Trailer sway with air ride

[massram21]

dealer mechanic said my 27 ft trailer ( which weighs 5075 lbs dry ) was longer than my truck and was too big for truck and I need to get smaller trailer or bigger truck , I kid you not , my truck was built to tow 11561 lbs. which is why I had it custom built and waited 3 months for it. , Ended up getting owner involved and he is having meeting with ram . I left truck for day as ram had requested so mechanic could check suspension and mechanic never put it on lift said he knew there was nothing wrong with truck no need to check suspension , , my trailer is longer than truck and too big, unreal i did not know there was a trailer length limit as well as weight, I do believe dealer owner will try to help me but his mechanic is a dope

 

[massram21]

I also towed my trailer with my sons 2016 gmc Sierra rated for 7500 lbs and i could actually let go of wheel ( just for testing ) and it towed straight at 70 mph, no two hand white knuckle stressful ride .towing a camper for a vacation is not supposed to start with so much stress

 

[IvoryHemi]

It’s all in the setup. If you want to get it dialed in stop blaming Ram.

Spend some time at a weight scale, get stronger WDH bars, 4-point sway control, better TV tires @ higher pressure, tow in Aero mode not Normal mode, make sure setup/adjustment first in Tire Jack Mode.

The dealer is going to do none of this for you.

 

[nc_beagle]

I'm shocked to see people are having this problem. I went from a 2000 ram 2500 to a 18 ram1500 to my current 21 ram1500. Only my DT has had the air ride. My 21 tows sooooooo much nicer then my 18 did which towed better then my 2000 did. I've only ever experienced trailer sway is when I miss loaded the trailer or the hitch was too high for the trailer i was towing. Do you have any pictures to show how your setup looks when it's hooked up that you're having an issue. A picture in these cases can help ALOT.

I also have the ORG. Are you towing with the OEM Falken tires? I'm about to start towing a 25' camper and want to be sure they are tow-worthy. They're on the factory 20" wheels.

 

[Bt10]

I also towed my trailer with my sons 2016 gmc Sierra rated for 7500 lbs and i could actually let go of wheel ( just for testing ) and it towed straight at 70 mph, no two hand white knuckle stressful ride .towing a camper for a vacation is not supposed to start with so much stress

It’s all in the setup. If you want to get it dialed in stop blaming Ram.

Spend some time at a weight scale, get stronger WDH bars, 4-point sway control, better TV tires @ higher pressure, tow in Aero mode not Normal mode, make sure setup/adjustment first in Tire Jack Mode.

The dealer is going to do none of this for you.

I think we all may be talking past each other. Most people have the nice, easy experience in a 1/2 ton leaf spring truck, even without using a WD hitch, and are surprised at how bad the ram link suspension is. I posted/watched in this thread because it looked promising that people would have an answer, even though mine doesn’t have air suspension.

Among the available, I’ll take the Ram, because towing is a very small percentage of my miles. I may try E range tires next, hurting the ride, or polyurethane bushings, and probably soon sumosprings, also hurting the ride, but you gotta do whatcha gotta do.

nc beagle - 20’s on an ORG?

 

[IvoryHemi]

Proper setup of the WDH with air suspension is a tougher task because of its self leveling feature.

It takes some trial & error to dial it in

 

[Nick57]

I also have the ORG. Are you towing with the OEM Falken tires? I'm about to start towing a 25' camper and want to be sure they are tow-worthy. They're on the factory 20" wheels.

I am still running those tires. I just hit 6k on them. They do.... "ok." I'm looking forward to replacing them with an E range tire and seeing how much it improves. On my 18 Ram it had the Wrangler SRA's on it that were total crap! I switched to the ProComp AT SPORT that was a load range E tire. It drove and towed infinity better. The Falken's are better then the SRA's any day of the week but still not as good as a proper load rage D or E tire.

 

[silver billet]

Proper setup of the WDH with air suspension is a tougher task because of its self leveling feature.

It takes some trial & error to dial it in

My guess is that the ram coil suspension takes more effort as well. Maybe due to the progressive nature of the springs? I dunno, I just read more people having problems on the Ram forums than (say) the GM forums which I also read. But it is possible to get it right on the Rams too, just think it's more effort and less room for guesswork.

 

[bucolic]

I just find this all so baffling. As I stated in a previous post I towed a 26' camper that weighs about 5000lbs empty 8000 miles across the US in 30 days with my 2019 Laramie without air suspension and no issues at all. I traded that in for the current 2021 limited with Air suspension and 3.92 gears vs the 3.21 on the Laramie. The limited tows even better. Zero issues and on flat smooth stretches I about forget the camper is even back there. These 1/2 tons are really not the best tow vehicles but I really couldn't ask for anything more out of it. Just about a dream to tow with.

