Why Would Adding Cargo Carrier to Rear of Pop Up Trailer Cause it to Start Swaying

Question:

Hi. I recently fabricated a new bumper out of channel iron and welded a 2 inch reciever hitch to my popup which is very strong ... i attached a cargo carrier to the hitch and loaded it with fire wood about 100 lbs or so.. the carrier is rated for 500 lbs while traveling with the camper attached to my SUV it started swaying really bad ... if i purchase a friction type sway bar will this stop the sway or is to dangerous to to do because of the weight balance on the pop up ... please respond

asked by: Jeff

Expert Reply:

The reason you are experiencing sway now is because of the additional weight behind the rear axle of the pop up which is causing the tongue weight to lighten up.

A sway control unit isn't going to prevent that type of sway. Aside from the fact that what you have fabricated is untested and therefor unknown whether or not it's safe, you have to come up with a way to increase the tongue weight so that it's between 10 and 15 percent of the total weight of the trailer.

expert reply by: Jameson C