I apologize, I know there are probably already a bunch of threads about this. I purchased a 15 XLT Eco Screw 4X4 over the winter and so far love the truck. However, I hooked it to my 30 foot travel trailer about a month ago for the first 200 mile trip of the year, and spent the next 4 hours white knuckle driving down the highway. The camper was all over the road, and I felt I had very little control. Keep in mind this is the same camper I have owned for 7 years and towed in the past with a 04 5.4L Scab 4X4 and a 13 XLT Eco Screw 4X4. Nothing else changed.

I spent a Saturday morning re-adjusting the same Reese weight distribution hitch that I have used with all three trucks, thinking maybe that was the issue. No change.

This morning, I went to local camping store to have them evaluate my trailer sway issue, They suggested I add a dual cam sway control kit, which they installed. Some improvement, but on the highway at 65, still do no feel 100% comfortable.

We are leaving in 5 days for a 3 week vacation of camping from NY to FL. I hate to see our vacation ruined because I am a nervous wreck trying to drive a camper that will not stay behind my truck, especially because it is a brand new truck with a $400 sway control system added to it.

My last thought is tires. Currently running stock Wrangler P275/65/18. I hate to think that i need to get spend $1000 on new tires on a new truck with just over 7K miles, but if it means i can safely haul my camper down the road, I will.

Again, same trailer and towing setup as I had on all three trucks in the past and no other significant issues.

I appreciate everyone's help so that we can have a fun and safe vacation next week.

 

Air the tires up to the max pressure. Try turning off the truck's sway control. RAS, air bags, swaybar. There are many complaints about towing. Google..... It seems to be travel trailer people more than car or boat trailers.

 

Have you taken this rig across a CAT scale to get axle weights first without WD components engaged and then a second time with the WDH adjusted to your "normal" setting?

Adjusting load and WDH are my first place to look when talking about trailer sway issues.

If you have problems interpreting your scale tickets, feel free to post them.

 

What GoodYear tires do you have, are they the Wrangler SRA's? What does your trailer weigh? I'm guessing 6000 lbs, your truck should handle that with no problems. Seems more like a setup issue. The scales might be the best place to start.

 

The Wrangler Fortitude HT is an awful tire. I took them off my truck at 8500 miles. The trucks sway control will work against the equalizer hitch and cause weird things to happen.

 

I think it is your tires. Max psi on the tires and see what that does.

Also what speed are you running? If over 65 mph slow down to that and see if that helps as well.

LT tires maybe needed.

 

Yes, Wrangler SRA. Trailer is about 6-7K, depending on how much the wife loads it up. Dash shows tires are at 42 PSI now. I am headed out now to increase to confirmed 51 psi max in the rear tires to see how that helps, will post an update. Running between 50mph and 60mph I can feel it, going over 60 is where it gets worse. I will also try to turn of the sway control to see if that makes any difference. Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

Its frustrating to think I have a brand new truck that tows my trailer with the same setup 10X worse than either of my two older trucks.

 

51 is the max on the sidewall? Strange number.

Use the sidewall max psi.

 

OK, so here is my results:

Air pressure to 50 psi: Not much of a difference
Turning off Sway Control: Not much of a difference
Lowering Weight Distribution 1 link form normal (more weight on rear of truck): Much worse sway

Raising Weight Distribution 1 link from normal (less weight on rear of truck): Great, drove straight down the road, even at 70 with a good crosswind. However, absolutely no weight on rear tires, so at 40 a blurp of throttle would break tires loose.

Conclusion: Tires are Goodyear Fortitude HT, link below, and according to sidewall they are 2 ply sidewalls.

Goodyear Wrangler Fortitude HT

Ding Ding!! I think we have a winner. New truck needs new tires in order to tow anything. Lucky me.

 

The SRA's are soft tires, a lot of people complain about towing with them. The GoodYear Wrangler Adventurer or the BFG All Terrains, in P-Metric, have much stiffer sidewalls.
As suggested above I would try the higher pressure first.

 

It really sounds to me like you have insufficient tongue weight; that's probably the most common cause of trailer sway under most conditions.

Where are you located? I'd suggest cranking up your WD bars to the point where it tows well and run it across a scale. Find out what your axle weights are and go from there. Dead empty your rear axle should have around 2,300 lbs on it. I don't think it's possible to adjust a WD system to remove all the tongue weight from the rear axle. I think you'd twist the hitch off first.

 

Yep... again I say, the plural of anecdote is NOT data. Roll the thing across the scales, figure out where your weight is, and go from there.

There are PLENTY of F150s out there, fleet and otherwise, towing similar or larger trailers every day without replacing tires, screwing with the suspension, etc. Stiffer tires, airbags, etc. may improve the situation, but if you're dealing with an imbalanced load in the first place, you'll spend a lot of money and it still won't be right.

 

Hmmm, this is weird! I've towed travel trailers for many years with cars and trucks, never had an issue. I hope it is the tires, because if so, that's a simple albeit, expensive fix. My '15 Supercrew has the Hankook tires, rated very highly by reviews I've read, but I haven't towed our trailer yet. Let us know how it goes.

 

I've towed too much weight with my '13 and it's stock SR-A tires to accept the fact that it's a tire issue. As much as 15,000 lbs at one point, and the truck handled it just great. Stiffer tires can band-aid an improper towing setup, but the stock tires aren't the root cause.

 

Following. Seeking to learn. But I'm in the camp of tongue weight being the problem. I almost lost one with a poor balance - it was scary and I'll never ever forget it.