2018 Tahoe pulling Keystone 27RES With recurve r3

bjstager · 09-24-2019, 09:58 AM

We continue to struggle with sway even using the Recurve R3 WDH. Could the dealer have installed this wrong? When they installed it was empty. We now have loaded and can not seem to figure out the right tension, tire pressure, etc to get it to not be swaying pretty much all the time. The 2018 Tahoe has the Max Trailering package so the weight shouldn’t be an issue. Anyone know how to know it when the bars and tension are correct?

Retired Copper · 09-24-2019, 10:37 AM

Is this a Cougar Half ton? 6544 Dry weight,835 dry tongue weight, and 30 foot and 11 inches long?

bjstager · 09-24-2019, 10:42 AM

Yes, that all sounds correct.

ctbruce · 09-24-2019, 10:46 AM

It also has a 8800 pound GVW, so fully packed that's 900+ pounds tongue weight, 340 square feet of sail with a short wheel base vehicle. No matter what you do, you will only be able to dial it in so much. As you add contents, the hitch needs to be adjusted. I'd get the manual out and start the process from the beginning.

66joej · 09-24-2019, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjstager

We continue to struggle with sway even using the Recurve R3 WDH. Could the dealer have installed this wrong? When they installed it was empty. We now have loaded and can not seem to figure out the right tension, tire pressure, etc to get it to not be swaying pretty much all the time. The 2018 Tahoe has the Max Trailering package so the weight shouldn’t be an issue. Anyone know how to know it when the bars and tension are correct?

Agree the weight may not be an issue but the length may contribute to the sway. We have the same TT and did 1 short trip with the previous '15 F150 Screw 4X4 5.0 with factory trailering package, 2040# payload, LT tires and Equal-i-zer e4 hitch properly set up. Traded it for current TV because sway was a problem. If that is the short wheelbase on the Tahoe it may be the culprit. YMMV

bjstager · 09-24-2019, 11:10 AM

Thank you. I have been reading and did just found that we have a Traction control system and had read a few things that it could affect the WDH hitch. We turned that off and things seem to be better. Nothing like a 5000 mile road trip to help work out some bugs. And to see if the Tahoe can or can not handle this.

**sourdough** · 09-24-2019, 11:12 AM

You have an 8800lb. RV that's 31' being towed with an SUV maxed out at either 8400 or 8600 lbs. max towing capacity. The Tahoe has a 116" wheelbase (very short) and sits on P metric tires. The only max tongue weight I can find, with wdh, is 640 lbs. I suspect the max tow pkg. makes it a little higher but doubt it's over 900 lbs.

The long and short of it is that you have too much trailer or too little TV and the wheelbase is just not suitable for that size trailer - and therein lies your sway issue.

Look inside the driver door for the payload sticker (probably has yellow on it). Take about 1100lbs. off that for your tongue weight (12% of 8800 - which also exceeds your receiver rating), subtract another 125lbs. for wdh and see where you are. Remember that ideally you would also like to have a 10-15% safety cushion between your loaded number and your max number and you can't "adjust" away the bad behavior of a mismatched trailer and TV.

bjstager · 09-24-2019, 11:13 AM

Thanks. We will relook at the installation of the hitch. Watched some videos but none helped tremendously knowing if it was correct or not.

Retired Copper · 09-24-2019, 11:14 AM

The first thing others here will want is the yellow payload sticker on your driver`s door post. I looked on the net and they say payload is between 1698 and 1745 that will all depend on the vehicle options. Loaded you will be around 1k on the tongue. I got your GVW for your unit and timed it at 12% which is 1,056 lbs. With a short tow vehicle and a 31 foot travel trailer if it was me I would look for a pro pride or Hensley type hitch. I am one to not suggest this in many cases. Your tow vehicle in any case is at its limit with weight and length of the trailer. I know this is not what you wanted to hear but quite a few of us have been there and done that, so what can we do to get you by for now. Tires on the tow vehicle are passenger tires and they flex and ride smooth. You may want to up grade to LT tire. You may have to upgrade the shocks. You may get by with an Equalizer E4 type hitch but you will need all the sway control you can get. Towing 6k or 8 k is one thing towing 6k or 8k 30 foot long and 12 feet high is another. Hopefully with the tongue weight, weight of the hitch and TV loaded you will not be over on your payload. This is just my thoughts there are others here that might have better advise. I wished that someone would have warned you that you might have control problems with the setup.

GMcKenzie · 09-24-2019, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctbruce

It also has a 8800 pound GVW, so fully packed that's 900+ pounds tongue weight,

For comparison, my trailer has a GVW of 8,200. I scaled it a while back and it was very near that, with a tongue weight of 1040.

Sounds like a lot of trailer for the truck.

travelin texans · 09-24-2019, 01:24 PM

Sounds like the voice of yet another RV salesman, "yea, your vehicle will handle that, no problem, you'll never know it's back there!".

**flybouy** · 09-24-2019, 03:31 PM

It's a tough and costly lesson to learn for the uninitiated. I really feel for these people that fall into the trap of the salesman and then are faced with the decision of whether to take a beating on the truck or the camper .

