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Trailer sway with air ride

dslowell

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Severe sway pulling toyhauler

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Dslowell
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Discussion Starter • #1 4 days ago
I have a 2019 1500 with air ride that starts swaying severely above 60mph.

I have taken it to the dealer multiple times and they have checked everything and say there is no problem with the truck, it is my loading causing issues.

I have tried loading all configurations, dropping, raising ball, aft, forward. Even at 8500, lightly loaded it still does it.

I have weight distribution and sway bars, and have towed this trailer with my 2014 1500 for over 20k miles now, at much higher weights. It still currently tows this trailer now without issues.

Am I the only one having a towing issue?

Any help would be appreciated, Dodge has not been helpful.

Thanks
 

ram1991

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I’m not sure why the love for this truck and towing with air suspension, or even coils. I have a 7000 lb boat trailer that I’ve towed about 25k miles with various 3/4 ton and 1/2 ton chevys and they all felt more stable. My big issue is the bounce up and down when towing over dips in the road with the same trailer My family immediately noticed it. It’s like riding in a car with blown shocks sometimes The suspension just doesn't seem stiff enough. Maybe air and coil are just not good towing platforms compared to leef.
 

Yedi

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I tow a 7500lb 27' fiberglass camper with my 19' Rebel with Air suspension, no sway hitch, or weight distributing hitch...

Tows awesome. No squat, no sway, No complaints. My experience with the air system.
 

Zeronet

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My 2019 with air suspension tows noticeably better than my 2015 with coil springs. Same trailer has been towed 13k miles total between the two trucks. Air suspension is very stable, less porpoising, easier to setup/hitch/unhitch. Never had a sway problem with either truck.
 

JJRamTX

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Mine tows fantastic with all three of my trailers. Never sways or bounces (350-1000lbs tongue weights). Best towing vehicle I have ever had out of 4 trucks, my motorhome, and one SUV.
 

Zeronet

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I have tried loading all configurations, dropping, raising ball, aft, forward. Even at 8500, lightly loaded it still does it.

I have weight distribution and sway bars, and have towed this trailer with my 2014 1500 for over 20k miles now, at much higher weights. It still currently tows this trailer now without issues.
Some things I noticed when setting up the weight distribution on air suspension vs coils.

I couldn’t use my previous settings on the WD hitch at all. Needed to start from scratch on the WD setup. I would recommend you do the same, from scratch.

The air suspension caused the truck to ride 2+ inches higher at the rear axle (probably more at the ball) with WD setup and engaged. Therefore I needed to drop the ball a lot, to the lowest setting on the shank I have. The trailer is still slightly nose high if I’m at normal ride height, so I now tow in aero mode which gets the trailer 1/4” nose low, rather than buying a longer drop shank.

If I had to guess I’d say maybe your trailer is nose high and that might be the cause of your problem. Again I would start with the WD setup from scratch.

Might help if you could post some pictures of both trucks hooked up to the trailer with measurements and describe the changes you did to your hitch setup.
 

dslowell

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ok Thanks everyone. It seems maybe I just have something else going on with my truck.

I could post some pics if I could ever get my truck back from the dealer.

I did try dropping ball to lowest, and up one as well from where I had it on the 14. Neither made a huge change. I also put on scales and checked my tongue weight, as well as front and rear weights (platform scales). I tried jacking up bars to load the front. All these things offer improvement but there is a weird pushing at the rear that seems to go into the steering and give a weird feeling of lack of control. It even activates the traction control. The service department has towed with different trucks on the lot. All will sway, especially with crappy Alaska roads and a little wind, but this is more like the truck is swimming.

I will say the air ride does suck up those frost heaves nicely, but the rear end pushing is un-nerving.

I originally thought this was an Air suspension problem, but if no one else is having issues, it must be my truck, my trailer, or these wallowy Duelers.

Thanks for advice

D
 

raven_DT

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ok Thanks everyone. It seems maybe I just have something else going on with my truck.

I could post some pics if I could ever get my truck back from the dealer.

I did try dropping ball to lowest, and up one as well from where I had it on the 14. Neither made a huge change. I also put on scales and checked my tongue weight, as well as front and rear weights (platform scales). I tried jacking up bars to load the front. All these things offer improvement but there is a weird pushing at the rear that seems to go into the steering and give a weird feeling of lack of control. It even activates the traction control. The service department has towed with different trucks on the lot. All will sway, especially with crappy Alaska roads and a little wind, but this is more like the truck is swimming.

