Sway issue on my new Passport 2810BH.

[Booch]

Just picked up a new Passport 2810BH earlier this summer. Love the camper, but don't love the towing so far. Above 50mph I get some sway, not terrible, but not enjoyable.

My previous camper (Heartland 24bhs) was 70lbs heavier, same load eq axles, 2" taller, had a rear kitchen, and a similar 11% tongue weight. I figured the 2810bh would at least tow about the same if I loaded it the same. And it took me a while to get it right on the old one: food in the fridge, cooler just past front axle, nothing in the outdoor kitchen, most everything else in the front bedroom.

I'm still in a 1/2 ton, but assuming the specs are right on the 2810 my numbers should be fine. I have LT tires, WDH, etc.

Any thoughts? Is it the extra 4' that's getting me? Or, do I maybe have too much weight forward since there's no rear kitchen?

[tomd]

I used a sway bar in my TT days; it basically is an adjustable 'brake' and is a small addition to your hitch set up. Helps a lot when big trucks pass you.

After installing I test drove with making it tighter until sway reduced/stopped. I back it off when pulling into parking lots & campsites but most of time left it tight.
Also, I found adding airbag to stiffen the rear springs was enough, and I removed my load distribution hitch on F150 set up with sway bar.

[Booch]

I've got one of those friction sway bars installed, as well. Air suspension on the Ram, too. :) Thanks.

[MarcS]

How much sway are you getting? How often are you getting sway?

[JRTJH]

If you've got air suspension on your truck, are you following the RAM set-up procedures properly? Not to say you aren't, but if you set up your WD bars, then start the truck and the suspension "raises or adjusts" then you've "unset" your weight distribution....

Might be something to check to be sure you're doing it "the right way" (not saying you're doing it wrong, but stranger things have happened on this forum.)

[mfifield01]

I have a very similar setup. Not sure of your exact model, but my wheelbase is probably 9" longer. I let the dealer set mine up after I turned off the Air Suspension in settings. I then took it to a CAT Scale. It was close, but I was able to get it tweaked a little better (added a washer). I'm happy with my setup, but I do feel some push from taller vehicles (semi's, boxed vans, etc.).

[BadmanRick]

If you have a 28’ trailer the experts recommend two sway bars. A second one is cheap enough and your weight distribution hitch should have holes for two.

[oldognewtrick]

In pulling a Bullet Ultra Lite 30' with a 2013 Ram 1500 and fought sway and push from wind and passing semi's. I just bought an Equalizer 4 PT hitch and the difference is night and day. Just got back from a 150 mile trip and no more white nuckles. Pricey, but definitely worth it.

[linux3]

OK, I have a smaller TT but because my kitchen and pantry are behind the axles I have found that putting 1/3 ~ 1/2 full tank of fresh water, which is in the front, helps a lot with sway.
It puts more weight on the tongue and keeps things steady.
I put around 10k miles a year on the TT. That first T stands for travel.
Give it a try.

[jtludwig]

In pulling a Bullet Ultra Lite 30' with a 2013 Ram 1500 and fought sway and push from wind and passing semi's. I just bought an Equalizer 4 PT hitch and the difference is night and day. Just got back from a 150 mile trip and no more white nuckles. Pricey, but definitely worth it.



I agree. The OP needs a better hitch beyond just the basic weight distributing hitch with a friction sway bar.

I use the blue ox hitch and it has been great. There are other great hitches out there as well, such as the Equalizer.

[Booch]

Interesting... I never considered a better hitch. I've got the same Husky setup that came with my first TT 8 years ago (a 3600lb hybrid). The dealer did set it up on the 2810 (and I made sure they knew to turn off the air suspension). It is level with the air suspension off.

Found out my neighbor has that Equalizer hitch on his 29', and he said in 9 years he's never had a sway problem, never felt out of control. So, guess I'm gettin' me a new hitch!

Hypothetical question: Would this same sway still be noticeable if I moved up to a 3/4 ton truck with my existing hitch?

Thanks for the input, everyone.

[Gegrad]

Interesting... I never considered a better hitch.

