2015 Denali Towing Sway

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FlyFlip420

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Anyone else have issues with sway when towing? I tow a 20ft snowmobile trailer with 4 sleds, and it sways pretty good. I have the 20ft R&R Arc20 leveled, heavier sleds up front, and it just walks back there. I've heard some people say these are not good for towing and add tons of sway.

Anyone have a fix? I recently added a Husky Sway Control, and it did help a little, but not much. Any little bit is better than nothing, but I'm hoping someone found a good solution.
 

yates ™

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Take a pic of your normal load hooked up to your truck. It could be how it is loaded.
 

77blue

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About all you can do is make sure your tongue weight is around 15% for your trailer. Assuming you don't have an XL the Yukon's have a relatively short wheelbase for a tow vehicles - most add on items will make slight improvements but make sure your starting with the correct tongue weight.
 

dbbd1

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And, any cargo rear of your rear axle counts as tongue weight.

Weight distribution on a trailer should be about 60% front- 40% rear.
 

blakester

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Are you running the p rated tires? I would think LTs would be significantly better for towing.
 

Ken G

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Does the trailer sway while empty or with one sled on it? With a bad sway it leads me to believe there is too much weight behind the axle(s) and not enough on the tongue and it is all coming down to the weight distribution. I have not towed with our new Tahoe yet as we've only had it a few weeks and there is not much boating or camping going on in PA in February lol. But with our old one it towed a 25ft camper (5,000lbs) and a 20ft boat (4,500lbs) with no issues or sway so I doubt that the tow vehicle is the problem
 

orchidcrazy

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Tow set up is simply not hitch and go. Is your vehicle level when hitched? If not, your set up is not correct. Tongue up can cause sway - you can fiddle with your set up, change balls, etc. but hitched needs to be level. When I tow, I drop my front tire pressure a tad and pop up the back just a tad.

Have you weighed your vehicle? Many hitch and go, but you should get yourself, your vehicle and your trailer to a weigh station. I have one by my house that I can peek through the windows when it is closed to see the scale numbers. Have your vehicle loaded as you would to travel; belongings, tank filled, passengers if you can. Weigh your vehicle unhitched but loaded; total, front axle, rear axle. Then weigh your trailer: tongue, total trailer weight. Then hitch up; weigh your entire combo, then just your trailer axles, just your front axle, just your rear. Make sure your numbers are all in line with your actual tow capacity. You need to make sure you are below not only your tow ratings, but your GCWR, your payload ratings and your hitch capacity.

And you really do NOT want to load up and be at your limits. You can hitch a trailer to almost anything and drag it down the road, maybe not safely but you can; you have to be able to stop that load as well.

It takes patience and fiddling to get the right combo but once you dial it all in, you should be good to go so long as you do not change anything - like add a passenger, change around your load, etc. and if you do, you'll want to repeat the whole process. There used to be a worksheet years ago that you could get online but it's really not necessary so long as you weigh every step of the combo and ensure you are not over capacity. If you have your capacities right, and your distribution of weight done properly, and your vehicle level - you shouldn't have sway. The Husky will do a great job, but it can't do anything if your set up is wrong.
 

UrbanSuburban

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I don't think its your setup as much as its the trailer itself. I live in Southern Georgian bay which is near ground zero for sledders. Most trucks I see with all types of snowmobile trailers sway a bit to a lot. I go up the 400 extension to Parry Sound to sled when the 'thaw' hits my area. Without seeing your trailer, I assume its Fully enclosed. This will lead it to a high wind surface both front and side when hooked up to the GM Suvs. Also the trailer is wider than the truck so that does not help either. Good luck Hunting it down and happy trails.
 

Stresst

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Is it level when loaded? I seen people with incorrect hitches that the truck is too high and the trailer is on a bad angle. Also, not sure of your actual trailer but try putting the heavier sleds in the rear. All depends on the length of the trailer versus where the axles are situated on the trailer. Try putting the heavier ones in the rear and see what happens. I assume your tire pressures are correct on truck and trailer. I know it was already mentioned but going with a LT tire will help although you are not towing that much weight but it will not hurt for sure. GL
 

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