Truck Swaying

[Rams 123]

I just bought a 2024 Ram 3500 Limited loaded for towing. I connected our travel trailer up to see how it would tow. When i get passed
40 mph it's like driving a boat. It has E rated tires. They are Firestone Transforce ATLT285/60R20. Has anyone else have a problem with these tires ?

 

[Riccochet]

Those tires are hot garbage. But, also, need more info on your setup.

 

[MADDOG]

I hated those tires. But, it may not be the tires so much as it is you need some anti-way devices on the hitch.

Tell us more about the trailer, your tire pressures and your hitch setup.

 

[nlambert182]

Agree with Maddog. Not enough information.

Those tires royally suck, but shouldn't be "the" issue on a 3500.. Give us the specs on the trailer, and the weight distribution hitch. I've towed my 9800 lb TT behind my 2500 with no WDH and it did ok. You should be doing better than that. If it's swaying, it looks like you may not be set up properly.

 

[2003F350]

Agree with the guys above, I'm STILL running those tires on my '22 2500, not because I like them but because they aren't worn out yet. But I have yet to have an issue with sway when properly set up. I have a WDH with friction sway control, a 35', 8 or 9k GVW (I don't recall which), and at 65-70mph with some 20mph cross winds it was rock steady. Even passing rigs in the opposite direction didn't make it sway. I have pulled it back and forth from storage with minimal sway behind this truck on JUST the ball, but that's 5 miles at 55 mph.

So OP, we definitely need some more info on WHAT you're pulling, and HOW you're pulling it. It very well could be you just need a sway control. Most bumper-pull RVs do, even if you DON'T need the weight-distributing part.

 

[Grams]

Well…. I see the hate-mail on the Firestones ….but I don’t see any REASONs for the hate. I have them and have Zero Issues with them. I also Tow with them and they do fine! (and I NEVER use a weight-dist hitch and have also not needed sway-control pulling a 5K Airstream.
(Pulling my 10K Dump Trailer also does not need sway control because I won’t pull that trailer faster than 65 mph.)

As for the trailer sway…. What is your tongue-weight versus the gross wt of the trailer? You must have 10-15% of your trailer GW ON THE HITCH…or you WILL get Sway.

 

[dhay13]

My Firestones sucked in wet conditions. Snow wasn't horrible but not great.

 

[Randy Grant]

Agree with the guys above, I'm STILL running those tires on my '22 2500, not because I like them but because they aren't worn out yet. But I have yet to have an issue with sway when properly set up. I have a WDH with friction sway control, a 35', 8 or 9k GVW (I don't recall which), and at 65-70mph with some 20mph cross winds it was rock steady. Even passing rigs in the opposite direction didn't make it sway. I have pulled it back and forth from storage with minimal sway behind this truck on JUST the ball, but that's 5 miles at 55 mph.

So OP, we definitely need some more info on WHAT you're pulling, and HOW you're pulling it. It very well could be you just need a sway control. Most bumper-pull RVs do, even if you DON'T need the weight-distributing part.

Agreed.
What is the trailer. $$' toy hauler? Is it loaded properly? Is the trick raised? What kind of hitch and is there a sway control? Singles or dually? Lot of variables to consider. Oh, and send pics. Only so much advice with limited info.

 

[BossHogg]

I see plenty of hate on the Firestone Transforce tires that come on the HDs from the factory, but the hate spewers failed to say why. I have them on my 2015. Ten years later, they still perform while towing a 40-foot Montana fifth-wheel RV or a 16-foot dump trailer.

Want to hate fine, but at least say why.

 

[BossHogg]

I just bought a 2024 Ram 3500 Limited loaded for towing. I connected our travel trailer up to see how it would tow. When i get passed
40 mph it's like driving a boat. It has E rated tires. They are Firestone Transforce ATLT285/60R20. Has anyone else have a problem with these tires ?

How is the travel trailer attached to your tow vehicle? Are you using a weight-distributing hitch?

What is meant by "driving like a boat"?

Are all tires properly inflated?

What size is your travel trailer, what is its wet weight (dry weight + cargo)?

Have you taken the tow vehicle and trailer to a Cat scale and discovered the loading on each axle, plus the tongue weight on the tow vehicle?

These tires are perfectly fine for towing within the specifications of your truck.

 

[2003F350]

I see plenty of hate on the Firestone Transforce tires that come on the HDs from the factory, but the hate spewers failed to say why. I have them on my 2015. Ten years later, they still perform while towing a 40-foot Montana fifth-wheel RV or a 16-foot dump trailer.

Want to hate fine, but at least say why.