Hypothetical question: Would this same sway still be noticeable if I moved up to a 3/4 ton truck with my existing hitch?

Thanks for the input, everyone.

Absolutely will still have sway. That hitch you are using is not designed to handle a bigger trailer and the sway you are seeing. That friction hitch with the 4 point sway control will change your world. I have a 1/2 ton and my trailer is roughly the same length as yours.. I have zero issues with sway with my Husky Center Line. Can cruise all day at 65 mph and have zip for sway even when semis pass me doing 75 mph. Just make sure you get one with the 4 pt sway.

[ctbruce]

Interesting... I never considered a better hitch. I've got the same Husky setup that came with my first TT 8 years ago (a 3600lb hybrid). The dealer did set it up on the 2810 (and I made sure they knew to turn off the air suspension). It is level with the air suspension off.

Found out my neighbor has that Equalizer hitch on his 29', and he said in 9 years he's never had a sway problem, never felt out of control. So, guess I'm gettin' me a new hitch!

Hypothetical question: Would this same sway still be noticeable if I moved up to a 3/4 ton truck with my existing hitch?

Thanks for the input, everyone.Maybe, maybe not. Depends on how you are loaded. Check that you have adequate weight on your tongue. Linux3 made good points a few posts back.

[linux3]

That friction hitch with the 4 point sway control will change your world. I have a 1/2 ton and my trailer is roughly the same length as yours.. I have zero issues with sway with my Husky Center Line. Can cruise all day at 65 mph and have zip for sway even when semis pass me doing 75 mph. Just make sure you get one with the 4 pt sway.
I have a Husky Center Line and the brackets mounted to the TT frame are rusting.
Customer Service at Husky said I should coat them with grease to prevent rust. Doesn't make sense. With grease I lose the friction of the spring bars to the brackets and it's no longer a 4 point hitch.

Thoughts? What do I do about the rust?

[Gegrad]

I have a Husky Center Line and the brackets mounted to the TT frame are rusting.
Customer Service at Husky said I should coat them with grease to prevent rust. Doesn't make sense. With grease I lose the friction of the spring bars to the brackets and it's no longer a 4 point hitch.

Thoughts? What do I do about the rust?

Use the hitch more? :lol:

In all seriousness, if you are talking about deep rust during long term sitting, you could coat them with a light dabble of grease. Just wipe them off thoroughly before travelling. If you are talking about light surface rust in between monthly trips, then that will go away the minute you turn a corner with them connected. They are designed to drag and that drag will remove the rust quickly, similar to how hitting your brakes a few times removes the rust off your disc brakes after you leave it sitting in the airport parking lot for a week.

[ctbruce]

I would think that one through first. What does their manual say about this?

[sourdough]

I don't know about Husky but Equalizer recommends putting a light coat of grease on the friction points. Did it without and with....no difference.

[ctbruce]

I don't know about Husky but Equalizer recommends putting a light coat of grease on the friction points. Did it without and with....no difference.Only going from memory here, but I believe the Equalizer manual specifically states not to lube the L brackets. The friction points mentioned are in the head unit.

[Gegrad]

My Husky manual specifically says not to lube the L brackets. The point to lube is the ball and, if needed, where the bars slide into the head.

[sourdough]

Only going from memory here, but I believe the Equalizer manual specifically states not to lube the L brackets. The friction points mentioned are in the head unit.

Yes, the manual specifies lubing the friction points on the head - after re-reading my post was unclear and implied lubing the L brackets. Here is what the manual says;

"The friction surfaces of the head and sockets should be kept clean and well lubricated with a good quality multi-purpose or bearing grease. These are the surfaces where the arm sockets rub against the top and bottom plates of the head. See Figure 23. We recommend Equal-i-zer high performance lubricant. They should be lubricated before each trip. Check for damage or abnormal wear at the beginning of each towing day and replace if necessary. Clean dirt and road grit from all friction surfaces regularly. All nuts and bolts should be checked before each towing day and be tightened or replaced if necessary."


