Trailer Sway

[Jkreis]

I have moved from a 19CB Tommy Bahama to a 2019 28' International Sig 28RBQ and when towing it home from Austin to Dallas, I noticed a significant difference in how the wind from 18 Wheelers affected the trailer (pushing it around quite a bit). My TV is a 2018 Ford F-150 and my hitch is a Blue Ox. I'm guessing this is fairly normal since there is a lot more surface to push.. ????

[perryg114]

Does the Blue Ox have sway control? This is a topic like motor oil on a car forum. You are going to get comments from the elitists that tell you that you have to spend $6000 on a Hensely or Pro-Pride hitch. I am using old school sway bars that are adjustable and work well when used properly. It is basically a linear brake that damps out sway. Without it anything above 50MPH is a no no. You will feel a tug at the steering wheel when something passes but you will adapts. I think my rig is more stable than the truck alone.



Perry

[J. Morgan]

Maybe you have the WD tightened down too tight?

Is that possible?

[VeloBuckeye]

Jkreis,

I recently went from a 19' non AS trailer (3000 lbs) to a FC27 (which is actually 28' feet long) that is about 5900 lbs. Had a Blue Ox Sway Pro on the smaller trailer and simply moved it over, but upgraded the sway bars to handle the higher tongue weight. My TV is also a 2018 F150.

My suggestion is to experiment with which chain link you lock into the latches. When my AS dealership first hooked it up, I noticed what you have. While I realize I was now towing a trailer that was now 9 feet longer, it was also twice as heavy. After three trips using various links, I found the sweet spot which ended being "tighter" than the original setup.

I also checked my tongue weight on a scale just to make sure all was in range.

[SteveSueMac]

OP - did you ever weigh your other rig (3-pass method on the scales) and if so, have you done the same with this rig and compared notes? Lots of components work together to make a rig stable - tires, tire pressure, shocks, level, hitch, etc....lots of threads here on BlueOx in particular that may be helpful for your diagnosis and setup.

Originally Posted by perryg114

Does the Blue Ox have sway control? This is a topic like motor oil on a car forum. You are going to get comments from the elitists that tell you that you have to spend $6000 on a Hensely or Pro-Pride hitch. ...snip...

No, I would just recommend a $100,000 1-ton dually diesel....

(Remove tongue from cheek...)

Elitists? Wow - that’s what it boils down to?

As an Airstream owner yourself - how do you feel when others assume you’re an elitist for owning such a pretentious excuse for camping? Oh - you’re not an elitist? Great. Welcome to the club.

And the VPP hitches are less than half your inflated insult price and 10x worth the value - but I’m an elitist snob, so.....

Sheesh.....

[Profxd]

If the trailer wasn’t loaded to travel then you will probably need to make adjustments anyway. Start over and readjust the hitch per the TV manufacturers guidelines.

[Mr. Merk]

When towing our 24' Keystone (shaped like a brick) with our Porsche Cayenne to Banff last year, we talked to several campers with Trucks/Blue Ox style hitches that experienced sway during their journey.

We used an Andersen hitch and never experienced ANY sway. We even had semis blow my tow mirrors in on me more than once.

[out of sight]

Originally Posted by Jkreis

I have moved from a 19CB Tommy Bahama to a 2019 28' International Sig 28RBQ and when towing it home from Austin to Dallas, I noticed a significant difference in how the wind from 18 Wheelers affected the trailer (pushing it around quite a bit). My TV is a 2018 Ford F-150 and my hitch is a Blue Ox. I'm guessing this is fairly normal since there is a lot more surface to push.. ????

Try increasing your rear tire pressure and adjusting your hitch to get more weight onto the rear axle (without going over the GAWR).

Your tow vehicle is a bit light to be pulling a 28 so it will sway a little when being passed. It's normal.

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by out of sight

Try increasing your rear tire pressure and adjusting your hitch to get more weight onto the rear axle (without going over the GAWR).



Your tow vehicle is a bit light to be pulling a 28 so it will sway a little when being passed. It's normal.

(Just FWIW, My trailer doesn't sway at all when I'm being passed by anything, not even one iota)

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

OP - did you ever weigh your other rig (3-pass method on the scales) and if so, have you done the same with this rig and compared notes? Lots of components work together to make a rig stable - tires, tire pressure, shocks, level, hitch, etc....lots of threads here on BlueOx in particular that may be helpful for your diagnosis and setup.




No, I would just recommend a $100,000 1-ton dually diesel....

(Remove tongue from cheek...)

Elitists? Wow - that’s what it boils down to?

As an Airstream owner yourself - how do you feel when others assume you’re an elitist for owning such a pretentious excuse for camping? Oh - you’re not an elitist? Great. Welcome to the club.

And the VPP hitches are less than half your inflated insult price and 10x worth the value - but I’m an elitist snob, so.....

Sheesh.....

And yet in the end, we get to drive the drive of "like it's on rails"....... no matter what they say...

[Ephraim]

Originally Posted by perryg114

Does the Blue Ox have sway control? This is a topic like motor oil on a car forum. You are going to get comments from the elitists that tell you that you have to spend $6000 on a Hensely or Pro-Pride hitch. I am using old school sway bars that are adjustable and work well when used properly. It is basically a linear brake that damps out sway. Without it anything above 50MPH is a no no. You will feel a tug at the steering wheel when something passes but you will adapts. I think my rig is more stable than the truck alone.