I will say the air ride does suck up those frost heaves nicely, but the rear end pushing is un-nerving.

I originally thought this was an Air suspension problem, but if no one else is having issues, it must be my truck, my trailer, or these wallowy Duelers.

Thanks for advice

D
You didnt mention what brand of WD hitch you are using or tire pressures your running. What type of trailer? Travel, enclosed or open? If you are towing heavy (for a 1/2 ton 8500# is heavy) I would definitely recommend LT tires.

Our "light" (6500# max) setup with a 2500. I cant imagine driving through a t-storm with a heavier trailer in a 1/2 ton.
34481
 
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dslowell

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I realize i am towing heavy. I have a Eaz lift wd hitch with sway bar. 2 point. We dont have t storms, thankfully, but really crappy roads with stud grooves in them. I have e rated tires on my 14, and will probably switch to try them on the new truck. But the p tires lasted a while on the 14 and never did this. Tires are jacked up to max pressure, on both the trailer and truck.

It is not so much as a sway issue, as a rear end lateral push that seems to increase in amplitude and cause a steering input that makes it feel uncontrolled is the best way to describe it. It is not feeling like when the front is light and improperly loaded. It is difficult to explain, easier to feel.

I was just wondering if others have had this issue.

D
 

raven_DT

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I realize i am towing heavy. I have a Eaz lift wd hitch with sway bar. 2 point. We dont have t storms, thankfully, but really crappy roads with stud grooves in them. I have e rated tires on my 14, and will probably switch to try them on the new truck. But the p tires lasted a while on the 14 and never did this. Tires are jacked up to max pressure, on both the trailer and truck.

It is not so much as a sway issue, as a rear end lateral push that seems to increase in amplitude and cause a steering input that makes it feel uncontrolled is the best way to describe it. It is not feeling like when the front is light and improperly loaded. It is difficult to explain, easier to feel.

I was just wondering if others have had this issue.

D
That is the WD hitch that we used on the Jayco. We towed about 8500 miles over the span of almost 2 years with it. We are *thinking* about getting another TT with this 1500 as a TW. Looking at something 32'-37' with a GVWR of 9500 max. Yep, larger than what we towed with the 2500. I will use an Equal-i-zer Hitch to gain the 4pt sway control for the larger/longer load. The eazlift worked well for us but it might have been skewed a bit because the size of the truck/trailer combo. A Hensley or ProPride would be the best solution (for me) but they are cost and weight (~200#) prohibitive. The good thing is if the DW doesn't like how the 1500 tows, I have my eye on a SRW 3500 CC CTD Big Horn...:cool:
 
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geotex1

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Change to an Equal-i-zer 4-point WDH and set it up with the bags set for "aero." The Equal-i-zer is a noisier setup, but the rigidity will help combat the bounce of the air suspension in combination with having the bags at lower inflation.
 

DavidNJ

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While I am a fan of the Hensley and ProPride hitches at $2500 or so I can understand why everyone isn't using one. Or at least almost understand...they are like towing with a 5th wheel, at least for sway (horizontal forces).

However, has anyone tried the Reese Dual Cam? Compared to the other WDH it actively stiffens in rotation, resting the curved trailing edge of the WD bar over a cam so that it stiffens in rotation.

This picture shows how it is different. I looked and was shocked I couldn't find a video of it in use.

ReeseDCadjust-nokeeper1.jpg
 

geotex1

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While I am a fan of the Hensley and ProPride hitches at $2500 or so I can understand why everyone isn't using one. Or at least almost understand...they are like towing with a 5th wheel, at least for sway (horizontal forces).

However, has anyone tried the Reese Dual Cam? Compared to the other WDH it actively stiffens in rotation, resting the curved trailing edge of the WD bar over a cam so that it stiffens in rotation.

This picture shows how it is different. I looked and was shocked I couldn't find a video of it in use.

ReeseDCadjust-nokeeper1.jpg

The Reese is also an excellent system. It's shortcoming for many is that it requires the trailer A-frame to be drilled for installation. For flexibility of resale, especially with travel trailers, an Equal-i-zer requires no drilling.

Hensley and ProPride are a totally different league, and I can count the number of times I've seen each on one hand, and all but one instance they were with Airstreams.
 

