Sway on 330 RLTS

[pcx8000]

I am looking at a new 330 RLTS but an a little concerned about sway with a trailer that large since I do plan to two it. My dealer is recommending a Equalizer 4.0 brand of sway control. Can any other owners who tow their unit comment on sway and what kind of sway control they use? I will be towing with a 2009 F250 diesel crew cab, so the size of the truck should help a little with sway control also. Would also be interested in what what your tow vehicle is also.

[dlfeather]

My trailer tows very nice no sway at all. I even got into a situation were a car spun out in front of me. I had to do a panic stop/slow down and it tracked straight and true. It is heavy in the front which helps in sway. I have towed mine about 1300 miles already. Just bought this past August.

[pcx8000]

do you know the brand of sway control you have?

[bounder]

I have the Reese straight line, dual cam 1700#/17000# seens to work well with my 330rlts.
http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distr...e/RP66075.html

[novaplum]

When I first picked up my 330 I had to purchase a new hitch set up old one wasn`t going to work.I have been towing for a while but was also concerned about towing a long trailer,but I was very happy with how much control the hitch set up worked towing.I will check name brand tomorrow and post

[dlfeather]

I have the equalizer 4 point sway.

[Denise]

We are having a much better experience with the Equalizer vs the original "single bar" Huskey set-up dealer set us up with (we paid for Equalizer, but picked up the tt near the factory and they didn't have that in stock; they put on the Huskey I just mentioned. Dealer gave us the Equalizer when we returned to Cali). Belated welcome to JOF

[Rustic Eagle]

pcx8000,

With a properly sized/adjusted WDH with integrated sway control you should be able to manage/control a potential sway event should it arise. Equal-i-zer brand WDH's and Reese HP Dual Cam WDH's are both popular/effective WDH's with integrated sway control.

As member "bounder" touched on, the 330RLTS is a heavy TT under loaded conditions (ignore dry/UVW weights) and will require a WDH with a high spring bar rating. IMO you should be looking at a 1,400lb rated WDH at a minimum, but if you tend to pack heavy then you may want to consider something a little higher than a 1,400lb rating.

Confirm that your TV's receiver weight limit in the WD mode is up to the task as well.

Bob

[doodlehill]

I have recently purchased a 330 RLTS and am towing with a 2011 F 250 Diesel. Using a round bar hitch. No additional sway control.

The trailer tracks very well. Much better than mu previous F-150 pulled my 6500 # pilgrim. I can tell if a tractor trailer is trying to pass me however I felt no tendency to sway from the trailer.

I did notice that the trailer is long... ad evidenced by the scratches on the fender of mine from its maiden voyage. Make wide turns...

Jeff

[bounder]

Originally Posted by Rustic Eagle

pcx8000,

With a properly sized/adjusted WDH with integrated sway control you should be able to manage/control a potential sway event should it arise. Equal-i-zer brand WDH's and Reese HP Dual Cam WDH's are both popular/effective WDH's with integrated sway control.

As member "bounder" touched on, the 330RLTS is a heavy TT under loaded conditions (ignore dry/UVW weights) and will require a WDH with a high spring bar rating. IMO you should be looking at a 1,400lb rated WDH at a minimum, but if you tend to pack heavy then you may want to consider something a little higher than a 1,400lb rating.

Confirm that your TV's receiver weight limit in the WD mode is up to the task as well.

Bob

I had to upgraded to a heavier receiver on my truck because the Reese straight line hitch (1700/17000) has 2 1/2" bar. Easy instulation no drilling.
http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitc...eid=2005203597

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by doodlehill

I have recently purchased a 330 RLTS and am towing with a 2011 F 250 Diesel. Using a round bar hitch........snip

Jeff,

Welcome to the Jayco forums.

Not sure if your "round bar" WDH is new, or from your prior TV/TT combination, but you may want to check your 330RLTS's "loaded" tongue weight just to confirm that your WDH round bar weight rating is sufficient.

Most round spring bar WDH ratings max out at 1,200lbs, and ideally you want a loaded tongue weight of 13% to 15% of the 330RLTS's loaded weight. A 1,200lb rating "might" work if one packs extremely lite, travels solo, no fluids, etc., but only a CAT scale visit can confirm.

Just food for thought.

I wish that my present TV was a good match for the 330RLTS, otherwise I would be looking very seriously at one....., very nice TT.

