Towing help needed for my 3500

[Atlas717]

Hi everyone- first time poster and need some help big time. I am getting a crazy sway at 60mph with my 2023 3500 Mega cab limited. I’m trying to tow my 38’ performance center console and it’s dangerous to say the least. Here’s my story: this is my 3rd Mega cab diesel, but first 3500. My 2500 pulled this same boat earlier this year from Florida to Maryland like it wasn’t behind it, but the boat pushes the towing capacity of the 2500 so I bought the 3500. Boat weighs 17,000lbs loaded with the trailer. I just got the truck and had to move the boat the other week in preparation of heading to Florida soon. It was awful, so I thought it was the garbage tires that came stock, so just put new tires on this week. Same outcome today. I can’t drive this 1200 miles. I can’t really get the boat anymore forward because I’m assuming this is a tongue weight issue right? I’m thinking I don’t have enough tongue weight on the 3500 where on the 2500 suspension I did. Both trucks have air ride.

What do I do? Weight in the truck bed? I adjusted the hitch both up and down with no change. Anti sway hitch? Just seems crazy to need a special hitch. I could haul car haulers, small trailers, large snowmobile trailers on that 2500 and I never had to do anything. I need to haul a 18’ snowmobile trailer with 3 sleds in it next week 700 miles with my family and I am worried. I had to drive 100 miles today with the boat and I was white knuckled.

 

[AH64ID]

The leading cause of trailer sway in insufficient tongue weight. Do you know how much tongue weight you have?

It should tow better with the 3500.

New tires also often have tread squirm, but it’s shouldn’t be that bad.

 

[Brutal_HO]

Have you tried using ALT Trailer height to see if that changes anything?

 

[Brutal_HO]

Where are you running your tire pressures F/R?

 

[unclelala]

Damn those big ass motors on the very back got to be part of the trouble ?

 

[Atlas717]

I didn’t try alternate height but I moved my ball up and down 6” in spread.

Tire pressure 65 fronts, 78 rear. I checked and aired them up this morning before hooking up.

Lastly, I ordered a shireline tongue weight gauge to check. Based on 17,000lbs I want around 2,000lbs I think right? I can’t really get the boat forward more than maybe a couple inches but now I’m screwed without getting the boat in the water and it’s winterized to ship to Florida. A few hundred pounds in the bed? Anti sway bar?

 

[Atlas717]

Damn those big ass motors on the very back got to be part of the trouble ?

Def doesn’t help. Those V10’s weight close to 800lbs each so there is 2400lbs hanging, but my 2500 had zero issues pulling this boat 6 months ago.

 

[AH64ID]

Anything on the boat change in the last 6 months? Water in the bilge? More fuel?

Alternate ride height likely won’t fix it, but it does engage some pretty big overloads that will improve overall handling and ride when towing.

10% minimum tonight weight for boats, 13-15% will tow the best.

Weight in the bed won’t help a tongue weight issue.

Anti-sway is a bandaid and it’s not a fix. Find the issue and fix it.

 

[tchur1]

+1 to any additional changes to the boat?

The 3500 should tow better in theory so Im curious of any other variables have changed with the boat besides the truck.

 

[Atlas717]

Im going to ask a question that could be stupid, but is there an issue with the coil springs on the 2500 vs the 3500 leaf springs? By not “compressing” the leaf springs enough does that create the issue? I want to understand how an identical 2500 had no issues, but a 3500 does. Same truck, same tires, same hitch, same trailer, same boat. The only difference would be the amount of fuel in the boat currently vs what I had when I towed it home from Florida and I have no idea what the level was then. The fuel tank is full at 275 gallons but it’s directly over the triple axles so you would think it’s balanced. The 17000lbs is factoring in the roughly 2,200lbs of fuel.

 

[AH64ID]

Im going to ask a question that could be stupid, but is there an issue with the coil springs on the 2500 vs the 3500 leaf springs? By not “compressing” the leaf springs enough does that create the issue? I want to understand how an identical 2500 had no issues, but a 3500 does. Same truck, same tires, same hitch, same trailer, same boat. The only difference would be the amount of fuel in the boat currently vs what I had when I towed it home from Florida and I have no idea what the level was then. The fuel tank is full at 275 gallons but it’s directly over the triple axles so you would think it’s balanced. The 17000lbs is factoring in the roughly 2,200lbs of fuel.

No, the leafs should be superior in handling. With the auto-level the airbags will carry almost all the payload weight.

Getting the weight is the first step. If the TW is low then you need to either move the boat forward or see about adding ballast to the bow of the boat. Does the boat have a water tank forward of the axles?

Have you inspected the trailer for damaged or broken axle/suspension components?

If the only difference is the fuel, are you sure the tank isn't further aft? Over the axles seems a little far forward looking at the side profile, but that's just an observation.

 

[Atlas717]

No, the leafs should be superior in handling. With the auto-level the airbags will carry almost all the payload weight.

Getting the weight is the first step. If the TW is low then you need to either move the boat forward or see about adding ballast to the bow of the boat. Does the boat have a water tank forward of the axles?

