Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Jayco RV Owners Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 05-21-2017, 07:29 PM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Cedar Rapids
Posts: 35
Sway Issues?

We just brought home a 2018 JayFlight 26BH on Friday. The drive home wasn't fun at all. According to the weather, we were driving in 15 MPH crosswinds. I felt like I was be pushed all over the lane. After loading it up this weekend we took it out yesterday and brought it home today in 20 MPH crosswinds. That 30 minutes were awful and I feel like something must be wrong.

We are towing with a 2009 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab with new LT tires. After a lot of research I purchased a Blue Ox SwayPro to pull this trailer. I have looked at all the payload numbers and believe I am within the limits. I used a tongue weight scale and found out the trailer is weighing in at just under 700 lbs tongue weight. I am estimating that I am about 300 lbs under payload. After weighing everything that went into the trailer and using the trailer weight including propane printed on the side of the trailer, I believe the trailer is about 5600 lbs.

The dealership wouldn't install the Blue Ox SwayPro since it wasn't theirs, so I got to set it up at the dealership before heading home. The instructions call for setting the hitch ball height 1 inch above the coupler height. For the hitch I was in between the two and ended up with slightly above 1 inch height. When hooked up my trailer, the trailer was sitting perfectly level. Based on my front fender height, I make actually be putting slightly too much weight back to the front. 1/8" lower than unloaded.

After remeasuring I think I can drop the ball height 1.5 inches and actually be more correct with what the instructions call for. The trailer will be nose down slightly as it is level how it is setup now. Could that 1.5 inches make a big difference? I never had this problem with our 16XRB with our GMC Acadia or the Silverado.

The only other thing I can think of is the Sway pro counts on the angle of the weight distribution arms and springiness to prevent sway. I purchased 1000 LB arms instead of 750 because I thought I would be pushing 750 and believe in the future I will be. Could too heavy of an arm be causing issues with sway prevention?

Any help is appreciated. We have a big trip coming up and at this point I am slightly terrified.
quantum743 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2017, 07:46 PM   #2
Moderator Emeritus
 
Doug's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Cape Coral, Florida
Posts: 4,792
I always target front nosed down 1".
Carrying any significant amount of water will slosh around and make it feel this way too.
I picked mine up 3 weeks ago. PDI tech was suppose to drain 80 gals of water from holding tanks after PDI. I had to come back 2 days later do to missing parts when WDH was shipped.
I thought it towed much worse than expected until I discovered full tanks and emptied.
If your tanks were empty, 1" down in the front may take most of that sway out. It's not unusaual to feel a little side push when running in a 15-20mph cross wind.
When we went our West a few years back, I had a much smaller TV. Wind was an issue, so we got up early and traveled until noon. Winds seem to pick up as the day warms.

D.
__________________

Cape Coral, Florida
2021 Toyota Tundra SR5, 5.7 V8
2022 Jayco 240RBS
Doug is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2017, 07:52 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Albany, OR
Posts: 692
How much trailer towing have you done? Could it be that you are just over-reacting to the crosswind?
The general setup is to have 10%-15% of the trailers weight on the tongue, with the trailer either level are slightly nose down.
If you are not sure about your tongue weight you might want to go over to a truck stop and weight everything on the CAT scale.
If your weights are right, trailer level, and a decent WDH you should be OK. The 1500 might be a little on the light side, depending on what options it has, but there are many on these forums with similar trucks and trailers.
__________________

2015 Jayco 27RLS
2015 Ford F250 6.7PSD
DanNJanice is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2017, 07:53 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
JohnWedell's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: New York & Florida
Posts: 1,033
Call Blue Ox at 800-228-9289
I had similar problems and they bent over backwards to help me.
Great customer service. If they find the bars are the problem they will
Exchange them for free.
__________________
2022 RAM 3500 DRW, 4X4, 4.10, 6.4 Hemi, 50 Gal Gas, Curt A20 hitch, Tire Minder

Traded: 2018 RAM 3500 DRW, 4X4, 4.10, 6.4 Hemi, Curt A20 hitch, Tire Minder

2018 North Point 315rlts with most of the options.
JohnWedell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2017, 08:09 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Michigan
Posts: 2,650
It that 700# tongue weight after you loaded everything in the trailer. Its sounding like you have to much tongue weight, over the 15%.
Sundancer330 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2017, 08:30 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Jagiven's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 9,728
One more thing to check, is your tire tt pressures. Always check the tt tires before leaving, and always make sure it's at max pressure
__________________

2012 Jayco X23B
2020 Ram Laramie 3500 SRW Air ride 50Gal fuel tank.
2007 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab (sold)
Equal-I-zer 4-Point Sway Control
Jagiven is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2017, 08:35 PM   #7
Moderator Emeritus
 
Doug's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Cape Coral, Florida
Posts: 4,792
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sundancer330 View Post
It that 700# tongue weight after you loaded everything in the trailer. Its sounding like you have to much tongue weight, over the 15%.
Sundancer, if he's at ~5600lbs for the TT and measured tongue weight at 700lbs, wouldn't that be 12.5% which is in range?

