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wobbly power wagon...

jupp0r said:
I’ve had pretty bad sway twice in my 2020 Power Wagon with 22k miles that’s right in the edge of maximum GVWR. There is a series of woops on CA-14 N that made electronic stability control kick in, no fun.

It got much better after I installed front and rear Thuren track bars, front Thuren springs, rear sway bar links and Fox 2.0 (waiting for King to make the 2.5s, hopefully this year lol).

I don’t know which of these fixed it, but it’s much much better now. I also run 50psi in the back (37x13.5R17 Cooper STT Pros), the added tire pressure was a great improvement.

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have you weighed your rig loaded to go? I was surprised when I weighed mine how heavy it was. Even before I loaded mine with just my gfc camper on and no gear and no passengers I was 7760lb and loaded with passengers I was 8840.
 
I didn’t realize they were that sensitive to overloading. I have heard they have different control arm joints/bushings to have more flex.
Payload was the #1 reason I didn’t look at PWs. I needed the 10k gvwr
 
Rockcrawlerdude said:
I didn’t realize they were that sensitive to overloading. I have heard they have different control arm joints/bushings to have more flex.
Payload was the #1 reason I didn’t look at PWs. I needed the 10k gvwr
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yup payload suxs. The flex comes with downfalls and according to AEV's owner (I live really close to their R&D shop) the power wagon likes to list like a ship when over loaded..great for some things not so great for others. I think if I had to do it over again I would have went with a base Tradesman and used the extra money for a suspension, winch, lockers etc
 
Here is a great write up on installing airbags on a Power Wagon:

https://forum.powerwagonregistry.org/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=4732&hilit=airlifter+5000+ultimate

If he does this, don't go the easy route with the airlines for both bags connected together and one inflation point for both bags. They need to be separate for maximum stability.

On my non-Power Wagon 2500 I put the inflation points where the license plate screws were. They hold the license plate on.
 
jadmt said:
I understand where you are coming from but it is not the tires. When it was unloaded it was fine ie before he put the James Baroud RTT (160lbs) on (he also made his own rack out of unistrut and it has to weigh 70lbs) and filled his bed to the gills with camping gear, his truck hit the scales at 9500lbs. Carli told him that it was normal for a PW when they were over gvwr to act the way his did and that airbags would be the answer. He stopped over and we started looking at the stuff he had crammed into his decked drawers and he ~140lbs of stuff he did not need to be carrying (using a bathroom scale so not real accurate but a ballpark figure) He had 3 different stingers and two 2.5" to 2" adaptor sleeves among a bunch of other stuff. Carli does not sell air bags and they did not try to sell him a full suspension kit to solve his issues. one thing I think was a major contributor besides the roof top tent is he was hauling his Trek suspension mountain bikes on a hd Kuat bike rack which I figure the bike rack is over 50lbs and he is 6'6" so has a heavy bike probably 40lbs and his wife's bike is probably 35lbs so there is some leverage there.
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Makes sense.

That makes me think of another idea. Have him remove at least a thousand lbs worth of gear and go for a drive. See if she handles any different. Should be VERY noticeable if what Carli is saying is true.
 
Also, trying to keep the weight as low on the truck as possible should help with the listing and sway. I think weight distribution has a lot to do with it; not just the weight itself. Obviously with a RTT you don't have a lot of options.

Center of gravity was one of the main reasons I went with the rack setup I went with. I have been looking at adding a RTT to mine and moving the stuff on top my half rack to mounting the items upside down on the underside of my rack or coming up with a mounting rack on my bedslide.
 
AnthonyD1978 said:
Also, trying to keep the weight as low on the truck as possible should help with the listing and sway. I think weight distribution has a lot to do with it; not just the weight itself. Obviously with a RTT you don't have a lot of options.

Center of gravity was one of the main reasons I went with the rack setup I went with. I have been looking at adding a RTT to mine and moving the stuff on top my half rack to mounting the items upside down on the underside of my rack or coming up with a mounting rack on my bedslide.
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this is the reason why a small camping gear trailer with a RTT is so appealing. Build it with an old 8 lug axle with the same wheels and tires as the RAM, and mount the spares to the trailer. Back half of an old utility bed truck maybe. Plus not having to break camp to drive and see stuff.
 
Rockcrawlerdude said:
this is the reason why a small camping gear trailer with a RTT is so appealing. Build it with an old 8 lug axle with the same wheels and tires as the RAM, and mount the spares to the trailer. Back half of an old utility bed truck maybe. Plus not having to break camp to drive and see stuff.
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Yes, no one makes an 8 lug trailer, but I'm sure it can be done by the owner or the manufacture if you ask. The trailer has obvious drawbacks too. I went deep into that rabbit hole about a month ago. Everything from tear drop style overland trailers to the Black Series full size trailers. I just like simplicity and having a trailer would stress me out haha.
 
Dexter Axle makes an 8 lug hub. Got to go over 6000# axles I think. I worked for a company that made brake drums for them once upon a time. I would think it would be a direct swap since they are the #1 supplier of axles for the trailer industry.
 
m101A3 military trailer has 8 lugs. If you can find one anymore. Tracks wonderfully behind My PW. If you desire you can upgrade the axles to electric brakes etc. Check out Steelsolders or expedition portal for ideas. But this is getting off track on the OP. I am watching to see what the final solution is as I have plans but don't want to develop a similar issue.
 
well looks like problem solved. Thuren Track bar for the win. took 3 hours including a tire rotation in the freaking 90 heat in direct sun to mount the air bags and track bar. He has not even put any air in yet because he wanted to see how the track bar worked by itself and said it was so nice. only pain was drilling the new hole for the OEM bolt as no great way to get the hole perfectly lined up. they have you tighten every thing up before drilling but we ended up loosen everything in order to drill through at the right angle.
 

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jadmt said:
well looks like problem solved. Thuren Track bar for the win. took 3 hours including a tire rotation in the freaking 90 heat in direct sun to mount the air bags and track bar. He has not even put any air in yet because he wanted to see how the track bar worked by itself and said it was so nice. Because pain is drilling the new hole for the OEM bolt as no great way to get perfectly lined up. they have you tighten every thing up before drilling but we ended up loosen everything in order to drill through at the right angle.
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So the track bar by itself was the solution?
 
AnthonyD1978 said:
So the track bar by itself was the solution?
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apparently so. He said it was a completely different handling beast on his way home. We did not have any air in the airbags yet because he was going to wait to think about where he wanted to run the stainless steel air lines.
 
Interesting. How is the aftermarket unit different from stock? Does it mount in a different location maybe?
 
gimmie11s said:
Interesting. How is the aftermarket unit different from stock? Does it mount in a different location maybe?
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It is all about roll center. the axle side bracket raises the track bar up and outward several inches and which improves roll center a great deal and the track bar itself is longer so it does not mess with your axle centering. The frame side bracket does not change at all only the axle side. Raising your axle side track bar is something we always did on jeeps to correct your roll center.
 
jadmt said:
It is all about roll center. the axle side bracket raises the track bar up and outward several inches and which improves roll center a great deal and the track bar itself is longer so it does not mess with your axle centering. The frame side bracket does not change at all only the axle side. Raising your axle side track bar is something we always did on jeeps to correct your roll center.
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On Jeeps, you just triangulate and toss that track bar ;). I have been thinking about the Thuren track bar for mine.
 
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