PCS Problems When Towing

Reading this going.....wtf !? new trailer on the way, weight under spec, but the in the window of this problem occurring. Would be great to know what percentage of people are having this issue? Seems like there are many people on this forum towing large trailers 4k+ weight.

 

That's my though as well. I got a Lance 1575 which has a GVWR of ~3700, which shouldn't be a problem considering I see some guys towing elongated mansions behind their tacos, but then I came across this thread and now I'm like wth.

 

My truck is a 2021 OR DCLB. I think the the steering angle sensor code gets triggered by the weight distribution hitch (WDH) pulling on the truck. One contributor to the thread has done a really thorough job detailing his WDH set up. My trailer is 3500# single axel. I have the Equalizer weight distribution hitch. I am 99.9% on the road and my off-road driving is only 4x4 tracks to trailheads in Colorado a few times a year. I drive a ton of highway miles and want the truck to be super solid on the interstate at 80 mph. When towing I set the transmission on 4 if it's hilly and 5 on flat road, I travel at 65 mph almost exclusively, I turn off the PCS and the button on the lower left dash after each restart (pain in the ass). When the code triggers is also disables the cruise control and that is also a pain in the ass.

The first time the codes triggered was 1,000 miles into a trip and I think I was braking and turning. At times the steering wheel would be WAY off center while going straight. The combination of the sway and off center steering wheel might have triggered the code.

The second time was after I WAY over adjusted the WDH and installed Blizzak snow tires. As for the tires they have much less sidewall strength and at that time I had the PSI set at 32 which is way too low. Regarding the WDH, I really put too much weight forward on the front wheels. After this insane hitch adjustment the hitch sway bars were taking so much weight the they caused the steering wheel to be extremely off center.The code triggered when I was braking and decelerating down a curved off-ramp. Again the sway control from the WDH squishes the truck around weirdly.

The fault code was:

Zero point steering angle sensor malfunction. C1290

So, I have done some things to stiffen up the truck and reduce the difference between a WDH and a regular hitch.

I added blue Sumosprings in the rear. That helped the squishy suspension feeling.

With the sumos installed I re-adjusted the WDH according to their instructions but stayed with a less aggressive set-up (moved less weight to the front of the truck). During the test drive the steering wheel was perfectly aligned with the direction of travel and no codes popped and it towed well. I then test drove with a regular receiver and ball set-up and the WDH is way better. So, getting the benefit of the WDH is worth monkeying around and trying to figure out the best set-up to avoid the codes. There was across wind and tested on the same stretch of flat road with the cross wind on either side.

Since that test I had the Helwig rear sway bar installed. Oh man, game changer! I haven't towed with it yet but just for daily driving it is way better than no sway bar. Every turn has reduced body roll and on/off ramps are noticeably less tippy. The truck already has a stock front sway bar so, I need to get advice from someone about the Helwig front sway bar vs the stock one. If it is noticeably better I'll do that one too. I have ordered front Sumosprings bump stop replacements. People claim they reduce sway as well.

I have started to look at shocks/springs to further plant the truck on the road. I'll instal KO2s in the spring and am told that will stiffen the ride considerably.

If I read the comments correctly the codes pop more often when a WDH is in use.

On the next trip if I see the steering wheel pointing off center I will pull over and take off the WDH bars. I think that is what causes the fault.

 

What a great write up @Hawk1 thank you! I've installed the blue sumo springs, and I also have a wdh I plan on using, which I think I've set up correctly, based on my youtube university education (the truck rear only dropped about 1/2" with the trailer and wdh installed). Next week will be my maiden voyage with our Lance, so I'm trying to fix problems before they start!

I'm going to look into the helwig rear sway bar, sounds like a necessity - difficult to install?

I have Geolandar G015s in 265/70/17, which for dd have been great, so we'll see how the perform while towing.

 

This makes a ton of sense. I'm on airbags, and going to use an Andersen hitch - hoping I can avoid this issue. I've gone with the sport front sway bar (32mm vs 30mm on the TRD OR stock) and like you will be adding a hellwig rear (when it arrives in a few weeks)

 

Did the sport front sway bar at 32mm make a noticeable difference vs the 30mm OR SB?

On another TW page they said the stock OR SB is 28mm. If I can find my calipers I'll measure my current FSB.

The Hellwig is 1 3/8" or 34.9mm. Is that a significant enough increase to further eliminate body roll?

My front Sumosprings arrived and I'll instal them this morning. I'll report back.

Does the Geolander GO15 have a stiffer sidewall than the OEM Goodyear w/Kevlar Wranglers. I'm sticking with stock height and wheel size: 265/70/16.

 

Installed the front Sumosprings. The raised the front 1/2". From 34.25" to 34.75". Definitely reduced nose-dive while braking. Reduced some body-roll but didn't eliminate it. I think it made the steering lighter. Once I test the setup towing the camper I'll report back.

 

I really like the Geolandars, the sidewall seems a bit stiffer than the OE tires, however I think my next set I'll go back to stock size. I am looking forward to hearing your experience with the front Sumo Springs while towing! I think I'm gonna go ahead and get the fronts, as I am enjoying the back ones after about a week.

