Will Too Much Tongue Weight Cause A Trailer To Sway When Passing Or Driving On Uneven Roads?

Updated 05/27/2021 | Published 05/25/2021

Question:

Will too much hitch weight be a cause of the tow vehicle to rock side to side when passing over uneven roadway?

asked by: Sam

Expert Reply:

Too much hitch weight can cause some rocking side to side, but typically the rocking or trailer sway is more commonly an issue on a trailer that there is not enough tongue weight. Usually too much hitch weight (tongue weight) will just cause additional sagging of the rear suspension on your tow vehicle.

Trailer tongue weight should be between 10-15%, so I recommend using a tongue weight scale like # e99044 to measure your current tongue weight and readjust your load to try and get to that rating. If doing so does not correct the issue you are having you may want to consider either a weight distribution hitch with sway control, or stand alone sway control.

A weight distribution hitch is recommended any time the trailer is over 50% of the weight of the tow vehicle. If this is the case just let me know the tongue weight of your fully loaded and ready to tow trailer plus the weight of any cargo you plan on carrying behind the rear axle of your tow vehicle and I would be happy to make a recommendation for you.

You can add sway control without a weight distribution hitch by adding the # 83660 to the trailer and the # RP26003 to your ball mount. This option does a great job of keeping your trailer from swaying.

I included videos of the products mentioned for you to take a look at.

expert reply by: Samuel C