blt2ski
Kirkland, Wa
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You need to weigh your set up before you go spend money on a heavier duty truck.Reality, the problem may be the trailer with too little hitch weight. Too much weight from side to side. Trailer axles that are V'd vs perpindular to the middle of trailer.
You might even have a trailer where the axles are too far forward to have enough hitch weight. Even with a 25/35 series truck, your trailer will still want to fishtail sway.
Look at what is the cause of the effect before spending money.
I've towed over ratings for many decades, most of the time I go slower than I like, due to too little motor. BUT, if everything is set up correctly, I have no towing effects like sway!
Marty
92 Navistar dump truck, 7.3L 7 sp, 4.33 gears with a Detroit no spin
2014 Chevy 1500 Dual cab 4x4
92 Red-e-haul 12K equipment trailer
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cekkk
Southern Nevada
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I don't think there's a great price difference between an F-150 and an F-350. 150s run roughly $50,000 to $80,000. There are a couple that are cheaper than 50 but do you really want the base package with no rear seat? F-350s, skipping the f-250, Run just a couple thousand more per model level. An F-350 Dually is 85 to 90, and that's pretty much top Line, diesel and all, not a basic dually. So I'm not understanding why anyone would hold up upgrading to a real tow vehicle for a couple thousand dollars. And if you take a package that's a single step lower, it will probably cost the same. I had no problems with my F350 dually for the nearly 20 years that I owned it. Of course, I didn't have to deal with DEF.
'11 Eagle 320RLDS '02 Ford F350 DRW 7.3 PSD
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch and do nothing" - Albert Einstein."
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BarneyS
S.E. Lower Michigan
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Although I agree with the "need a larger truck" crowd, if you really like your existing truck and are satisfied with its' towing capabilities, then instead of buying a new one, I would get a Hensley Hitch.
Although it is quite expensive, it is a LOT less expensive than buying a new tow vehicle and it will solve your sway problem.
I towed with one for about 17 or 18 years.
Barney
2004 Sunnybrook Titan 30FKS TT
Hensley "Arrow" 1400# hitch (Sold)
Not towing now.
Former tow vehicles were 2016 Ram 2500 CTD, 2002 Ford F250, 7.3 PSD, 1997 Ram 2500 5.9 gas engine
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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blt2ski wrote:You need to weigh your set up before you go spend money on a heavier duty truck.Reality, the problem may be the trailer with too little hitch weight. Too much weight from side to side. Trailer axles that are V'd vs perpindular to the middle of trailer.
You might even have a trailer where the axles are too far forward to have enough hitch weight. Even with a 25/35 series truck, your trailer will still want to fishtail sway.
Look at what is the cause of the effect before spending money.
I've towed over ratings for many decades, most of the time I go slower than I like, due to too little motor. BUT, if everything is set up correctly, I have no towing effects like sway!
Marty
Except this guy. You should listen to him. Seriously. He knows more about towing than most of the rest of em put together, so far.
Like he said, hate to hear you still have the wiggles occasionally after trading up to that big bad HD truck!
Or in other words do you have an actual issue with your setup or is this just another perception thing due to inexperience or personal sensitivity?
Also, not trying to dissuade you from a bigger truck. It WILL handle the same trailer better than a half ton. The devil is in the details and it’s whether the half ton is “good enough” for YOU.
My perception is a bit different than most weekend warriors as I’ve spent 3 decades in mostly 1/2 ton company trucks that I’d use for anything within reason and some things very arguably unreasonable. Sometimes I’d get a HD pickup and it was a luxury for towing, even if they were mostly always gassers.
* This post was
edited 06/25/23 10:33pm by Grit dog *
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold
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C Schomer
Pueblo West, Co.
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~25 years ago, a friend with an 3/4t srw, pulling a huge TT, traded for a DRW and he said it was a night to day improvement, even with a TT. I've noticed the same thing with my 5ers. Craig
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ktmrfs
Portland, Oregon
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Joined: 06/22/2005
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As mentioned first I'd get everything weighed, not guessed. tongue weight, trailer weight and then make sure the WD hitch is adjusted properly. If you don't get enough weight back to the front end of the truck, the front rises, tires are cambered and what may seem like trailer issues is to light a front end. That was the issue with several friends towing with 1/2 tons and larger trailers. WD hitch was doing almost nothing. Once they got the distribution correct world of difference.