 

I ended up selling my trailer and going back to tent camping. But before doing so I bought one of those small scales made for measuring tongue weight.
Found that I was much heavier than I thought, 700lbs. My trailer had a high tongue weight, I knew that when I bought it but I didn't account for propane and batteries. I put a hitch cargo basket on the back of the trailer and moved some items out there to pull some weight off the tongue. Then I changed out my load bars on the WDH to a lower rating to match the new weight. No more issues after that. I agree with others, the off center steering caused by aggressive WDH will pop the code if you have all the tech options.

 

I just completed a 4,000 mile trip hauling my 3500# camper. I did not trigger any warning lights or any problems whatsoever. Knowing that the steering angle sensor had faulted on my last trip and that is what caused the warning lights and such I made some changes to my set up and watched the steering angle closely. Here are the changes I made to my 2021 OR DCLB:

1. Adjusted the WDH to reduce some of the weight on the front wheels. I don't have to use the pry bar to set the bars. I think this is the most important change.
2. Greased the WDH pivots, these might have had too much friction from the factory. Even with lighter adjustment and greased pivots the camper tracks behind the truck like it's on rails.
3. Added a rear Hellwig sway bar. Also huge difference. Maybe I bought the wrong truck, maybe the Sport would have been a better fit for my usage however this rear-sway-bar tunes the on-road performance greatly. So much less body roll and much more control. The Hellwig front sway bar just arrived and I will replace the stock with this beefier bar. Hopefully this will really eliminate body roll. I might eventually in stall stiffer struts/springs staying at the stock height. Nevertheless, just adding the rear sway bar helped a lot.
4. I added blue Sumo springs at each corner this helped with squat and increased the front about a half inch. I could have gone with the black springs in the rear suspension but there is very little squat so it's fine for now.
5. I upgraded from the Goodyear "Kevlar" stock tires to Goodyear Ultraterrains. These are about 6 pounds heavier per tire and I think their sidewall is stiffer. This reduces side sway and yaw. This helped make the ride firmer and seem more connected to the road.
6. After starting the engine before I begin to tow I toggle off the PCS and the traction control and engage the ECT. I tow with the automatic transmission in manual mode set to 5th unless it is hilly then 4th, only a couple time was 3rd needed.

After doing all of this I think the PRIMARY thing that avoided triggering the steering angle sensor and thus setting off the whole host of warnings mentioned in this thread is adjusting the WDH to keep the steering wheel pointed straight. That sounds easy but when the WDH was adjusted to put more weight on the front wheels and I hadn't greased it the steering wheel would get stuck not straight even when going straight down a flat road.

That's the report. I now have confidence that I can tow the camper anywhere without worrying about the warning lights and sensors going crazy and sending me to the dealer for the code clearing dance.

 

I agree 100%. Aggressive WDH is the most likely cause. Only thing I would add is I tried to turn off PCS and traction and it never made a difference. If it was unhappy it would still trigger the codes.

 

Thanks for all this information. I just towed my RV (3400 lbs dry weight, 500lbs tongue weight, single axel, WDH) 1500+ miles. It wasn't until around 900 miles that the dashboard lit up with all the errors you've described. Dealer reset the codes and didn't charge me, but said it wasn't a warrantee issue (I'll fight that battle when I have to).

I'll adjust my WDH, which I think is pretty aggressive (RV dealer set it up; when I put the bars in place, the hitch goes up several inches).

I have the stock tires at around 35psi. Truck calls for 30psi. How high can/should I go?

Newbie towing question: when the steering wheel isn't straight when driving, what do I do to correct it?

 

I run my tires at 35 cold when towing.

What does this mean? The steering wheel is cocked when driving straight? Is it pulling? Is it constant or does it wander? Only when towing or all the time?

You need an alignment. And possibly check the trailer for dog tracking.

 

The alignment is fine. The steering is sometimes cocked/pulling to one side or the other when towing, similar to what @Hawk1 describes. At first I thought it was alignment, but after a stop, it would either be straight or pull the other direction. When driving without the trailer, it's straight as an arrow.

 

Sounds like you have an uneven load that's probably shifting around.

 

Wild. I'm guessing the anti-sway is too tight. I'd try readjusting the WDH and maybe loosen up the anti-sway (if so equipped).

 

I had the same experience and I think that’s why you get a code. It’s overly aggressive WDH. For me it was reposition weight to reduce tongue and then get the right bars for my tongue weight. My RV dealer gave me bars that were about 3x to stiff. It works but it will push the truck around.

 

The steering is the indicator that your hitch needs to be adjusted to be less aggressive. I don’t change my tire psi from normal.

I didn’t have to replace my WDH bars. I just changed the set up of the hitch to make it less aggressive. It was a pain in the ass. I used a long flat stretch of country road. Took measurements, drove a couple miles up and back. Then made more adjustments and tested again. Over and over until it worked.

 

I have this problem towing 4200 micro Minnie with dual axles. 2023 OR stock. Centerline WDH red arc brake controller.