I just checked my 2" ball hitch and reads 600 # max tongue weight and I pull with a 3/4 ton.

Your post says you are weighing in at 1300 # tongue weight. That seems way to much tongue weight. You may want to load sleds further back.

I'm certainly no trailer expert but I would start there. How much additional weight do you have in the box of the truck as well ?

I'm sure guys with more knowledge will chime in.

Don~

 

I just checked my 2" ball hitch and reads 600 # max tongue weight and I pull with a 3/4 ton.

Your post says you are weighing in at 1300 # tongue weight. That seems way to much tongue weight. You may want to load sleds further back.

I'm certainly no trailer expert but I would start there. How much additional weight do you have in the box of the truck as well ?

I'm sure guys with more knowledge will chime in.

Don~

Sleds are as tight as I can get them towards the back...first ski is touching back ramp door then the other two are skis to running boards. I have dialed weight distribution hitch to around 600 lbs of tongue weight.

Trailer acts the same when empty.

Currently have no added weight in the box but have tried adding 300lbs to bed of truck with no difference.

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Just not sure if it's the trailer or the truck. I see a lot of guys towing comparable size trailers with 1/2 ton trucks. To me the shape is comparable to a camper...and if it is just the nature of the beast, my neighbor with his 28 footer should be having it worse than me but he says it is fine.

If it is the trailer I would gladly upgrade if it will tow better but I don't want to spend the money to upgrade and have the same problem...

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What tire pressure are you running in the trailer tires. You may want to check axle alignment (axle to axle and with trailer). My experience with long trailers like that, is that they do move around, especially in cross winds.

 

I have a 2017 Stealth Predator 7.5 x 23'. I do know it's back there behind my F-150 and it doesn't pull as nice as my father in-laws featherlight, but it pulls fine with no issues as you've described. I have 3 trips with it including one across ND and MT on glare ice and strong winds. I do not have near the effort into hook up, basically it's level and away I go. I load front to back. Something has to be off with your trailer... Does it eat tires? One of the axles could be out.

 

When the trailer is loaded and hooked to the truck on level ground, is the trailer level (same height from the ground at the front and rear of the trailer)? if not that is a problem that needs to be addressed. If you don't already have them, you might want to consider air lift bags for the rear suspension of the truck, it sounds like you are putting a pretty good load on the truck.

 

I have a 2017 Stealth Predator 7.5 x 23'. I do know it's back there behind my F-150 and it doesn't pull as nice as my father in-laws featherlight, but it pulls fine with no issues as you've described. I have 3 trips with it including one across ND and MT on glare ice and strong winds. I do not have near the effort into hook up, basically it's level and away I go. I load front to back. Something has to be off with your trailer... Does it eat tires? One of the axles could be out.

Tires are running 55 psi per sidewalk specs. And we have about 4000 miles on trailer and visually the tires look fine but when you run your hands down them they are starting to develop a very slight chop on the outside edge on all four tires...very slight tho.

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When the trailer is loaded and hooked to the truck on level ground, is the trailer level (same height from the ground at the front and rear of the trailer)? if not that is a problem that needs to be addressed. If you don't already have them, you might want to consider air lift bags for the rear suspension of the truck, it sounds like you are putting a pretty good load on the truck.

Trailer is level...that was one of the first things I tried was an adjustable hitch and mess with different heights and didn't seem to matter that much.

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I just checked my 2" ball hitch and reads 600 # max tongue weight and I pull with a 3/4 ton.

Your post says you are weighing in at 1300 # tongue weight. That seems way to much tongue weight. You may want to load sleds further back.

I'm certainly no trailer expert but I would start there. How much additional weight do you have in the box of the truck as well ?

I'm sure guys with more knowledge will chime in.

Don~

Correction...I looked at the scale tickets wrong. Loaded tongue weight is 1000 lbs and trailer total weight is just above 5000 lbs.

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I have a 2017 Stealth Predator 7.5 x 23'. I do know it's back there behind my F-150 and it doesn't pull as nice as my father in-laws featherlight, but it pulls fine with no issues as you've described. I have 3 trips with it including one across ND and MT on glare ice and strong winds. I do not have near the effort into hook up, basically it's level and away I go. I load front to back. Something has to be off with your trailer... Does it eat tires? One of the axles could be out.

Any way you could take a couple axle measurements for me? From ball to the center of tube of front axle and from rear of trailer to the center of tube of back axle would be great. Pretty much same trailer other than the extra 6" of width on yours...I would think axles should be in same place. If anyone has a 7x23 stealth predator and could provide the same measurements that would be awesome. That way we know for sure they are or are not the same.