Now I do read about people towing at 70 mph with these half tons and I wonder if that might be causing some issues. I rarely break 65 mph and do 55-60 mph the majority of the time. At that speed, it is super comfortable and relaxing. I can't imagine trying to maintain 70 MPH with this class of truck. 1/2 tons are working hard towing at that speed and the truck would be screaming in the 4k rpm's if not higher on even the slightest grade. Going over the mountains last year in Colorado and Utah unless I wanted to drive with the truck screaming I would do 35-40 on those mountain passes at the most. Just curious if tow speed might have something to do with sway issues? Is the sway occurring at all speeds and if not at what speed do the sway issues rear their head?

 

[Trooper4]

I just find this all so baffling. As I stated in a previous post I towed a 26' camper that weighs about 5000lbs empty 8000 miles across the US in 30 days with my 2019 Laramie without air suspension and no issues at all. I traded that in for the current 2021 limited with Air suspension and 3.92 gears vs the 3.21 on the Laramie. The limited tows even better. Zero issues and on flat smooth stretches I about forget the camper is even back there. These 1/2 tons are really not the best tow vehicles but I really couldn't ask for anything more out of it. Just about a dream to tow with.

Now I do read about people towing at 70 mph with these half tons and I wonder if that might be causing some issues. I rarely break 65 mph and do 55-60 mph the majority of the time. At that speed, it is super comfortable and relaxing. I can't imagine trying to maintain 70 MPH with this class of truck. 1/2 tons are working hard towing at that speed and the truck would be screaming in the 4k rpm's if not higher on even the slightest grade. Going over the mountains last year in Colorado and Utah unless I wanted to drive with the truck screaming I would do 35-40 on those mountain passes at the most. Just curious if tow speed might have something to do with sway issues? Is the sway occurring at all speeds and if not at what speed do the sway issues rear their head?

Same here. I'm towing a fiver and that gets the weight a little higher above center, but at 55/60 it does great. Really solid. I added a Hellwig and that firmed it right up as far as body roll. I have hit 70 a couple of times for freeway merge, but it is not a comfortable travel speed over the long haul. Even when I had my Duramax I kept the speed at 55/60.

 

[nc_beagle]

Same here. I'm towing a fiver and that gets the weight a little higher above center, but at 55/60 it does great. Really solid. I added a Hellwig and that firmed it right up as far as body roll. I have hit 70 a couple of times for freeway merge, but it is not a comfortable travel speed over the long haul. Even when I had my Duramax I kept the speed at 55/60.

As I understand it, the 1500 has some anti-sway built in. Does a Hellwig just add more control? Does it negatively affect the unloaded ride?

 

[silver billet]

I just find this all so baffling. As I stated in a previous post I towed a 26' camper that weighs about 5000lbs empty 8000 miles across the US in 30 days with my 2019 Laramie without air suspension and no issues at all. I traded that in for the current 2021 limited with Air suspension and 3.92 gears vs the 3.21 on the Laramie. The limited tows even better. Zero issues and on flat smooth stretches I about forget the camper is even back there. These 1/2 tons are really not the best tow vehicles but I really couldn't ask for anything more out of it. Just about a dream to tow with.

Now I do read about people towing at 70 mph with these half tons and I wonder if that might be causing some issues. I rarely break 65 mph and do 55-60 mph the majority of the time. At that speed, it is super comfortable and relaxing. I can't imagine trying to maintain 70 MPH with this class of truck. 1/2 tons are working hard towing at that speed and the truck would be screaming in the 4k rpm's if not higher on even the slightest grade. Going over the mountains last year in Colorado and Utah unless I wanted to drive with the truck screaming I would do 35-40 on those mountain passes at the most. Just curious if tow speed might have something to do with sway issues? Is the sway occurring at all speeds and if not at what speed do the sway issues rear their head?

Speaking for myself; I tow just above 60 mph, 6th gear, around 2300 RPMs. I have the hellwig swaybar as well. At one point I was towing about 5500 pounds with my husky centerline WDH and almost lost control when hitting strong side winds at 55 mph. My issue was that the trailer was sitting a little too high on the hitch (just slightly above level) and I didn't have enough weight on the bed. I re-adjusted WDH and put more weight up front in the trailer and it tows much better now.

Best way I can describe it is "finicky". Other trucks you can get away with a slightly imperfect setup, but these Rams seem to require you to get it next to perfect.

 

[massram21]

I just find this all so baffling. As I stated in a previous post I towed a 26' camper that weighs about 5000lbs empty 8000 miles across the US in 30 days with my 2019 Laramie without air suspension and no issues at all. I traded that in for the current 2021 limited with Air suspension and 3.92 gears vs the 3.21 on the Laramie. The limited tows even better. Zero issues and on flat smooth stretches I about forget the camper is even back there. These 1/2 tons are really not the best tow vehicles but I really couldn't ask for anything more out of it. Just about a dream to tow with.

Now I do read about people towing at 70 mph with these half tons and I wonder if that might be causing some issues. I rarely break 65 mph and do 55-60 mph the majority of the time. At that speed, it is super comfortable and relaxing. I can't imagine trying to maintain 70 MPH with this class of truck. 1/2 tons are working hard towing at that speed and the truck would be screaming in the 4k rpm's if not higher on even the slightest grade. Going over the mountains last year in Colorado and Utah unless I wanted to drive with the truck screaming I would do 35-40 on those mountain passes at the most. Just curious if tow speed might have something to do with sway issues? Is the sway occurring at all speeds and if not at what speed do the sway issues rear their head?

