# Sway Issues With Excursion Td, Reese Dual Cam Sway



## prchoudh (Feb 23, 2005)

I just took my new 31 foot Outback Sydney Edition out with my Excursion TD this weekend and I had some sway issues that I was wondering what you might suggest for it.

The 31' TTs weight with cargo and stuff is about 7300 lbs which is close to my tow range.

When I drive the Excursion TD above 60 nph the trailer begins to sway which causes the Excursion to sway. Also, when a semi passes me, I notice that the trailer starts to sway a little which causes the Excursion to sway. If I try to go between 65-67 mph the whole thing starts to sway and I need to slow it down to stop the sway.

To my knowledge, the Reese is setup correctly. However,the dealer is not giving me a whole lot of help. I was expectig something much more solid and stable. I come from the MH world before muying the TT setup and am a little dissapointed. I am also thinking that maybe I should have invested in a Hensley. But, I am not sure that it will solve my problem.


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

First of all, Welcome to the Outbackers! A couple of thoughts come to mind at this hour.

1) Did you have full water tanks? If possible, try to pack weight in the front of the camper, keeping as little weight as possible from the rear of the truck and the camper.

2) What type of tires do you have the the X? P or LT?

3) I can't help with the Reese settings, but something doesn't sound right here. Hopefully some of the fellow Reese owners can chime in and help out with the proper setup.

Towing with my F350 and our Outback I've had no sway issues, but I can relate to the experience you've gone through.


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## hurricaneplumber (Apr 12, 2004)

Welcome!!! action 

Your dual cam hitch needs to be fine tuned.

Check out CaliforniaJims detailed instructions, they will really help you out. If that doesn't make sense, then we will try to help clarify.

Jims Observations and Findings, click here

Key items are, tongue weight, ball tilt angle, hitch ball height and number of chain links used.

Fine tuning is not that difficult, but the rewards are awesome.

I had very similar problems to you and found my ball tilt angle off a little, now I have a great tow, real confident and sturdy.

Good luck

Kevin


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## tonka (Feb 14, 2005)

Not to change the subject but are there any fine tuning suggestions for the Equa-i-zer?


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## jallen58 (Oct 27, 2003)

Hitch is probably not setup right. Dealers won't take the time to do it right mine had sway problems and my dealer insured me the hith was set right. So I downloaded the setup instructions for the wd hitch and the Reese Dual Cam and followed them to the Tee and now there is no hint of sway. It's well worth the time to check and reset the hitch yourself.

Jim


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## kjp1969 (Apr 25, 2004)

I have a friend who had Really Bad sway pulling an open car trailer with an Excursion- turns out the culprit was the automatic rear suspension- IIRC, switching it off solved the problem. But adjust that Reese, also!

Here's the "funny" story: He's pulling his brother's freshly restored Chevelle SS back to So Cal from Phoenix. He pulls onto the highway, gets up to speed, and sway begins. This happens at the top of a long downhill grade. In order to stop the sway, he hits the gas and feathers the trailer brakes, but as soon as he gets it straightened out, it starts again. So he keeps hitting the gas and feathering the brakes, over and over. Well before long, he's going 85mph down the grade, trailer and truck tangoing all over the highway. All the traffic behind him has dropped waaaay back, probably waiting for the wreck. Finally, when he was out of ideas and he and his brother are about to soil the upholstery, he figures the only thing to do is pin the brake pedal and hope for the best, so he does. Finally they come to a stop, brakes on all 8 axels smoking and begging for mercy. So they readjust the load, turn off the automatic suspension, and drive home without further incident.


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## chetlenox (Feb 3, 2004)

Prchoudh,

I unfortunately can't help with the Reese DC setup, since I don't have one. But even with my lower tech Reese WD hitch + single sway bar we don't have much sway with the same tow vehicle and trailer weight (I'm about 7k loaded).

A few notes:

1) Make sure the weight distribution setup is right for your hitch. My "suggested" setting from the dealer was actually not accomplishing much once I did some testing and measuring suspension deflection on my truck. Adding two more links (I adjust mine by chain settings) put more weight on the front axle of my truck and helped with sway.

2) Like Y-guy mentioned, water in the fresh tank makes a bit of a difference. It seems like I get a little more tail-wag when I've got a full tank.

3) Tires shouldn't be an issue for you. I imagine you've got Load Range E LT tires on your Excursion. Just make sure the rear tires are inflated to their max capacity (80 psi for LR E tires). This helps reduce sidewall flexing and should improve stability. It will make the truck ride like a tank once you disconnect the trailer though.

4) In general I don't tow over 60 mph with my rig, mainly to improve my gas mileage. But I do notice that there is more wiggle with passing semi trucks when I'm over 60.

Chet.


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## hurricaneplumber (Apr 12, 2004)

Reading this information will help keep you on track to solve the hitch problem.

Good luck

Reese WD Installation InstructionsInstallation Instructions click here

Reese Dual Cam Installation Instructions click here

Kevin


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

sway with excursion

That's a link to a lengthy discussion from "over there" about sway towing with excursions. It's a little lengthy but has good info.

Mike


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