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20% tongue weight is too much. Should be closer to 10%. Need to load them in a different configuration or move the axles forward

 

20% tongue weight is too much. Should be closer to 10%. Need to load them in a different configuration or move the axles forward

Correct, tongue weight should be 10~15% of overall load. Change your load configuration around to get to this.

Next, I'm not a huge fan of WD hitches, for sled trailers and driving in bad conditions. If you really think about how they work, they create a pivot point. This unloads the rear tires of the tow vehicle and throws it into the front, especially if you have them cranked really tight. Go with an airbag setup to start with, then add WD hitch if needed to assist.

I would do a full inspection of the trailer and look for anything that is loose or broken. You could have a cracked weld in the frame somewhere.

Last, take it in and have the axles aligned.

I guess the question not asked/answered, what towing speed are you seeing the issue at? Also what kind of winds?

 

Correct, tongue weight should be 10~15% of overall load. Change your load configuration around to get to this.

Next, I'm not a huge fan of WD hitches, for sled trailers and driving in bad conditions. If you really think about how they work, they create a pivot point. This unloads the rear tires of the tow vehicle and throws it into the front, especially if you have them cranked really tight. Go with an airbag setup to start with, then add WD hitch if needed to assist.

I would do a full inspection of the trailer and look for anything that is loose or broken. You could have a cracked weld in the frame somewhere.

Last, take it in and have the axles aligned.

I guess the question not asked/answered, what towing speed are you seeing the issue at? Also what kind of winds?

When winds are 15+ and driving 50 mph or greater is when it has happened.

I don't crank the WD tight...I use it more for the sway control than the weight distribution. Have had the rig on scales with the WD hooked up and still have 4100 lbs on rear axle.

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I agree with others who have posted above. Get the trailer checked for proper axle alignment and positioning for the load you are hauling.

Never had this happen to me with sleds but a small utility trailer I used once started to sway and it was bad when it happened. It drove the truck like you said. Don't know what it was but it was a borrowed trailer.

 

Brad,

Shot it and it's telling me from the coupler to the front of the first axle is 15'9". Not precise but hopefully it'll help you out.

 

As a long time travel trailer guy you have way to much tongue weight. You are effectively lifting the front wheels of your truck and making your rears the pivot point. Just how much sag in the rear occurs when you attach it? Those WD bars need to be cranked even before you take the load off the jack. A sway bar in addition to the WD bars will help too. Air bags will help the sag but your biggest issue is that tongue weight %.

IMO you are an accident waiting to happen, please resolve the issue.

 

etrailer.com sells an adjustable coupler that has a a built in tongue weight scale. Looks easy to operate.

Don~

 

Maybe I calculated the tongue weight wrong....seems to be everyone says that is way too much. So I need to confirm my numbers.

Just to confirm here is what i did to get tongue weight at the cat scales:

1) weighed truck only
2) weight truck and trailer, no weight distribution.

Subtracted rear axle weight of truck only from rear axle weight of truck and trailer.

Is this correct? I found one site that said to do it this way but found another that said this was wrong. One site said by simply doing this you are not taking into account the front axle weight that is transferred to the rear axle when the trailer is connected...

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Brad,

Shot it and it's telling me from the coupler to the front of the first axle is 15'9". Not precise but hopefully it'll help you out.

Awesome thanks!

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As others have said, I think the general rule of thumb is 10-15% of total loaded trailer weight is what you should try to attain for tongue weight. I don't have a Stealth (I have a 7.5 multi-sport inline PROLine). They recommend running 15%.

Here is a link with a ton of information: http://sherline.com/Wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/lm_booklet_2.pdf

And here is a link demonstrating using a bathroom scale to determine tongue weight: https://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-determine-trailer-tongue-weight.aspx

I am not familiar with the method you described when using a public weigh scale....so I can't comment accurately on that.

 

There is no way that truck scale math would work to calculate accurate tongue weight. Weigh the tongue yourself.

Also setup of WD hitch is critical to set tension properly. Not sure on Anderson as it's an odd duck, but Instructions for all WD hitches provide a clear procedure for using tape measure to measure sag at front and rear truck wheel wells, loaded and unloaded. These measurements set the angle of the ball and the length of the chains. Wheelbase of tow vehicle comes into play and measurements need to be taken with trailer and vehicle fully loaded for typical towing including luggage and humans in the tow vehicle. You cannot just do it by feel and be anywhere close to accurate.

