Tail wiggle

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John Wiles

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I’m having a problem with extreme tail wiggle on my ‘14 2500. Just started with my last trip. I pull a 10k Fifth Wheel. The tail wiggle gets so bad the truck will loose traction and the traction control will kick in and reduce engine power. Very scary. My son has a ‘15 2500 so I moved the hitch and trailer to his truck and the problem went away. Has to be in the truck. My mechanic has checked control arms and bushings and suspension. Can’t findanything. Is it possible it is in the differential?Truck has 100k miles. Frustrated and no answers. Help anyone? TIA
 

mtnrider

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If you are sure everything is tight in the rear my next guess would be tires? Don't see how the differential could cause anything like that.


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Ohio5pt7

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How are your tires any odd noise? A busted belt could weaken side wall enough to flex but not blow completely l.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk all grammar errors brought you by fat fingers and auto correct.
 

crash68

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Try rotating the tires, if the problem is with one of the rear tires it should go away (or swap rear tires with the son's truck to test).
Someone on this forum had a similar issue (on a 1500) and changed their panhard bar to one from Core, stated it stopped the trailer sway
 

tron67j

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If everything else checks out, I second the broken belt in the tire. Had a sway underload, only sign of broken belt was a bit of a bulge, and a very slight thump at a certain speed.
 

NH RAM

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How are the shocks? My parents had a van where the rear end would sway on the highway and it was just plain scary; new shocks solved the issue. The shocks don't react fast enough to load changes.
 

Travelin Ram

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How does it drive and steer unloaded.

Is the pinbox tight.

Factory suspension or lifted?

Is the hitch properly mounted with the pin a few inches forward of the axle center.

Is it a slider or bushed hitch with worn parts?

Check the trailer suspension too and inspect for side play in the equalizers, shackles, and spring bushings / bolts.

What’s the pin weight, is it on spec.

I’m not sure a visual inspection or manipulation by hand will identify weak bushings. There’s a lot more force at play running loaded down the road. I’d be inclined to put a dial indicator on a few suspension points and side load the truck using a winch or another vehicle pulling on the receiver. Or get a second opinion from an experienced suspension specialist shop.
 
OP
OP
J

John Wiles

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How does it drive and steer unloaded.

Is the pinbox tight.

Factory suspension or lifted?

Is the hitch properly mounted with the pin a few inches forward of the axle center.

Is it a slider or bushed hitch with worn parts?

Check the trailer suspension too and inspect for side play in the equalizers, shackles, and spring bushings / bolts.

What’s the pin weight, is it on spec.

I’m not sure a visual inspection or manipulation by hand will identify weak bushings. There’s a lot more force at play running loaded down the road. I’d be inclined to put a dial indicator on a few suspension points and side load the truck using a winch or another vehicle pulling on the receiver. Or get a second opinion from an experienced suspension specialist shop.

Pinbox is tight. Trailer is great on another truck. Used different hitch...problem not in hitch.

Factory suspension.

Hitch is mounted in Puck system....factory.

No slider.

since problem didn't go away when i traded trailers and hitches......must be in truck.

Pin weight, rear axle, front axle all in specs ( I weighed it)

I'm going to rotate tires and see if that may be the problem....also I'm going to turn off the Electronic Stability Control and see if that makes a difference.
 
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John Wiles

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How are the shocks? My parents had a van where the rear end would sway on the highway and it was just plain scary; new shocks solved the issue. The shocks don't react fast enough to load changes.

thought the same thing, so I replaced the shocks.....still have the same problem, no help at all.
 

RoadRamblerNJ

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Swap rear tires to your sons truck & let him pull the trsiler. If the problem follows the tires, well, then you'll know.
 

HDGoose

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What is the hitch weight percentage? What is the payload of each truck?
 

JCram2013

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I’m having a problem with extreme tail wiggle on my ‘14 2500. Just started with my last trip. I pull a 10k Fifth Wheel. The tail wiggle gets so bad the truck will loose traction and the traction control will kick in and reduce engine power. Very scary. My son has a ‘15 2500 so I moved the hitch and trailer to his truck and the problem went away. Has to be in the truck. My mechanic has checked control arms and bushings and suspension. Can’t findanything. Is it possible it is in the differential?Truck has 100k miles. Frustrated and no answers. Help anyone? TIA
 

JCram2013

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I had the same issue on 2013 ram 1500 just turned 98k miles.
Replace the rear upper and lower control arms on both side. The bushings were shot, truck rides like brand new now.
 

GsRAM

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I wonder if the OP ever got it squared away. I don't like lack of follow up...lol
 
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