LONG: Just back from first RV Trip: Towing Results - Seeking opinions

[papageoff]

 

 

 

The wife and I are looking at getting a camper and decided to rent one to learn if we’d really be okay with the work and the towing.  The camper we rented isn’t the same as we’re looking at, but it’s pretty close. The one we’re looking at is a little lighter. The trip was about 90 miles each way.  It was nearly all interstate with some tighter back roads and about ¼-mile of dirt road in front of the house.

 

I’ve put together a little outline about how things were configured/changed and what seemed to change from my perspective.  The more astute readers may notice that we stopped at Walgreens and returned home twice. The first time was because my wife forgot to bring the anniversary cake.  The second time was because she didn’t shut the garage. Annoying as they were, the stops gave me an opportunity to change the setup a bit.

 

Truck:

'15 Double Cab 4wd z71, 5.3L, 3.42 gears

9200 lbs tow capacity

UWS toolbox: ~130 lbs with stuff (maybe)

E-rated KO2s @ 55psi

2.25" Leveling Kit

 

Trailer:

'17 Cruiser RV MPG 2650RL

32' overall length

Dry Weight: 5,705

Water tank ~ 400 lbs

Propane & Battery: ~200?

Food, clothes, other stuff.... Who knows.  Didn't take the time to weight it all.

 

Towing Trips:

1. Dealer -> Home

• A. Dealer tech set up WD-hitch with 1 chain link; massive squat
• B. I insisted on at least 2 links, still a good bit of squat
• C. Tech used 1-finger method to tighten the anti-sway brake
• D. Fresh water tank, propane tanks full

Experience: Truck-trailer were a little bouncy and could feel the trailer exerting its influence on the truck a good bit.  

Impression:  I'm nervous at this point.

 

2. Home -> Walgreens -> Home (max speed 45-50mph, backroads)

• A. 60lbs of firewood in the back of the bed
• B. Camper loaded with a 30lb box and 3-12pks DDP in back

Experience: VERY bouncy, twitchy and somewhat unstable

Impression: I'm getting very nervous about the bounciness and hoping it will settle out at speed.

 

3. Home -> Walgreens -> Home

• A. Moved firewood forward in the bed
• B. Moved heavy box and DDP forward to bedroom space

Experience: Less bouncy (reasonable), still twitchy especially over bumps.  Still feels like the trailer is able to take control if it decided to do so.

Impression: Feeling a little better about it since the bounciness is significantly reduced.

 

4. Home -> Campsite

Experience: On and off the TBC most of the time.  Didn't go over 65 for more than a couple minutes (just experimenting).  I was white-knuckling it most of the time. Passing trucks and other traffic pulled-pushed the camper around and at some points the steering got a little lighter than I've expected.

Impression: I hated every minute of this.  When we got there, I was ready to arrange for the dealer to pick it up at the end of the trip.  I settled down a bit over the course of the week and did more research on how to set it up.

 

5. Campsite-> Home

• A. Only 5-6lbs of firewood left (if that)
• B. Moved the 2 bicycles to truck bed (~40lbs)
• C. Fresh water tank still basically full.  Obviously, less of most everything else.
• D. Put Trailer on hitch without WD-bars.  Got about 3/4" front-end lift. I put the wd-hitch on 3 links and got it about 1/2" back down.  It was quite difficult to get the chain on and there was clearly a lot of spring tension in play.
• E. Tightened the anti-sway bar using my full-hand to the point where it just stopped and then 3/4-turn more

Experience: Truck drove well.  I had a near constant low-amplitude oscillation, but nothing as intense as the bouncing before.  Absolutely no sway that I could identify even when trucks passed. I did notice that on broad curves like some off-ramps, that the trailer didn’t follow the curve like it should, but was kinda dragging sideways.  I assumed the sway-bar was too stiff.

Impression: It was a comfortable, easy experience.  I can live with this.

 

6. Home -> Dealer (rain)

• A. Left WD-hitch at 3 links
• B. Loosened the anti-sway bar to hand-stopping point and 1/4 turn (per some video my wife found online)
• C. Camper empty (fresh water still full)
• D. Truck basically empty

Experience: Everything felt "off" again.  The bouncing was back... It wasn't as bad, but it was there.  The sway when passed was back too. The rain added a new variable and I used 4wd (auto) for a couple of miles to make sure I could pull out safely and it worked well.  The trip over the bridge during the storm was a bit hair-raising. I'm not sure if it was because of wind or the fact that people still went 80, but I couldn't get comfortable with it over 50 going up and 65 going down.  

Impression:  I think the sway bar was too loose and maybe I had too much weight-distribution... I have no idea.