Bob

[novaplum]

My set up is a Dodge dually with the Huskey centerline hitch set up for my 330rlts and I love how she tows at highway speeds with semi`s cruising along next to me,no sway

[clutch]

We have a Husky WD hitch and don't have a sway problem. I also have a friction sway controller but I havn't used it. We tow with a 3500 Ram srw.

[rodro123]

I have the equalizer 4 point sway. I'm glad I use the sway bar, wait till you hit 30-40 MPH side winds you will wish you had sway control. Remember your truck is under 2 tons but the tt is 5-6 tons. When the TT sways and it will your toast.

[Seann45]

Since I did not see anyone touch on this... Sway is caused by too little weight on the tongue of the trailer... you should have 10-15% of the trailer weight on the tongue... I am on the plus side of 15% and no problems with sway... but then I also have a Hensley Arrow... but got that for my last trailer and eventually moved it over to the J.

[pcx8000]

the 330 RTLS should be very heavy upfront with the bedroom slide, so that should help with sway control a lot.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by Seann45

Since I did not see anyone touch on this... Sway is caused by too little weight on the tongue of the trailer... you should have 10-15% of the trailer weight on the tongue... I am on the plus side of 15% and no problems with sway... but then I also have a Hensley Arrow... but got that for my last trailer and eventually moved it over to the J.

Too little tongue weight is one cause. Not enough weight on the front of the tow vehicle is another, possibly the biggest, reason. The main purpose of weight distribution hitches is to transfer weight from behind the tow vehicle's axle to the front wheels.

When one hitches a trailer to a point behind the tow vehicles rear axle, the entire tow vehicle behaves like a lever with the rear axle becoming the fulcrum of the lever. The trailer tongue presses down on the hitch, causing the front end to be levered up. Without enough weight on the front tires, they do not have enough traction to keep the tow vehicle pointed where it is supposed to go, creating a tail wagging the dog situation).

Fifth wheel trailers and semis avoid this problem by cantilevering the hitchpoint of the trailer over the back of the tow vehicle so the weight is applied a little ways in front of the rear axle (or the virtual centerpoint of dual rear axles). This ensures enough of the weight of the "tongue" is transferred to the front wheels to ensure they can have enough weight to keep the two connected vehicles pointed in the proper direction.

Something different is needed for conventional trailers such as travel trailers. Past solutions have included contraptions such as tow dollys that took most of the tongue weight off the tow vehicle (those were heavy, expensive, and didn't work all that well), hitches that used spring bars to transfer weight to the rear axle (also heavy, expensive, were murder on the axles--most tow vehicle warranties are now voided by them--and usually required relocating the spare tire), and hitches mounted under the tow vehicle (one is still being sold) that moved the pivot point of the tongue to the tow vehicle frame at a point closer to the rear axle (though they do work very well, they limit turning radius, are very expensive and heavy, and require relocating the spare tire).

The most successful and practical solution for conventional trailers is something that will transfer some of the tongue weight forward to the front wheels. This is most commonly done with a weight distribution hitch. It works by making the hitch work as though the connection between the trailer and tow vehicle is a rigid connection so the lever action on the tow vehicle can't occur. A rigid connection would work great as long as the combination was on level ground and no turns were needed. Unfortunately, at some point the combination needs to turn and there will be grade changes that will require the connection to pivot up and down and sideways. The solution, the weight distribution hitch, uses spring bars mounted to the trailer to allow up and down pivoting at the hitch while limiting some of that pivoting to reduce the amount of leverage occurring.

To reduce the amount of side to side pivoting that can allow sway to occurr, some hitches use friction devices. Usually separate devices, they stiffen the connection between the trailer and and tow vehicle to reduce the trailer's ability to behave like the tail end of a happy tuna. Others will incorportate the friction in the spring bars or add a cam action that increases spring tension as the hitch pivots from side to side, creating a resistance to turning. Both seem to work well and also allow backing without having to disconnect anything.

One hitch that combines several principles for reducing sway without the disadvantages of the others is the Hensley-Arrow. The manufacturer claims it moves the virtual hitch pivot point forward but there has been considerable debate on the validity of that claim. What isn't debatable is the darned thing actually does work very well and is less work to hitch up since there are fewer heavy components to lug around. The three main disadvantages are expense, a more difficult initial installation (both of which are only a first time problem), and weight (which may outweight the advantages).

[clutch]

Hitch weight on a 330RLTS is around 1500#. On an 11000# loaded trailer the tongue is plenty heavy. In the wind I really don't see any difference towing this from our old Montana 5er.