big trailer towing stability

NewBlackDak · Jul 29, 2017

goldtr8 said:
I tow with a 1500 hemi and yes e rated tires make a YUGE difference. Its night and day with stiff sidewalls and some more air pressure.

Anyway the OP needs a better hitch also. If you have bars with chains there is little sway control and the friction bars are crap.

I have had a reese dual cam in the past with a single axle trailer using a short wheelbase wrangler for a tow vehicle and it was properly set up and worked great.

I now have an e2 hitch that has the bars that ride on steel pads and I get no sway and I am at max payload fully loaded and combined weights. Yes I have CAT scale numbers. This 1500 tows great and its not a white knuckle experience. It is set up so I have weight on the front axle and proper weight on the tongue.

It was amazing how much better it towed after I went to the CAT scale and weighed loaded and then empty from my starting point. Then I made adjustments to the weight distribution bars (mine double as the anti-sway friction device) and the front axle got its weight back and it tows great.

So 1500's are very capable if even at the maximum capacity ratings but you have to spend time on a complete setup for the hitches and you have to have a hitch that actually can dampen sway and keep the trailer tight to the vehicle.

Did you upgrade wheels with tires? Many if the crappy stock aluminum wheels found on 1500s won't hold up to the pressure of higher rated tires and crack.

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goldtr8 · Jul 30, 2017

NewBlackDak said:
Did you upgrade wheels with tires? Many if the crappy stock aluminum wheels found on 1500s won't hold up to the pressure of higher rated tires and crack.

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No I did not upgrade the wheels. I did my research before I purchased the tires and looked up the pressure vs load rating. What I found was that at the mfg rated pressure of 40 psi I already had a higher load rating over the stock p tires. So day to day I run the recommended pressure and when towing I only go to 50 psi not the tire rated of 80 psi.

In addition if you have rubber stems my research states to not go above 60 psi as they can blow out. I am not sure this would be possible as the stems are integral to the TPMS.

I hope this answered your questions.

ColdCase · Jul 30, 2017

goldtr8 said:
Anyway the OP needs a better hitch also. If you have bars with chains there is little sway control and the friction bars are crap.

I have had a reese dual cam in the past with a single axle trailer using a short wheelbase wrangler for a tow vehicle and it was properly set up and worked great.

I now have an e2 hitch that has the bars that ride on steel pads and I get no sway and I am at max payload fully loaded and combined weights.

My 17 foot aluminum trailer needs a ball height of 18 inches unloaded, loaded up it will squat down to 16 inches or so. I haven't been able to find a WDH that isn't going to try to remove speed bumps or put a groove in my driveway. I presume the ball platform needs to be large to provide some leverage. Anyone know of a shorter WDH (largest ground clearance) that does a good job with sway? At the moment I'm stuck with the cheap friction add on for sway control.

KSH · Jul 30, 2017

Look at propride

ColdCase · Jul 30, 2017

KSH said:
Look at propride

I looked at propride but theirs won't fit... seems to be one of the larger models.

billyw · Jul 30, 2017

Your weight distributing hitch is at the low end of the spectrum as far as controlling sway is concerned. If proper loading of the trailer, maxing air pressure don't work in conjunction with it, you could opt for one of those super expensive ones that really are guaranteed to eliminate sway. Or you could try one of the better models in the $500 - $650 range. I have used an Equal-I-zer hitch for the last 13 years. My trailer is not as long as yours, but I've escaped quite a few emergency situations with smooth maneuvers with that hitch.

JoeYooper · Jul 30, 2017

Bottom line up front, you need a bigger truck.

I've played the game with upgrading a truck to better tow a camper only to get a 5th wheel and then want a better truck again. After struggling with a F250 6.2L towing 13,000 pound 5er (rated to pull 15,300), I have recently upgraded to a diesel 3500 despite being a ford guy with a lot of family working for ford. I now have a enough truck to tow any 5th wheel I could ever afford. If I had buckets of money, I would still drive a Ford. Anyhow. The 3500 Laramie is doing GREAT so far. My experience is that being cheap and getting just good enough will leave you stressed out while towing and will not save you money. It will get to a point where you don't tow because you just don't want to deal with it. It may be time to appraise your truck and start hunting on Car Gurus for a few weeks to find that perfect truck for a perfect price. You must know this much because here you are.

