Diagnosing Excess Sway on New Influence 2903RL Fifth Wheel

[deb&ken]

I am on my 3rd Grand Design fifth wheel. First a Reflection 337RLS then a Solitude S-Class 3330RE now a new Influence 2930RL all pulled by the same 2016 Ford F350 SW B&W 20K hitch. The two previous pulled with no issues but now the new 2903RL has what I consider way to much sway. I haven't weighed it yet after the initial pull home (about 725 miles) so not sure of the distribution. There were no liquids in any tank plus less than 200 lbs of personal stuff in the front. It has the Dexter Tow Assist but I'm not sure if this is the problem. BTW the tow assist never kicked in as far as I could see so not sure what it takes to make that work.

Questions are two fold
1. Any ideas on what it could be?
2. Can you turn this tow assist off to see if that helps?

I know this is long but another potential problem. I'm not sure this unit is square. It seems I can't see both sides equally from the tow mirrors and I only see the driver side sway. How do you check it?

 

[sande005]

Is it really sway? True sway shows as the rear end of the trailer moving from one side to the other, exacerbated by speed, to the point of catastrophe. Does it disappear at lower speed, or is it just not as bad? Suspect alignment if "just not as bad". For safety, don't try to aggravate it by going faster - it is all too easy to get to a tipping point where the sway (if it is true sway) very quickly gets out of control and the trailer throws you off the road.

First - get it to a scale, as is, and weigh the truck separately and then the combination - with that info you can verify whether it currently is too light on the pin, or not. That part is cheap and easy. Too light is the primary reason for sway at and above a given speed.

Resolve the perception of "squareness". That may be the main issue - the trailer wheels are trying to track in a slightly different direction than the truck. Leading to an assumption of sway, when it is not. Talk to the dealer - they may agree to pay for a frame shop to verify (and maybe fix) it IF it is found to be out of alignment. With you to pay if it is OK. Of course, what they may or may not agree to depends on whether this is new and under warranty, or bought used "as is".

Once those two are verified as correct, you can move on to checking the other factors, that probably aren't causing any issue....

 

[huntr70]

Load it like you are going to use it.

Check tire pressures.

Make sure you are level and not nose high.

Have never heard of anyone complaining about sway on a Solitude or an Influence.

 

[deb&ken]

Thanks to both of you. Sande005 your definition of sway is exactly what I am seeing with the rear end moving side to side. Slowing down does help with the sway much less at 55 vs. 65. I will weigh as soon as I can this week.

I will take the recommendations from both. Tire pressures are good set at 120. Question on the nose high. I have airbags on my truck which does push the nose up a little but again this never effected the previous two. However this Influence is 4 ft shorter than the Solitude and 2 feet shorter than the Reflection if that matters.

Still not sure if this Dexter Tow Assist has anything to do with it. I've heard things about this feature that's not encouraging.

 

[Joe43230]

I have seen trailers, not campers, that are clearly not "square" and they do hunt or sway back and forth as they are being towed.

Not sure if this would work: find a store or something that has a long, straight, painted line on the pavement. Might need somebody to help guide you - try to steer one of the front wheels on that line for 50 feet or so. Look how the camper's wheel line up with the line.

 

[dbarks]

I have a 2024 Influence 2903RL. I scaled it on a camping trip and have 21% of the weight on the pin. I don't have any sway issues. I hope you figure this out.