Troubleshooting 2017 Jayco 284BHSW Having Noticeable Sway When Being Towed W/ 2021 Ram 1500  

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Expert Reply:

I would be happy to help!

Since your 2017 Jayco 284 BHSW travel trailer weighs in at 7500lbs and your 2021 Ram 1500 Crew Cab weighs in at a max of 6400lbs then a weight distribution is highly recommended. A weight distribution hitch is recommended when the trailer is 50% of the weight of the tow vehicle, but in this case your trailer weighs more than your tow vehicle.

Now to make sure your get the correct weight distribution hitch you will need to confirm your setups total tongue weight. Total tongue weight is the tongue weight of your fully loaded plus the weight of any cargo behind the rear axle of your Ram.

The easiest way to get an accurate tongue weight rating is with a tongue weight scale like the etrailer # e99044, but there are other methods outlined in the included help article.

Since your trailer weighs 7500lbs and tongue weight is typically 10-15% of the weight of the trailer, you should have between 750-1125lbs of tongue weight.

More than likely the Fastway e2 Weight Distribution w/ 2-Point Sway Control - Trunnion - 12,000 lbs GTW, 1,200 lbs TW # FA92-00-1200 will work, as it works with tongue weights between 800-1200lbs. This hitch has built in two point sway control that does a fantastic job of keeping the trailer straight while going down the road, and will correct both issues you are having. A weight distribution hitch will also prevent sagging by re-distributing the weight from just the rear axle of your truck to both axles of the truck and each axle of the trailer allowing you to have better breaking effeciency by putting more weight back on the front axle which does the vast majority of the braking.

This hitch does not included a hitch ball, so you will need either 2" hitch ball # A-90 or 2-5/16" hitch ball # 19286.

I included a video of the # FA92-00-1200 for you to take a look at.

expert reply by: Samuel C

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