DavidNJ

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The Reese is also an excellent system. It's shortcoming for many is that it requires the trailer A-frame to be drilled for installation. For flexibility of resale, especially with travel trailers, an Equal-i-zer requires no drilling.

Hensley and ProPride are a totally different league, and I can count the number of times I've seen each on one hand, and all but one instance they were with Airstreams.

I have a Hensley, towing a 26' car hauler box. It was day and night, especially with the high retaining wall on I-476 in PA (I did that a lot before PA-33 was rebuilt. ) IMHO, well worth the extra $$$.
 

DavidNJ

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No sway at all with mine towing my car trailer. No WDH.
View attachment 34887

Newer trailer than mine! I like the entry door and the LED taillights. What sort of locks are those? Mine just padlocks.

No rear camera?

However, that looks about the same length or longer than mine. It probably nears 4500-5000# empty. Aren't you way over the weight for no WDH? Have you weighted the truck/trailer connected and loaded? Did you change to LT tires?
 

Jus Cruisin

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Newer trailer than mine! I like the entry door and the LED taillights. What sort of locks are those? Mine just padlocks.

No rear camera?

However, that looks about the same length or longer than mine. It probably nears 4500-5000# empty. Aren't you way over the weight for no WDH? Have you weighted the truck/trailer connected and loaded? Did you change to LT tires?
The trailer is a 20 ft V-nose. With the Camaro in it the weight is about 7,500 lbs. I've never used a WDH in all the years I've been towing (cars and boats). Go to a Drag Race and you never see WDH on the trucks towing the race cars. I just pull the car into or onto the trailer far enough to drop the rear of the truck about 2 inches and strap it down. You know right away if it's light. If so, I just ratchet the car on a little further. Pull the weight, don't carry it. Stock Goodyear's. I don't even know if they make a LT 22".
No rear camera. I suppose one would save some steps at times but I rarely need to back up to something tight. When I'm backing into a space while turning, I know it's wide enough before I start and then hug the side I can see. When I'm tight to the visible side, I know the blind side is good.
The locks are Trimax.
 

pgienger

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Towing my travel trailer I have about the same experience, over 65mph it's squirrelly. I have lowered the hitch a notch on the WD shank, loaded the hitch heavier (shifting cargo) and gone another link tighter on my BlueOx chains. All helped but didn't eliminate the away.

When I set up the hitch the latest time, measuring all along the way, I found the front end never raised more than a half inch, so I never feel like I am getting a true feel for if the hitch is transferring enough. Now I only towed the trailer twice with my 11 (coils) and neither time was loaded to camping spec, but it wasn't swaying. I'm considering going up the next step on WD bars to try to get it under control because with the 750lb bars I'm probably just over and that will make them not work right.

I used to draft a ways behind semis with my 11 and a slightly lighter trailer for speed and milage, but I'd never be able to pull it off with this setup. I felt the wind buffet and push but never out of control. It's worse just driving down the open road with the 19 and the new trailer.
 

geotex1

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Towing my travel trailer I have about the same experience, over 65mph it's squirrelly. I have lowered the hitch a notch on the WD shank, loaded the hitch heavier (shifting cargo) and gone another link tighter on my BlueOx chains. All helped but didn't eliminate the away.

When I set up the hitch the latest time, measuring all along the way, I found the front end never raised more than a half inch, so I never feel like I am getting a true feel for if the hitch is transferring enough. Now I only towed the trailer twice with my 11 (coils) and neither time was loaded to camping spec, but it wasn't swaying. I'm considering going up the next step on WD bars to try to get it under control because with the 750lb bars I'm probably just over and that will make them not work right.

I used to draft a ways behind semis with my 11 and a slightly lighter trailer for speed and milage, but I'd never be able to pull it off with this setup. I felt the wind buffet and push but never out of control. It's worse just driving down the open road with the 19 and the new trailer.

Roll into your local CAT scale. Let the scale master know what you're doing, and your re-weighs will be discounted. It's about the only way to set up a WDH with good transfer on the new RAM 1500s. Personally, I feel every WDH setup needs to be proven out on a scale.
 

geotex1

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I have a Hensley, towing a 26' car hauler box. It was day and night, especially with the high retaining wall on I-476 in PA (I did that a lot before PA-33 was rebuilt. ) IMHO, well worth the extra $$$.

They are fine engineering, no doubt!

I know that area well.
 

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