To sway or not to sway

[dptak1]

Our new PUP is getting ready for her first trip!  We bought a 2007 Fleetwood Santa Fe (dry weight 1850) that we will be towing with a Toyota 4Runner 4.3L 6 cylinder rated to tow 5000 lbs.  It towed great (with brake controller) on the way home from the dealer, but that is only 15 miles.  We leave Thursday morning for the Florida Keys which is about a 6 hour drive.  (I know that's a long way for the first trip, but we lucked out with a campsite right on the ocean!)  
 
The TV will only have duffel bags, three people (375 lbs total), ice chest & food container.  The PUP has the bedding, camping chairs, fishing poles and light weight kitchen stuff.  I'm guessing the a/c added about 100 pounds to the dry weight.  We won't be filling the propane tank for this first trip and haven't purchased a battery yet.
 
Now...my question is do you think we will be okay towing on the interstate without a sway bar if we keep the speed around 60mph?  There was no sway on the highway coming home from the dealer, but that was just a few miles doing about 50 or 55 with lots of stop lights.

Thanks!

[ronerjones]

I am not an expert on this but trying to learn the do's and don'ts. First does your camper have a slide out. The slide outs are very heavy and cause the wieght of the trailer to be much heavier on one side, this will not help your sway situation. Second, it is very important that your tounge weight be approximately 10% of the trailer weight. This is tought to figure with out a scale, if you have storage up front use it.

The brake controller will come in handy if you do get any sway. Do Not tap the car brakes use the brake controller to brake the trailer. By doing this you are actually pulling the trailer straight with the vehicle. Tapping on the car brakes can actuall amplify your problems. Just remove your foot from the gas and activate the trailer brakes from the controller. If you find you are getting sway you will need to slow down to the point where there is none.

I have a comfort zone as I get to the edge of that zone my trailer will pull fine until a tractor trailer comes by and then all hell breaks loose. My trailer came with a sway bar and I use it all the time. I have had sway issues even with the sway bar. Its getting the tounge weight correct that has helped me the most.

Hope this is of some help. There are a lot of threads on here about this issue you should do a quick search.

[wavery]

The key is to have between 10-15% of your tow weight on the tongue. 10% is bare minimum.

Having the trailer level (front to back) is another key factor. If your trailer is towing with the tongue higher than the rear, you increase your chance of swaying dramatically.

Keeping the speed down to 55 will help also. You are towing on level highways so braking shouldn't be a problem. If you didn't encounter sway on the way home, you shouldn't encounter it on a longer tow unless something has changed. As stated before, adding tongue weight will definitely help.

[dptak1]

Thanks for the help.  We don't have a slide out or a front storage container.  I do have a shade canopy for the beach that is pretty heavy.  I thought I might put it in the floor all the way to the front to help add some weight to the tongue.

[wavery]

Thanks for the help.  We don't have a slide out or a front storage container.  I do have a shade canopy for the beach that is pretty heavy.  I thought I might put it in the floor all the way to the front to help add some weight to the tongue.

Might be a good idea to go ahead and fill that propane tank (you'll have to do it sometime anyway) and possibly install a (29 series deep cycle) battery, if you have time.  

[campdaddy]

.  We won't be filling the propane tank for this first trip and haven't purchased a battery yet.
 Thanks!

Might want to reconsider getting a battery before you go because that provides the power for the brakes in a breakaway. Even it you just put an automotive battery in temporarily for the trip. The brakes might work fine off the TV while towing but if it breaks away it'll need the on board battery.  Just a safety consideration. Good luck!

[dptak1]

Thanks for all the feedback.  I did go ahead and get a deep cycle battery and connect it yesterday.  I'll wait for DH to get back in town and let him pick out a charger!

[Used 2B PopUPTimes]

When I picked up my new camper from the mfr it started swaying as soon as I pulled out of their parking lot. It was a looooooooonnnggggggg  650 miles home. I initially thought it was because the camper was empty and needed tounge weight. First camping trip I had the camper loaded and it swayed all over the road so I installed a sway bar. That only reduced the sway. After a couple of scary incidents on the Interstate I figured my warnout Jeep GC was part of the problem and bought new Silverado, stiffer suspension, wider body and heavier than the Jeep. That solved the problem. We've towed the new camper about 2500 miles with the new truck with no sway at any speed and don't need the sway bar.