The L brackets will cause some noise which is pretty much eliminated with the addition of the L bracket covers made by Equalizer. To me, adding the covers on the L brackets is like lubing but they seem to make no difference in the performance of the hitch. Here is an excerpt from the manual pertaining to their use:

"Noise: Noise is a normal occurance when towing a trailer and using any weight distribution or sway control hitch. The majority of hitch noise can be eliminated by lubricating the friction surfaces of the head as shown in Figure 23. In some cases the friction on the L-brackets can generate noise. Lubricating this joint is not recommended. A better solution is a set of official Equali-zer brand Sway Bracket Jackets™. They quiet the ride and reduce wear without the mess of using a lubricant."

My L brackets made noise. The addition of the "jackets" pretty much eliminated that.

[bbells]

IMHO, find the instructions for the installation of your weight distribution hitch and sway bars. If the instructions for yours aren't clear enough, just find a brand that is similar. Equalizer has good instructions. Then, re setup everything. The dealer had my hitch at the wrong angle and it caused excess weight on the trailers front wheels. Simply changing the angle fixed my problem. You may be able to fix yours the same way, or if your dealer screwed up the installation (they almost always do), find a flat area, grab a tape measure, and reset everything yourself per instructions. It is easy and kind of fun. Also, if you have 2 axles lube the joints connecting them. Next, adjust your trailer brakes to make sure none of them are dragging.

[Bttravel]

From all the comments about sway, noise and grease I realize how much I love my Andersen hitch. I have none of the above. Quick and easy hookup and unhook. After replacing china bombs with Goodyear Endurance E range it's even better. Straight and true even on not the best of roads.

[FlyingAroundRV]

When we got our Outback 272UFL, Ryan at Dan's hitch in Elkhart reccomended a Husky Centerline HD. At $900 I felt it was pricey, but I wanted something that would make towing easy.
It certainly does that!
We are currently in Virginia and their roads have random cambers...like all over the place. The roads here throw you left and right at alalrming rates. Our TT just sits behind the truck and except that the truck accelerates and decelerates a bit slower, I don't even know the trailer is there.
THAT is what I wanted from my hitch when I forked out all the $$$.

[jefisch]

Check this out...

https://www.facebook.com/TechInsiderUK/videos/662135150660541/?fref=gs&dti=124433330976510&hc_location=group

[mikec557]

In pulling a Bullet Ultra Lite 30' with a 2013 Ram 1500 and fought sway and push from wind and passing semi's. I just bought an Equalizer 4 PT hitch and the difference is night and day. Just got back from a 150 mile trip and no more white nuckles. Pricey, but definitely worth it.

I second the Equalizer 4 pt hitch (mine is the 10k lbs model). Using this, sway is a non-topic.

Mike

[mikec557]

I should look before posting, but I'm camping and can't look, so ignore me if I'm wrong, but.. When I recently bought the tube of Equalizer grease it said to lightly grease the pivoting points on the hitch head and NOT the brackets on the trailer tongue. For that location they sell an odd shaped piece of plastic for the spring bars to slide on "in lieu" of iron on iron. Sounds like it would reduce the anti-sway but quiet the moaning. I bought and tried them. It didn't seem to adversely effect the anti sway, but I run without them now. Just didn't like the idea of reducing the friction of steel on steel...

[Ittle Dew Too]

I have a 2015 28rbs and an Equalizer hitch with my F150 Super Crew. We have towed it 15000 miles around the country and over every major mountain range in the lower 48. No sway and no push from passing trucks. A very comfortable towing experience.

[RagingRobert]

I'm towing a Cougar rbs22 with a Husky centre line weight distribution hitch with built in sway control (I know sounds impressive and it is :) and worth every penny...drives like I'm towing nothing except when going uphill of course :) Sway is non existent. Loading your RV properly is important...I'm actually low on hitch weight according to my 800-1200 lb rating...so I load mostly the front of the RV and a little weight to the rear of my 2500 Express cargo van...it drives like a sports RV :)

[Retired Copper]

A lot of the top hitch makers now have a Equalizer 4pt. sway control clone and that is a good thing. The Equalizer has been around for 70years so I guess they are doing something right and it works for a lot of folks.

