Sry Ram suspension sucks for towing

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Shelton90

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I've pushed trucks past their limits as well, but only for short periods and short distances. I would never advocate for exceeding the capacities of the truck for long periods, frequent intervals, or long distances. Get the right equipment if you're going to be doing it a lot.

I agree as well, I’d never want anyone to get in a unsafe condition being overloaded. I just think people don’t talk about overloading their trucks either. If you know you’re over the capacity of any vehicle and still carry on, well the rest is on the driver to take responsibility of a potential failure in multiple components. Maybe it’s better to say the 1500 properly equipped will fool you in a straight line simply because the 5.7 with 3.92 and 8 speed is stout which may lead to thinking “oh yea I can pull that”
 
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lAWROSA

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Op here

Mind you my trailer is light 3800 lbs on this one. And this model has very light tw . 300 lbs empty.


But I towed this to Florida 8 hours in my Chevy no issues.

The wd I have on is rated 600 lbs one I believe. Same I used for Chevy.

I have it on a link that does not have a lot of tension. It doesn’t do much if anything.

I put the helliwig sway bar on tonight and took truck for spin. Wow. Crazy stable rear. Handles like a Porsche .

I’ll pull trailer out one week und and run it up the highway to see how it does.

That may be the ticket. Idk

I’ll keep ya updated.
 

Connors Camper

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Plain and simple, as stated above, no two trucks are the same. The WDH MUST be re-set for the new truck. If you're wandering all over the place, then you're taking too much weight off the rear axle and hitch.

When we got our TT (about 35ft, around 7500 lbs loaded...it's an ultra-light because I was concerned about the ratings of the Power Wagon), I made the mistake of letting the dealer set it up. The guy was talking about how he had about 1/2" squat all the way around on my truck, blah blah...

Should have been a red flag right there.

Couldn't run 60 mph without it wandering all over the place. Even with the sway bar as tight as it would go (I use the stand-alone sway bar...not a fan of the all-in-ones).

Now, I've been pulling campers for 25 years. Been around them longer than that. I made a few eyeball adjustments to the hitch...and the next time we went out, I was pulling 65mph with no sway.

The biggest problem today with trusting RV dealers is that NONE of them, or very few anyway, have scales to set hitches up or make sure you aren't overloading your tow vehicle. Every last one of them that I've ever been to is literally just winging it.
I am new to towing. Just bought a 30' travel trailer. 6800 lbs. My RV dealer setup the WDH and says it is fine. I notice a lot of see sawing going down the road and a bit of sway.

Is there a way to check if he set it up correctly? I am fairly hand but don't know much about hitches.
2014 Ram 1500 limited with air suspension.

By the way, are air bags not an option if I have air suspension?

Thanks
 

Loudram

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I am new to towing. Just bought a 30' travel trailer. 6800 lbs. My RV dealer setup the WDH and says it is fine. I notice a lot of see sawing going down the road and a bit of sway.

Is there a way to check if he set it up correctly? I am fairly hand but don't know much about hitches.
2014 Ram 1500 limited with air suspension.

By the way, are air bags not an option if I have air suspension?

Thanks
Check out YouTube on how to set up your specific hitch but do it when you're close to being loaded for camping because all the gear and food will make a difference with weight distribution. Also double check the installation and make sure that's done right. That you can do that when the trailer is empty. Installation and set up are two separate things with some overlap depending on the type and brand of hitch.

Just curious, what hitch do you have? Chances are, another member has that brand and can help you with specific questions.

Your trailer weight and size are similar to mine. You're a foot longer and about 700lbs heavier dry. Depending on how you load it your tongue weight could easily be in the 800lb range, maybe even 900lbs. Mine is in the 750lb to 800lb range loaded (635lbs dry) . You have a limited which means you probably have a low payload. Keep an eye on your tongue and payload numbers. That's where you'll run out of room first.

As far as airbags go, I'll let others chime in there. I don't use airbags and I don't have an air suspension. I upgraded my springs and that really helped.

There will always be some porpoising and sway with a trailer that long. The goal is to minimize and control it. Very few hitches will stop that completely unless you get something like a ProPride and they cost a small fortune.

Finally, welcome to the site and to the world of travel trailers.
 
