Bad Trailer Sway/ 02 Yukon XL SLT. Changes to make?

[Ghetto Jet]

What simple mods should I do to improve towing stability?

Yesterday was my first time towing anything sizable. I'm a very experienced driver, I was expecting this to be pretty easy. It wasn't. Stock everything, LT tires, tire pressure close to max. I did a 100 mile trip with an 08 Impala on my friends trailer. He has a great deal of towing experience and went along with me. I installed a brake controller. At 55 or higher, the sway was pretty bad. Bad enough that my friend asked me to get off the highway at one point. A constant battle. Trailer weighs about 1600-1700# the car, around 3700# My Yukon, maybe 5500.

I think part of the problem was we backed the Impala onto the trailer because too much of it was hanging off the end when we pulled up onto the trailer facing forward. Putting excess weight on the back of the trailer and away from the tongue. I was using an adjustable trailer hitch to get extra height, it was perfectly level loaded.

I figure there are some proven changes that won't hurt to make. One person said coil spring bags. I did some reading last night, weight distribution bars look like they would help. I plan to use this to tow again.

 

[bfourman]

What simple mods should I do to improve towing stability?

Yesterday was my first time towing anything sizable. I'm a very experienced driver, I was expecting this to be pretty easy. It wasn't. Stock everything, LT tires, tire pressure close to max. I did a 100 mile trip with an 08 Impala on my friends trailer. He has a great deal of towing experience and went along with me. I installed a brake controller. At 55 or higher, the sway was pretty bad. Bad enough that my friend asked me to get off the highway at one point. A constant battle. Trailer weighs about 1600-1700# the car, around 3700# My Yukon, maybe 5500.

I think part of the problem was we backed the Impala onto the trailer because too much of it was hanging off the end when we pulled up onto the trailer facing forward. Putting excess weight on the back of the trailer and away from the tongue. I was using an adjustable trailer hitch to get extra height, it was perfectly level loaded.

I figure there are some proven changes that won't hurt to make. One person said coil spring bags. I did some reading last night, weight distribution bars look like they would help. I plan to use this to tow again.

Your sway was 100% caused by not enough tongue weight. You need 15% of the trailer weight on the tongue or sway will occur.

Once you get your tongue weight set properly, and you don’t like how much the Yukon sags then you can look into air bags or a WD hitch. All the trick towing stuff in the world won’t correct inadequate tongue weight.


2000 GMC Yukon XL K2500 6.0/4L80e/3.73s/BlackBear tune

2014 Aerolite 282DBHS TT

 

[Fless]

 

[Ghetto Jet]

That video really does help. And that's what it felt like, once it started to sway it would escalate. The wind wasn't helping.

Your sway was 100% caused by not enough tongue weight. You need 15% of the trailer weight on the tongue or sway will occur.

Once you get your tongue weight set properly, and you don’t like how much the Yukon sags then you can look into air bags or a WD hitch. All the trick towing stuff in the world won’t correct inadequate tongue weight.

Ok, good to know. I'll try and tow something set on their correctly and if I still don't like the feel I'll add airbags first. I think the shocks on the truck are original, probably should replace those too. Here is a picture of it loaded up.

 

[corvette744]

That video really does help. And that's what it felt like, once it started to sway it would escalate. The wind wasn't helping.
Trailer looks level to me i bet its that 1-1500 lbs of engine and trans on the back 2-3 ft of that trailer.Turning the car around i bet you would have no sway with alot more weight up front.





Ok, good to know. I'll try and tow something set on their correctly and if I still don't like the feel I'll add airbags first. I think the shocks on the truck are original, probably should replace those too. Here is a picture of it loaded up.

 

[JoeM5952]

Yea not enough tounge weight. I'm in the process of a cross country move with my 05 XL 1500 and I'm towing a trailer with 6k combined weight. 60% percent of cargo weight is forward of the axles. I don't have a WD hitch but I did add the airlift 1000 air springs to help with squat. Tows fine at 80 mph on the highway with almost no sway that isn't from wind.

 

[Ghetto Jet]

I have the G65 and ZW7 suspension. When we put the car on nose first my back end really sank down. The front of the trailer was about 2" off the ground. Would the manual self leveling suspension have lifted itself up after I started driving?

 

[mizzouguy]

I have the G65 and ZW7 suspension. When we put the car on nose first my back end really sank down. The front of the trailer was about 2" off the ground. Would the manual self leveling suspension have lifted itself up after I started driving?

Even with the ZW7 shocks, it would have probably still squatted with a car trailer. Car needs to face forward and truck needs a weight distribution hitch and/or air bags to deal with the sag. Thats about all you can do, limited by the coil spring type suspension. Weren't really designed to tow heavy. You could get a rise ball mount to raise the trailer up some, make sure its rated for the weight when its flipped to give you a rise. Also would want to check and see how much room you have between the frame and the bump stops. If they are close, its gonna hurt when you hit bumps.

 

[corvette744]

I have the G65 and ZW7 suspension. When we put the car on nose first my back end really sank down. The front of the trailer was about 2" off the ground. Would the manual self leveling suspension have lifted itself up after I started driving?

Put some air bags in it and you will be fine.Car or anything your towing needs to have most of the weight forward.

 

[JoeM5952]

I have the G65 and ZW7 suspension. When we put the car on nose first my back end really sank down. The front of the trailer was about 2" off the ground. Would the manual self leveling suspension have lifted itself up after I started driving?

I swapped my rear coils out to the z71 springs and put in Bilstien 4600 shocks all around and it helped not squat and be a lot less floaty on the road. After this I added the Air Lift 1000 bags in the coils and that reduced the drop significantly when I load up the cargo bay or hook up a heavy trailer.

 

[yates ™]

Don't pull the car up so far. Really doesn't matter if it hangs off the back as long as the rear wheels are safely on the trailer.

 

[ilmk123]

Don't pull the car up so far. Really doesn't matter if it hangs off the back as long as the rear wheels are safely on the trailer.

I have a 2500 8.1 Suburban and pull a toy hauler travel trailer . You were given correct advice by a few people. You did not have enough tongue weight and you want up to 15% of your total weight on the tongue. By putting the car on back wards on the trailer, put most of the weight on the rear of the trailer and it made the tongue too light. You could add new shocks and it still would not of helped. Been there and done it! All difference is in a properly loaded trailer!

 

[Idaho45guy]

I towed everything I owned back in 2013 from Arizona to Idaho when I got divorced. I had a `97 1500 Suburban lifted with 33" tires and 3.42:1 gears and a pro-built 4L60E.

I took my flat-bed trailer and converted it to a redneck covered trailer and loaded it full of the stuff my nasty red-headed ex-wife didn't take (but I'm not bitter...).

I towed it approximately 1500 miles during the summer in temps from 108 degree to 45 degrees. And my radiator had a hole in it that I couldn't afford to fix before the trip, so it could only be filled 3/4 of the way.

Trailer weight was around 7800lbs and the whole thing was just over 13,000lbs on the scales.

It pulled beautifully and I kept it at 60mph or less. Not a single breakdown.

But... The rear-end developed a nasty whine around Southern Idaho. Was just too much weight for too long for that poor 10-bolt...

In the middle of nowhere, Nevada...

 

[Martinjmpr]

WD hitch or not? I think 5300# is a lot of weight if you don't have some kind of weight distribution system.

I'll be pulling a ~3500lb trailer tomorrow up through Eisenhower Tunnel (11,000') and I'm not using a WD hitch but I do have airbags in the rear springs. Hoping that will be sufficient to keep my tail from dragging.