[foldbak]

Cougar Half Ton 27SABWE towed with a 2012 Ford Expedition with tow package. Husky weight distribution with dual friction sway control. Level and no sway. The dog has 2/3 of the vehicle :)

[BAPotter]

I tow a 251 Bullet with both a Tahoe and GMC 2500 with air bags. Also a 14000 lb Equalizer hitch and no sway issues. Air Suspension really messes up the tow characteristic and increases sway (as alluded to previously.) This link will explain better. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBZu39pQ8Gg&t=2s

[RagingRobert]

Yes indeed, towing is the tense part of RVing/camping :) A proper set up that feels solid/tight makes is less stressful and worth the time and money not to mention the safety factor.

Let's camp!

[mikec557]

Oops. I posted this into the wrong thread. Sorry about that...

Mike

[Booch]

Well, 450 miles this weekend using my shiny new Equal-i-zer hitch... and it was awesome. Thanks for the tips, everyone.

[oldognewtrick]

Well, 450 miles this weekend using my shiny new Equal-i-zer hitch... and it was awesome. Thanks for the tips, everyone.

Good deal, glad it worked out for the best. I love the way mine handles. Sure wish the dealer would of mentioned the upgrade when I bought my trailer..
Oh well, live and learn.

[RagingRobert]

I just had an interesting thought/concern with these type hitches. You know how when you hitch and coupler up then crank up both the RV and the tow vehicle via your electric jack to make it easy to install the bars...I wondering if it's not hard on the jack and the coupler lifting both vehicle and RV? I know I hear the jack labouring...

[jtludwig]

I just had an interesting thought/concern with these type hitches. You know how when you hitch and coupler up then crank up both the RV and the tow vehicle via your electric jack to make it easy to install the bars...I wondering if it's not hard on the jack and the coupler lifting both vehicle and RV? I know I hear the jack labouring...



Well good luck doing it without using the jack. A replacement electric jack doesn’t cost very much $$$ so I wouldn’t worry about it.

I also wouldn’t worry about the coupler, considering all of the stresses that it is subject to as you’re hauling down the road, around curves, and over bumps.

[sourdough]

I just had an interesting thought/concern with these type hitches. You know how when you hitch and coupler up then crank up both the RV and the tow vehicle via your electric jack to make it easy to install the bars...I wondering if it's not hard on the jack and the coupler lifting both vehicle and RV? I know I hear the jack labouring...

That's what they're made for. Imagine taking your hand crank to try to jack up the truck/trailer to get the sway bars off....don't think so. Or, don't use anything at all and try to pull the wdh bars by yanking them...once, only once...almost lost a knee cap. I posted the instructions from Equalizer on how to disconnect....you raise the truck/trailer.

[ctbruce]

I just had an interesting thought/concern with these type hitches. You know how when you hitch and coupler up then crank up both the RV and the tow vehicle via your electric jack to make it easy to install the bars...I wondering if it's not hard on the jack and the coupler lifting both vehicle and RV? I know I hear the jack labouring...Lifting the weight not moving on level ground is a whole lot less stress on the latch and ball than driving it on the interstate.

[Booch]

Most reputable electrics are rated for at least 3500lbs. That's plenty to cover the tongue weight and raising the rear of the truck up a few inches. Don't even think twice about it.

[JRTJH]

Let's see: I don't want to use a jack rated at 3500 pounds to lift 3000 pounds because it might put too much stress on it, but I'll tow a 7000 pound trailer with a 900 pound tongue weight with my truck that's rated to tow 7500 pounds with a maximum tongue weight rating on the hitch of 1000 pounds, and freely state that it's designed to tow that much, so no problem ???

Seems to me that's displaced concern for a $200 jack while no concern about a $45,000 truck ????

My DW has a "favorite carving knife" that she never uses, not even at Thanksgiving.... "I don't want it to get dull" is the reason..... :whistling:

[RagingRobert]

Thanks for the reassurances...