Sway towing boat

[m@76]

I have a 2002 Tahoe 1500 with autoride. The autoride is functioning properly as I just replace the major components. I am having a problem with the trailer swaying side to side when the speed exceeds 55 or when going downhill on the highway. The trailer is double axle, 32' from hitch to boat transom, combined weight of the boat and trailer is approximatley 8,000 lbs and is approximatley . Double axle trailer, the trailer is properly balance and the hitch height is level. All sites I have read state you cannot use anti sway controls on boat trailers, so my only option is a truck modification.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[stockergt]

Just to be well informed are you running stock wheels and tires or do you have something bigger? What are the load ratings on your current tires? And what shape are your trailer tires in?

 

[05Yukon]

Do you know how much tounge weight your trailer has?

 

[Rollin Thunder]

i must say thats a massive load for your truck to pull.

Just curious. How well does it tow. Im not expecting sports car preformance, but is it atleast bariable preformance, or do you crawl everyware??

 

[m@76]

The truck tires are stock size and in good condition, the trailer and tires are only a year old. The truck tows fine as far as power goes. It is only when the speed exceeds 50 - 55 does the trailer start to sway side to side. I had a longer boat before and used a 04 Suburban 1500 and never had this issue which is making me think its a wheelbase problem.

 

[boostaholic]

The longer wheelbase on the burban helped, I'd go with some anti-sway bars and run a little higher pressure in th tires while towing. Get a damn supplementary trans cooler too that poor little 4l60 must be struggling.

 

[andyb]

I would double check your tongue weight, sounds like it may be too heavy.

 

[Brandon00hoe]

I would double check your tongue weight, sounds like it may be too heavy.

x2

 

[dye4metal]

id raise the air pressure and get some aftermarket sway bars.

makes me think when my dad used my 02 tahoe to move our 38ft cigarette at 11,000lbs hahaha. he only moved it about 60 ft forward then back but i sware the rear end was on the bump stops.

 

[andyb]

id raise the air pressure and get some aftermarket sway bars.

makes me think when my dad used my 02 tahoe to move our 38ft cigarette at 11,000lbs hahaha. he only moved it about 60 ft forward then back but i sware the rear end was on the bump stops.

You should still only have about 1100 pounds tongue weight, pulled my 35 Sonic (10,000 pounds) no problem with the trailer weight set right.

 

[mbwagoner]

sway controls don't work if you have surge brakes, but at 8k you might have electric. If so you can use sway control. Also, what are the ratings on your tires? I had stock P rated tires and got minor sway on my 5k boat, but once I upgraded to E rated it was solid. little ride difference but it was worth it. Since then I've pulled 8k with no sway control and had no sway.

 

[crestapre]

I vote for not enough tounge weight. I had a simular issues until I moved my boat forward on the trailer. Below is info that I had got from a boating forum it shows you how to get your tounge weight at home.

BTW how does your truck stop with that load? Mine is around the same weight and I'm pretty nervous stopping that load.



Gross trailer weight (GTW) is the weight of the trailer fully loaded in its actual towing condition.
GTW is measured by placing the fully loaded trailer on a vehicle scale. The entire weight of the trailer should be supported on the scale as shown in Figure 1.
Tongue weight (TW) is the downward force exerted on the hitch ball by the trailer coupler. In most cases, it is about 10 to 15 percent of GTW. TW of up to 300 lbs. can be measured on a household scale by resting the trailer coupler on the scale and placing the scale on a box so that the coupler is at its normal towing height. The trailer must be fully loaded and level.
For heavier tongue weights, place a household scale and a brick that's as thick as the scale three feet apart as shown in Figure 2. Set a length of pipe on each and rest a beam across the pipes. Re-zero the scale to correct for the weight of the beam and pipe. Securely block the trailer wheels. Rest the trailer jack on the beam as shown, one (1) foot from the brick and two (2) feet from the scale.
To obtain the TW, multiply the scale reading by three (3). For greater tongue weights, place the scale and brick four (4) feet apart, rest the jack on the beam three (3) feet from the scale and multiply the scale reading by four (4).

 

[crestapre]

Sorry, the diagram didn't post.

 

[Whipple1]

These will help from your Truck to sway in the rear big Time!http://www.hotchkis.net/p-547-lower-trailing-arms.aspx

 

[dye4metal]

You should still only have about 1100 pounds tongue weight, pulled my 35 Sonic (10,000 pounds) no problem with the trailer weight set right.

we have a myco trailer:yesnod: so they are very well built and even though the tounge weight isnt that much the fact that you have to stop that is the other challenge. :ack:

 

[Whipple1]

though the tounge weight isnt that much the fact that you have to stop that is the other challenge. :ack:

My buddy has a 22' Seahunt and his trailer has a seperate brakeing system and a flush setup for the axles,Dont all larger trailers have this?

 

[xsivforce]

What are the load ratings on your current tires?

I didn't see if this was answered. Are your tires "P" series or "LT" series? Usually a truck will come stock with LT series tires and they are often replaced by a previous owner with P series tires because they are less expensive.

The only reason I mention this is because it happened to me. Someone replaced the tires on a Dodge Ram I had with P series tires which are fine for every day driving. However, they were awful when towing a load by having the swaying motion.

Hopefully this helps.

 

[dye4metal]

My buddy has a 22' Seahunt and his trailer has a seperate brakeing system and a flush setup for the axles,Dont all larger trailers have this?

they are built to help the load not built to stop the load on its own, ours is a triaxle with torsion axles and only has 4 drums. imagine our truck with calipers and then boats weighing more than our trucks and only having drums. they are just made to help.