So back at the end of August we purchased a new to us camper. 2018 forest river 30’ shockwave toy hauler. We really like it so far, but I hate pulling it. It’s set up for boondocking, with solar panel and a built in generator. Even has a fuel station for filling up the ATVs ( not that I’ll probably ever use that feature). Also the axles have been “flipped” to give about 6 inches of extra clearance for back country trails and roads. In an effort to reduce the white knuckle driving I’ve decided to put the axles back on top of the springs. Hopefully it will catch a little less wind and the lowered center of gravity will make it tow better. I realize it’s never going to pull as good as a fifth wheel but anything has got to help. Bought a new set of 5 tires with a higher load rating ( F) They seem to be stiffer and damm sure heavier. Probably 15 pounds heavier each. Going on a bit of a trip next week, not sure where yet. I’ll let you know if it helps any.
I got it all back together. It really should only be about a 5 inch difference. But it really does look a different, I can’t imagine that it won’t make a big difference in the way it handles. I wish I would have taken some before pictures.
How did it do? New tires was a good call too. The stock tires on many RVs can barely handle the weight of the trailer, and the number of failures doesn't surprise me. Were your new tires radials? They're more money but boy oh boy do I prefer towing on a set of radials. Especially on tandem/triple axle setups.
On the first stretch of road ( about 60 miles) it seemed like a vast improvement. But on the rest of the 1200 mile trip, maybe not so much. I’m sure it helped, but it still moves around a lot and keeps me plenty nervous. I really like everything else about the trailer, so I got to get something figured out so I can enjoy pulling it more. My current f250 doesn’t have as many leaves in the springs as my last one did ( not that I had this camper when I had the other pickup) so I’m thinking maybe newer/heavier springs, or maybe a set of air bag’s might help. Might even consider getting a dually. I gots to do something.
Is the 250 squating in the Back / if so yep, need heavier springs ( f350 set) the other thing is E rated tires on the truck- there are 2 types of e rated tires 1 is supposed to be as good as a true 10 ply tire but is only 4 ply. Have heard they squiggle under load. The side walls just are not the same. could be part of problem. Not a real fan of air bags.
Any evidence of alignment issues with the old tires? This can get masked somewhat on tandems due to all the natural side-scrubbing so a quick alignment check might be in order too. I would think a "string check" would be sufficient. Also, a couple inches of tongue height adjustment can make a HUGE difference in how a trailer tows. With bumper-pull tandems especially. If you've ever pulled a livestock trailer, you know what that mid-gate is for.... ("WHOA fellas/ladies, EASY back there!" ) If it's weight distribution that's making it squirrelly, adding weight up front or adjusting the tongue height a bit will make a big difference. If you have a way to weigh each axle independently, you can confirm or rule-out front to rear weight distribution as a cause.
Did you keep the arch in the axle the correct orientation? the arch in the angle should be up. toy haulers are notorious for being tongue heavy. The toys are needed to balance the trailer . move found I need to keep about 18% for tongue weight for it to pull correctly and 100% weight distribution back to the front.
weight distribution makes a big difference, My camper is only 25' long and it will get squirrely if I fill the fresh water tank up (located in front) and put too much weight in the back. My camper has a storage closet in the rear where I put the generator, stink hose and other dirty stuff, not hard to overload it. I pull it with the 86 f250 camper pkg and no WD hitch yet. Not sure I really need one. I'm still learning how to load it without this issue, not much experience towing. I've read to not fill the fresh water tank until you get to where you're going or close to it. Not always possible though.
