Two teachers who love adventure and travel. Our latest adventures have been in our RV as we travel the United States. *As Amazon Associates, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
I work for a company where I design trailers for a living. The biggest issue is weight. People are telling way too big of trailers.. if you have a 6000 pound vehicle and you were telling a 1500 pound trailer you are not gonna have a problem with it flipping you over. but people with a 6000 pound vehicle are towing 4500 pound trailers and 5000 pound trailers with massive flat sides that pick up wind.
This is a great video! Thanks for posting. The background music is almost as anxiety inducing as the crash footage, though! Please consider removing it. It makes it hard to concentrate on the great info you’re sharing!
Going to buy a trailer for the first time. I have a Toyota Tundra SR5 with the 5.7 V8 engine. This was a very informative video. Any suggestions on Max weight the trailer should be?
Awesome! You’re going to love it. We have a video that should help you with your questions. It’s titled, “Buying an RV? Watch This First!” I’ll attempt to leave a link below. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yB3GqEJQ_jY.htmlsi=oZDUwkID-Dw4_wai
Thanks for the video. As a new RV'er in 2021, I used a CAT scale to make sure I was loaded within all limits. I also used an Equalizer WDH similar to yours. I tow my 21' Jayco SLX 195RB trailer at no more than 60mph (95km/h) using my Nissan pathfinder. However I did find over the first 10000 miles (from Alberta to Newfoundland and back plus other trips) the A frame of my trailer gradually bent upwards! I am not sure but I put this down to the force exerted on the A frame by the Equalizer WDH system. I had to get the frame made horizontal again and had some additional strengthening welded on. Since then I have discontinued using the WDH with no issues despite towing my trailer more than 5,000 miles since then. The problem may have been the WDH or the flimsy trailer frame by Jayco but the issue is no longer a concern. Outside the scope of this video but I thought I'd comment anyway in case you have any thoughts or relevant experience of trailer frames bending? The safest thing is to slow down and load correctly.
1. Learn how to drive with a trailer. 2. Don't overload the tongue weight. 3. Slow down by lifting your foot off of the gas pedal when sway starts. Don't speed up or break!
This doesn’t matter. You’ll be pumping antifreeze with the water pump using a short hose near the pump. A valve will switch the water pump intake from the water tank hose to this short hose. Check valves will prevent any antifreeze from entering the water tank or backing up to the city water input port.
This is a great video and has been viewed over 422k and you only have just over 4k subs... people it cost you nothing to sub give these people subs please
NEVER tap your brakes in a trailer sway condition, it is a death sentence. I found this out the hard way.. only thing that saved me was flooring the gas pedal until the truck pulled the trailer out of the sway.. then coasting to slow down (this was after sway was induced by trailer tire blow out) tapping the brakes made the situation MUCH worse.
I tow with a 2011 f150 ecoboost with amax tow package. My biggest concern is not power or towing stability, it's downhill travel. You cannot rely on engine braking to check your speed, so you have to use common sense and drive like you would drive a semi. Maintain a proper speed at the beginning and its no big problem. I have taken my kodiak 221rbsl down the Coquihalla twice and it has not been an issue, mind you I try to keep below 100kmh till I am past the snowshed and beyond. You never know when you are going to have to stop on that grade.
You missed one point to the weight rating per axle that also based on the OEM tires you have so if you add some heavy duty tires your axle weight rating will go up. Yes unloaded they’ll ride a little harder but they’ll hold more weight that’s one of the factors of half ton and three quarter ton trucks
Youre the kind of guy I respect on the road. Because, like me, you not only travel safely towing for you, but you actually care what happens to the next guy should you not be towing within specs. Great video
We towed an 80s 30ft travel trailer with an 1985 1/2 ton suburban from coast to coast and up and down the coasts, and through all the mountains with Zero issues. And the suburban had the 350,not the 454.
I have the 2020 4x4 Factory Max Tow Package, 20inch wheels and I bought 10 ply tires n tossed the highway tires…I tow a 2016 Jayco Eagle TTrailer . I do use 2 friction sway bars. Pulls fine, but I drive 55mph when towing
Many people traveling with their trailers on the road are not following the mph rate limits on their tires and air pressure. I've watched them fly down the road in the fast line at 75 and 80 mph. Staying in the right or middle lane is where you should be,not the fast line!!! You have to be a responsible driver! If you're not weighing your rig at once loaded at the beginning of a season,you're making a big mistake!!! Also don't be traveling with full tanks,the added weight isn't needed and most likely isn't accounted for.
