Advice on trailer sway control? - Apply the trailer brakes and lightly step on the gas...you need to literally stretch it out. If its bad, use nothing but the trailer ...

starspangled6.0 wrote:I do remember when I first slowed down, the trailer started to swing like crazy. Would it be best to just hammer the trailer brakes, and wait a little bit to apply the truck brakes?

Apply the trailer brakes and lightly step on the gas...you need to literally stretch it out. If its bad, use nothing but the trailer brakes to get you stopped (as long as they will stop you). Its fairly easy to control/stop with electric brakes, get a trailer with hydraulic surge brakes (like a U-Haul), and it sucks.

To prevent this, you need tongue weight...like the pictures in the manual show, you need around 10% of the total load at the tongue (5,000 pound load should have nearly 500#s on the hitch), regardless of the trailer.

starspangled6.0 wrote:OK... thanks for the advice! I'll never forget that feeling: the total weight was a little over 13,000 lbs., and in just a few seconds, I totally lost control. Amazing! Anyways, am I correct in saying the current towing setup is fine, as long as I load it correctly? The max I'm supposed to have in the trailer is only 5000 lbs (7000 lbs GCW; 2000 lbs dry trailer weight).

Ummm, explain this to me (I may be reading this wrong)...you had 13k on a trailer that is rated at 7k??? Or was 13k the total rig (with truck) weight?

He was including the rigs weight into the 13K load.

You're right, Phillip.

Good to hear there was now wreak. WD hitches work great and they have ther place in towing I've used them alot however dont use them as a crutch,I honestly think if you had your WD hitch it would have made your situation worse,if it wasnt on already ? A corectly loaded trailer is the key to safe towing.

The hitch I have is a weight-distributing hitch. Are you referring to a sway-control hitch?

get a hitch with sway control bars on it would be the safe way to do it but then you have to add the mounts to your trailor for them to hook up too. bee safe out there

As long as you don't exceed the tongue weight, you really don't need a weight distributing hitch. I tow a 10k GVW equipment trailer all over, been at max GVW a few times (once from Georgia to Pennsylvania) and never had any issues. Weight distributing hitches are for those trailer that over load the trucks suspension and tongue carrying capacity.

I'm hooked up right now, going to have at least a cord and a half of firewood on by Saturday afternoon.

I do know that a swaying trailer will definitely bring on the pucker factor real quick...I towed my 1500 dodge home on a UHaul using the company 3500 stake body. Because my truck was a 4WD, it only fit backwards...which made it tongue light. It swayed all the way home from Kentucky...its really unnerving when its your truck on the trailer bobbing around!!

Sadly, I see a lot of trailers here in Houston that are tongue light and swerving, I watched a guy the other day with the trailer just swerving side to side, it was a basic 16' trailer with sides, the load looked light, maybe 1-2K, but it was definitely situated near the back and it was just jerking side to side, the truck was a big 3500, so it really didn't move the truck, still was scary as **** to be around. Luckily I was exiting the highway when I saw him.

starspangled6.0 wrote:The hitch I have is a weight-distributing hitch. Are you referring to a sway-control hitch?

Yes i am referring to the weight distributing hitch.