Everything you described including the nervous wife indicate your truck is over loaded. The tail should never wag the dog. Good luck to you.

JoeYooper · Jul 30, 2017

Have you thought about a 3/4 ton? Everything you described including the nervous wife indicate your truck is over loaded. The tail should never wag the dog. Good luck to you.

lukedukem · Aug 8, 2017

gtex1970 said:
it will go on trips almost every other week in the summer and less in the winter. 4 hour trips would be the long trips.

i upgraded to some BFG ALL TERRAIN T/A KO2, higher load rating. like the looks much better as well.

also found a deal on a Hellwig rear anti-sway bar , so that's on the way.

i'll try to crank down the friction sway-bar some more on the next trip. we'll see how it acts with that, the new tires and the stiffer rear sway-bar

I run these as well. Much better than the stock tires. Here is a pic of what i pull, i know its sagging, it is on a decline, and it was before i learned how to properly set up the weight distribution hitch. Now it sits level. But like i said in a previous post, i only tow this thing to the bay and park it. now in the future my wife and i talked about when the kids are older we might want to pull it to different places. And if we go to the hill country, Austin area, then i will be getting a 2500 with the Cummins.
From the first part of your post, it sounds like you are gong to be pulling a lot, looks like you have a big decision to make. good luck

Luke

gtex1970 · Aug 24, 2017

Update:

I added air springs, the stiffer rear sway bar and upgraded to the higher load rated BFGS. then i hauled the trailer to the beach 4 hours on a windy day. it was a terrible drive. I was going about 40mph on the interstate.

2 weeks later I bought a 2017 Ram 2500 MegCab 4x4 Diesel , much better on the tow home

expensive lesson learned...

GabAlmighty · Aug 24, 2017

I did this one time... for 2000+kms. It was hairy.

NewBlackDak · Aug 25, 2017

GabAlmighty said:
I did this one time... for 2000+kms. It was hairy.

It's amazing the difference a 2500 makes. I've done that twice, and it was an easy tow compared to my travel trailer.

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VernDiesel · Aug 27, 2017

Bet you didn't set it up on a scale with a WDH. If you did you could let your 16 yo daughter drive it.

GTX70 a new 3/4 ton is one way but the right hitch that can get your unloaded steer weight replaced and your drive & steer axle weight bias similar will have good stability with even a 33' floor plan TT. Axle to frame bags & load rated tires are also incremental improvements.

HvyDuty · Aug 27, 2017

Congrats! I'm surprised I missed this thread. But to the OP, I was in almost the exact same situation as you. My 30' TT has a calculated weight of 7400 lbs (7750 GTWR). I was towing with a 2015 Hemi 1500 Lone Star with 8spd 3.21 gears 8200 tow capacity 1480 lbs door sticker payload. I bought my truck before we considered even buying an RV.

My tongue weight is around 1000 lbs. Power and stopping was never a problem (the 1500 factory brake controller worked better than the HD one for some reason IMO, and the 8spd ZF transmission was always in the right gear). I never had sway or porpoising, but I was at or very slightly over GVWR and could only carry the sewer snake in the bed lol.

I was running a fastway e2 1k WD hitch. Like you, on the highway I was "jiggled" by speeding Prius' passing me. Semis would give the slight push/pull feeling. Speeding flat front greyhound buses were fun too. Never white knuckle, but unnerving to me. Hindsight, I wasted money swapping 20" to 17" wheels with LT tires and load adjusting shock absorbers. Only marginally helped, especially LT tires, no real difference IMO.

The final straw was on one highway run when my rig jiggled almost out of the lane for no apparent reason. Clear day no traffic, must have been a freak gust of wind.