Thanks for the video. So it looks like you weighed 3 time and the last time was without the WDH. Curious why you did the third weigh. After the first 2, didn’t that give you the hitch weight by comparing the first two weights? I have never used a CAT scale, but plan to soon.Thank
You need to weigh the truck and trailer without the WDH engaged to determine hitch weight. If you’re only looking for Gross vehicle weight or gross axle weights then one weighing with WDH engaged is sufficient.
@@downhill615 The weight distribution hitch (WDH) can reduce the amount of weight felt on the rear axle of the tow vehicle, which can help prevent overloading the rear axle. By transferring some of the tongue weight back to the trailer’s axles, the immediate load on the rear of the tow vehicle is lessened. However, this does not reduce the overall gross vehicle weight (GVW) of the tow vehicle. Here’s the distinction: • Tongue/hitch weight is the downward force the trailer tongue exerts on the hitch ball of the tow vehicle. • The WDH redistributes this tongue weight, sending some of it forward to the front axle of the tow vehicle and some back to the trailer’s axles. So, while the WDH does indeed reduce the weight on the rear axle of the tow vehicle by sending some of that weight back to the trailer, it doesn’t technically reduce the tow vehicle’s gross vehicle weight (GVW), which is the total weight of the truck plus its load. The tow vehicle’s GVW will still reflect the trailer’s tongue weight, as some portion of the load is still being carried by the truck, even after weight redistribution. In summary: • The WDH can reduce the weight on the rear axle and improve load distribution. • However, the total load on the tow vehicle (its GVW) remains the same because the overall weight of the trailer is still part of the truck’s load, even if distributed more evenly. • If your goal is to avoid exceeding the tow vehicle’s gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), simply using a WDH won’t lower the GVW enough to avoid overloading if you’re close to or exceeding your payload limits. It primarily improves handling, balance, and safety by redistributing the load.
0:32 That wheel block is giving me all kinds of anxiety 😂. I'm sure it inclines toward the water, but I'm gonna sleep better with both sides blocked. Lol
Very good presentation. Me personally was getting tired to drive like a truckdriver with all those big weights behind me . Sold it all and now have a teardrop trailer. There is nothing to it. Although I still apply the 10-15% rule. Habits I guess.
I’ve found the cam-style anti-sway devices to work better than the friction based ones. They won’t completely eliminate sway like a ProPride would - you’ll still feel that initial “woosh” when strong turbulent forces hit the side of the RV (and if you’re like me, your heart will jump out of your chest). But immediately afterwards, it goes back to center. I’ve driven through gale force winds that would otherwise have sent us into a sway-tastrophy.
Honestly you should need a separate license addendum in order to haul certain types of trailers... Even if the addendum only requires you to watch a video like this or something.
This is an excellent video! Light tongue weight is a recipe for trailer sway disaster! No matter how big the truck! I would like to add in a couple of things that might make your driving much more comfortable. Keep in mind that you need to follow this video completely! Factory trucks are designed for comfort without the trailer. Adding high performance shocks will change the performance of your ride and take some of the sway out of the assembly. Adding a torsion bar to the rear axle makes a huge difference and almost eliminates the sway of the assembly. Please bear in mind that these two additions are NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! to replace the weight distribution talked about in the video. Your weight distribution HAS TO BE CORRECT. I towed a 8,000 lb. trailer for 40,000 miles with a 2014 tundra 5.6ft bed and did have issues with the wind and passing trucks even though my weight distribution was correct. Adding high performance shocks and a torsion bar did help those issues and my driving experience was way more comfortable. I did not stumble upon this information until the last few trips with our towable. We have since gone onto a fifth wheel.
I've noticed there are differences with some dual axles travel trailers. Some axles are narrow from front to rear. And there are others that are more spread apart. Do the trailers with the axles farther apart have more stability?
From what I understand, the spacing between dual axles will affect stability as well as weight limitations. I don’t know how this is determined or which spacing is better.
