Massive Trailer Sway - Help

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shavedhead2

New member
Info:
Tractor: 2003 4Runner Sport V8 4x4, with Trailer brakes and weight-distributing Hitch.
Trailer: 2008 Layton Skyline 181 Travel Travel (approx. 3500 pounds)

OK 4Runner owners, this one is new to me.

So I am cruising home from a Great Weekend camping at Lake Piru in Southern CA (Near Magic Mountain).
Coming home via Interstate 5, Southbound, North of CA-14, out of the Santa Clarita Valley into the San Fernando Valley, going about 50-60mph when the trailer and 4Runner entered into a Massive, life-threatening, uncontrolable Sway. This trailer sway happened twice, only going DOWNHILL.

I was trying to hold her steady, traveling back and forth across the right three lanes, narrowly missing vehicles left and right.
Thanks to God, the Kids and I were safe and no one on the busy freeway for a Sunday afternoon was injured.

But what happened?

The Sway was so bad that the VSC started kicking in and loud BEEPS were heard inside the Cabin.

So, is my situation unique or has anyone else experience such a forceful trailer sway in their 4Runner.

I've been towing trailers for 15 years and never experience such a violent throw. However, this was my first time towing this trailer with my 4Runner.

Would the VSC actually make trailer sway worse if used during towing?
Could turning the VSC off by locking the Center Differential actually make things better?

Any ideas, 4Runner Group?
 
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Not sure, could have been a bad wind gust or something like that to upset the load. If sway is going to happen, it'll be going downhill when the trailer is pushing the tow vehicle.

Interesting link to an article on this: http://www.rvlifemag.com/file316/hitchhints316.html

The worst thing to do is to stab the brakes and try to steer out it. If you have electric brakes, active the trailer brakes and hold your steering wheel straight- don't try to correct. If you have surge brakes, like on a boat trailer, slightly accelerate until load is under control, then try downshifting a gear to slow back down.
 
That happened to a little utility trailer of mine one time. It turned out that the reason why it was swaying so much was because of extremely low tire pressure. Not sure if this is the case with your trailer or not but that was the solution to my swaying trailer. You could also put on a trailer sway control bar.
 
Make sure the load is even also....did you have alot of gear near the back of the trailer?? That will make it sway...The above posts are good...let us know what you did to correct the problem.
 
shavedhead2, if you are not currently using sway control I STRONGLY suggest that you invest is a system.

I tow my 20 ft car trailer (about 5,500 lbs) with my V8 4Runner.

I use a system from Reese that includes both a Dual Cam High-Performance Sway Control and a High-Performance Weight Distribution System.

http://www.reese-hitches.com/produc...ibution_Trunnion_Bar_Kitwith_Hitch_Bar,66084\

I have towed my trailer in 30-40 mph crosswinds and 20-30 mph head & tail winds up & down some pretty big hills.
Bottom line is, this system works VERY WELL.
BTW, this system is also great when it is necessary to make VERY tight turns or one faces some steep
approach/departure angles going up/down streets and driveways.

FYI, I use the McKesh mirrors on my 4Runner when towing.

http://www.hensleymfg.com/mckeshmirrors.html

The stock 4Runner mirrors perform very poorly when one is towing an 8.5 ft. wide trailer.
 
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Easy checks like others mentioned , tire pressure , correct tire for that load and weight distribution.

I pull all the time some times 4000 lb tractors / loaders . I just giver and never had a problem.

I'm glad you and the kids are ok and home safe.

Keep us posted . I don't know what determines that you have sway bars or not. I never used them , even when I was pulling a 26' Donzi at 65 mph on the freeway. I was using a 93 Ford Bronco ( full size) at the time. It was back in 1995-2000 with various trucks.
 
I believe whats happening is your trailer is pushing your vehicle. when you brake, your trailer brakes aren't actuating hard enough, so the trailer pushes. when your rear end moves out on one side and the trailer is pushing, the trailer will massively exacerbate the turn.

