air springs/hitch

Hydraman · Mar 11, 2006

It was just last week that I saw another wreck along the Interstate. This was a Dodge 1 ton dually 4x4 pulling a flatbed loaded with 6 snowmobiles-- way less than he was RATED for-- splattered all over both sides of the highway. It APPEARED that he had everything hooked properly. When everything went sour on him, he just didn't have enough of everything to get things back under control.

Joe1 · Mar 11, 2006

A weight distribution hitch would be my first purchase. Try it and see if it solves the problem. It's something that can be switched between vehicles unlike installed air bags.

When I've used a WD hitch in the past it was towing a 5,000 lb travel trailer behind a softly sprung 1970 Pontiac Bonneville. Even though it had a 600+ lb tongue weight, it made the car settle down evenly and also distributed the weight to trailer tires on about a 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 per axle basis. A solid stable ride, plus even without a sway controller it helped reduce sway due to the friction on the spring bars.

I believe that this will solve your problems. It would be helpful to weigh the trailer when loaded and the tongue weight when loaded. This will determine how far forward to load the tractor on the trailer. A MINIMUM of 10 - 12% on the tongue will make for a solid tow.

Bird · Mar 11, 2006

Joe, I used to tow a 4000 pound travel trailer withe a '70 Olds 88 sedan, and later with a '72 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon. Naturally, I had to have a weight distributing hitch, but unlike you, I would hate to tow a travel trailer without a sway controller. I lost count long ago of the number of RVers I met who had brand new rigs after wrecking their first one. Nearly every one of them said their dealer didn't tell them about sway control; only the weight distributing hitch, when they bought the first one.

Havoctec · Mar 11, 2006

ok now you guys have me wondering about the sway control. I have put a lot of miles on with trailers in tow and have never had any problems with swaying. however, most of it has been with light trailers (under 3k).

It seems that sway control would be important on an RV trailer or enclosed trailer that will catch a lot of wind. Is that correct or will I notice a significant difference when towing my 3k lb tractor?

I am not one to spend money on something I really don't need. So you guys will have to do some serious talking to get me to purchase a sway controller. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bird · Mar 12, 2006

Todd, I've only used a sway control on my travel trailers, but in my opinion it would be money well spent for a trailer hauling a tractor. Reese, EazLift, DrawTite, and others make the friction type and some of them also make the dual cam models. A sample picture of each can be seen here. I only used the friction type for a couple of reasons. It is adjustable independent of the amount of lift you use on the lift bars and the dual cam makes too much popping and scraping noise on turns to suit me. The friction type can also be used on trailers without the lift bars; i.e., weight distributing hitch and whether or not the trailer has brakes.

So . . ., is it worth the hundred bucks or so for your 3k pound trailer. I don't know. If the trailer is always properly loaded with the right amount of tongue weight and/or you drive slow enough, and you don't encounter cross winds, maybe you won't ever have a sway problem. Many of the trailer accidents occur when a trailer sways a bit and the driver panics and hits the brakes; worst thing you can do. Now if the trailer has brakes so you can hit the trailer brakes manually, without applying the truck brakes, you can pull the trailer back straight if you're quick enough.

Highbeam · Mar 12, 2006

Sway control is a funny thing. Almost exclusive to the RV market where there is little you can do to adjust the load for proper tongue weight. Even the RV guys will generally agree that you should not need sway control, if your trailer won't tow right without sway control then you have bigger problems you need to work out before you try and band aid the problem. For those unexpected things like strong gusts of wind, passing semis, or even a tire blow out the sway control will help you keep your setup going straighter. In the RV world, sway is the wreck causer.

I have never bought sway control or used it on my RV or equipment trailer, the WD hitch setups most always have the little ears on them to allow the use of a friction sway control device. Easy enough to try out and for 100$ it won't hurt too bad to satisfy your curiosity.

I don't think you'll need it. My trailer rides much more solid, stable, and straight than any RV I've towed. Maybe the lower COG, the lack of a huge body, larger tires, or the custom tongue weight.

Hydraman · Mar 12, 2006

I may be all wrong, but when the sales people say you can tow up to xxxxx lbs., they are in fact talking about gross combination weight ratings. i.e. the weight of the towing vehicle plus the weight of the towed vehicle. So when we look at an 8000 lb tow rating, we must subtract the weight of the towing vehicle from that figure to know what we can safely tow without exceeding the vehicles limits.
The sales people do this to impress the buying public with big numbers that don't mean a $%^%&^ thing. And most of the sales people don't know the difference. So, proceed with caution. If, in fact, you do go with your plan, if you are involved in an accident(God Forbid) you could be fully liable just because you have an overloaded (unsafe) vehicle.There are probably states that will even pull you over and check things out to see if you are indeed legal for the ratings of the vehicle, then out comes the checkbook (yours).

Highbeam · Mar 13, 2006

"So when we look at an 8000 lb tow rating, we must subtract the weight of the towing vehicle from that figure to know what we can safely tow without exceeding the vehicles limits."

That is false, the tow rating is defined as the allowable towed weight. I will admit/add that it is rating with lots of fine print and the other ratings such as GCWR, GVWR, and GAWR are actual ratings without the smoke and mirrors. If you stay within the GVWR and GCWR then the tow rating will be respected.

Any vehicle, even that one ton dually, can be improperly loaded or overloaded. All vehicles have ratings and it is no more acceptable to exceed the ratings of a one ton than those of a half ton. The half tons aren't as macho and manly as bigger trucks but they have their place towing within their allowed ratings. If it's been a while, check these modern half tons out, their ratings are leaps ahead of those from the 80s.