Post by: Jburke on October 04, 2012, 05:28:15 PM
Post by: Huntbear on October 04, 2012, 05:37:23 PM
Post by: Jburke on October 04, 2012, 05:44:14 PM
Post by: Sportfury on October 04, 2012, 05:44:47 PM
Post by: Elkaholic daWg on October 04, 2012, 05:52:05 PM
Post by: Rick on October 04, 2012, 06:09:35 PM
The trailer needs to be level or SLIGHTLY tongue down.
The trailer needs a set of weight distribution bars.
The trailer needs more than a single friction sway control type bar (they're useless)
Post by: jeepasaurusrex on October 04, 2012, 06:17:40 PM
Post by: Slenk on October 04, 2012, 06:48:26 PM
First thing I'd check is the tongue weight of the trailer. Needs to be 10-12% of the actual trailer weight. Too much or too little and it can sway.:yeah:
The trailer needs to be level or SLIGHTLY tongue down.
The trailer needs a set of weight distribution bars.
The trailer needs more than a single friction sway control type bar (they're useless)
Post by: Alchase on October 04, 2012, 06:56:37 PM
Post by: Jburke on October 04, 2012, 08:52:23 PM
Post by: 400out on October 04, 2012, 09:09:49 PM
Kind of falls in the same area as 90 yr old retired lawyers with one ft in the grave driving 45 ft freightliner s down the rd without a cdl but yet I have to get one to keep a 25 ft dump truck out of their way! :dunno:
Post by: coachcw on October 04, 2012, 09:17:28 PM
Post by: SemperFidelis97 on October 04, 2012, 09:30:10 PM
Sorry dont take this to hard but if you can't figure out how to get a trail to tow right you shouldn't be towing it! :sry: to many dumb arses on the road anymore to play nice :hello:[/u]
[b]Kind of falls in the same area as 90 yr old retired lawyers with one ft in the grave driving 45 ft freightliner s down the rd without a cdl but yet I have to get one to keep a 25 ft dump truck out of their way! :dunno:[/b]
I drive for a living as well some of the stuff they let people drive without a commercial license is down right scary. I would be interested in seeing the statistics of how many serious accidents are caused by drivers who are driving vehicles that are too big for their experience level, or training.
Post by: Buckmark on October 04, 2012, 09:42:41 PM
If you set your bars too tight it will sway, if you load it too rear heavy it will sway, if you set your hitch to high it will sway.
If your weight is to heavy forward it pushes the tow vehicle and really pushes in turns/braking, if it is just right it just glides behind...Now if it is really front/hitch heavy it will sway but i dont think that is your problem, i mean it would have to be very tongue heavy..
Tractor trailer rigs are different as the weight is distributed over 2 axles front and rear of the trailer, not balanced like a travel trailer...
Post by: toothfangclaw on October 04, 2012, 09:57:50 PM
Sorry dont take this to hard but if you can't figure out how to get a trail to tow right you shouldn't be towing it! :sry: to many dumb arses on the road anymore to play nice :hello:
Kind of falls in the same area as 90 yr old retired lawyers with one ft in the grave driving 45 ft freightliner s down the rd without a cdl but yet I have to get one to keep a 25 ft dump truck out of their way! :dunno:
Maybe he didn't walk out of the womb in a truck with a trailer like you did. :chuckle: :chuckle::chuckle:
Mostly playing with you, as most of your point are valid. It just always bothers me when people forget that they, too, were once new or inexperienced in "x" and to give a inexperienced person some credit and lead way in life. No one automatically knows everything about what there doing.
"No such thing as stupid questions, just stupid answers".
As for CDL's, it's a mess full of double standards. It tweaks me that you are expected to held to the same standard on the job and off. The chance for damage is just way more with a 180 ton big rig then a regular car or truck. If you break the law in your own car, you should be held to the same standards as everyone else. Jm2c
Post by: Hunter mike on October 04, 2012, 10:20:42 PM
Assuming your weights/tow capacity are in the correct ranges here is what I know about towing with this truck:
-A Tahoe has a short wheelbase for this long of a trailer. Although the tow capacities are pretty high, the long trailers will jerk the truck around more than a shorter one.
-I would highly reccomend an Equalizer brand hitch with built-in 4-point sway control. Expext to pay $600 for this. We took the hit in the beginning and our rig towed rock solid pretty much all of the time. If the rear holding tanks were full or other weight in the rear, it was VERY noticable and I got pushed around in corners a bit more than I liked (but always in control and quickly dampened by the hitch). The hitch also controls up/down (fore/aft?) sway well, which is another issue with the short wheelbase.
-The hitch reciever is ridiculously high on the Tahoe so you need an extended shank for most hitches to keep the tongue low enough. My 3/4 ton Ram with oversized tires and solid axles rides much higher, but the hitch receiver is the same height as the Tahoe's was (Tahoe at stock ride height).
-Tahoe's come with passenger rated tires that suck for towing. My other equipment compensated for this OK and I never replaced mine, but some good E-rated tires would have really made my setup solid.
