Sunset Trail ST30RE

[ptarthur]

Ok, I adjusted the WD Trailer Hitch, it was actually a whopping 5 inches too high!
I also tightened up on the weight distribution bars an additional link which brought the front of the truck back down where it should have been. With the trailer hitched up and the weight distribution bars in place, the back of the truck is only down about 2 " and the front is up about an inch and a half.

I towed it about 50 miles down the interstate today at 65mphand the difference was definitely noticeable.Between this adustment and the load helpers I previously installed, the swaying from passing 18 wheelers is barely noticeable. I do in fact have P type tires and I'll plan to replace when withthe LT type but that might be a while since they are Michilens and only have 20K miles at this point. Thanks for all the tips and advice, they really helped !

[tator447]

Paul,
Glad to hear it, hope all your travels are safe ones now

Jim

[wincrasher]

I'd also check the tongue weight and what size bars you have. if you went up a link, they must be bent a good bit - I'd guess that 1000 lb bars are needed.

[tator447]

Wincrasher,
I'm not sure I read anything that says his bars were bent. What were you referring to please?

Thanks,
Jim

[ptarthur]

The bars

on my WD hitch are rated for 1000 lbs. and no, they are not bent. Hopefully

most or all of the sway problem is taken care of at this point or at least it

was when towing empty. We'll be towing down to the Gulf Coast of Alabama in a

couple of weeks and I'll find out how it does when towing loaded up then.
I've weighed

it empty already and I'm planning on weighing it again loaded to find out just

how much "stuff" we are carrying. I was surprised to find out the

empty weight was significantly more than the "certified" weight the

dealer has posted outside the door and inside the kitchen cabinet. The dealer’s

certified dry weight was 6330 but the scales I used at Flying J/Pilot indicated

7060 with the trailer empty. There was still something less than 1/3 of a tank

of fresh water but that would only account for something around 170 lbs. at

most. I'm thinking maybe the original weight was taken before some of the

furniture or some other features like the TV & fireplace were added. Not a

big concern but it is puzzling especially since the manufactures brochure

indicates even a lower dry weight of 6150 lbs. it makes me wonder if the published

tongue weight of 720 lbs. might actually be a little higher as well.
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[Lloyd]

I believe the posted wt. is before any options are added. So take a min. and think of every option on your trailer. I'll bet that's where the extra wt. is coming from. LP in it's self if you have two 30# bottles-------60# if they are full. 1/3 tank of water-----100#

[ptarthur]

You may be right but the way the dealer explained it to me was that the dry weight published in the brochure (6,158 lbs) is before options are added but the certified weight posted outside the door and inside the kitchen cabinet (6,330 lbs) was taken by the manufacturer at shipping time which includes any options added. The dealer didn't add anything additional except water and LP gas. I hadn't thought about the weight ofthe full LP gas bottles, thanks for pointing that out.Maybe my wifestill had more stuffstashed away in the tailer than I realized
In any event,at 7,060 lbs dry weight I'm still within 75% of my trucks rated towing capacity which is what I'm shooting for. We'll just have to be careful about what we take with us on long trips.

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[ptarthur]

Just wanted to post an update regarding the issue with sway discussed above. The problem appears to have been solved. Between adding the Timbern load support springs and making adjustments to my WD Hitch and taking the tires on my truck up to max pressure we had no problems at all towing over 1000 miles to the beach and back. Thanks for all of the advice!