Trailer Sway

[Sluggo]

Wondering what is causing my boat trailer to sway at 60 mph or more when pulled behind my fifth wheel camper?

So I have a 2015 Ford F150 with a 6.5 foot box with a fifth wheel hitch obviously. Then a "small" 26 foot old Wilderness fifth wheel camper followed by a 1860 Ranger. The receiver hitch on the camper was custom installed by Glenn's Welding.

I used to have a 97 Chevy, same camper and a 16 foot Yarcraft that I could pull as fast as the Chevy could muster without any swaying.

The boat pulls wonderfully straight when hitched directly to the Ford.

Any ideas on what could be causing the sway?

 

[Retired Educator]

Oh boy, that's just too easy. That happens when you switch from a Chevy to a Ford.

 

[JUSTWINGNIT]

Ford...that's the problem. But seriously the boat weight is more. Maybe the tires on the camper. .or the height of the hitch on the back of the camper changed with the new truck? Aka.. better suspension on the truck equals lower bumper height on the rear of the camper? Just a thought

 

[Ericb]

I agree with Justwingnit. Boat hitch is probably to high not putting enough weight on the hitch.

I'd Probly check the tire wear just to make sure the trailer tires arnt out of alignment.

 

[Sluggo]

Ford...that's the problem. But seriously the boat weight is more. Maybe the tires on the camper. .or the height of the hitch on the back of the camper changed with the new truck? Aka.. better suspension on the truck equals lower bumper height on the rear of the camper? Just a thought

The camper is a little low in back. Can that be the cause?

PS - the 3.5 Ford Eco out pulls the 5.7 Chevy Vortec, no contest. They Chevy served me well, tho.

 

[raider]

geometry...

hook up the boat to the truck and measure the distance from the ground to the top or bottom of the boat hitch with it hooked up... compare that to the same distance of the hookup between the camper and boat... if it is different, adjust accordingly with a different rise/drop receiver hitch on your camper...

no charge...

 

[Allen]

I have a 2009 F250, 32 ft fifth wheel, and a 17,5 ft Fisherman that I hook together. Only time I ever see the boat get a little squirrely is when I am not paying attention to my driving on a twisty, bumpy road, like 1804 to Beaver.

Does it do it religiously, or is there a particular road that may be the issue?

And like others have said, do your best with adjusting the hitch on the back of the camper to make sure your boat is being pulled level. Either too far up or too far down may be a problem.

 

[sweeney]

You need to get more weight on your truck all the weight is on the rear axle of the camper either adjust the height of your king pin or your hitch before you crash the thing. I bet you really notice it when you crest a hill and the wagon train starts pushing the light truck downhill. Once you level out your camper the same will have to be done with your boat by either inverting your ball or getting a drop depending on how your boat is sitting when things are level the eco-bum should pull that set up no problem 75 down the interstate.

 

[ndweimer]

Had similar results with my dads camper boat setup. A lot of times its because their isn't enough weight on the tongue. With dads Lund we were able to move his front roller ahead. This allowed us to slide the boat forward and put more weight on the front of the trailer. The other thing we did was buy trailer sway friction bar. Reese or Pro Serious can be found on Amazon for around $35. Super easy to install. Between those two adjustments we were able to remove the sway. Before the adjustments max speed was 60mph, now we can easily pull over 70mph with no sway.

 

[espringers]

It's the tongue height where the boat is connected to the camper. 97%. The boys above shot ya straight.

 

[Wild and Free]

Gawd I wish like heck the state would crack down on GCVW for this reason, I see way too many 1/2 ton pickups trying to pull doubles piled up in ditches.
No way in hell should a 1/2 ton be pulling loads like this down the road period.

 

[sweeney]

I think the gcvw on one of those is around 17000 lbs, with a 5-6000lb 5th wheel and 4000lb boat I'm guessing he is within the limits.

 

[Wild and Free]

If I as a CDL holder need to take a special test to get a double/triple endorsement then the average Joe should not be able to pull them without going through the endorsement test and safety walk around test same as CDL holders need to.

 

[sweeney]

meh I see a lot of guys with CDL's that shouldn't be driving a metro let alone a semi

 

[Retired-Guy]

meh I see a lot of guys with CDL's that shouldn't be driving a metro let alone a semi

Right on Sweeney!

 

[Fishmission]

I'm sure he had no sway with this set up.

 

[Sub_Elect]

Gawd I wish like heck the state would crack down on GCVW for this reason, I see way too many 1/2 ton pickups trying to pull doubles piled up in ditches.
No way in hell should a 1/2 ton be pulling loads like this down the road period.

In all my driving I have NEVER seen a 1/2 ton with a camper piled up in a ditch! Hell, Ive never seen a 3\4 or 1 ton with a camper piled up in a ditch. I will continue to pull my rig with my 1\2 ton to the distain of all CDL and big rig drivers out there. SORRY!!!

To answer the question at hand. Sluggo, it is absolutely a weight transfer issue, Sweeney nailed it. I pull a 28' 5th wheel and a 21' boat behind my 1\2 ton Ford Ecoboost all the time and it drives straight and no tail wag. I did have to raise my campers kingpin (which lowers the front of the camper when hooked to the pickup) and flip around my campers receiver hitch so I had a 2" raised instead of a 2" drop. Also needed to raise the 5th wheel plate in my pickup so the camper would clear to box sides, I think I have like 8" from box rails to the bottom of the campers nose where it over hangs. You ultimately are trying to get the frame of the camper level with the road and the boats trailer frame level with the road. Get it as close as you can and you should have zero issues. Happy trailering!

- - - Updated - - -

If I as a CDL holder need to take a special test to get a double/triple endorsement then the average Joe should not be able to pull them without going through the endorsement test and safety walk around test same as CDL holders need to.

I don't disagree with you on this point. I think there are way too many people that shouldn't be aloud to operate a blender, let alone a vehicle!

 

[Captain Ahab]

Gawd I wish like heck the state would crack down on GCVW for this reason, I see way too many 1/2 ton pickups trying to pull doubles piled up in ditches.
No way in hell should a 1/2 ton be pulling loads like this down the road period.

A lot of the new half tons have similar tow ratings as a 10 year old 3/4 ton, FYI.

I'd bet it is hitch height as well. If you lower the hitch, I bet the sway goes away.

 

[Sluggo]

Thanks all. I know a lot of things (or at least I think I do), but this kinda stuff escapes me. My camper does stick up a little in front but I cannot lower it anymore without risking hitting the box. I believe I will try raising the receiver hitch 2 or 4 inches to make sure the boat is level. That would be a quick thing to try. I currently make only 1 or 2 short trips a year with the train.

 

[Captain Ahab]

Thanks all. I know a lot of things (or at least I think I do), but this kinda stuff escapes me. My camper does stick up a little in front but I cannot lower it anymore without risking hitting the box. I believe I will try raising the receiver hitch 2 or 4 inches to make sure the boat is level. That would be a quick thing to try. I currently make only 1 or 2 short trips a year with the train.

I was talking about lowering the boat hitch point, not the camper.