How to Reduce Sway When Tandem Towing 2 Trailers

Question:

Im pulling a 34-foot fifth wheel trailer behind it Im tagging along a 12 ft trailer for my golf cart which is swaying pretty bad what can I do

asked by: Chris

Expert Reply:

Tandem towing, towing one trailer with another trailer, is intrinsically more challenging than towing a single trailer. Any sway occurring in the first trailer (the 5th wheel) tends to get transmitted to the second trailer.

The two things that can be done to reduce this are to slow down to a speed that stabilizes the tandem setup and to make sure both trailers have sufficient pin weight and tongue weight (TW). Trailers that are light at the tongue (heavy at the rear) tend to sway more, like the pendulum on a grandfather clock. 5th wheel pin weight should be 20-25% of GVWR and the cart trailer TW should be 10-15% of its total loaded weight.

If your golf cart trailer gives you the option to do so try placing the cart further forward on it to increase the trailer's tongue weight. This will often help reduce the sway. You can also verify that both trailer's tires are inflated correctly to the specified maximum pressure since under-inflated tires will tend to allow more motion in the trailer.

expert reply by: Adam R