Adjust your trailer brakes to be more aggressive, and check them for operation.

in the future when you enter into a similar situation, press your brake controllers manual control hard. The trailer will brake and steady up.

In my opinion, your trailer brakes are properly adjusted when you brake and you forget your towing. That means the trailer is taking care of all of it's weight and the hitch is pushing your vehicle.

Those are my thoughts. Might be wrong though.
 
:iagree: with all the above comments. If the trailer is light in the front consider emptying the T4R of gear and travel with said gear in the front of the trailer. The rear end sag won't change much but the stability should be improved. It's amazing what 100-150lbs can do if stategically placed...

If your like most there's probably cooler(s) and some gear in the T4R.

Of course a WDH w/sway control can work miracles too...


:cheers:
 
I would also suggest investing in some sort of sway control. I use a sway bar while pulling my boat (approx #3500). There is a small ball welded to the hitch and one to the trailer. Then a bar with a friction slip joint that goes between the two. I can coast down hills and pass semi's on the interstate with no sway whatsoever. Definitetly money well spent I have heard a few horror stories of accidents caused my swaying trailers.
 
As others have mentioned; two things contributed to me having simular issues in the past. Load distribution in the trailer and badly adjusted or brakes just not working on the trailer. The most severe sway however has been bad load distribution on a small utility trailer thinking it is such a small trailer who care where the load is (wrong), so it doesn't really matter the trailer size. One other issue might be overloading the trailer which often happens on travel trailers.
 
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Only time i ever had a problem towing was once when my car was loaded wrong on the trailer. Started swaying real bad going down the Cajon pass in California. Thought I was going to wreck. After I was able to slowly come to a stop, I moved the car forward on the trailer and the truck drove fine even down the hill. This was with a 2001 Tacoma towing about 4500#s total with no trailer brakes. I do agree with the above posts as well, but I think the biggest difference will be the weight distribution.
 
Load position is a big deal as well. Just towed an 18' pontoon boat on a 24' scissor trailer and if you dont have the boat positioned correctly it will sway a lot. Also, not to redirect this thread, what gear is best to tow in?
 
NDRYDEN123 said:
Load position is a big deal as well. Just towed an 18' pontoon boat on a 24' scissor trailer and if you dont have the boat positioned correctly it will sway a lot. Also, not to redirect this thread, what gear is best to tow in?
Click to expand...

Assuming you have the boat centered on the trailer you cant do much more to redistribute the weight. Unless you are on a flat stretch of road I would tow in 4th.
 
Weight distribution is king. You need 10% - 15% tongue weight, from the trailer. The heavier the trailer, the closer you need to be to 15%.

This link has a good explanation of how to do this.
 
I towed for several years with a Hensley Arrow tow system. The cost is high but you will never find a better tow system. I sold my travel trailer several years ago and went to a motorhome but if I was ever to go back to a travel trailer I would again invest in a Hensley Arrow tow system.

If you were to decide to go with this system ask about a refurbished unit the cost savings can be substantial.

CAD-Man
 
Very interesting discussions.
Thanks to everyone for their input.

After many sleepless nights wondering about this, I've come to realize that the major problem with the Massive Trailer Sway was Operator Error.

Errors:
1) No Anti-Sway Control system. (Only weight-distributing hitch)
2) Possibly not enough tongue weight
3) Most Importantly- During the beginning of the Sway episode, I gave into the temptation of trying to 'Correct' the trailer behavior by turning into it. However, as I am well aware now- that was the WRONG thing to do.
4) In addition to 3#, I also tried hitting the vehicle brakes (that's a no-no) and I tried downshifting from 4th to 3rd (another no-no).

All in All, this was a lesson learned.

Hopefully everyone will learn from my Mistakes and make sure if that trailer begins to sway, do not try to fix it be moving your steering wheel. Just hold her straight and if possible, hit the trailer brakes only and that should do it.

Happy Trailering 4Runner Group!!!!
 
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