Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveSueMac
Are you asking a question? It's hard not to infer you're making a statement.
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Great mechanical insight, wasn't it?
That pickup is as (almost) as bad as it gets for a stable tow vehicle. And, toyhaulers as a group are poor. Even before they're loaded.
The upgrade to a Class V receiver was good. Additional diagonal bracing forward from it to frame rails is recommended. There may also be slop with the drop shank. Check to see how it's starting to wear. There is likely some measurable slack when tightening hitch.
It's the height and the tires with the truck. The stock tires/wheels with LTX Michelin or Duravis Bridgestone lines would have been better. The latter has commercial traction models. Soft sidewalls and the wrong tread design is what you currently have.
The trailer is the real culprit. Tongue weight needs to be no less than 10%. 15% is the usual upper limit, but your TV can deal with that IF the trailer tongue is stout enough to handle 18%, say. The PP hitch has an upper limit.
I agree with having more values from scale readings. TT should be measured "empty": full propane and fresh water, plus what never leaves trailer. Then a reading as if loaded for a trip. And not until those should the "toy" be loaded. Because it would also be good to have values for each individual wheel, before and after the toy is loaded.
Likely one axle is loaded more heavily than the other. And one side of each axle is likely worse. It's not just TW.
In general, the majority of TT weight should be on or very close to the axles. This -- plus the side to side -- is where the problem starts. And that truck is a disaster with those tires/lift in getting steering feedback. TT accidents are about drivers loss of control. Due primarily to over correction.
Find the nearby truck stop with a CAT Scale and have a helper or two. One, inside at fuel desk to pay the tickets. The second to help you spot on the scale. Talk to the scale master or manager about what you're up to.
On a Saturday, it'll be slow. Get the reading and get off scale. Use parking space to make changes.
First pass across scale: Best hitch rough in (for the load). Use fender drop measurements for approximation. .
Second pass: Same as above but with all tension removed from hitch.
Third pass: TV alone (loaded as if for camping; use sand bags, etc, for simulation).
Fourth: Split TT axles on starboard side.
Fifth: Same for port side.
Go back and move trailer load around if need be. Measure heights at wheel fender. Re-test. Tensioned and untensioned. Need to be able to rule out bad frame or suspension components on trailer, FIRST.
Don't concern yourself too much with hitch settings. Even cranked hardest, the least weight goes to TT wheels. Get the rest, first.
The hitch isn't the problem. It's the trailer design, one; followed by the trailer load, two; and the height and tires of the truck, three.
Spend the day. Take your time. Flying J and T/A and Petro have real restaurants. Pilot and Loves have fast food.
Before you leave, give Sean a call if he's going to be available. Email the scale tickets after you've written on them what each one represents.
Do as well as you can with that. And then try Andy ( Andrew Thomson, Can Am RV) during the week after you think it's as good as you can get it. And plan to go back to said scale.
Work the details hard one time, in other words.
As a professional truck driver it's a standard (sick) joke that worst of the RV'ers are the toyhaulers. Those children in the backseat have no father. Baby Daddy is driving. Too high, too big and too fast.
Having watched several of them destroy themselves after passing me the past few years, I'd take it all damned seriously.
Good luck.
Hi, I'm really shocked to read that a few people actually had sway with hitches that "Eliminate Sway." How is that possible?
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