If your trailer is indeed 10K lbs, you should be 1500lbs or more on the tongue. That takes a decent WD hitch setup to get yourself back to where the front of the truck is where it should be. Personally my feeling is air bags aren't doing anything for you other than making it look like your set up correctly, and maybe then even making the situation worse. But that's my opinion on air bags.
If you have it adjusted correctly and are within all the tow ratings, consider something like an equalizer for reese dual cam hitch with a trailer that big.
And I don't think you need a dually. maybe a 3/4 ton,
2011 Keystone Outback 295RE
2004 14' bikehauler with full living quarters
2015.5 Denali 4x4 CC/SB Duramax/Allison
2004.5 Silverado 4x4 CC/SB Duramax/Allison passed on to our Son!
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hondapro
Central Pa
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Grit dog wrote:blt2ski wrote:You need to weigh your set up before you go spend money on a heavier duty truck.Reality, the problem may be the trailer with too little hitch weight. Too much weight from side to side. Trailer axles that are V'd vs perpindular to the middle of trailer.
You might even have a trailer where the axles are too far forward to have enough hitch weight. Even with a 25/35 series truck, your trailer will still want to fishtail sway.
Look at what is the cause of the effect before spending money.
I've towed over ratings for many decades, most of the time I go slower than I like, due to too little motor. BUT, if everything is set up correctly, I have no towing effects like sway!
Marty
Except this guy. You should listen to him. Seriously. He knows more about towing than most of the rest of em put together, so far.
Like he said, hate to hear you still have the wiggles occasionally after trading up to that big bad HD truck!
Or in other words do you have an actual issue with your setup or is this just another perception thing due to inexperience or personal sensitivity?
Also, not trying to dissuade you from a bigger truck. It WILL handle the same trailer better than a half ton. The devil is in the details and it’s whether the half ton is “good enough” for YOU.
My perception is a bit different than most weekend warriors as I’ve spent 3 decades in mostly 1/2 ton company trucks that I’d use for anything within reason and some things very arguably unreasonable. Sometimes I’d get a HD pickup and it was a luxury for towing, even if they were mostly always gassers.
These two posts are correct. I had a 35 foot travel trailer pulled with my F350.
When trucks passed by I always had the push/pull sway effect, and it was at the worst when going downhill and a truck passed.
I never could get rid of it no matter how I adjusted my hitch.
I think you will always have some of it when pulling a travel trailer.It is due to the hitch point is so far back from the rear axle of the truck and the trailer is acting like a lever on the truck when the trailer is subjected to a side force.
I solved my issue with a 5th wheel, they do not sway when trucks pass due to the hitch point being over the axle.
Steve
2023 Ram 3500 6.7 Cummins Turbo Diesel
2022 Keystone Sprinter 32BH
B&W Companion
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BarneyS
S.E. Lower Michigan
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hondapro wrote:Snip...It is due to the hitch point is so far back from the rear axle of the truck and the trailer is acting like a lever on the truck when the trailer is subjected to a side force.
I solved my issue with a 5th wheel, they do not sway when trucks pass due to the hitch point being over the axle.
This is exactly the reason I recommended the Hensley Hitch in my earlier post. It effectively moves the hitch point forward to just behind the axle of the tow vehicle. Therefor, the passing of trucks, gusts of wind, ruts in pavement etc. have little effect on the truck.
Barney
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PA12DRVR
Back in God's Country
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Joined: 09/17/2003
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I'm a follow the #'s sort of guy, but as Marty and Grit have suggested, for the OP, I'd look into your setup first...based on nothing more than reading the posts, I'd want to make sure you had a decent % of weight on your hitch. Would also recommend the Hensley Hitch....an alternative that I had good experience with was the Reese Dual-Cam HP: it eliminated sway so that when a big rig went by, both truck and trailer felt an equivalent push.
If the magic wand was working as well as the crystal ball....and you felt you had to upgrade your rig, I'd suggest a SRW 350/3500...Nothing wrong with duallys and I drove a DRW F350 as a daily driver for a few years, but the SRW's are just a tad more nimble and probably (see the crystal ball issue) perfectly capable for the OP's needs.
CRL
My RV is a 1946 PA-12
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ktmrfs
Portland, Oregon
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As far as the push/pull from passing trucks, I have a 36ft TT towed with my CC 4wd duramax short bed. And a reese dual cam setup. The push/pull from trucks is very very minor, yes, it's there, but hardly noticeable and not an issue. Now I do have about 18% on the tongue and I've adjusted the bars to bring the front end back down to about 1/4" higher than unloaded. GM does NOT like front to drop below unloaded, the rubber bump stops then come into play.
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