The mfr told me that during their road tests that some TVs were better than others with the worst sway problems were with Ford minivans.

I think if your camper was going to sway it would have swayed on the way home.

[GeneF]

I think I have to agree with Dave's comment: If you didn't have sway on the way home, you most likely won't have sway.

I had a setup of an 00 Sienns and a 98 Mesa.  I had sway at 30 mph until I put the sway bar on.

Take your time driving and see how the rig handles.  Sounds like you have had a lot of good advice.

If you have the time, take if for a short ride around the block before you leave to check out how it is going to handle.

Good luck

[wavery]

Thanks for all the feedback.  I did go ahead and get a deep cycle battery and connect it yesterday.  I'll wait for DH to get back in town and let him pick out a charger!

HEY!!!! Good for you  Not a lot of women would attempt that.

Just a reminder. Many people make the mistake of putting the white wire to the positive side of the battery and the black to negative.

On your PU, black is positive (+) and white is negative(-).

[dptak1]

Got it Wavery!  I'm actually the electronics & computer geek at our house.  I hooked up the HD TV, DVD player, stereo receiver, speakers, etc.  The battery was a piece of cake compared to that!  The hardest part was lifting the darn thing.  I do confess to reading the directions, though.

I just realized that the break away switch box isn't connected to anything.  Don't I need to connect it to the battery?  Positive or negative?
 
Thanks!

[wavery]

Got it Wavery!  I'm actually the electronics & computer geek at our house.  I hooked up the HD TV, DVD player, stereo receiver, speakers, etc.  The battery was a piece of cake compared to that!  The hardest part was lifting the darn thing.  I do confess to reading the directions, though.

I just realized that the break away switch box isn't connected to anything.  Don't I need to connect it to the battery?  Positive or negative?
 
Thanks!

You should have one black wire going from the break-away switch to the brakes. The other black wire should go to the battery.

Having said that, I hope that you installed a circuit breaker on the (+) black lead to the battery. Nothing else should be hooked up directly to the battery (+) lead. It should be attached after the circuit breaker.

HEY!!!!! What's up with reading :book:  the instructions :confused: .......Oh Ya....I forgot....you're woman :sombraro:

[dptak1]

I actually have an orange wire and a blue wire.  What's up with the Florida Gator colors?  Actually the orange wire is black on one side and orange on the other.  The blue is apparently connected to the brakes.  I used the Fleetwood harness (which I believe includes the breaker...the white/black wire plug) and connected the white to the negative and the black to the positive leads.  

I'm confused about "nothing else should be attached to the battery."  The orange/black wire has the loop that looks like it should go on the positive lead to the battery.  Is this right?
 
Thanks!

[wavery]

I actually have an orange wire and a blue wire.  What's up with the Florida Gator colors?  Actually the orange wire is black on one side and orange on the other.  The blue is apparently connected to the brakes.  I used the Fleetwood harness (which I believe includes the breaker...the white/black wire plug) and connected the white to the negative and the black to the positive leads.  

I'm confused about "nothing else should be attached to the battery."  The orange/black wire has the loop that looks like it should go on the positive lead to the battery.  Is this right?
 
Thanks!

It should go to the other side of the circuit breaker. Mine was wired directly to the battery when I first got my camper. However, that could be asking for big trouble in the event of a short. If that happens, the wire will get white hot and the insulation will catch fire, until the wire melts. It someone touches it (because they see smoke) they could be seriously burned.

Just so that it is clear. You should have one short wire going from the (+) side of the battery to the circuit breaker (located on or near the battery, inside the battery box). Anything else that you want to hook to the battery should be hooked up to the circuit breaker and not directly to the battery. The only exception might be if you hook-up something with it's own in-line fuse, also located in the battery box. However, I would still recommend attaching to the other side of the circuit breaker.

Oh ya........the orange/black wire goes to the circuit breaker and blue is always the brakes.

[dptak1]

O.K., Wavery.  I found the "short stop" breaker.  It was hiding underneath the trailer.  I will connect the break away wire to the circuit breaker on the side that is the farthest from the battery.
 
Thanks very much for all of your help!