The next week, I traded for my 2500. We want to upgrade to a 5er someday anyway. Smiling ear-to-ear when towing now. :favorites13:

KSH · Aug 27, 2017

I went with the pro pride hitch, that made the biggest difference in swaying for me. But my trailer was only 28' long.

nd_012 · Sep 25, 2018

Bringing this one back apparently, google search...

2015 Ram 1500 Sport 5.7 8 spd 3.21. Bilstein 5100 x4 2.1 upfront. Tires are 275-65-20 (34") Grabber ATX E rated 10 ply at 70 psi ( 3 peak rated mind you) Power Stop heavy duty drilled and slotted with extreme tow pads. Not enough head tilt on WDH (first tow after purchase) with 1" lift up front and 2" sag once 29' 6200 lb dry travel trailer was on I had no issues. Currently looking for more washers to get more lift out of hitch as well as installing AL1000 this weekend.

My only gripe is wishing I had 3.92 but lost out on other options I wanted when equipped (checked entire country with my friendly dealer for 6 mo) eventually settled as it met everything on my build sheet for a 1 year used model. I did not have a trailer sway installed for this tow, I will be getting 2 this weekend as well. Highway at 65 wasn't bad at all, only wished I had airbags sooner as there was a bit of bouncing from the WDH. I won't disagree 2500 is better all around but for my 5 trips a year towing it is a waste of money. I use it as a truck as well for other jobs but it's fairly maxed out for this application.

I'd highly recommend for us 1500 owners when vehicle swapping is not so easy to evaluate shocks, bags, D/E tires, brake upgrade and properly set up WDH. I have also read the 2 sway bars are required in NYS for anything over 6500 lb but unsure as to legalities with it as I witness some sketchy set ups from other truckers while camping. I am more concerned with them.

geezer336 · Sep 25, 2018

The right load rated tires and a WDH are a must to me . But the truck has to fit the load or it will never be right .

McBroom · Sep 25, 2018

gtex1970 said:
not so much fishtail. just an un-nerving "floating" feeling. truck doesn't really change in the lane position. it's hard to describe the feeling. and it's probably common to towing a load this size. i'm just wondering if i can tame it a bit for my wife's sanity

i know the rear supsension is a bit soft on these trucks. rides like a cadillac unloaded, but might be a bit soft for this kind of load.

i run a load distributing hitch with a friction anti-sway bar on the hitch.

You’ve probably got P rated tires and need to upgrade to a LT tire.

I Love my 18 Ram 2500HD 4x4 CC
Blue Streak Pearl off-road

Kebees42 · Oct 12, 2018

I added air ride 1000 air bags and fine tuned my wdh hitch. I just made a 1100 mile trip one direction with my 2018 1500 5.7 hemi and it handled great. I am going to get rid of the p rated tires next year. I am running 20 psi in my air bags. The tt weight dry is 6200 lbs. I averaged 11 mpg over the trip. I was a little nervous about using 1500 truck but now don't see any issues.

david potts · Oct 13, 2018

What are the hardware differences between the 1500 and 2500 that make this discussion so black and white?. Agreed a 2500 is better for the subject weight. But WHY specifically?. I have a 1500 ECD and love the truck. Don't want to get rid of it and and cant afford it if I did. I don't want to say how big my travel trailer is, I'm too embarrassed. BUT. I've upgraded with WDH, Airbags (pressurized to 30 psi), load E tires and, will be upgrading brakes and shocks when the time comes. I have full tow package and run about 7.0 gain, full trailer brake controller and gauges for trans temp, coolant temp, oil temp, oil pressure. I admit, I'd be more comfortable with a 2500, but that's not in the card$$ right now. THE ECD pulls the trailer just fine. The setup stops fine and handles ...OK. A bit of bounce on some interstates but looking into that. Maybe upgraded shocks? Point being, if I'm within GAWR (which I am) and have addressed driveline limitations , and suspension limitations as well as braking performance; what else is there about a 2500 that makes it so much more suitable? PLease let me know what I may be missing.

big trailer towing stability

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