I guess I would disagree that you should inherently know how to setup a trailer to be able to tow it but you should have a good service person setup your rig or do tons of research and measurements before hitting the road. When you do hit the road, take it easy! I just resign myself to the slow lane and keep a long following distance. The faster the speed, the sloppier the tow!
Keep it safe and have fun!
Post by: Jburke on October 05, 2012, 12:05:19 AM
Sorry dont take this to hard but if you can't figure out how to get a trail to tow right you shouldn't be towing it! :sry: to many dumb arses on the road anymore to play nice :hello:Lol. No worries. You couldn't offend me if you tried anyways. I'll be the first to admit he didn't do his research before buying the trailer. When he bought it he was living in it while working out of town, so it was always parked. Now that he has a new job close to home he is finding these things out the hard way. Lol
Kind of falls in the same area as 90 yr old retired lawyers with one ft in the grave driving 45 ft freightliner s down the rd without a cdl but yet I have to get one to keep a 25 ft dump truck out of their way! :dunno:
Post by: jeepasaurusrex on October 05, 2012, 05:23:00 AM
A couple years ago while coming back from hunting, we were following this guy in a Dodge Durango, pulling a trailer about 25'+ long. Ever time he would get over 45mph, the trailer would start whipping back and forth. It was scary. The next strait away, we spooled up the turbo and flew past this idiot.
Post by: Skyvalhunter on October 05, 2012, 05:38:18 AM
Post by: Rick on October 05, 2012, 08:07:27 AM
The nice thing is I don't need load leveling hitches, sway bars, etc.
Even a dually will benefit from a weight distribution set-up and some sort of sway control.
I'd rather run down the highway beside a guy that has a 1/2 ton thats properly set up to tow his trailer than a guy with a dually who's ego says he doesn't need to bother with that.
Post by: jeepasaurusrex on October 05, 2012, 08:28:17 AM
You can tow a large trailer with a 1/2 ton truck, just not as far (trans will overheat eventually) or as safely.
Post by: timberghost72 on October 05, 2012, 11:03:57 AM
The nice thing is I don't need load leveling hitches, sway bars, etc.
Even a dually will benefit from a weight distribution set-up and some sort of sway control.
I'd rather run down the highway beside a guy that has a 1/2 ton thats properly set up to tow his trailer than a guy with a dually who's ego says he doesn't need to bother with that.
Only if you tow with a Chevy, definately with a Dodge. :chuckle: I've put 3000# in the bed of my 1997 F350 and it only dropped the stock suspension 1". As long as your trailer is level 300#-400# tongue weight on a one ton with either SRW or DRW won't matter. I've used both types of hitches and didn't change anything. Load distributing hitches are for smaller, shorter and lighter wheelbased vehicles. 1/2 tons fit in that catagory so using a load distributing hitch is the proper way to set it up. Doesn't mean you can't use one though on a 1 ton but no need for one with your average trailer/travel trailer.
Post by: jeepasaurusrex on October 05, 2012, 11:18:40 AM
Post by: Southpole on October 05, 2012, 12:06:18 PM
How is the weight distributed inside the trailer. If too much weight is behind the axles of the trailer, it can cause the trailer to sway side to side.That's correct. I once hauled a load of hay on a trailer with too much weight on the rear end of the trailer and whoa nelly, look out. I barely made it to my destination because it was swaying so bad!
Post by: Buckmark on October 05, 2012, 12:22:33 PM
Larger/heavy more stable tow vehicles have the advantage with outside forces and sway, ie: crosswinds, semi bow waves etc..
Hey jeep hows the trans, must not of liked the 27ft trailer... :chuckle:
*
I have loaded my firewood trailer wrong before and it will wiggles like a gogo girl behind my superduty but the truck is steady, move some weight forward and i smooths out like its on rails..
Post by: jeepasaurusrex on October 05, 2012, 01:27:15 PM
The funny thing is, the trans did it with nothing behind the truck....
Overall I'm pretty happy with it though. A few years ago when we went over to your place, I only used a 1/2 tank of fuel all the way from Marysville.
Post by: HntnFsh on October 06, 2012, 08:07:28 PM
Well talked to him after he talked to the dealer about it. Dealer told him it was probably the trailer ball being too high. In turn making it sit on the axels uneven. Which would explain why the two times he towed it empty it towed fine. But the times he's tried to tow it after filling the tanks it sways like this. Should be fixed in the morning and he'll meet us at camp. Lol, but if that doesn't fix the problem we will be nice enough to bring a tent for him to sleep in :chuckle:
Yep,sounds to me like tongue weight is too light. Try redistributing the weight a little bit more forward.
Also if your trailer starts fishtailing on you hard.The worst thing you can do is hit your brakes.. Power out of it and then when it settles down,slow down.Then get everything set weight wise, where it needs to be.
Post by: windygorge on October 06, 2012, 08:31:13 PM
Post by: Bofire on October 06, 2012, 08:36:21 PM
Carl
Post by: Jburke on October 16, 2012, 02:46:44 PM