Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-16-2012, 08:38 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
nyjoe34's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 7
Ford f150 anti sway

Bought a 2012 Ford F150 and supposedly it has a built in anti sway but.it seems to me that it.sways to much without the anti sway bar! If anyone knows about this would appreciate some info cause I was told if I hook up the bar it would counter act my truck!
nyjoe34 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2012, 08:42 PM   #2
Moderator Emeritus
 
MtnGuy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Shenandoah Valley of Virginia
Posts: 9,280
who told you the sway bar would counter act the built-in sway control ?? That sway bar is gonna probably still be needed.
__________________

Chap , DW Joy, and Fur Baby Sango
2017 F350 Lariat CCSB, SRW, 4x4, 6.7 PS
2017 Grand Design Reflection 337RLS
MtnGuy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2012, 08:44 PM   #3
Junior Member
 
nyjoe34's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 7
Ford dealer I bought it from.told me that and that there is no need for the anti sway bar!
nyjoe34 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2012, 08:51 PM   #4
Moderator Emeritus
 
MtnGuy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Shenandoah Valley of Virginia
Posts: 9,280
It will be interesting to hear from other Ford owners with the built in anti-sway.

Being the owner of an older F150, I am not sold on the new system. It automatically applies the brakes to different wheels to help control sway. So, I am going down the road, and my truck is applying brakes ?? Doesn't seem to be the good system for maximizing fuel mileage.
__________________

Chap , DW Joy, and Fur Baby Sango
2017 F350 Lariat CCSB, SRW, 4x4, 6.7 PS
2017 Grand Design Reflection 337RLS
MtnGuy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2012, 09:00 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
kz08h5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Carmel, Indiana
Posts: 309
Quote:
I was told if I hook up the bar it would counter act my truck!
Based on this statement your sway bar is not engaged or hooked up. I know that some sway bars have the ability to disengage the outer ends to allow for more wheel movement when 4 wheeling. Thsi may be your situation. The Hellwig people showed a sway bar from Ford pickup that was standard equipment. It looked way to small, in diameter, to me. Even if you have a factory installed sway bar it may be too small to do the job for you. I installed a Hellwig onmy Silverado which had none to start with. The difference it made was fa-nominal. By the way, I have nothing to do with Hellwig, I'm just a happy customer.
__________________
kz08h5

2008 Chevy Silverado 2500 Duramax Crewcab
Jeep Commander - sold
Flagstaff V-Lite WRB26
kz08h5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2012, 09:11 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
kz08h5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Carmel, Indiana
Posts: 309
Sorry if I mis-understood the question. My description above is for reducing body roll, which sway bars are installed to reduce. If you are talking about the anti-sway system for pulling a trailer that's another thing. If the Ford system is similar the Chrysler system I can see why the dealer might say an sway bar would interfere with its operation. The system should use both brakes and active suspension control to try and make the trailer track behind the tow vehicle.
__________________
kz08h5

2008 Chevy Silverado 2500 Duramax Crewcab
Jeep Commander - sold
Flagstaff V-Lite WRB26
kz08h5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2012, 09:16 PM   #7
rce
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 120
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyjoe34 View Post
Bought a 2012 Ford F150 and supposedly it has a built in anti sway but.it seems to me that it.sways to much without the anti sway bar! If anyone knows about this would appreciate some info cause I was told if I hook up the bar it would counter act my truck!
If I understand correctly the "anti sway" built into my 2010 F150 applies braking to the truck and/or trailer when significant sway is sensed by the truck to straighten things out. (Don't know how!)

Anyway, I think it is an excellent question as to whether there could be a conflict between the built in anti sway feature of the truck and the effect of an external sway bar. I would hope they compliment each other with the external sway bar hopefully preventing serious sway while the truck anti sway feature helps get you back running straight. Does anyone know for sure that they are complimentary and not contradictory?