NH_Bulldog · 09-24-2019, 03:48 PM

A friend of mine bought a brand new loaded Tahoe set up for towing, then drove it 500 miles to pick up his new Airstream. It swayed so bad that when he got home he brought the Tahoe back to the dealer and drove away in a new 2500 crew cab truck. Our local trailer guy slapped his hand and said he should have asked first. The Tahoe at 116” wheel base is NOT a vehicle to tow a large trailer when a typical crew cab has a 152”+ wheel base.

**JRTJH** · 09-24-2019, 05:15 PM

Based on the "rule of thumb" on wheelbase length/trailer length, a 116" wheelbase would be "good for towing" something around 21' 6".
That's 20' for the first 110" of wheelbase and 1.5' for the extra 6" of wheelbase. Even with "all the electronic goodies", adding another 10' of trailer length is, IMHO, pushing the limit waaaaay beyond reasonable if you expect "quality towing performance"....

Here's a "cut and paste" of a post I made several months ago.

The "generalized rule of thumb" goes like this:
For the first 110" of wheelbase, this allows you 20' of trailer.
For each additional 4" of wheelbase, this gets you 1' more of trailer."

That has been around since Lucy and Desi pulled the "long, long trailer" on their adventures.... A lot has changed since then, improved hitches, anti-sway electronics in vehicles, anti-skid braking systems just to name a few....

So, there's no "hard and fast rule" regarding tow vehicle wheelbase to trailer length ratio, but it's still "clearly evident" that the shorter the wheelbase and/or the longer the trailer, the more unstable the rig will be.

I'd guess that with the new "Blazer and Bronco" models coming out, if they are actually short wheelbase vehicles with large, powerful engines, we're going to see a significant increase in people towing with them which will probably bring us back to including the wheelbase as important in towing stability. Right now, most vehicles used for towing are in the 140+ inch wheelbase category.

Here's one "expert opinion": https://www.etrailer.com/question-301694.html

Ken / Claudia · 09-24-2019, 05:32 PM

I thought traction control would help. I have never turned mine off when towing. Real wt. look at my trailer shorter than yours, tongue 920 lbs.

busterbrown · 09-24-2019, 10:17 PM

FWIW, I owned a longer wheelbase Yukon XL Denali prior to my Ram 2500. Plenty of power but ran out of payload after installing a very heavy Hensley Arrow to correct sway issues with a Blue Ox Sway Pro. My trailer is a much lighter 7600# GVWR coach too.

Had I known what I do now about safe towing rigs, I would have never procured the Yukon to begin with. Rather, I would have went straight into a HD platform truck for the stability, payload capacity, and wheelbase. Many on this forum feel the same way as towing experiences teach you very quickly. This is especially so when crusing along the interstate at 65 mph, passing 40ft tractor trailers on a mountain descent while 30 mph crosswinds are engaging the trailer in tow at 3 o'clock. This is when one says to himself, "I wish I had more wheelbase and GVWR".

RWRiley · 09-25-2019, 05:02 AM

I pull with a 2019 Tahoe with Max Trailer Pack, and I'm also getting pushed around a little, but it's not horrible.

For reference, I have 12% of total trailer weight on the tongue, and I'm at 87% of GCWR, and that is according to the scale. Max tongue wt is 1,000 lbs (I'm at 760), and GCWR is 14,000 lbs (I'm at 12,200 lbs).

Sounds like I am about 2' shorter and maybe a 1,000 lbs lighter (depending on how much stuff you load into your trailer). I can handle being passed by the big trucks no problem - I get almost no effect, but the crosswinds do push me around (that seems kind of strange to me. Why aren't the trucks pushing me around too ?). As others have mentioned, our wheelbase is relatively short which doesn't help. In my case - I don't have a good sway control on my hitch. I would really like to have a Reese dual cam, but I may go with Husky Center line TS before I venture out of the Midwest.

busterbrown · 09-25-2019, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWRiley

In my case - I don't have a good sway control on my hitch. I would really like to have a Reese dual cam, but I may go with Husky Center line TS before I venture out of the Midwest.

If you're headed westward toward Nebraska or southwest into Texas, New Mexico or Arizona, be prepared for a rude awakening. The crosswinds of the midwest don't even compare to the desert and prairie winds that exist in those states.

We experienced them first hand in the southwest states pulling our 35ft trailer. My butt cheeks were screaming "thank you RAM 2500 and Hensley!" No way I would have ever pulled my trailer with a 1/2 ton short wheelbase SUV in those conditions. Absolutely no way. I sure those who live in those regions would agree.

rjniles · 10-03-2019, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjstager

Thanks. We will relook at the installation of the hitch. Watched some videos but none helped tremendously knowing if it was correct or not.

You are ignoring what you are being told. Your truck is not up to the task.

MarkEHansen · 10-03-2019, 07:23 AM

Just to add to the discussion, the OP needs to consider more than just how the truck/trailer perform in normal towing conditions. The TV must also be able to handle less than ideal situations, like blowing a tire on the TV or Trailer, emergency stop, emergency swerve, etc.

I'm in the been-there-done-that club as well. I had a brand new 2018 Yukon Denali to tow my trailer - which the trailer salesman said would be just fine. After the first trip, we decided to trade that in on the current TV. Yes, we took a batch on the trade in of the Yukon, but the towing is far, far less stressful now. Best money I ever spent, which I wish I never had to spend.

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