Perry

Did I get cheated? Where do I send the other $3000?

Here is the funny thing. My TV is a 2006 Dodge 2500 Hemi. Sometimes, in the words of the 10 year old boy on our last trip, I get accused of having a "sweet truck". Other claim I'm elitist because it's a 3/4 ton and not a 1/2 ton. Sometimes, I get told I have an awesome trailer and sometimes I get told I'm an elitist because it's an Airstream. Here, sometimes people say "I wish I had that Pro Pride hitch" and others like you claim I'm an elitist without ever having met me.

Whatever. I drive in comfort and style with ZERO sway.

By the way, I'd never even heard of Pro Pride. The trailer came with an Equalizer hitch from the dealer. I was telling my neighbor, who owns a box trailer, about my trailering experience and he showed me his Hensley. The next day, I researched and bought the Pro Pride. Never looked back with buyers regret either.

The fact is, it's My truck, My trailer, and My hitch bought with My money.

Calling someone an "elitist" because they made different choices than you sounds a bit like envy.

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by Ephraim

Did I get cheated? Where do I send the other $3000?

Here is the funny thing. My TV is a 2006 Dodge 2500 Hemi. Sometimes, in the words of the 10 year old boy on our last trip, I get accused of having a "sweet truck". Other claim I'm elitist because it's a 3/4 ton and not a 1/2 ton. Sometimes, I get told I have an awesome trailer and sometimes I get told I'm an elitist because it's an Airstream. Here, sometimes people say "I wish I had that Pro Pride hitch" and others like you claim I'm an elitist without ever having met me.

Whatever. I drive in comfort and style with ZERO sway.

By the way, I'd never even heard of Pro Pride. The trailer came with an Equalizer hitch from the dealer. I was telling my neighbor, who owns a box trailer, about my trailering experience and he showed me his Hensley. The next day, I researched and bought the Pro Pride. Never looked back with buyers regret either.

The fact is, it's My truck, My trailer, and My hitch bought with My money.

Calling someone an "elitist" because they made different choices than you sounds a bit like envy.

I must have really gotten cheated, I paid $1,200 for my used Hensley.....

[Minno]

The trailers I see swaying the most are the ones traveling over 65mph.

Kay

[J. Morgan]

You and I share the same year and model trailer.

Without anti-sway, my trailers propensity toward swaying starts at about 62 MPH.

The tendency is multiplied when going down hill and when being passed by big trucks.....

I think there's a reason that Wally sold these trailers with a "speed limit"......

[Bill M.]

Different hitch. But ...:my experience reflects what Mr. Morgan pointed out about weight transfer. I am set at a point where overall it feels good and there is very little “pull” from trucks. If I tighten the chains one more link the steering feels “tighter” but I get a much larger “pull” from passing trucks. So you might try a bit less wt transfer with the BO hitch. Only takes a few min on a busy interstate to decide. None of the feeling I get is “sway”. Just a one piece pull towards the padding truck.

Question for Mr Morgan. Do you “ feel” an overtaking truck with the Hensley hitch?

[Ephraim]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

(Just FWIW, My trailer doesn't sway at all when I'm being passed by anything, not even one iota)

But if I had paid $6000, considering that I am pulling a trailer that is insured for over $150,000, it would have been worth every penny.

[Ephraim]

Originally Posted by Bill M.

Question for Mr Morgan. Do you “ feel” an overtaking truck with the Hensley hitch?

I notice a very slight steering pull to the right when a large semi passes the trailer and a very slight pull to the left when the truck passes the truck.

Without the trailer, the pull to the right is absent, but I still feel the pull to the left on the truck. Note that this is barely perceptible, but it is there in both cases. There is no visual movement of either the truck or the trailer.

My worst experience before the PP was driving on interstates that had tire grooves from the semis. The trailer didn't quite fit in them and tended to dance between the left and right groove. The trailer is wider than the truck so either the truck avoids the grooves or the trailer does, but not both. Not really a problem post PP.

[Mollysdad]

I have an Equalizer brand hitch on my 26' and I never feel sway from passing semis.
I'm not selling that brand, but your Blue Ox is a good hitch and with proper sway setup it will be fine also.

[A W Warn]

Originally Posted by Jkreis

I have moved from a 19CB Tommy Bahama to a 2019 28' International Sig 28RBQ and when towing it home from Austin to Dallas, I noticed a significant difference in how the wind from 18 Wheelers affected the trailer (pushing it around quite a bit). My TV is a 2018 Ford F-150 and my hitch is a Blue Ox. I'm guessing this is fairly normal since there is a lot more surface to push.. ????

I can feel an 18 wheeler move my truck whether I'm towing or not. So, yes it is normal.

I suggest double checking setup.

Level the disconnected trailer and measure the top of the hitch coupler. Set the ball height so that the hitch ball height is 1" or slightly higher than hitch coupler measures.

Re-read the truck manual, regarding proper tensioning the WD hitch to return load to the front wheels.

Make sure the trailer is level after tensioning.

Keep tinkering with adjustment until it is as perfect as possible.

[pteck]

I as other posters above have a relatively standard issue Equalizer, towing a 27FB with a short wheelbase SUV.

I experience no pulling whatsoever when passing rigs, either going same way or opposite.

Instead of us guessing your issues, can you post a pic of the overall rig, and then a closer in shot of the hitch setup?

I believe you can improve the performance your getting with a few tweaks.