Trailer Sway Suggestions?
- Thread starter kittyhawksurf
- Start date
LandCruiser
New member
Long wheelbase truck, 2500 not 1500.
vanion2
New member
I have the same pup. HW27SC. Granted I have a 3rd gen but you are saying you aren't getting any rear squatting when you load your pup? Do you have a pic hooked up? Just curious.
kittyhawksurf
New member
Yea, I'm only 4'8...
Hahhahahha. No, but the scales put me in at that. I suppose they aren't perfect. 180 lbs.
Ahhh, okay. No sir, not doing it. I'm in love with this TRDP.
Sorry man, I don't know what a "pic" is, but I didn't notice squatting until I looked at this picture. Yea, apparently there is a pretty significant amount of it.
LandCruiser
New member
That's some serious sag.
I'd invest in some stiffer, beefier rear coils and get an anti-sway system.
I'd invest in some stiffer, beefier rear coils and get an anti-sway system.
philsey
New member
Agree, your headlights will be in oncoming eyes. Plus that nose up attitude upsets everything; steering, braking, etc.
What else will be in the 4R? People? Gear? This will only make it worse. ALL 4R's are softly sprung. Many on here like airbags.
Please answer: What is your loaded/as towed tongue weight? It should be 10-15% of the trlr wgt. Your truck doesn't look right.
ETA: Looked at your pic again, it does not look as if your truck has any ppl or gear in it.
Don't forget to pump up them tires.
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LandCruiser
New member
I have a hybrid Toytec lift, and with almost 1800 pounds of crap in my truck plus my fat 240 pound ass there was only 1.5" sag--since I have it set on a rake the vehicle was sitting level.
Trailering with a heavy tongue weight also has the same effect.
mikeh74
New member
I have a popup and use one of these too. Works great. Just take off the tension or remove it when you back up. It's not that big of a deal. I've left it on by accident when backing up and have yet to hurt it.
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Sorry for the attached photo, but the image link doesn't appear to be working for me. Anyway, this is when we brought it home. Empty, but the truck had stuff in the back. Now that it's loaded, it has a hair more sag, but it's still decent. However, this truck will probably have a lift in its future, so some stiffer springs will be in order.
Again, this photo is without any weight distributing hitch or accessories. The only thing I have installed since then is the Reese antisway.
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vanion2
New member
Nice. I just did the suspension on mine so I am hoping that was the culprit. That and I installed an Airlift 1000 kit as well. Love that pup!
Jetboy
New member
A properly designed trailer that is loaded correctly shouldn't need much in terms of sway control. IMO - learn how to load a trailer first. Then see if you need some sway control device. Most of the time the biggest problem is insufficient tongue weight due to not wanting to put too much weight on the rear suspension of the light duty tow rig. I'd spend your $200 on air bags and increase tongue weight long before I'd put on a weight distributing or a sway control hitch. Those are basically bandaids for poor towing characteristics of trailers with axles located too far aft so they can be towed by light duty vehicles.
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darrylj
New member
Have you actually experienced sway or are you just expecting to experience it?
One of the stock items on all 2015 T4R was "electronic sway control". So I made a point to ask the salesman about it and where I could find it.
Apparently the traction control can detect trailer sway and using the braking system on alternate sides it tries to reduce it. Hmmmmm.
Has anyone seen this in action and does it actually help?
One of the stock items on all 2015 T4R was "electronic sway control". So I made a point to ask the salesman about it and where I could find it.
Apparently the traction control can detect trailer sway and using the braking system on alternate sides it tries to reduce it. Hmmmmm.
Has anyone seen this in action and does it actually help?
Jetboy
New member
I would be really interested to see this in action. I've had a trailer get into a harmonic sway with about 6 yards of sand in it (maybe 12-14k lbs). It was a bit hairy trying to get it back under control - often as you try to slow down it makes it worse. I was able to use the trailer brakes alone to dissipate the sway and got the thing safely stopped. Turned out I had hit something and one of the rear tires on a tandem had gone flat throwing the balance of the trailer out of whack.
Anyway, I wasn't aware of any trailer sway control feature on the 4runner, but I think if done properly there are times it could be really handy. Hope I never get the chance to test it out...
kittyhawksurf
New member
(Previous post)
"So I got some weights yesterday.
Vehicle weight - 4,740 lbs
Camper weight - 2,860 lbs
Tongue weight - 400 lbs (weighed yesterday at RV dealership)"- Approximately 14% of trailer GVW.
My understanding is the max psi for my tires is 35. I'm at 33.
This sounds great, but I am trying to follow the 2015 Toyota T4R manual which says, "If the gross trailer weight is over 2000 lb. (907 kg), a sway control device with sufficient capacity is required."
SEE ABOVE ANSWER. I have not experienced sway problems. Trying to follow the manual.
It really didn't drive that bad, but it was all flat land.
As far weight placement I completely understand the importance of balancing weights property. It's especially important in flying (I'm a private pilot). There just aren't a bunch of options for changing the weight around in that camper. The racks are fixed on top and the boars aren't going anywhere. So that's a done deal. The inside has some items stored under the kitchen table bench and some items in the shower, but not a lot of weight. I do have some items stowed in the back, but since my tongue weight is 14% I'm assuming nothing is grossly off here. Not to mention I didn't have any major problems driving it although it was not windy and 3 hours of flat land driving.
I'm going to get that Fastway/equal-I-zer e2 hitch to be safe. Unless someone on here can tell me something convincing otherwise. I didn't even notice the sag in the back until after I took the picture. It just wasn't that hard to drive. Just some minor "bucking."
I'm just trying to make it as safe as possible and enjoyable as possible.
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kittyhawksurf
New member
Sorry, but I forgot to add:
I called the dealership to ask about the "standard sway control" and he had no idea and stated I didn't have it. I don't believe him and am nearly certain there is some electronic sway control. I was trying to determine if I was pissing my money away on sway control since the T4R manual required sway control if over 2,000 lbs. The manual is obviously stating there needs to be additional sway control.
I called the dealership to ask about the "standard sway control" and he had no idea and stated I didn't have it. I don't believe him and am nearly certain there is some electronic sway control. I was trying to determine if I was pissing my money away on sway control since the T4R manual required sway control if over 2,000 lbs. The manual is obviously stating there needs to be additional sway control.
kittyhawksurf
New member
Yea man,
I didn't have any issues either, but I will have the following riding in my TRDP:
My wife
8 year old daughter
6 year old daughter
1 year old son
1 year old Boston Terrier
9 year old English Bull Dog
So that's why I want to follow the manual. For anyone that is wondering. I want to be SAFE and CAREFUL.
I will be driving it from NC to TX and back in about a month.
I didn't have any issues either, but I will have the following riding in my TRDP:
My wife
8 year old daughter
6 year old daughter
1 year old son
1 year old Boston Terrier
9 year old English Bull Dog
So that's why I want to follow the manual. For anyone that is wondering. I want to be SAFE and CAREFUL.
I will be driving it from NC to TX and back in about a month.
