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Old 07-27-2014, 01:40 PM   #1
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Can't get the sway out!!

Please help us love our Jayco!!
TV: 2007 Dodge 2500 cummins 4x4, crew cab, short bed.
Tires: 265/70R17
Hitch: Equalizer 12,000lb/1200lb sway control
Towing: 2014 Jayco 32BHDS TT w/ outdoor kitchen

Actually, we do love our Jayco, when we are camping in it! To tow this beast is miserable! We have friends with the exact same camper, comparable tow vehicle and they have no issues. What are we doing wrong!
We have gone back to our dealership to have our hitch set twice.
Every trip we take, sway, sway, sway!
My husband regularly hauls long trailers and heavy equipment with this truck as his profession is in construction, with no problems at all.
We have tried many suggestions including:
More weight in bed of truck
Hauling water in tanks in front if the axels, behind the axels
Tow dry and completely empty if contents except food.
Checked all tire pressures
We still just sway, sway, sway down the road.
Is the weight if the outdoor kitchen making us tail heavy? I know it is a newer option.
Wheelbase of the truck to short?
Is it possible the axels are off on the trailer?

Please offer any info or experience that would be helpful. We just got home from a 100 mile trip, my husband and I both need a beer and a nap just from fighting the SWAY!!!
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Old 07-27-2014, 02:56 PM   #2
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Perhaps there is not enough tongue weight. Your WDH may be distributing too much weight from your tongue. This is not the same as adding payload into truck. Do you have an adjustable sway system or is it a cam setup? I'm no expert but there are some smart cookies on this forum who should be able to help. Welcome!
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Old 07-27-2014, 03:02 PM   #3
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Hi Keller5,
There should be 60% of the total weight on the tongue of the trailer, but it sounds like you have already experimented with weight shifting, however I wouldn't travel with the water tanks full. That just adds a lot of weight to your trailer and you may exceed the recommended full load weight if you carry a lot of gear in you trailer. If tongue weight is correct, the only other suggestion would be to inflate your tires on the trailer and the tow vehicle to the maximum pressure as recommended on the sidewall. Maybe some other forum members have other suggestions. Let us know what you find, we want you to LOVE your Jayco! LW
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Old 07-27-2014, 03:06 PM   #4
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Welcome to JOF

Your sway issues could be induced by a number of things, but the first thing I would do is visit a CAT scale under "loaded" TV/TT conditions. Reviewing the results of the CAT scale data may direct you to the root cause of your sway issues and/or eliminate a lot of the possibilities.

The CAT scale data will confirm all your weights compared to your weight limits, confirm proper weight distribution, and proper WDH adjustment.

Not everybody has the same loading habits and it's very possible that your loaded tongue weight is exceeding 1,200lbs, which means your Equal-i-zer brand WDH is under rated....., not uncommon with the 32BHDS.

CAT scale how-to: http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3871

Hope this helps.

Bob
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Old 07-27-2014, 03:12 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by el-dubya View Post
snip.......There should be 60% of the total weight on the tongue of the trailer,........snip
I may be mis-interpiting your statement..., but a range of 13% to 15% of the gross TT weight should be the recommended loaded TT tongue weight on the 32BHDS.

Bob
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Old 07-27-2014, 03:28 PM   #6
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On a 32BHDS I doubt you have a problem with to low of tongue weight. It took us a few trips to dial in our Reese Dual Cam, so I think you need to spend a day dialing it in. Most guys that work at the dealership don't do a good job with this... trust me on that.

Get some weights, take some measurements, read the directions. I think you'll get her dialed in.
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Old 07-27-2014, 03:58 PM   #7
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Quote:
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On a 32BHDS I doubt you have a problem with to low of tongue weight. It took us a few trips to dial in our Reese Dual Cam, so I think you need to spend a day dialing it in. Most guys that work at the dealership don't do a good job with this... trust me on that.

Get some weights, take some measurements, read the directions. I think you'll get her dialed in.
It shows a 840 lb tongue weight. That seems very light to me for a 36' trailer. Lots of surface area and a long moment arm to the axles. Couple that with some 1200lb spring bars on the WDH and that would be my guess. Point is, with large spring bars cranked up (maybe too much, mine were adjustable) and not much weight acting on the hitch, it very well could be your culprit.
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Old 07-27-2014, 05:00 PM   #8
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Quote:
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It shows a 840 lb tongue weight. That seems very light to me for a 36' trailer. Lots of surface area and a long moment arm to the axles. Couple that with some 1200lb spring bars on the WDH and that would be my guess. Point is, with large spring bars cranked up (maybe too much, mine were adjustable) and not much weight acting on the hitch, it very well could be your culprit.

Wow!! ours is 1250#'s tongue weight and that's with bikes and stuff on the back rack!!

That's your problem then no doubt! they must have moved the axles forward since 2011 or something haha!!

You should be around 1200#'s for sure at 840 pounds that thing will sway if you were towing with a semi lol. When you pack your things front load some more things and it will help for sure, just double check at the Cat scales.

on edit- is that an actual weight or what the sticker says?
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Old 07-27-2014, 05:02 PM   #9
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http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...-tow-a-trailer

Check out this article on towing. If you look at the tongue weight section it is what I am trying to explain. Obviously you don't have a zero tongue weight with your hitch, but the closer to zero you get the more sway will be exaggerated. You are starting with only 840 lbs. You probably have no extra loaded weight on tongue if all you are hauling is food. And then you put a weight distribution hitch in there and it decreases it more by distributing what is there back onto the trailer axles. And a 36 foot trailer has a very long arm to the CG if it is located that far back.

But I'd do what Rustic Eagle suggests and go to a scale to get accurate measurements on the different weights.
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Old 07-27-2014, 07:32 PM   #10
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You have to weigh it to even know where to start how to solve the problem. The dealer did the initial setup on our hitch and my first trip was to the scale and it horrible on the way there. The first weigh showed there was not enough weight on the front axle made an adjustment and it entirely changed the towing experience. All this to say you need to weigh it to know.
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Old 07-27-2014, 07:52 PM   #11
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What kind of tires do you have? ST (special trailer) tires are designed with a stiff sidewall to help reduce sway. Many people put LT (light truck) tires on which are not designed with the stiffer sidewalls for use with trailers and this alone can cause a sway problem.
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Old 07-27-2014, 08:47 PM   #12
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Quote:
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It shows a 840 lb tongue weight. That seems very light to me for a 36' trailer......snip
The 840lb tongue weight is the published "dry" weight for a 2015 32BHDS, the OP has a 2014 32BHDS with a published "dry" tongue weight of 870lbs...., but both weights are moot and are based only on Jayco's published UVW.

Bob
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Old 07-28-2014, 05:11 PM   #13
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Thank you Rustic Eagle for catching my blunder. I have always heard that as a general rule, 60% of a trailer's total weight should be in front of the axle. I didn't mean 60% on the tongue. LW
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Old 07-28-2014, 05:35 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rustic Eagle View Post
The 840lb tongue weight is the published "dry" weight for a 2015 32BHDS, the OP has a 2014 32BHDS with a published "dry" tongue weight of 870lbs...., but both weights are moot and are based only on Jayco's published UVW.

Bob
Yeah, i'll bet it's way more than 870 loaded then. Like I say our 2011 is back loaded, lots of weight in the back storage area, full tool box etc., and 3 bikes on the back rack and our tongue weight was 1250#. We didn't weigh it dry but I know we added more in the rear than the front.

Like you say until it hits the scale guessing doesn't help anyway.
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