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pjram

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I have a 16 outdoorsman 5.7 8spd 3.92 rear end. I tow a 30 ft 6300 lb TT From Michigan to Florida each winter. My first experience was a lot of rear sag. Had my WDH readjustEd and paid 200 dollars to have airlift 1000 airbags installed. Problem completely Solved running 25 lbs in the bags. 65 mph has me at 2100 rpm’s on flat land and it handles great. I have little experience but the airbags worked for me. I’m careful not to overload the truck and keep the weight in the trailer centered. I’m thinking of adding a bike rack to the back of the trailer which will get some weight out of the truck.
 

crash68

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I am new to towing. Just bought a 30' travel trailer. 6800 lbs. My RV dealer setup the WDH and says it is fine. I notice a lot of see sawing going down the road and a bit of sway.

Is there a way to check if he set it up correctly? I am fairly hand but don't know much about hitches.
2014 Ram 1500 limited with air suspension.

By the way, are air bags not an option if I have air suspension?
Unless the RV dealer set up your WDH while the truck and trailer is fully loaded for camping then it's not adjusted correctly. Best way to set up a WDH is using actual weight measurements via CAT semi truck scale. Weight the fully loaded truck and trailer then drop the trailer and weigh just the truck. That will give you the numbers needed to calculate tongue weight % and see if the WDH is correct. You want to replace the front axle weight lost and the rear axle should weigh more than the front.
Load helper air bags are not needed if you have the factory air suspension. Look in the owners manual for how to hook up the trailer with a WDH.
 

Connors Camper

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Check out YouTube on how to set up your specific hitch but do it when you're close to being loaded for camping because all the gear and food will make a difference with weight distribution. Also double check the installation and make sure that's done right. That you can do that when the trailer is empty. Installation and set up are two separate things with some overlap depending on the type and brand of hitch.

Just curious, what hitch do you have? Chances are, another member has that brand and can help you with specific questions.

Your trailer weight and size are similar to mine. You're a foot longer and about 700lbs heavier dry. Depending on how you load it your tongue weight could easily be in the 800lb range, maybe even 900lbs. Mine is in the 750lb to 800lb range loaded (635lbs dry) . You have a limited which means you probably have a low payload. Keep an eye on your tongue and payload numbers. That's where you'll run out of room first.

As far as airbags go, I'll let others chime in there. I don't use airbags and I don't have an air suspension. I upgraded my springs and that really helped.

There will always be some porpoising and sway with a trailer that long. The goal is to minimize and control it. Very few hitches will stop that completely unless you get something like a ProPride and they cost a small fortune.

Finally, welcome to the site and to the world of travel trailers.
My hitch brand is the Fastway e2 hitch, model 92-00-0800. Made for max trailer weight of 8,000 lbs and max tongue weight of 800lb.s

The yellow sticker inside the driver side door says "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 776lbs."

Surely that is just he interior and not the payload of the entire truck?
 

Loudram

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Yes, sadly that is your payload for the entire truck.

Personally I've never used a Fastway hitch but I'm sure some in here have.
 

Connors Camper

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My hitch brand is the Fastway e2 hitch, model 92-00-0800. Made for max trailer weight of 8,000 lbs and max tongue weight of 800lb.s

The yellow sticker inside the driver side door says "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 776lbs."

Surely that is just he interior and not the payload of the entire truck?
OK. I went to the scales and got the following numbers:
Just my truck,
Steer axle 3340
Drive axle 2760
Gross weight 6100
Truck and trailer,
Steer axle 3160
Drive axle 3760
Trailer axle 5960
Gross weight 12,880
So, trailer is 6780? Truck weight goes up from 6100 to 6920 when connected. Safe to assume my tongue weight is 820? 820/6780 is 12%? 112% should be fine?

I am still concerned about that sticker that says 776lbs for payload.

Any help is much appreciated.

I just realized, my Fastway e2 trunnion hitch is an 800lb hitch. My tongue weight is 820, is that an issue? Dry weight is about 6200 for the trailer. I have a feeling the dealer just assume 10% for tongue weight and setup the hitch for 620 or so. Might be the issue
 
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Loudram

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If the chart I looked at is correct your drive axle weight rating is 3900 lbs. Some say you can go over your payload as long as you don't exceed that weight rating and you're really close to it. I'm assuming those numbers are with your trailer empty? When you load your trailer for camping the numbers will get worse. If you don't get many replies you may want to start a new thread with your concerns and numbers you posted here.
 

Connors Camper

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If the chart I looked at is correct your drive axle weight rating is 3900 lbs. Some say you can go over your payload as long as you don't exceed that weight rating and you're really close to it. I'm assuming those numbers are with your trailer empty? When you load your trailer for camping the numbers will get worse. If you don't get many replies you may want to start a new thread with your concerns and numbers you posted here.
No, the trailer is probably 90% loaded for our trip.
 

