Sway control

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by sxvipers

Tires are stock size 285/45R22, Load ID- XL, Load/speed code - 114H, 2601 lbs carrying capacity. GVWR 7500 LBS.GAWR FRONT 3950 LBS, REAR 3950 LBS. Hitch brand is Buyers
I ordered a Hellwig rear axle sway bar for the truck today. was told it will help .

I don't think those will be OE tires or wheels. Maybe someone was putting OE 22" wheels on a truck in 2017 but I'm not aware of it. That said, you need to look the wheels over closely, they are "show off" wheels and not "work/towing" wheels. A 45 profile tire trying to carry a 7200lb. trailer just isn't going to work well. I find nothing about a Buyer's wdh that appears to be adequate for that size trailer. You have not said if it even has sway control but even if it did it's not a stout enough hitch for that trailer/truck combo. The sway bar MIGHT help but it won't fix poor tires, suspension and hitch problems. Those XL tires are just passenger tires with an "extra load" designation, you need to get regular light truck (LT tires) in a better (normal) size for towing that trailer.

[flybouy]

I don't see how a sway bar will help unless you define help as putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound. A sway bar works by placing a torsion bar on an axle from side to side thus countering the "body roll" when cornering. They work great for that but that's not what's happening when a travel trailer sways. Unfortunatly the word "sway" is used universally but it isn't the same thing.

With the travel trailer there's one point of contact between the trailer and truck, that's the hitch ball. It's a single pivot point if you don't have a hitch with sway control. When you have a long heavy trailer it acts like a pendulum. The longer and heavier the more force will be applied. It's like holding a sledgehammer straight out from your side with your hand on the end of the handle.

When the trailer encounters a side force such as a crosswind or road surface defects like ruts push the trailer off center the weight will overcome any resistance and the trailer will continue in that direction. With a light truck/heavy trailer that momentum will overcome the resistance of the truck and pull the rear of the truck in that direction. The driver steers in the opposite direction and the oscillation of the pendulum effect begins. The faster you drive the higher the velocity and the greater the resultant vector . In other words the higher the speed the greater the impact, just like a few grains of lead can have the impact of hundreds of pounds at high velocity.

The bottom line is your the truck is not appropriate to tow the trailer, period. Ain't no way of sugar coating it. Will a new rear sway bar help? Probably not enough to really notice and not a very good return on the investment. IMO that money would be far better spent on a quality 4 pt sway control hitch.

A good sway control hitch will be the most effective first step but that won't "fix" it. The high profile soft sidewall tires will be the next "week link". When you were a kid did you ever set on a ballon? It was fun to wiggle back and forth. That's exactly what your truck is doing on those "Ballon tires". After the wheels and tires get replaced you then have a suspension that's soft because it's engineered to articulate over rough surfaces.

By the time you chase all those issues it will still be a 1/2 ton truck that's too light with a frame that has too much flex for towing a large, heavy, high center of gravity box behind it. Vehichles are tools for transportation. Typically they are designed and engineered towards a specific task. People movers like vans don't make good slalom racers. Cars built for great handling (race cars) don't make good off road racers. Trucks built for off reading simply put make lousy tow vehichles.

Good luck with your Hellwig sway bar, the label will look good but don't expect it to fix your towing issues.

[bsmith0404]

What Flybouy said is a very good explanation. Everything is spot on except the part about your tires. I think he mistook the info about what you have there. The 22” 45 profile tire basically has a 5” sidewall height compared to something like a 285/75r18 which has an 8” sidewall. A person would think that would be great for towing since you should get less deflection, unfortunately that’s not the case. They’re not a good load carrying tire. 2600 lbs each sounds like it would be enough, but when you compare them to an LT LRE tire that can support over 3000 lbs each. If it were mine, I’m addition to a much better hitch, I’d go to a 285/65R18 tire which is slightly larger than your current tire, won’t have much impact on things like your Speedo or ABS, but has a better load carrying capacity and will be more stable for towing. You may be able to find an LT LRE tire in the 22”, but I think most people with experience towing will recommend a 17, 18, or 20” max rim. If you look at the big 3, they typically put 18 or 20s on their HD trucks for a reason.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

What Flybouy said is a very good explanation. Everything is spot on except the part about your tires. I think he mistook the info about what you have there. The 22” 45 profile tire basically has a 5” sidewall height compared to something like a 285/75r18 which has an 8” sidewall. A person would think that would be great for towing since you should get less deflection, unfortunately that’s not the case. They’re not a good load carrying tire. 2600 lbs each sounds like it would be enough, but when you compare them to an LT LRE tire that can support over 3000 lbs each. If it were mine, I’m addition to a much better hitch, I’d go to a 285/65R18 tire which is slightly larger than your current tire, won’t have much impact on things like your Speedo or ABS, but has a better load carrying capacity and will be more stable for towing. You may be able to find an LT LRE tire in the 22”, but I think most people with experience towing will recommend a 17, 18, or 20” max rim. If you look at the big 3, they typically put 18 or 20s on their HD trucks for a reason.