Have you inspected the trailer for damaged or broken axle/suspension components?

If the only difference is the fuel, are you sure the tank isn't further aft? Over the axles seems a little far forward looking at the side profile, but that's just an observation.

I’m assuming where the fuel is, but I just sent a message to the manufacturer. Both the boat and trailer are brand new so I don’t think to look for anything broken. The trailer saw its first trip home from Florida and has been parked since then. I’ll check on that fuel position and wait for my scale to weigh tongue weight.

 

[jsalbre]

Everyone has already given all the suggestions I'd give, but I just had to come here and say: great googley moogley that's a lot of boat!

 

[Brutal_HO]

Sh*tter full?

17K? Looks like the dry hull weight is ~10K. 2500 engines (?), 2500 trailer(?). What's the other 3k? Dead hookers?

 

[arx237]

Dead hookers?

Did say Florida....

 

[Atlas717]

Sh*tter full?

17K? Looks like the dry hull weight is ~10K. 2500 engines (?), 2500 trailer(?). What's the other 3k? Dead hookers?

No dead hookers, just…
9.8k boat dry
3k engines and rigging
1k stereo and electronics
2k fuel
2k trailer

 

[Brutal_HO]

No dead hookers, just…
9.8k boat dry
3k engines and rigging
1k stereo and electronics
2k fuel
2k trailer

Apparently I didn't read this part well enough.

The only difference would be the amount of fuel in the boat currently vs what I had when I towed it home from Florida and I have no idea what the level was then. The fuel tank is full at 275 gallons but it’s directly over the triple axles so you would think it’s balanced. The 17000lbs is factoring in the roughly 2,200lbs of fuel.

Gotta be the fuel weight... If even 1/4 of that is offsetting tongue weight...

Was there any setup (position on trailer) done for the 2500 tug and was that done dry or ??

I know it's subjective, but looking at a few other 380 with triples on trailers it kinda looks like they are all a little further forward on the trailer.

Where's COG on that beast?

 

[RPS1030]

My 3500 has shown some “pickiness” recently. Went out with my empty car hauler to try and pick up a new toy. Ended up with a bad bounce/hop/shake that forced me to end up turning around after about 10 miles.

I’ve probably dragged that same trailer over a thousand miles empty at various times with a couple different 2500s beautifully. So to say frustrated would be an understatement.

Went out again and tried all sorts of changes (hitch height, air bag pressures, truck tire pressures, trailer tire pressures) with essentially no change. Trailer did have a fresh set of tires not long before, and they hadn’t balanced them as requested. Once they got done, about 80-90% of that went away. But still the stiffness of the 3500 isn’t as happy in the middle. Great loaded. Great with the big trailer. But empty isn’t great, but at least I don’t put as many empty miles as I used to.

 

[Atlas717]

Apparently I didn't read this part well enough.



Gotta be the fuel weight... If even 1/4 of that is offsetting tongue weight...

Was there any setup (position on trailer) done for the 2500 tug and was that done dry or ??

I know it's subjective, but looking at a few other 380 with triples on trailers it kinda looks like they are all a little further forward on the trailer.

Where's COG on that beast?

No it wasn’t set up for the specific truck. The trailer was ordered when I ordered the boat and just came as a package basically. It’s a manning trailer, and a lot of them go with MYCO trailers but I couldn’t justify another 20k in the trailer for a myco. The manning is beautiful and well built and just hooked up and ran on that 2500. I might be able to scoot that boat forward a max of 12” before the rear will make contact with the trim tabs.

Question for you guys who have experience with the anti sway. I have $1400 in fuel and no way to launch the boat now and reset so I either empty the fuel which would suck or I try an anti sway bar I think right? I don’t have many other options. Def will load it light next time on fuel and try to adjust the boat forward a little but running out of ideas here. New truck, new trailer, tires are good, aired up, completely unsafe at highway speed and it seems like it has to be tongue weight. Can’t wait to weigh that and know for sure.

 

[AH64ID]

No it wasn’t set up for the specific truck. The trailer was ordered when I ordered the boat and just came as a package basically. It’s a manning trailer, and a lot of them go with MYCO trailers but I couldn’t justify another 20k in the trailer for a myco. The manning is beautiful and well built and just hooked up and ran on that 2500. I might be able to scoot that boat forward a max of 12” before the rear will make contact with the trim tabs.

Question for you guys who have experience with the anti sway. I have $1400 in fuel and no way to launch the boat now and reset so I either empty the fuel which would suck or I try an anti sway bar I think right? I don’t have many other options. Def will load it light next time on fuel and try to adjust the boat forward a little but running out of ideas here. New truck, new trailer, tires are good, aired up, completely unsafe at highway speed and it seems like it has to be tongue weight. Can’t wait to weigh that and know for sure.

The issue isn’t the truck it’s hooked up to, you just got lucky with the 2500.

Can you add any ballast forward of the axles? The further forward the better, and much better than an anti-sway setup that likely won’t correct the amount of sway you’ve described anyhow.

Are you sure they sold the boat on the correct trailer? There is a lot of boat/weight aft of the axles.