Doug
__________________

Cape Coral, Florida
2021 Toyota Tundra SR5, 5.7 V8
2022 Jayco 240RBS
Doug is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2017, 09:11 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Michigan
Posts: 2,650
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug View Post
Sundancer, if he's at ~5600lbs for the TT and measured tongue weight at 700lbs, wouldn't that be 12.5% which is in range?

Doug
Yes he would be, but thats why I asked if he got the tongue weight when fully loaded or empty weight from the factory.
Sundancer330 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2017, 09:13 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
JeremiahM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Gillsville
Posts: 375
Send a message via AIM to JeremiahM Send a message via MSN to JeremiahM
How many miles on the new tires? And what tires? Some BRAND NEW tires have a lot of sidewall flex until broken in

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
__________________
2016 jayco eagle 339flqs, 06 F250 CCLB, STUDDED and FIXED, Pmax turbo, geerhead tunes, B&W Companion, Firestone bags
JeremiahM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2017, 09:14 PM   #10
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Cedar Rapids
Posts: 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jagiven View Post
One more thing to check, is your tire pressures. Always check the tt tires before leaving, and all ways make sure it's at max pressure
That is something I always did with my last trailer and I didn't check them after the PDI or before our first quick trip with our new one. I will check them. I hope it is that simple. I can't believe I forgot that. I need checklists

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
quantum743 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2017, 09:17 PM   #11
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Cedar Rapids
Posts: 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug View Post
I always target front nosed down 1".
Carrying any significant amount of water will slosh around and make it feel this way too.
I picked mine up 3 weeks ago. PDI tech was suppose to drain 80 gals of water from holding tanks after PDI. I had to come back 2 days later do to missing parts when WDH was shipped.
I thought it towed much worse than expected until I discovered full tanks and emptied.
If your tanks were empty, 1" down in the front may take most of that sway out. It's not unusaual to feel a little side push when running in a 15-20mph cross wind.
When we went our West a few years back, I had a much smaller TV. Wind was an issue, so we got up early and traveled until noon. Winds seem to pick up as the day warms.

D.
I will drop it to the next hole. Hopefully, that helps a lot. I was still draining water when I left the dealership friday, but should have been dry today.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
quantum743 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2017, 09:21 PM   #12
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Cedar Rapids
Posts: 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sundancer330 View Post
Yes he would be, but thats why I asked if he got the tongue weight when fully loaded or empty weight from the factory.
I took the tongue weight fully loaded. I am going to try getting it to a Cat scale to verify. I am not sure how accurate the sureline tongue scales are.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
quantum743 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-21-2017, 11:08 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
mmwhit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Boise
Posts: 123
Make sure those spring bars have a good bow/bend in them after you get things set up. If not then you need to figure out how to get them that way with your TV and trailer level (trailer might be slight lower in the front).
__________________
2017 F150 3.5 Ecoboost, screw, Max Tow, Blue Ox Sway Pro, 2017 Jayco 24MBH
mmwhit is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2017, 05:43 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Fulton, NY
Posts: 958
Can you post up a picture of your setup? Looking at it from the side showing the entire setup. What does the GM manual say for front fender height with WDH? Most say 1/2 the raised distance or back to stock height. I haven't heard of any that want the front lower. You may simply have too much weight on the front axle of the truck.
__________________


2017 28BHBE Kitchen skylight, remote control and Aluminum wheels hitched by ProPride 3P
2017 Ram 2500 CC LB 4x4 Big Horn Cummins
LiftedAWDAstro is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2017, 06:22 PM   #15
Moderator Emeritus
 
Rustic Eagle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Michigan
Posts: 9,424
Quote:
Originally Posted by quantum743 View Post
snip..... I am not sure how accurate the sureline tongue scales are.
I have a Sherline scale and found it to be fairly accurate after comparing the Sherline results with may CAT scale results.

When using a Sherline scale make sure that the TT is level when taking the weight measurement, all slides, tent ends, and awnings are closed. Ideally position the scale directly under the TT coupler, not under the A-frame.

With my slide "opened" the Sherline scale read 300lbs lighter.