 

I’ve been looking into things I might buy/change…

1. I think I’d always use at least 3 links on the WD-hitch

2. I think I’d keep the sway bar tight and let the tires take the beating on gentle curves

3. I was looking at sumo springs or the roadmaster kit to help with the ride/squat issues.

 

To add a new wrinkle, I have a coworker who has a similar sized trailer and until a few months ago the same truck as me.  He just got a real purty 2500 for retirement. Anyway, he said that he uses 4 links on his hitch and doesn’t really remember how tight he makes the anti-sway bar.  He said it towed well, but he just decided that staying off the interstates was an easy solution to most of the towing issues. You go slower and have less “aggressive” traffic.  

 

At any rate, all this is new to me.  So, I look forward to anything you more experienced folks can share.

Edited June 9, 2018 by papageoff
More details

[KARNUT]

I have lots of experience with 5th wheel and heavy duty ball in the bed. All I used was 3/4 one ton trucks. I’ve done light pulling with small trailers and 1/2 tons bumper pull never more than 4000lbs. I’ve probably pulled a total of 1 million miles hauling equipment with fifth wheel over 40 years in business. I’ve always been able to center my load to where the truck maybe would sag 1-2 inch’s at the most. My opinion is even if your going to use a 1/2 ton get a fifth wheel. I don’t have experience with the fancy stuff you can do with bumper pull set ups. I do know that when ever my load felt uncomfortable in a fifth wheel all’s I had to do was adjust my load a bit. I just felt more comfortable with my load center over the axle not pushing the truck.


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[crankman]

Sounds like you made a good effort to get the ride correct. And applaud you for getting a loaner first to try it out before making a purchase. Hardly anyone seems to do that good for you. I would say your white knuckle experience would lessen if you could move to a 2500 truck. Set up correctly the tail wont wag the dog as you felt and you can relax on the drive. It was my best decision made to move to 3/4 ton truck, towing is so much more in control there just alot bigger in many respects than 1/2 ton truck.   

[Donstar]

Hopefully when you go to buy your trailer, they will provide you with the proper setup procedure and equipment to match your truck and trailer.  My RV dealer sold me the Blue Ox SwayPro matched to my weight and size of trailer.  They set it up for me and took me on a test drive to ensure I was comfortable with the ride

[papageoff]

Here's a couple pictures of the setup taken when I got home.  

 

To me it looks like the trailer is leaning forward a little and the truck has a bit of squat, but nothing excessive.  

 

What do you think?

[swathdiver]

The truck and trailer look as you say they do but the land also seems to slope down a little to the right.

[aero10]

I've had good experience with 1/2 ton trucks and weight distributing hitches. I'm not sure how you're attaching your chains, but an easy way is to hook up the trailer and then jack the trailer and truck up, hook up the chains, then lower everything. You can measure the rear wheel wells with no load and then adjust the chains to where you're at the same height with the trailer attached. 

[BigBadSierra]

Your trailer is not level. I’m pulling 6500lbs Jayco no issues.

 

I suspect your shank is to low.

 

The trailer hitch at level should be at your shank ball height of your truck when disconnected.

 

Then you bars should level you back out once connected.

I run mine on link 2 at the top of my chains empty and 3 loaded.

The links depends on your shank angle.

You can pull harder on your  bars when loaded.

If the setup is right only one link is ever needed.

 

[Imcrazy]

As others have said, I think you need to work on the WD hitch situation... You want little to no squat, also airbags would be a nice addition... Depends on how often you tow whether it's worth it to go up to a 2500 and pay the price for the MPG loss the miles you're not pulling a trailer...

[mookdoc6]

I always chuckle at the safety chains.....It's just a pet peeve of mine.  Anyway, the first HUGE thing I ever tugged I crossed the safety chains when complete and had the Ol' Farmer look it over?  Well Farmer he was and Ex lineman too, so he was sharp as a TAC?/Tack.  Son looks good except the crossing the safety chains well you can...Not quite sure where it started only thing I can think of is length so they don't drag and grind away in 3.2 miles then you cross em.  Son, if you loose that trailer and chances are at some point doing these types of jobs in in climate weather, pre-occupied, kids screaming, wife being FUN! etc.etc whatever you loose your load and they are crossed the chances of it dropping straight down to the ground "YOUR BEST SCENARIO" is slim to none it will yank and jackknife immediately and your gonna go from white knuckle driving to WARM BRITCHES DRIVING.....and well yrs later the OL' Dog was correct and just about everything else he ever told me.  To this day....people look at me crazy when I undo their DEATH CROSS and hook up straight ON as it SHALL BE DONE!

Edited June 10, 2018 by mookdoc6

[Jon A]

9 hours ago, papageoff said:

I’ve put together a little outline about how things were configured/changed and what seemed to change from my perspective. 

That's a really good job of documenting things as they happen.  A good habit to get into that will save you time and effort in the future.  When you're into the minutia of things, it's easy to think you'll never forget what you did...then a year goes by and you really wish you had written something down.

