 

Might makes a ton of noise. And I do not lubricate. I think it's built in.

 

Have any good videos on how to figure out the weights?

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/tow-ratings-guide-how-to-be-safe.39211/

Post 17 explains scales, but the thread is stickied for a reason. Lots of good information to read through.

 

I would disagree. It may very well be about the tires - the tire pressure anyways, not the tread necessarily (though mudders suck at towing, no two ways about it; if the street handling is impaired, towing handling is thrice impaired, and I've never known aggressive offroad tread to handle super well on pavement). Depending on your tire shop, they may be inflating those 35's to the door placard inflation of 33 psi. Excepting the rare exception where 35's are p rated or C rated tires, most 35's are going to be E rated tires. 33 psi is under inflated for street driving; for towing - especially a large trailer - they are VERY under inflated. E range tires should have ~10 PSI additional pressure for street driving, and more so for towing. To further the point, even the p-rated factory size tires allow for an additional 16 psi of inflation beyond the maximum load inflation of the 35 psi for the express purpose of fine tuning the ride characteristics for towing and hauling. So add some air - that's what the tires were designed for when towing. Inflation tables found here can help you find the proper inflation: https://www.toyotires.com/tires-101/tire-load-and-inflation-tables

Years ago when I was still a teenager, we went on a family road trip cross country with a newly acquired 32' alumalite camp trailer. Day one was a short jaunt 2 or 3 hours away to a camp ground in the mountains with a summer storm rolling in, dropping temps by 40 degrees; day two was 14 hours on the road and I was lucky enough to drive first shift through the twisty mountain roads. I had plenty of drive time in the family suburban loaded down with family and gear, but not with the camper. After 10 minutes of extremely vague steering, plowing through corners with body roll, overcorrecting steering on every corner, and a trailer sway at most speeds, I pulled over and looked things over with my folks as it felt like we had a flat tire or two. The tires looked low on air so I suggested checking pressure. They had dropped a few pounds over night, but had not been aired up at all before leaving home. We immediately found the closest service station with an air compressor and aired them up. It immediately remedied the issue.

On that same line, check the inflation pressures on your trailer tires - if they are low, or you have one that is different than the others, that will also induce sway.

As for trailer size - that's honestly not too big of a trailer for the truck. I know people's opinions differ on the matter, and that's fine. But from my experience, its not. Improper weight distribution on the trailer of ANY size can induce sway. I've had worse sway with shorter 16-20' trailers than 24'-33' trailers that I've pulled when they were loaded poorly. So, as suggested, look at how the weight is distributed throughout the trailer.

Also as mentioned, 10% minimum tongue weight is usually too little, especially if your WD hitch is setup aggressively. I've scaled my 24' trailer with and without a WD hitch; its setup at 16% tongue weight with the basics in it. With the WD hitch, it drops down just to around 13%. I don't get super aggressive with the WD hitch, either, as too much spring on the hitch will cause the tongue to bob and weight to transfer around, which can induce sway even though you paid good money for a hitch that is supposed to eliminate it.

A good way to roughly gauge weight transfer and proper hitch setup is to measure the front fender height on your truck before hitching up the trailer, then again after you hitch up the trailer and load the WD hitch. The purpose of that WD hitch is to redistribute weight to the front axle and back to the trailer axles. When you use a conventional bumper pull style hitch, the tongue weight of the trailer hangs behind the rear axle and uses the frame as lever and the rear axle as pivot to pull weight off of the front axle (and place it on the rear axle). The WD hitch pushes that weight forward to restore it to the front axle; in turn in redistributes some of the tongue weight back to the trailer axles. So, if you can get the front fender height back down to it's original height before hitching up the trailer, you know you have redistributed that weight and your hitch is doing it's job. With an aggressive setup, you may even be able to push more weight on to the front axle than was there before hitching up the trailer.

With my scaled trailer and setup, I was able to push all but 40 lbs back to the front axle without being aggressive with the WD hitch. Driving around, that leaves plenty of weight on the tongue to keep from porpoising and swaying, and provides a very stable tow. Also, we tow the trailer more with our sequoia, which has a shorter wheelbase, so the same hitch settings with distribute more weight to the front (shorter lever ratio than the longer wheelbase tundra). So it's perfect for me.

I would check those three things. I have not experience the length of that trailer to be a detriment in towing. In extremely windy and gusty situations, trailers of ALL lengths are a handful to manage so that's a moot point when looking at trailers of reasonable size.

Lastly, as @ColoradoTJ pointed out - blocks are no good for towing. If I were in your shoes, I would replace them with a nice set of aftermarket leaves set up for the additional lift. It will cost you about $1000 plus install, but it will be money well spent. I have the opposite problem and want a stouter leaf pack without the additional lift, so I run airbags and a frankenpack leaf pack. But that's a whole different ball of wax. Ditch the blocks first.

After all that blathering, check the tire pressure first and air up when towing. It's quick, easy, and won't cost you a thing (unless you don't have an air compressor; then it will cost you a few quarters at the gas station or a trip to your tire shop).