I mistated the high profile and thanks for pointing that out. The rest is still true, a soft sidewall (lower psi) tire will act like a balloon. Low profile tires are designed to allow sidewall flex so the tread stays in contact with the road during high speed cornering and doesn't cup or lift. So while those 22's may look gangster they are not ideal for weight bearing or stability.

Just a general addition to the discussion. If you want to visualize what I'm talking about then try this, drive your truck to a dealer that sells trucks. Push on the side of your trucks bed at the rear. Note the sideways movement. Do the same with a "standard" 1/2 ton truck. Then repeate the action with a 3/4 or 1 ton truck. I think you'll see the difference.

[sourdough]

Correction to my post #21; the Sierra All Terrain WAS offered with a 285/45R22 tire. In reviewing Discount Tire the only offerings for this size wheel are the passenger tires in SL and XL load ratings. That limitation alone suggests to me that the truck was never meant to be a heavy load carrier. It also suggests that there could very well be a limitation on the weight limitations of the wheels. The pictures of the 22" wheels I could find on an All Terrain were pretty open in the middle with lots of little thin bars from the rim to the hub. Didn't look very stout to have 5-6k lbs. pounding on them for hundreds of miles.

OP I'm sorry all this is not what you want to hear but a truck meant to tow and a truck meant for "show" are 2 very different things. A sway bar isn't going to do anything for you with all the problems you have and some of those problems can get you into very serious, very dangerous trouble real quick.

Get back with us on the payload of that truck. I figure you will be very close on that which is problematic, possibly over the rating of your wheels when loaded and your hitch and sway control (if you even have the bars) are not up to trying to tow that trailer safely.

[208boondocker]

We have a 2890rl as well! The towing issue you speak of is an issue for us as well. We use a wdh with a 22 ram 1500 bighorn 5.7 8speed. Plenty of power, plenty of brake without any issues pulling long grades or stopping whatsoever. HOWEVER, it just simply isn't enough truck to be commanding that much weight firmly. Yes, the specs are well withing the manufacturer recommended weight, we are less then 70% of max rating when fully loaded, with airbags under the rear end. Our rig still has a feel like it wants to "walk" slightly on highway and mountain both. Tried adjusting tire pressures and weight distribution tension, but the issue is ongoing. We will be upgrading to a 1 ton at some point, but for now it works.

[rlh1957]

Trailer too heavy tor truck

[jvbutter01]

Originally Posted by bsmith0404

Also keep in mind, is half ton will never feel as good as a 3/4 or 1 to. It’s just too light of a vehicle compared, but with a proper set up, it should feel like it’s all over the place.

So so true. I had a 2015 Ram 1500. Had all the muscle to pull our TT (2020 2900RLWS) WDH installed / setup. Stopping was ok due to the trailer brakes. Added rear air bags to help with trailer sag. Still had sway. All in all, it was ok to drive, there was some white knuckle experiences when the winds pick up, and or a semi passing by. We recently swapped out the 1500 for a 2500. Night and day. More payload, more tow capacity, more weight holding things together in the wind. Best decision we made.

[jvbutter01]

one more thing, hit your local scales. We found in the 1500 we had tooooooo much tongue weight. was adding to our problems. Do to logging we have scales in the outsides of town on the highways. I spent time there with the package, then unload the front compartment, adjusting the hitch. Time spent there makes better driver later on.

[rlh1957]

You hit the nail with TV model!
Even if a 150 or 1500 is rated to tow the load and still find yourself within limits for trailer and truck the experience, feel and control will feel much different and better. In this case more is better with the right equipment. Air back to help raise up sag, weight distribution and anti-sway hitch, as well as CAT Scale stop to confirm your actual loaded weight of axles, trailer, tongue and gross loading of your Tow Vehicle. (Yes all passengers need to be on board)

Believe it or not there are thousands out there riding around out of balance, over-loaded, over-weight, improper inflation or tires unfit for the road.

I could have towed safely and been literally on the line 150, but a half ton towable fifth wheel to me was a marketing pipe dream.
A 250 is really what was needed… so wife said get a 350 it will tow more if we decide one day to upsize!
350 tows it like a dream.