If you drove a Silverado 1500 towing even heavier loads than i do now it is quite easy to go 70 because you do not know trailer is behind you but with this ram which i thought would probably be last truck I would ever buy as i usually keep my trucks about 15 years and I have been towing boats and campers and large construction trailers since 1973 this is the worst tow vehicle i have ever used and i have tried every adjustment on Reese WDH and sway bar and it made no difference , I am still waiting for call from dealer who is having a meeting with Ram about this issue . last Sunday II towed my camper (5075 lbs dry ) with his GMC 1500 (7500 lbs cap ) and it towed with absolutely no issues after I had come home from camping trip . and for dealer mechanic to say my 27 ft trailer is longer than my truck and therefor to big to tow is unbelievable . Great truck as long as you don't need to tow anything which i had custom built to tow up to 11561 lbs which is way over anything I planned on towing . Very disappointed in this truck

 

[IvoryHemi]

I set ACC to 67 mph & cruise in 7th gear at ~2300 rpm. Will do 70+ mph to pass

So far towed w/ my Ram 1500:
31’2” TT @ ~ 6,600 lbs (5,300 mi)
33’8” TT @ ~ 8,000 lbs (1,900 mi)

10K Equalizer with the former
12k Equalizer with the latter

 

[IvoryHemi]

i have tried every adjustment on Reese WDH and sway bar and it made no difference

Are you still using the “too small for your toy hauler” 750 lb bars?

 

[Bt10]

Not trying to answer for massram, but I have 1200lb bars on my 4700lbs dry TT. Previous 1/2 ton Sierra could tow with or without bars, only changed the squat, no swaying. I had hit 90+mph downhill at 12000 GCW in the Sierra, 80 in the ram (2 hands on the wheel) at 11,500lbs. Already know the trailer tire speed rating. My Husky hitch is as good as it will ever be.

I just thought of this right now - my kid has a go pro that I could setup to watch the axle and suspension movement, to see what needs attention first. I am wondering how stiff the bushings and panhard bar are.

 

[massram21]

Are you still using the “too small for your toy hauler” 750 lb bars?

my trailer only weighs 5075 dry and if i ever loaded to max which i dont ( 7500 lbs ) which is the right bars for that weight , i contacted Reese hitch company to check it out , I also on Sunday used my sons gmc 1500 to tow it and had no issues with trailer at all , did not know it was there and his truck is only rated for 7500 lbs and I had mine built specifically to tow max off 11561 lbs because of wanting safest ride possible which it certainly is not, and dealer mechanic saying that 27 ft trailer is longer than my truck and that is why I have issue and to get shorter trailer is unbelievable . I did not know there was a length limit as well as weight limit , Who knew and advertisement shows 1500 towing about 35 ft airstream, owner of dealership is suposed to get back to me after talking with ram , i believe he does want to fix issue,

 

[Trooper4]

As I understand it, the 1500 has some anti-sway built in. Does a Hellwig just add more control? Does it negatively affect the unloaded ride?

When adding the Hellwig there are stiffness adjustments that it incorporates in order to fine tune to preference. For me it got rid of sway and body roll. The unloaded feel changes little to none as far as I can see because it has little effect on vertical movement, only torsional twisting movement in the rear suspension. Much of the tail wagging the dog is caused by WDH, trailer loading, tire combinations and setup of all or individual components. Also, as speed goes up, so does the oscillation of truck and trailer. It can be a real problem trying to chase down one thing when it is actually the setup as a whole, and the many factors that determine what is best for a given truck.
Clear as mud?

 

[IvoryHemi]

my trailer only weighs 5075 dry and if i ever loaded to max which i dont ( 7500 lbs ) which is the right bars for that weight , i contacted Reese hitch company to check it out

You have a front garage toy hauler. That means what you load will heavily add tongue weight.

Dry hitch is listed at 555 lbs, add propane/ battery puts you around 650 lbs. Then loading the trailer will put you well over your 750 lbs rated bars.

Right now your sway problem is clearly an undersized/improperly setup WDH.

 

[suvowner]

I am about to get my first travel trailer after thinking about it for almost a decade. from what I have read, the ram 1500 auto-leveling air suspension can work great with weight distribution, if and only if you set it up correctly. from what I can tell here are the must do's, at least for the equalizer hitch:
1. start with trailer frame level and truck level at normal ride height and tire jack mode turned ON (which disables any load leveling of the air suspension)
2. trailer ball and coupler need to be at same height
3. based on front wheel well height change, you need to adjust the amount of weight distribution to get back to at least 66% of height change (per ram manual) or up to 100% per equalizer recommendations based on their testing
4. use tow/haul mode which should disable aero ride height mode, (if not do it manually in the settings) which if engaged it would lower the truck at hwy speed and alter (increase) the amount of weight distribution

the following video from equalizer illustrates the issue.