What Would Cause Back and Forth Motion When Towing Trailer

Question:

Im towing a 2008 Jayco Ex-Port 17C 3,500lb GVWR with my 2018 Silverado 1500. Admittedly, this is the largest and heaviest Ive ever towed, so Im not entirely sure whats normal. When accelerating or decelerating, there is a noticeable bit of push and pull before the trailer really matches the speed of the truck. For me, I can mostly tune it out, but my wife is prone to motion-sickness and I think shed really start to feel it on longer/windier/bumpier drives. The trailer definitely needs new tires, so Im hoping that will improve the ride a bit. Currently I just have an adjustable ball hitch from Harbor Freight on the truck, would a sway control hitch make much of a difference? Ive also read a bit about Curt Rockerball hitches and wonder if thats something to explore? Or maybe this is just to be expected and a bottle of dramamine is the solution? Thanks!

asked by: Jonathan A

Expert Reply:

Hey Jonathan, does it feel like there's slack in the connection between the tow vehicle and your trailer and it's almost like it's banging around or do you feel more like a sway or porpoising in the vehicle suspension? And adjustable ball mount has a lot more moving parts so that will definitely add to that movement. A ball mount with tighter clearances will prevent like the B and W # BWTS10037B would work or even just a fixed ball mount.

expert reply by: Jameson C

Jonathan A.

4/23/2025

I think the description of feeling like there is slack seems pretty accurate. Frankly, I only brought the adjustable ball mount because I had no idea what the height difference between truck and trailer would be. Now that I have a better idea of what I need, I might try a fixed ball and see how that works out.

Jameson C.

4/23/2025

@JonathanA While I don't know what adjustable ball mount you have I can probably guess that since it's from Harbor Freight it probably has pretty loose clearances and that is what is creating the issue you have. Going with a fixed ball mount will help but even beyond that an anti-rattle device like the # e38FV will get rid of all of the movement between the ball mount and the hitch tube.