Swaying Avoided

[pmhellings]

My honey and I own a 2720 and have towed it about 12,000 miles over the last two years. In the past we used her Toyota Sequoia and my Toyota Tacoma. It has always been rock solid with both vehicles, without a WDH.
Recently she bought a 2017 Ford Expedition with a towing package, rated for 6500 pounds. The first time we took it out it felt "sensitive" and if we went about 72 or 73 ( to pass safely ) there was a hint of sway.
We planned to go to the Jubilee in Nashville this year, so we took pains to load carefully and plan for proper weight distribution. To no avail, the sway was there, and to the point of where I started shopping for a WDH.
I decided to try one more thing. I checked the tire pressure on the Expedition. The tires were at the factory spec of 37 psi. but the tires had a max pressure of 51 psi. I got out my bike pump and bought bothe rear tires up to 42psi. A miracle! No more sway! The TM towed like it had before with the previous vehicles.

I realize that, on this forum, the usual fix for any and all towing issues is " use a WDH ! " I prefer not to use more gear than I need ( no generator, no inverter, no microwave, no power drill for the stabilizers, etc ) so for me a WDH would be the last resort. I thought that I would share my experience for others who may share my minimalist approach.

Paul

[Larryjb]

Interesting observation. My tire guy highly recommended inflating my truck tires to the 40-45 PSI range so I've always done that anyway.

[Bill]

Paul -

Regarding tire pressure, I'm glad you found the solution. I have experienced the same thing with my 2002 Explorer, then my 2007 Explorer, and then my 2014 F-150. Truck manufacturers use a "comfy" setting so they can advertise a nice soft ride, rather than a harsh "truck ride". This sells trucks, but it is not especially compatible with trailer towing. For my trucks, the 35 psi "comfy" setting felt squirrelly as soon as I put a trailer on the back. Raising the pressure to 40 psi cured it - but it did cause over-inflation tread wear if not reset to 35 psi at the end of the trip.

I realize that, on this forum, the usual fix for any and all towing issues is " use a WDH ! "

That's not quite true. A WDH by itself does nothing to combat sway, and it is important to understand that. It is true that you can buy specialty WDHs with sway control equipment built in. But the idea that the purpose of a WDH is to cure sway is a myth, and the Forum has attempted to bust this myth since its founding. For example, this was stated in the TM Technical Library as early as 2005, in articles titled

Trailer Sway and Sway Control http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=2923
and especially
Choosing a WDH http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=2922

A WDH is useful for a number of things, but preventing or curing sway is not one of them.

Bill

[BrucePerens]

Bill, if the Trailmanor is very resistant to sway because the C.G. is far forward of the axle, and the WDH moves the C.G. of both the trailer and the tow vehicle, we can't really state that the WDH does nothing about sway. The movement of the C.G. of the tow vehicle, and the distribution of the weight of the combination farther away from the hitch, might be important to the prevention of sway.

[tentcamper]

I think it would be interesting to compare the load on the rear axle of the TV when the trailer connected is loaded, to the tire manufacture load inflation chart.

[loggydog]

Glad you found an easy fix to the swaying.
Steve