new trailer and hitch but sway???

[kclark2227]

With my new Kubota L4701, I had to upgrade from a utility trailer to an equipment trailer. I am buying (it's on order) a 22' (20' flat + 2' dovetail) trailer, 12k GVW. I am upgrading from a Class 3 to Class 5 hitch. My question for everyone is how much sway is there with a trailer this size? If I definitely need Sway and weight distribution, I'll have it done. I will not be moving the tractor a whole lot. If I move it from my work to my home it's a couple of miles. but generally it will be within a 15 mile radius from my work where I store it.

Or is this something I should just wait and see how much there might be?

 

[mcfarmall]

A lot depends on how you load the trailer. Put a bunch of weight aft of the axle and you've got a good recipe for sway. There are some helpful ratios...something like 60% of the weight should be forward of the axle and 40% aft or something like that. I always load mine tongue heavy and never had a problem.

 

[kclark2227]

I've also been told to always load the tractor backwards.

 

[AWSubie]

Tongue weight is key to eliminating sway. You want between 10-15% of your load on the tongue. So your base tractor weighs 3300 lbs. Your trailer weighs about 3000 lbs. If you have a FEL and backhoe or big rotary cutter that's another roughly 2000 lbs. for a total of 8300 lbs. If you have a cab throw in another 300 lbs. So total load is 8600 lbs. Your tongue weight should be anywhere from 860-1290 lbs. Lets say you have a light duty truck like my Silverado with a trailering package. I am limited to a 600 lb. load on my hitch unless I have weight distribution and then my capacity doubles to 1200 lbs. Therefore I would measure my tongue weight and make sure I had about 900 lbs. on the tongue. I'm not just talking, I have a very similar situation to yours and this is what I do and I don't have any sway.

 

[nikdfish]

If tongue weight is OK, I think one of the the biggest contributions to sway is sail area. That is more likely to be an issue with a travel trailer than an equipment hauler.

Some WD systems are built so that some degree of sway control is inherent in the design (like those with trunnion bars that ride on flat ledge supports bolted to the trailer), some others have features that allow addition of optional sway control components (i.e. provision for a sway control ball on the side of the hitch head that would connect with a friction sway control unit bolted to the trailer). Point being, you don't necessarily have to buy additional sway control in the initial configuration & can probably add it later if needed.

One thing to bear in mind is that some sway control WD configurations do not play well with backing up. When looking for potential WD systems, consider whether or not a given system will need to be dismounted before maneuvering in reverse.

(just bought WD for use with our F-150 factory tow configuration & the dump trailer so I'd been looking at a bunch of options recently ....)

 

[dodge man]

One questions is what is your truck. If you have a 3/4 ton with a class V hitch I would say you probably won't need trailer sway control. If you have a half ton, you might. You say you upgraded hitches, but if you added a class V hitch to a half ton truck, it really doesn't increase the trucks ability to tow. Also are you sure its a class V hitch? They take the larger shank for the ball.

 

[Morning Wood]

If the trailer is loaded properly with correct tongue weight you shouldn’t have any sway at all

 

[KennyG]

I've also been told to always load the tractor backwards.

If your trailer is too short to adjust the load position, this can help bring the weight forward. However, this doesn't seen to be an issue in this case. My John Deere manual says to load backwards, but the reason is that if the hood comes unlatched, it won't blow open. I always load mine forward.

 

[newbury]

With my new Kubota L4701, I had to upgrade from a utility trailer to an equipment trailer. I am buying (it's on order) a 22' (20' flat + 2' dovetail) trailer, 12k GVW. I am upgrading from a Class 3 to Class 5 hitch. My question for everyone is how much sway is there with a trailer this size? If I definitely need Sway and weight distribution, I'll have it done. I will not be moving the tractor a whole lot. If I move it from my work to my home it's a couple of miles. but generally it will be within a 15 mile radius from my work where I store it.

Or is this something I should just wait and see how much there might be?

IF your class 5 is a true class 5 and your max tow distance is 15 miles I'd suggest you wait.

My hitch on my dually is labelled class 5 but states on it to use WD for more than 5,000 lbs.

If your 15 miles is along windy ridges at interstate speed with lots of traffic sway control would be great. If it's 15 miles poking through back roads with no traffic it may not help or be needed.

And take into account set up/take down time. If it takes a while to set up and get loaded, and a while to unload, do you really need a trailer? We drive my B7610 from my house to my son's (4 miles) in suburban traffic even though we've a 12K equipment trailer. It's quicker overall. Now hauling it 900 miles to Mississippi is different