2011 LTZ Tahoe towing question

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hailbun

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Good morning all. Last spring I bought my first travel trailer. A 2011 22'. I was unable to get the WDH set up correctly and reached out on this site for help. Will all the excellent advice, I got it set up and it pulled great all last year. This past winter I bought a slightly larger trailer. Probably 500 lbs heavier, maybe 2-300 lbs more on the hitch. I thought I could use the same E2 0800 WDH that was on the last trailer. I tried, I did, nothing I set up kept the truck and trailer from drifting around the highway. Around town 50 and below, I don't really feel anything but on the highway 60-65 it is too drifty, by that I mean it takes too much effort to keep it going straight down the road. I can't relax and drive it, always on high alert.

I gave up on it and took it to the man who inspects the trailer. He is very nice, always takes the time to answer all my questions. He said when he set up my E2 0800 to the trailer, it was maxed out. He thought it may break the WDH. He then installed a E2 1000 lb square bar. He set it all up. It unfortunately, still rode the same on the highway.

So now I'm thinking it is the tires? The tires that were on there were Bridgestone Dueler H/S P275/55/R20 111S M+S, lots of good tread left. The load range of these tires is said to be 2403lbs. I wanted to put LT tires on, stiffer side walls, to see if that would help. No one really discusses plies anymore with radial tires, not in Hanover Pa anyways. They say it's not important with radial tires. They seem to use load range. I got Cooper Endeavor Plus same size but with a load range of 117, which should be 2833 lbs per tire at 55 PSI. Is this not enough tire to support the truck and trailer? I'm not sure if part of the problem is the 20" wheels that came with the truck, maybe not enough sidewall?

Well, low and behold while these new tires made some improvement, this is still not a set up I want to drive 2-3 hours down the highway. I took it to a CAT weight station earlier this week. Front axle 2940, rear axle 3440, trailer 4540. Gross weight 10920.
My truck has 86,000 miles on it, runs good. It has a tow package from the factory. I drive it in tow mode, even on the highway it seems to be turning a lot of RPM's even on flat to slight incline to maintain 60-65 MPH. By RPM's I'm talking anywhere from 2000 to 3700.

Trailer tires Gladiator QR 25-TS ST 205/75R14 Maximum load 1820 at 65 PSI. I run them at 59 PSI cold. They have good tread, no dry rot, but will be replaced at the end of this year. They are 4 years old.

I have attached a picture of my trailer from last year and the one I have now. I am tired of throwing money at this with no real solution in site. Any help to narrow down my solution would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 

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petethepug

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Hey, welcome back. You’re so close to the size of the other trailer it’s odd the WD hitch isn’t doing it. Are you traveling with anything in the water or waste tanks? If so you could shed quite a few lb by emptying most of it out.

I’ve heard some say that if the WD set up is overdone it will have the same effect as under tightened.

Looking into the sidewall construction of the tires was a smart move. I’d say Hellwig sway bars next. Most install them because it tightens up the slop and improves the ride. In this case it’ll do that as well as add another level of safety and get you to that felling of finally relaxing when towing.
 
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hailbun

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Hey, welcome back. You’re so close to the size of the other trailer it’s odd the WD hitch isn’t doing it. Are you traveling with anything in the water or waste tanks? If so you could shed quite a few lb by emptying most of it out.

I’ve heard some say that if the WD set up is overdone it will have the same effect as under tightened.

Looking into the sidewall construction of the tires was a smart move. I’d say Hellwig sway bars next. Most install them because it tightens up the slop and improves the ride. In this case it’ll do that as well as add another level of safety and get you to that felling of finally relaxing when towing.
I carry about 1-2 gallons in the black tank when traveling to try to keep it clean. Nothing in the grey water.

I worked on it Tuesday morning.

First thing I found was the truck ball was 1 1/4" higher than the camper coupler, with the truck and camper level. I lowered the hitch to the height of the camper coupler. I then raised the L brackets one hole, that put too much weight on the front end of the Tahoe, so I moved them back. Then I added one washer to the hitch. It had 7, now is has 8.

The front fender height after the adjustments is now 1/2" lower than when I started. 38" to start, the empty Tahoe, 38 3/4" with camper and no WDH, now 37 1/2" with WDH. The empty truck front axle was 3020 lbs, now it is 3100. So, the front axle picked up 80 lbs.

The rear fender height after adjustments is 1" lower than when I started. 40" to start, 38 3/4" with camper no WDH, now 39" with WDH. It was 38 3/4", when the air shocks came on it made it 39". The air shocks increased the height of the hitch 1/4" when they came on. The rear axle of the empty truck was 2720 lbs. Now it is 3220. So, the rear axle picked up 500 lbs.

The trailer axle went from 4560 to 4600 lbs. I know this all adds up to 620 lbs.

Whether this is right or wrong, I'm unsure. It is clear that some of the trailer weight is now on the front axle, some on the rear axle and a little more on the trailer axle. Seems like the WDH is spreading things around.

One more question. Should I be running the trailer and truck tires at max inflation?

I drove it on the highway and it is better. By the time I got done with all this the heat was rolling on and I was done for the day. 90 degrees and no shade is too much for me anymore. I won't be able to tinker with it until next week. I might leave it as it is until my next trip. I know that none of this is exact science. I wish it was. It will come down to how I feel with the end result. Appreciate the input, everything helps. Thank you, Keith
 

petethepug

Michael
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Your post packs a punch. Lotta facts & good info. I’m pretty confident that a set of Hellwig sway bars and their new Poly bushings will getcha back to one handed driving so the other hand can handle that coffee or thirsty two ouncer.
 

Foggy

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I tow a lot heavier than this... But I've done the lower control arms, upgraded
sway bars on the Yukon, and air bags in the rear springs. Mine tows very well.
I use the equal-i-zer system for WD/ Sway. I've used a few diff WD hitches over the
years on a couple other trucks.. This Equalizer system is Awesome compared to
the others.
Also, Yes Run your truck tires at about 36 psi cold. And your trailer tires
at 60 psi cold - . And when you upgrade the trailer tires go "better" load rating.
They will say 80psi cold, but you can run them at 60-65 as your trailer isn't that
heavy.
 

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