Adequate Tow Vehicle Rating

[scrubjaysnest]

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

That is saying a lot.

Since April 2005 I have never experienced sway towing my 2720.

If anyone is experiencing sway towing a 2720 then it would seem to be that it depends on what you are towing it with.

Or, the TM tires were under inflated.

Over 12k miles last year no sway.

[mjlaupp]

Originally Posted by mjlaupp

....My experience is that the dual axle 3326 is less prone to sway than the single axle 2720.

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

That is saying a lot.

Since April 2005 I have never experienced sway towing my 2720.

If anyone is experiencing sway towing a 2720 then it would seem to be that it depends on what you are towing it with.

What can I say but that it happened with both my F150 ('97 2720, '02 2720SL & '03 2720SL w/WDH) and with my F250 ('03 2720SL no/WDH) on truck rutted, asphalt paved roads in Arkansas.

I have never had this happen with the F250 Crew Cab short bed / 3326 combination.

Or, the TM tires were under inflated.

This happened once with my '97 2720. (Short run to the dealer, "I don't need to do all that tow prep stuff.") The TM got to bouncing from tire to tire which then turned into sway. I was towing with my '02 F150 standard cab short bed no WDH. Now, I check and inflate my tires at the start of each day's run.

Originally Posted by scrubjaysnest

Over 12k miles last year no sway.

In general, I find that my dual axle 3326 tows better in all respects than any one of my single axle 2720's. There is less chucking and bounding on the rougher roads. However, the extra tongue weight on the 3326 has me right on the edge where I could use the WDH on the F250. I might try my Eaz-Lift 1000# no sway control this year and see if it really makes a difference.

[Mr. Adventure]

Trailer sway in full height travel trailers is a huge and awful problem. It made the one I used to own difficult to keep on the road, in spite of a full sized Ford truck for a TV. It was an awkward vehicle that I would never want to own again.

To the extent TrailManor sway is a problem, I share the thought that it should be a bigger problem for those of us with smaller tow vehicles. My TV/TM combination is very stable on the road, much better than the TT or even the 22,000# motorhome I used to own. I really don't think sway is an issue for TM's unless you're tail heavy from an improperly adjusted WDH or towing with some other out of balance condition that makes the tongue light, of course.

However I can imagine an important possible advantage for the Hensley Hitch concept on the stopping side of the equation: It's possible that the Hensley hitch could restrict a side to side jack-knifing motion at the hitch ball in a panic stop, and it's possible that might help keep you inside the lines in an exciting moment some day. I read the Hensley white paper and their marketing stuff, all of which is about controlling the sway problem of full height travel trailers, so it is not possible to tell from the information available whether this potential advantage is just imaginary on my part.

We've had very little experience in this forum with either TM accidents or panic stops, a very, very good thing. We have almost no experience with Hensley, so I appreciate the remarks of those of you who do. However, given the challenges we've had in understanding and explaining our ordinary WDH's, I have my doubts that we're going to figure this one out in my lifetime.

Thinking about trapezoids:

Sorry to have to speculate about something so important, but I didn't find an awful lot of detail from the Hensley people to work from. Most of their hitch pitch is pointed toward controlling trailer sway, a big problem for travel trailer owners but not such a big deal for us with folding models. The essence of how the hitch works is when the trailer swings to one side, the hitch resists a bit on the inside and pulls a little bit harder on the other. Not a bad plan for helping with trailer sway. But if that's all that's in the hitch besides a couple friction driven sway controls (nothing special to control the hitch when it's in compression), then what's laudable in pull risks becoming lamentable in push. In towing the trailer is happier in the middle. In stopping, however, the reverse could be true and the hitch could work against a straight stop more than a simple hitch ball. I'm not thinking this hitch is either necessary or necessarily a good thing for a low center of gravity trailer like a TrailManor, and it might actually add to vehicle instability in a skid.

[Bill]

Pop Beavers posted

Or, the TM tires were under inflated.

For my rig, anyway, this idea goes beyond sway.

I believe that the specifed tire pressure on the door sticker of most vehicles is chosen to produce a comfy ride, while not being so soft as to degrade mpg. Most people want a comfy ride from their vehicles. For my Explorer, the specified pressure is 32 psi front / 35 psi rear, IIRC. When I hook up my TM, I don't get sway, but the handling does feel a little mushy or squirrelly, which I find unpleasant. I learned long ago that if I boost the pressure in the Explorer's tires, things are much improved.

In my case, the tire sidewall says max pressure is 44 psi, and I don't go there. But I do run the pressure up to 38-40 psi. The trick is to remember to lower the pressure back to "comfy" when the trip is over and I'm back home. Failure to lower it results in overinflation wear at the center of the tread.

Just my own personal experience - but it might have wider relevance.

Bill

After many years of towing I found that LT (using close to max 80 PSI) tires will provide the best control when towing (on the TV). The extra sidewall strength makes a big difference. I hate to make tire recommendations (or oil) but these tire (IMHO) have proved to be the best tires for on pavement for trucks and SUVs (especially when towing). They do EVERYTHING great!

http://michelinman.com/tire-selector...2/tire-details

Koz

Just out of curiosoty, I talked to the Hensley salesman and he confirmed their hitch can not be configured in any way to use with a TM swing hitch.

On another note, a friend of mine-a newbie who was interested in a TM until he was able to trade his boat for a 32 foot TT - did buy a Hensley hitch for this new monster rig of his. He saw the Hensley demo and was sold. Since I encouraged him to get an RV in the first place, I seconded his interest in the Hensley, actually brought it to his attention from the info in this forum. As someone with limited towing experience he (and I ) feel much better about towing his RV with this set up. Score another one for the Forum and it sure is fun spending other people's money...!

Originally Posted by Pitbull

I hate to make tire recommendations (or oil) but these tire (IMHO) have proved to be the best tires for on pavement for trucks and SUVs (especially when towing). They do EVERYTHING great!

http://michelinman.com/tire-selector...2/tire-details

I too have heard excellent reviews of these tires. They're more a Highway than All-Terrain tire but apparently are great at what they do. Will have to switch wheel sizes when the time comes but think it will be worth it.

[mjlaupp]

Just a reminder: The older TM's with the 14" tires required the pressure to be at the 50# Max PSI rating.

On the day I towed my '97 to the dealer and experienced the bounce/sway problem, I found that one of the tires was at 43# and the other at 45#. The dealer inflated the tires up to 50# and I had no problems on the way back home.

My TM tires are always at 50#. My F250 tires are at 55# front and rear. I raise the rear tires to 60# when towing the TM.

I run the rear of the TV around 60 when not towing. I run around 75 when towing.

I drove my Chevy to Phoenix once. I had the tires running soft to make a comfy ride. the were too soft. In every turn on the freeway it felt like the rear was swaying.

[Mr. Adventure]

To get to the maximum load rating of a tire, you have to go to the maximum pressure on the sidewall. So tire pressure needs to be set based on load conditions, and load conditions when towing are higher.

In the old days I got tired of the tire guy always blaming my vehicle for alignment problems at replacement time because of those worn tread edges, with better tread in the center. I found that pressures closer to the sidewall max give me better gas mileage and much better tread wear than the doorpost spec in everyday driving, and boosting the tire pressure is the only way to make tires wear evenly.

After Ford found out they had big problems with recommending 28psi tires on early Ford Explorers, I decided you can't afford to just believe everything they tell you. A side benefit is that I haven't had tire guys complaining about alignment any more. I also prefer the crisper steering that comes with higher inflation pressures.