Initial setup of a WD hitch should take you a solid hour to perform on your own. Maybe more. Has something like this been done either by you or by hitch dealer? If not it is guaranteed not correct. Set it up right.

Not Stealth but I tow similar size RNR trailer with 1/2 ton Chevy crew cab and stock all season tires. 4 sleds in trailer, bed loaded with gear, some humans and a Fastway e2 WD hitch. Last year 75 mph across the country with 45 mph steady crosswinds and higher gusts across farmland and thru mountain passes. 1200 Miles each way. We passed somewhere near 50 semis blown onto their sides into ditches. Yet usually I just had a couple fingers on steering wheel and cruise control set unless ice was expected. Tracked straight and predictable real easy to drive. Barely felt the gusts all except in the pocketbook with 8mpg lol. Wind blew the cash right outta my pocket.

 

According to the calculation from the following link my tongue weight is 700 lbs. That seems more realistic. I know a tongue scale is more accurate but the tickets are what I have at the moment. I was simply looking at the difference in rear truck axle weights and you have to look at the truck gross weight before and after hookup according to the link.

According to the tickets, the trailer weight is 4800 so with 700 lbs of tongue weight that is 15%.

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-determine-trailer-tongue-weight.aspx

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There is no way that truck scale math would work to calculate accurate tongue weight. Weigh the tongue yourself.

Also setup of WD hitch is critical to set tension properly. Not sure on Anderson as it's an odd duck, but Instructions for all WD hitches provide a clear procedure for using tape measure to measure sag at front and rear truck wheel wells, loaded and unloaded. These measurements set the angle of the ball and the length of the chains. Wheelbase of tow vehicle comes into play and measurements need to be taken with trailer and vehicle fully loaded for typical towing including luggage and humans in the tow vehicle. You cannot just do it by feel and be anywhere close to accurate.

Initial setup of a WD hitch should take you a solid hour to perform on your own. Maybe more. Has something like this been done either by you or by hitch dealer? If not it is guaranteed not correct. Set it up right.

Not Stealth but I tow similar size RNR trailer with 1/2 ton Chevy crew cab and stock all season tires. 4 sleds in trailer, bed loaded with gear, some humans and a Fastway e2 WD hitch. Last year 75 mph across the country with 45 mph steady crosswinds and higher gusts across farmland and thru mountain passes. 1200 Miles each way. We passed somewhere near 50 semis blown onto their sides into ditches. Yet usually I just had a couple fingers on steering wheel and cruise control set unless ice was expected. Tracked straight and predictable real easy to drive. Barely felt the gusts all except in the pocketbook with 8mpg lol. Wind blew the cash right outta my pocket.

What do you do when the trailer is empty or only have 2 sleds in the trailer? Do you keep the hitch at one setting all the time or do you have to mess with it based on how you have the trailer loaded?

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I rarely have any reason to tow less than 3 sleds, but for light load I just put a normal hitch ball onto the truck, and skip weight distribution system completely. It's not needed for light loads and could cause handling problems if used.

So no I don't change settings on the WD hitch once it is set up and working properly...if I don't need WD for a light weight run, I leave the whole system sitting in the garage.

 

There is no way that truck scale math would work to calculate accurate tongue weight. Weigh the tongue yourself.

Also setup of WD hitch is critical to set tension properly. Not sure on Anderson as it's an odd duck, but Instructions for all WD hitches provide a clear procedure for using tape measure to measure sag at front and rear truck wheel wells, loaded and unloaded. These measurements set the angle of the ball and the length of the chains. Wheelbase of tow vehicle comes into play and measurements need to be taken with trailer and vehicle fully loaded for typical towing including luggage and humans in the tow vehicle. You cannot just do it by feel and be anywhere close to accurate.

Initial setup of a WD hitch should take you a solid hour to perform on your own. Maybe more. Has something like this been done either by you or by hitch dealer? If not it is guaranteed not correct. Set it up right.

Not Stealth but I tow similar size RNR trailer with 1/2 ton Chevy crew cab and stock all season tires. 4 sleds in trailer, bed loaded with gear, some humans and a Fastway e2 WD hitch. Last year 75 mph across the country with 45 mph steady crosswinds and higher gusts across farmland and thru mountain passes. 1200 Miles each way. We passed somewhere near 50 semis blown onto their sides into ditches. Yet usually I just had a couple fingers on steering wheel and cruise control set unless ice was expected. Tracked straight and predictable real easy to drive. Barely felt the gusts all except in the pocketbook with 8mpg lol. Wind blew the cash right outta my pocket.

I am calling BS. Everyone knows you need a 1ton drw w/ a diesel to do that