New mini micro 2106ds constant wiggle while towing

bruceb · 10-21-2020, 08:40 AM

I brought our new mini micro 2106ds home from the dealer yesterday. About a 70 mile trip. The trailer was set up by the dealer. I was towing it with my new silverado 1500 diesel 4x4 crew cab. We were running at 65 mph in very light winds with average traffic.
The trailer was CONSTANTLY WIGGLING. I mean, if you were in the trailer you would have had a hard time standing up. Milk in the fridge would have been butter. It did not matter if the road was open or I was being passed it just constantly wiggled.
At my age I have nearly a million miles driving and I have towed boats and enclosed cargo trailers and never experienced nor seen a trailer do this before.
Is this normal for a TT??? Reviews all say what an easy trailer it is to tow but that is NOT how I would have reviewed it.
Thanks

DavidM · 10-21-2020, 09:20 AM

No it is absolutely not normal and is unsafe. But the fix may or may not be easy. Trailer sway while towing is almost always due to light tongue weight. It should be at least 10% and some say 15% of the trailer's weight on the tongue. That means about 400 lbs and preferably 500 lbs of tongue weight.

Winnebago's brochure says that the trailer weighs 3,705 lbs dry and should have a hitch weight of 360 lbs. That means that most of the weight you add needs to go in front of the axle to meet the criteria above.

You can do two things about this: move stuff forward to put more weight on the tongue. If that doesn't work, weigh the tongue. If it is still too low, then your only choice may be to take it back to Winnie and make them move the axles back a few inches to put more weight on the tongue.

A sway control hitch might help, but from what you describe there is something fundamentally wrong and you shouldn't rely on a sway control hitch to solve it.

There are other things that might cause this like axle misalignment or maybe a loose axle connection. I doubt if it is your TV. A Silverado 1500 with diesel should be plenty stout to tow that trailer.

David

bruceb · 10-21-2020, 09:52 AM

I have it on a WDH with sway control.

**Eagle5** · 10-21-2020, 10:22 AM

As DavidM mentioned, axle misalignment can be a driving-force for sway. One quick and easy check is to measure from hub to hitch on both sides. If they are within ¼" of each other, that is good.
Eagle5

**creativepart** · 10-21-2020, 12:27 PM

It can also be a tire problem or dragging brake shoe.

Whatever it is should be fixed ASAP before another trip. Let's hope the dealer doesn't say... "They all do that."

bruceb · 10-21-2020, 12:48 PM

I did some checking.
All tires are at 37-40 psi and the sticker says they should be at 44 psi.
The distance between the tires(tread to tread) on the right side is 3/8 inch less than the same distance on the left side. I dont know what is causing this as the distance between the mounting brackets is only off by 1/8 inch.
Would either of these cause a problem?
on my tandem axle boat trailer the distance is exactly the same on both sides and it rides dead straight.

Inventor · 10-21-2020, 05:10 PM

You could jack up each wheel and give it a spin to see if one has a noticeable wobble, look for abnormal side to side, or up and down movement. Maybe a bad (bent) wheel, or maybe one is incorrectly installed ; trailer rims are lug-centric not hub-centric like car wheels, if the lug nuts are not properly seated in the cone tapers it may cause an out-of-round condition, (foreign object between wheel and hub?) or loose lug nut(s)...?

pmglidden · 10-21-2020, 09:25 PM

It’s a brand new camper, you should take it to the dealer and get them to fix it. It just should not happen

**Eagle5** · 10-21-2020, 09:54 PM

Hi BruceB,
The difference in the distance between the tandem axles sounds fairly close, but what I was referencing was the distance from the hub to the hitch, comparing the left side to the right side. If the distance is different, then it forces the trailer to sway.
Can you pick-up the hitch? If so, it is too light. Hitch weight is the damping force to sway.
Good luck; Eagle5

GaryS · 10-21-2020, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle5

Can you pick-up the hitch? If so, it is too light. Hitch weight is the damping force to sway.

I think you mean the tongue of the trailer. That would give some indication of hitch weight.

al1florida · 10-22-2020, 04:37 AM

You can use a bathroom scale to measure the hitch weight. Here is a link to the method: https://www.curtmfg.com/trailer-part...ers/learn-more

In the link above, scroll down to the section for using a bathroom scale.

In the link they show using a pipe on the bathroom scale and the brick, but a 2" x2" piece of wood or better yet a 1" x 1" will work. Will not be as accurate, but you don't need exact.

bruceb · 10-22-2020, 01:13 PM

I will look at these in a bit. Raining a lot today.

bruceb · 10-22-2020, 01:14 PM

I did call Winnebago and my dealer. They are both concerned. My dealer has a guy to deal with these issues but is not available until next week. I will keep you posted on what I find and what they say.
Thank you all.

bruceb · 10-23-2020, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creativepart

It can also be a tire problem or dragging brake shoe.

Whatever it is should be fixed ASAP before another trip. Let's hope the dealer doesn't say... "They all do that."

I dont think the brakes are dragging. I felt all 4 hubs when I got home and all were equally cool.

bruceb · 10-23-2020, 09:06 AM

did some checking and measuring.
The wheels spin nice and evenly with no brake dragging.
The measurement from the front of the coupler to the front of the axle hub on each side is exactly the same.
Keep in mind we are not talking about a large sway. It is just a constant jiggling of maybe 2 or 3 inches and it makes the whole rig constantly shake back and forth.

so all I have found so far is the 3/8 inch difference in the distance between the tires and the fact they are underinflated by 5-10 psi.

**Eagle5** · 10-23-2020, 09:40 AM

Hi Bruceb,
It sounds like you have it figured out. You now know the forward trailer axle is aligned with your trailer ball, but the rear axle, being out 3/8", is just slightly out. Folks who align trailer axles might be able to adjust that to be closer to a zero difference.
Did you ever get a tongue weight?
Thanks, Eagle5

bruceb · 10-23-2020, 10:57 AM

tongue weight is waiting on the rain to stop. Later today I hope.

bruceb · 10-23-2020, 01:11 PM

ok according to my bathroom scale and a 3 to one lever the weight on the tongue is 397.5 lbs.
according to the spec sheet the trailer weighs 3705 dry. In addition I have 2 full propane tanks and one group 27 battery on the tongue.
3705 + (2x37) + 50=3829 lbs total.
397.5/3829=10.38 percent tongue weight.

seems light, especially if the tanks get empty and there is any waste water in the black tank.

**Eagle5** · 10-23-2020, 01:15 PM

Hi Bruce,
Well, the tongue weight it is in the correct range (10% to 15%.) On a trip, you can always load heavy stuff forward in the trailer.
I believe you should proceed with seeing if someone can adjust the alignment of the rear trailer axle to match the front trailer axle. It seems that 3/8" misalignment is the cause of your trailer sway.
Thanks, Eagle5

DEWEY · 10-26-2020, 08:11 AM

Morning Bruceb,

All good suggestions, especially the sway control hitch. However, I didn't see any reference to trailer tilt/"attitude".

Typically, hitch height should be adjusted to have the trailer as close to level as possible. If you cannot adjust accordingly, than a slight tongue-down orientation is preferred. If the trailer is biased "nose-up", the center of gravity moves back resulting in increasing the possibility of sway.

Also note, when weighing the tongue, insure it is at the height of the hitch.

A level trailer also results in better tire wear as axle/tire loading is uniform.