Loudram

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That's good to know. Some of your numbers are close to max and some are over. You have to make the call if it's safe. Your set up isn't ideal but some have gotten away with much worse. The best thing is that you're aware of the fact that you're close. Some tow without knowing and don't take that into consideration. Take your time traveling.
 
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crazykid1994

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I would say you need to adjust that hitch to push some weight back to the front since it’s still pulling weight from the front. That should help stabilize you a little bit but as stated you’re definitely maxing out that truck. Can it do it? Under perfect conditions yes but otherwise I would proceed with extreme caution. Any slight mishap or quick maneuvers could lead to disaster if the truck gets overtaken by the trailer.
 

Connors Camper

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OK. The hitch was setup by the dealer with 6 washers to adjust the angle. I added 2 washers to compensate for the higher tongue weight. Also, I checked the air on the tires. Recommended was 65 psi. 1 tire was 65 and the other 3 were between 55 and 60 psi. I assumed the dealer gave me the trailer with proper tires, but I guess not. Between the additional washers and the tires properly inflated, it rides way better. I am still not happy that the max payload for my truck is 773, but it will get me to the campground this week. Guess I need to consider a new truck soon. The one disadvantage with the extra washers is the sway bars are really hard to take off when dropping the trailer. I have to raise the jack to the max and still use the pry bar to get them off. Actually, 1 comes off fairly easy and the other is almost impossible. That alone seems odd that the bars are tensioned differently.
 

Loudram

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The bars being different are not that uncommon at all. I'm glad you have it figured out.

Your trailer is half ton towable but you just need to get a lower trim line if you stick with a 1500 Ram. You might be able to find a Big Horn with a decent payload. I have an Express with a few extra bells and whistles and my payload is about 1560. If you do get another 1500 Ram make sure you get the 3.92 rear. It's better for towing and it's more fun to drive. You may lose 1 to 2 mpg vs the 3.21 but that's no big deal. The 3.21's typically have a tow rating in the 8000 range and the 3.92's have a tow rating in the 10,000 range give or take depending on the trim level and amount of options. Mine has a 10,600 tow rating.

If you like having all the options you'll have to step up to a 2500 to get them and the payload you'll need. It'll be a better tow but it may not work for you if you're using the truck as a daily driver.
 

dhay13

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I agree that your bars could have standed to have a little more tension on them, sounds like you did that. I'd try the CAT scales again. Your total truck weight was 6920 IIRC? What is your GVWR according to the black/silver sticker in your drivers door jamb? That sticker will also show your GRAWR, which someone mentioned is probably 3900lbs. Make sure you don't go over that number. That can cause premature wear on rear axle components.
 

Connors Camper

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I agree that your bars could have standed to have a little more tension on them, sounds like you did that. I'd try the CAT scales again. Your total truck weight was 6920 IIRC? What is your GVWR according to the black/silver sticker in your drivers door jamb? That sticker will also show your GRAWR, which someone mentioned is probably 3900lbs. Make sure you don't go over that number. That can cause premature wear on rear axle components.
GVWR is 6800, each axle is 3900
 

calkid

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Hey,

Just installed a Helwig sway bar, huge difference when towing. I have an Equilizer 10K 4 way weight distribution hitch. I am towing a 28 ft Winnebago Voyage (8k or so). It was scarey at 57 mph anytime someone with a large vehicle passed me, let alone a tractor trailer. I just finished a trip, towed 2 hrs on factory Sway bar down, same back with the Helwig installed… Night and day, hardly any sway at 60 mph with trucks passing me…loved it…

Helwig felt like it weighed 3-4 times the weight of the factory installed rear sway bar.

I also installed a set of hard rubber Timbren bumpers to aid the saggy rear.

I am still considering a set of Rhino springs, and adding a set of Rancho shocks to totally smooth out the ride.

Not a fan of airbags…

Thoughts?

Thank you
You have figured out the same thing I did a couple of years ago. The 2500 with the coil rear suspension is the hidden demon. You can use any WDH that you want but none work when the root of the sway problem is the movement in the truck not the trailer. I tow heavy all over the US and first noticed the problem when I bought my 2015 2500. The amount of "wig wag" in the rear of the truck is exactly as you found, the factory sway bar is not doing it's job. There are several heavy duty aftermarket sway bars available to fix that part of the problem. Without changing to a better sway bar you are not correcting the root of the problem. Once that is done, a WDH, Bilstein 5100's, and air bags can be added as needed. I have since moved on to a 2021 3500 and have none of the issues that I had with the 2500.
 
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