Bob
__________________

2016 GM 2500HD 6.0L/4.10
2018 Jay Flight 24RBS
2002 GM 2500HD 6.0L/4:10 (retired)
2005 Jayco Eagle 278FBS (retired)
1999 Jayco Eagle 246FB (retired)
Reese HP Dual Cam (Strait-Line)
Rustic Eagle is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2017, 06:29 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: North Greenbush, NY
Posts: 752
Some of the worse and most white-knuckled towing that I've done, over the years, was with an empty truck and an empty trailer. Get them loaded to about the weights that you intend to to at, take the combination to a CAT scale, validate your weights, and see how it pulls. Also, if you look at most trailers, the vast majority of added weight (water tank, storage compartments, etc) is usually ahead of the axle. As you add weight you will be proportionately adding to tongue weight. Empty, you may not have enough tongue weight to tow well....
__________________
Be Safe, and Everyone Goes Home,
Rick

2014 RAM Laramie 2500 w/6.7L Cummins Diesel and Automated Safety Hitch
2016 377RLBH Jayco North Point
300W of Suntech Solar w/Rogue MPPT Controller & Xantrex 2000W PSW Inverter
Fire_Instructor is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2017, 06:37 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
kneeslider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Hayes Corner
Posts: 123
a weight distribution system with an anti sway bar is the way to go. Try for a minimum of fresh.grey, black water.

Bon Chance & safe travels
kneeslider is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2017, 07:45 PM   #18
Senior Member
 
mmwhit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Boise
Posts: 123
My Sway Pro Set up Pictures

These are the best pictures I have on file right now for my Blue Ox Sway Pro set up. I use the 8th chain link from the top on the spring bars. With my setup the trailer is slightly lower in the front. Also, my truck is one inch lower in the rear and 1/2 inch higher in the front, which seems to work for my 2017 f150 3.5 screw max tow 5.5 bed. This set up works well for me. I get a slight push/pull from semis but nothing out of the ordinary or serious. I've been in sustained 20 mph cross winds and I slowed to 55 - 59 mph and the truck/trailer handled well with occasional movement when a gust hits but the blue ox brings things back in line. I've learned to be alert and not fight it and it does it's job. My first attempt to setup the hitch had the truck and trailer level but not enough bend in the spring bars. It worked but not the best. I solved this by lowering the ball one hole and using the 8th chain link for the spring bars and this seems to have done the trick for me. I now have a good bend in the spring bars which for me seems to be a key element to the proper operation of the Blue Ox Sway Pro. I hope this helps.
Attached Thumbnails
Not Enough Bend.jpg   Good Bend.jpg   Setup From a Distance.jpg  
__________________
2017 F150 3.5 Ecoboost, screw, Max Tow, Blue Ox Sway Pro, 2017 Jayco 24MBH
mmwhit is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-22-2017, 08:11 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Souderton, PA
Posts: 130
I agree with an earlier post that you may be transferring too much weight. If you are dropping the nose lower than the original stock height, then you may be taking most of the tongue off of the truck rear axle. Think about this: when you lower the trailer onto the truck you are putting tongue weight onto the truck rear. This raises the truck front. The only way to get the truck nose to go back Dow is lift weight off the rear, i.e. Transfer tongue weight to truck front and trailer rear. To get the truck nose lower than stock, significant weight must have been transferred.
__________________
2014 Jayco JayFlight 29QBH
2012 Ford F-250 Lariat crew cab 6.7L diesel
Honda 3000 is inverter generator
Biggest Weber fan in the world.
Bucko06 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-23-2017, 09:51 PM   #20
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Cedar Rapids
Posts: 35
Thanks for all the helpful ideas everyone. Here is what I did:

- I lowered the hitch head 1 hole which dropped the height of the camper by about an inch. The camper is now one inch nose down in the front from level.

-After measuring the rotating latches and double checking to verify the chain was vertical, I found that one of the clamps was 3/4" back from the other side. I corrected the position. This likely put a pull off center, not sure how much of a difference that would make.

- After checking tires, I found the dealer hadn't inflated them all to max before I left. 3 tires were at 60 PSI and 1 was at the max of 65 PSI. All tires are now at the max of 65.

- Checking the height of the truck after attaching the bars, the front was returned to its original position (unloaded), and the rear is down 1 1/8"

I am hoping the changes will greatly help the driving experience, but time will tell. Here are some pictures of the setup. Ignore the extra trailer brake cable, that is no longer there.
Attached Thumbnails
20170523_191650.jpg   20170523_193730.jpg  
quantum743 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jayco, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:09 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2002-2016 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.