 

9 hours ago, papageoff said:

I was looking at sumo springs or the roadmaster kit to help with the ride/squat issues.

 

That's a very good idea.  The better you make your suspension, the less you need to rely upon a WDH to hide how inadequate your suspension is and the less sensitive the truck will be to little adjustments of the WDH.  Of course you should always try to get it adjusted as well as possible (I suggest visiting scales) but when you're starting with a better truck to begin with, a little change in load or adjustment is less likely to put you into "white knuckle territory."

 

Personally I'd suggest airbags over those two options though--their capability, adjustability and ride quality just can't be matched by the other options out there to stiffen the rear springs.

[papageoff]

19 hours ago, Donstar said:

Hopefully when you go to buy your trailer, they will provide you with the proper setup procedure and equipment to match your truck and trailer.  My RV dealer sold me the Blue Ox SwayPro matched to my weight and size of trailer.  They set it up for me and took me on a test drive to ensure I was comfortable with the ride

 

I agree.  The guy who set it up did complaint that he'd have preferred to do it back in the shop where the floor is more level than the ground was.  I didn't think it was that bad, but he had the camper practically on the bumpstops it was squatting so low.  I can't imagine that was correct.  I've been doing some light research in to hitches and my current favorites are the equalizer and the strait-line hitches.  We're not looking to buy too soon, so I'll look into that more later.

 

 

17 hours ago, swathdiver said:

The truck and trailer look as you say they do but the land also seems to slope down a little to the right.

 

The driveway isn't level by any means, but the slope is exaggerated by my not leveling the camera.  It's more level than it looks.

 

16 hours ago, aero10 said:

I've had good experience with 1/2 ton trucks and weight distributing hitches. I'm not sure how you're attaching your chains, but an easy way is to hook up the trailer and then jack the trailer and truck up, hook up the chains, then lower everything. You can measure the rear wheel wells with no load and then adjust the chains to where you're at the same height with the trailer attached. 

 

The way I attached it was to hitch the trailer and use the tongue jack to raise the trailer & truck together until I could get the chains on it.  I think that's what you're describing.  I was measuring at the front wheel because I figured that's where I was most worried about it.  I figured I wouldn't be able to eliminate all the rear squat, but I wanted to get more weight back on the front.  Should I have measured from the rear?

 

15 hours ago, BigBadSierra said:

Your trailer is not level. I’m pulling 6500lbs Jayco no issues.

 

I suspect your shank is to low.

 

The trailer hitch at level should be at your shank ball height of your truck when disconnected.

 

Then you bars should level you back out once connected.

I run mine on link 2 at the top of my chains empty and 3 loaded.

The links depends on your shank angle.

You can pull harder on your  bars when loaded.

If the setup is right only one link is ever needed.

 

I agree about the shank height.  As soon as I saw that picture, I thought the same thing.  I'm glad to read that you're using two different chain lengths for your configuration.  It seemed logical to, but they didn't mention anything about it.  Of course, the tech seemed to think the 2 links I asked for was more than necessary.  

 

For now, moving up to a bigger truck isn't a worthwhile endeavor.  This truck is my daily and the added cost of diesel/DEF or just gas wouldn't be worth it considering that we will only be towing this heavy a few times a year.  

 

I think I'll get the roadmaster springs before the next tow.  I like the idea of how they work unobtrusively and automatically.  I know air bags cost the same initially but knowing me I'll get remote control and on-board air before I'm done.  Aside from that, they are more likely to fail over time.  Besides, adjustable shocks have taught me that if I have too many options I'll drive myself nuts trying to optimize it. 

[catbox_eddie]

Also agree with the shank height being the main problem. I have an Equalizer with a similar trailer (31.5ft, 5800lbs dry) and setup properly, it barely sags. It pogos a little bit when it's not loaded but when we're at full camp weight with water, firewood and all our gear, it's pretty smooth. The Equalizer is noisy as hell, but it works great. 

 

 

[BigBadSierra]

Here is my rig the trailer sits level under load.

 

[papageoff]

On 6/14/2018 at 9:11 PM, catbox_eddie said:

Also agree with the shank height being the main problem. I have an Equalizer with a similar trailer (31.5ft, 5800lbs dry) and setup properly, it barely sags. It pogos a little bit when it's not loaded but when we're at full camp weight with water, firewood and all our gear, it's pretty smooth. The Equalizer is noisy as hell, but it works great. 

 

 

That's a nice looking truck.  I love those Centennial Edition badges.  

 

You're right, you're almost dead level.  I think next time, I'll forgo their tech hooking it up and rig it all myself.  

 

Do you like the equalizer hitch?  I've wondered about the noise with those friction systems and was kinda leaning towards one of those cam-based jobs.