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Tractor-trailer semi-truck bow wave Travel trailer sway is the leading cause of accidents for RV owners. Trailer sway can happen with any type of heavy trailer where its connected to the car behind the rear wheels.
Driving maneuvers evasive or quick.
What causes a trailer to sway. Uneven weight distribution is a significant cause of trailer swaying. If you load too much weight towards the rear of your trailer the trailers rear gets overburdened. In such cases the rear end can act as a pendulum that swings back and.
What Causes Travel Trailer Sway. As you have already read an unbalanced load and the trailer hitch are two causes for sway. But there are several other causes that make life on the open road a little more difficult.
Two of the most common causes involve wind. Rapid movements can quickly cause your trailer to sway. Leave a good amount of space between you and the car in front of you.
This will reduce your need to brake suddenly. Other things that may cause trailer sway include the following items. Human error when attaching the trailer to the hitch.
Weight that is not properly distributed. The wind is a huge cause of trailer sway. Sudden strong gusts of wind can hit your trailer from the side and cause it to start rocking from side to side.
If your trailer is already at high risk for trailer sway even a gust of wind from a passing semi-truck could send it into sway. Remember that trailer sway and whipping are considered combination disturbances which also include improper handling of the trailer and tow vehicle over-steering and other deviations of the trailer or tow vehicle from their intended path due to causes such as improper loading excessive speeds cross winds passing vehicles rough roads steering inputs and more. Most times sway is induced by too little tongue weight on the trailer ball.
Your trailers tongue weight should be 10 to 15 percent of the total trailer weight loaded and ready to tow. Most of the time redistributing weight in the trailer will solve sway issues especially if a weight distribution system with sway control is used. Common Causes of Trailer Swaying If your trailer is connected to a hitch that is located behind the rear axle of your vehicle it is capable of swaying.
Since the hitch is essentially the acting pivot point between the centers of gravity of the trailer and vehicle any sudden force can send it into a swaying motion if it is stronger than the. Trailer sway can be caused by gusts of wind or the passing of trucks but can also be caused by a multitude of things that you can fix yourself. Not enough tongue weight.
10 to 12 percent of the trailers weight must be on the tongue where it hitches to your vehicle. This is the most common cause for trailer sway. Several of the most common causes of travel trailer sway include.
Strong winds to moderately strong winds. Road conditions such as ice. Driving maneuvers evasive or quick.
Inadvertently driving off the shoulder. Tractor-trailer semi-truck bow wave Travel trailer sway is the leading cause of accidents for RV owners. Can too much tongue weight cause trailer sway.
Excessive Tongue Weight If the trailer is too heavy it can cause the tow vehicle to squat and make the rear squirm which then creates sway in the trailer. The tongue weight should be around 15 of the total weight of the trailer to avoid squat as well. An improperly matched tow vehicle and trailer can result in trailer sway.
A tow vehicle without the proper towing capacity for the trailer it is towing too light of a suspension system for the amount of tongue weight too short of a wheelbase for the size of trailer can all contribute to trailer sway. As trailer sway is because of a pivot between the centre of gravity of the vehicle and trailer it is important to ensure the centre of gravity of the trailer remains in a safe place. Loading too much weight on one side of your trailer or loading it too close to the front or back can upset the balance and cause swaying to occur more easily.
What Causes Trailer Sway. There are a variety of things that can cause trailer sway to start. Some of the common trailer towing mistakes are avoidable while others may not be.
Having a clear idea of what could be causing your trailer to sway may help you be better prepared if it happens. Wind is the most common cause of trailer sway. Dangerous TrailersOrg Presents Trailer Sway 101 - YouTube.
Trailer sway can be very dangerous. It happens when the trailer starts swaying from side to side. When that happens the driver can easily lose control of their trailer and the truck.
At that point they may end up in the guard rail though if others are on the road this could cause quite an accident. In order to stay as safe as possible as. Trailer sway can happen with any type of heavy trailer where its connected to the car behind the rear wheels.
Any of these can cause trailer sway. High-sided trailers like caravans can be influenced by strong gusty side winds or buffeting from oncoming lorries side winds can exert more than a ton of force on the side of a caravan.