To answer why I don't like them (hate is too strong of a word for my feelings for them), they shouldn't be on a truck equipped with a '4x4 Offroad' package like mine is. The ones on mine (well it's not mine anymore, actually just traded it in so this is kinda my farewell post, I won't be as active on here anymore) were billed at AT tires, but they weren't very AT. More like a highway/gravel road tire.

 

[nlambert182]

The transforce tires that were on my dually and a previous 2500 wouldn't get you out of wet grass if you had a load behind it. Literally gotten stuck trying to pull a fifth wheel through grass in a flat field (Talladega) early in the morning with dew on the ground. Not to mention, they were worn down to the cords before 40k miles of use. Swapped them to Coopers as soon as I could and had no more issues. Heck my current Michelin street tires grip better in mud than those TFs did on grass. These tires have well over 50k miles on them and still look like they have another 30k on them. They're just not a well made tire from my experience.

 

[Riccochet]

The transforce tires that were on my dually and a previous 2500 wouldn't get you out of wet grass if you had a load behind it. Literally gotten stuck trying to pull a fifth wheel through grass in a flat field (Talladega) early in the morning with dew on the ground. Not to mention, they were worn down to the cords before 40k miles of use. Swapped them to Coopers as soon as I could and had no more issues. Heck my current Michelin street tires grip better in mud than those TFs did on grass. These tires have well over 50k miles on them and still look like they have another 30k on them. They're just not a well made tire from my experience.

That was my experience with the Transforce tires. Zero grip on barely moist grass. And they absolutely sucked in the rain.

 

[06 Dodge]

My 22 came with Trashforce tires worthless in snow an low traction on wet city streets, when I took them off after 17K they did have 9/32 tread left on them, to date no one want to buy them....

 

[dhay13]

Also, my son had a 2018 2500 6.4 also. Our trucks were 100% identical other than the color and both had the Off-Road package. My son is a safety guy on large construction sites. His truck had 12,000 miles on it when his boss told him to go get new tires after getting stuck onsite 3x with the Firestones. He got a monthly stipend for using his truck so they told him to use his company credit card and get new tires. He went and got K02's and never got stuck again.

 

[Randy Grant]

Where did OP go?

 

[Riccochet]

Where did OP go?

To buy new tires!

 

[Dean2]

My 2500, which has the Off Road package, came with 18" Transforce tires as a $350 upgrade to AT tires. They are at best All Pavement tires, certainly not All Terrain. Very good on pavement or high grade gravel. Absolutely SUCKed the big Magilla in mud or snow. Traction was so bad on a muddy stretch of road, it shut down the auto traction in 4 hi, in under 300 yards. I replaced mine at 3000 miles because I use my pickup off road 70% of the time. If I used it for pavement hauling I would have run them till they wore out. If they are inflated properly, they are not the cause of your sway.

You are running a 3500, without a whole bunch of weight, at least that is the guess. So my other guess is it is the trailer or the way it is loaded, at least that is where I would start. Weigh trailer, truck and trailer axles and hitch weight, none of which you have provided, go from there.

 

[Rams 123]

How is the travel trailer attached to your tow vehicle? Are you using a weight-distributing hitch?

What is meant by "driving like a boat"?

Are all tires properly inflated?

What size is your travel trailer, what is its wet weight (dry weight + cargo)?

Have you taken the tow vehicle and trailer to a Cat scale and discovered the loading on each axle, plus the tongue weight on the tow vehicle?

These tires are perfectly fine for towing within the specifications of your truck.

 

[Grams]

Don’t know what he meant by “driving like a boat” and apparently he’s left the room…. but a boat usually steers by the stern….(the motor/rudder is at the rear and pushes the stern around) …unlike most vehicles that steer by the front tires. Perhaps he meant the rear end is sliding-around. He’s driving a lightly-loaded 3500 which may fit that description, especially if he’s also pulling a trailer that’s not carrying enough tongue-weight.

These Firestone Transforce tires on my 2500 may not have long tread-life (according to most reports I’ve seen/read). I’ve only got 7K miles on the truck and most of that is highway pavement, so I’m not a good witness to their durability or traction. Yet.

My favorite tires have been Michelins Defenders for long tread life….but they are also lousy on anything wet…. grass, pvmnt, or snow….they slip-n-slide badly.
I’ve also had a poor experience with them blowing bubbles in their sidewalls. (I’ve tried to upload a pic of a bubble on the inside of my rear Michelin on my Ram 1500 that looks like a Tennis-Ball is inside it. I was surprised that after I discovered it (purely by accident as I looked under the truck to check if my hidden-key magnetic holder was still in-place)…it held together for almost ten miles tho’ until I could get to a Discount Tire.
They said they’ve seen several of ‘em do that.) This was my 4th or 5th set of Michelin Defenders and I had no trouble like that with the others, although they all were lousy in wet grass.