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I’ve heard some travel trailers are simply no good on the highway no matter what one does. My 2019 8,000-lb Jayco 28bhs should not be one of them given Jayco’s reputation in the industry. So what could be wrong? Why am I all over the road?
The Equalizer-brand hitch is the right size and adjusted properly. The pull vehicle is a dead-stock 2018 F250 diesel. Air pressure is correct in both the truck and trailer tires. Cargo in the trailer is distributed properly and I’ve moved things around, too. The truck is dead level as is the trailer. The trailer tires look to be wearing evenly. However, the thing is “sensitive” with no wind while at highway speed (65-70) and pulls like a real PoS when there is wind.
I have 20 years of pulling with pickups but am new (1 yr) to travel trailers. Is this something I need to just accept or should I fork out $3k for the Hensley hitch?
Loosen the L-bracket by one hole. Or tilt the head up just a bit. If you have too much tension on the torsion bars the camper will be just as squirrelly as when there isn’t enough. Sometimes worse.
Eh? That seems counter-intuitive...I actually tightened up each side for more force a few months ago (brackets, not chains). Tell me more, please.
Yes, I forgot the Equal-I-zer uses brackets.
I’m just about the last person to recommend running without the bars, but you might want to try pulling with the hitch but not the bars. It won’t take very many miles to know if the pulling experience is improved or not.
With an 8000 lb. trailer your tongue weight is only 800 to 1040 lbs. or so. If you are using 1000 lb. bars it is easy to put too much tension on them. This makes the truck/trailer feel “locked together” and doesn’t allow the rig to flex in the middle. The camper actually needs to move from side to side a little going down the road due to things like irregularities in the road surface, wind gusts that catch the trailer but not the truck, or overtaking semi’s. It’s like the reed vs. the iron rod, it needs to be able to bend in order to not break.
I have 20 years of pulling with pickups but am new (1 yr) to travel trailers. Is this something I need to just accept.....?
PlanoRob
Travel trailers are THE WORST for towing. They are generally not very heavy, but have HUGE cross-sectional areas. Even in a best case scenario, they are a chore to drive in crosswinds. Sounds like the guys above have given you some good ideas, so give those a try and report back. Best of luck!
I tow a 26' Jayco that we bought last year with my '17 F250 CCSB PSD. Zero issues and I don't use a WDH or sway control.
I don't have any photos of the camper but the loaded car hauler (while lower profile than the camper) is 24' and heavier at 9K lbs. No WDH or sway control in it either.
I agree, you might have the WDH too tight.
Also: you say its loaded properly but have you had it on a set of scales? Know the actual tongue weight?
I’ve heard some travel trailers are simply no good on the highway no matter what one does. My 2019 8,000-lb Jayco 28bhs should not be one of them given Jayco’s reputation in the industry. So what could be wrong? Why am I all over the road?
The Equalizer-brand hitch is the right size and adjusted properly. The pull vehicle is a dead-stock 2018 F250 diesel. Air pressure is correct in both the truck and trailer tires. Cargo in the trailer is distributed properly and I’ve moved things around, too. The truck is dead level as is the trailer. The trailer tires look to be wearing evenly. However, the thing is “sensitive” with no wind while at highway speed (65-70) and pulls like a real PoS when there is wind.
I have 20 years of pulling with pickups but am new (1 yr) to travel trailers. Is this something I need to just accept or should I fork out $3k for the Hensley hitch?
Thanks in advance
PlanoRob
You are going to have to play with your hitch adjustments. If this is happening, your hitch adjustments or bar size is the problem (unless you have a bad tire). I have a stock 2018 f350. I pull a 2018 KZ Connect 281BH, It is 33' 10" long. At 65-70 mph you can take your hands off the wheel and it will track down the highway for a mile on a straight road without touching the wheel. It takes a 20 mph wind to even feel it. I'm 7500lb "ish" dry. So I am right where you are towing. I also have an Equalizer brand hitch so the comparison should be spot on. Send a pick of your set up (tilt on the ball) and I'll compare it to mine.
Loosen the L-bracket by one hole. Or tilt the head up just a bit. If you have too much tension on the torsion bars the camper will be just as squirrelly as when there isn’t enough. Sometimes worse.
^^^^^^^ I tow a Jayco 29RKS with my F-250.....I have just enough tension on my spring bars for sway control. I moved my tilt head up - removed one adjustment washer, my L-brackets were set properly, moving the tilt head up one washer provided just the right amount tension. My F-250 has the camper pkg, so the extra rear leaf springs. With out the Equal-i-zer spring bars, it was level. Tongue wt for the RV is 1250 lbs. Tow wt is 8550 lbs (cat scales) Tows effortlessly.
Edit: I upgraded my shank to 2 1/2" to remove ALL play at the hitch, there was considerable amount of movement using the factory receiver reducer.
I towed my Jayco 28BHBE which is similar in weight to yours with a 2015 F150 EB with no sway at all with a HensleyArrow. I traded the F150 in on the F250 because I felt the F150 was too light. In cross-winds the F150 with trailer was getting blown to the side too easily but even then I experienced no sway. Truck and trailer moved as one. With the F250 I am towing with a BlueOx SwayPro as it is so simple to use and the F250 is stable enough in my case.
I know you stated that the trailer and hitch is setup correctly. I have to ask though. Did the dealer set it up or did you by following equalizer instructions which are spot on. Our local dealer doesn't seem to know how to setup hitches correctly. So I set up my own. I pull a jayco 324bhts with a 14k equalizer. I have a 17 f250 cclb 4x4 gas truck. My setup is pretty stable. I think I want to add one more washer to get a little more weight transfer and that is it. Did you measure the front wheel well to see if you're transferring too much weight back to the front? As that can cause the exact problem you are having. If you haven't done the measuring do these steps. Measure front wheel well unladen. Then put all tongue weight on truck and measure same wheel well again. The goal is to make at least half way back or back to unladen. Me personally I dont like to go all the way back to unladen measurement. I try to shoot for a little more than 1/2 way back. Hope you get it figured out.
.... However, the thing is “sensitive” with no wind while at highway speed (65-70) and pulls like a real PoS when there is wind. ....
First impression is your tongue weight is too low.
I tow a 7500 lb TH with our Excursion and a 10k Equalizer hitch.
The tongue weight is 1400 lb and it tows great, never any problems with crosswinds.
It took awhile to get the hitch setup just right, but it didn't have any issues in crosswinds, even when it wasn't set right.
Our Excursion did not come with a factory rear anti-roll bar and had soft rear springs.
I didn't even try towing until upgrading to load range E tires, F250 leafs and Hellwig front & rear anti-roll bars.
Having the tow vehicle more stable I think helps when towing, too.
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