Only got the truck recently and trailered once with it without any sway noted. Have a WD hitch but no external sway bar. Both Dealer and Hitch installer really didn't know what was the answer to my questions about this.
rce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2012, 09:23 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
timarti's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Near North Bay, Ontario
Posts: 241
The F150 anti sway control will selectively brake the trailer and truck wheels to counteract sway, but based on videos I have seen, the sway needed for it to kick in is more than I would ever want to experience, thus I have two friction anti sway bars on my F150/trailer combo. There is no problem with having both in place. If the sway actually was more than the friction bars could handle, then the anti sway control would activate. Seems to me it needs to be over about 30 degrees of sway before it activates. There are videos on you-tube.
__________________
Tina & Ted & pooches
2012 Ford F-150 XLT 5.0L V8 4x4 with tow package
Andersen WD hitch with sway prevention
2012 Rockwood UltraLite 2304s trailer
timarti is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2012, 09:25 PM   #9
rce
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 120
Quote:
Originally Posted by timarti View Post
The F150 anti sway control will selectively brake the trailer wheels to counteract sway, but based on videos I have seen, the sway needed for it to kick in is more than I would ever want to experience, thus I have two friction anti sway bars on my F150/trailer combo. There is no problem with having both in place. If the sway actually was more than the friction bars could handle, then the anti sway control would activate. Seems to me it needs to be over about 30 degrees of sway before it activates. There are videos on you-tube.
Reassuring, may look into adding a sway bar to my setup afterall.
rce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2012, 09:59 PM   #10
Moderator Emeritus
 
acadianbob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Posts: 3,365
You absolutely need to use your hitch's anti-sway capability. The whole idea is to have a setup where the Ford system never has to kick in; that is the safest way to go. If the Ford system has to kick in, things are already in potentially serious disarray. I've put 4,000 miles on my 2012 F150 towing a 5,500 RV trailer. I use the Reese Dual Cam. The trailer NEVER sways. The Ford system has never been needed.
__________________
https://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp297/acadianbob/IMG_2757.jpg
2021 F350 Lariat 7.3 4X4 w 4.30s, 2018 Wildcat 29RLX
2012 BMW G650GS, Demco Premiere Slider
1969 John Deere 1020, 1940 Ford 9N, 1948 Ford 8N
Jonsered 535, Can of WD-40, Duct Tape
Red Green coffee mugs
acadianbob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-16-2012, 11:57 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Twisty's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,137
The anti sway feature of the truck works surprisingly well.
I got onto an empty stretch of 2 lane 55 mph roadway while towing empty and dry.
Traveling at 45 mph I purposely initiated a sway by turning the wheel to the left, then quickly right then left again.
The truck snapped the trailer right back into place.
I suggest that you install a Reese Dual Cam and skip the friction bars (if that's what you have).
__________________
FOR SALE 2014 BOSS 6.2L F350
2012 Surveyor SV264
NW Oregon
Twisty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2012, 12:06 AM   #12
Moderator Emeritus
 
Dave_Monica's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 4,327
From what I understand of the factory sway control, is that is part of the truck's stability control system that reacts once sway is detected.

Using conventional trailer sway control through sway bars, dual cam, whatever, is a preventative type of control.

Dave
__________________


Nights camped in 2013 - 55, 2014 - 105, 2015 - 63
Dave_Monica is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2012, 12:08 AM   #13
Senior Member
 
Twisty's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,137
^True Dat!

__________________
FOR SALE 2014 BOSS 6.2L F350
2012 Surveyor SV264
NW Oregon
Twisty is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2012, 12:32 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
ironj's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,368
Trailer 'sway'and the built in rear stabilizer bar which is often called a sway bar are 2 different things....the bar controls body roll for the most part.the built in anti sway will selectively apply brakes to the truck or trailer when excessive sway is recognized by the on board stability system....if it was engaging you would know.....first it takes a scary ammount of sway , and second the indicator on your dash comes on when it activates....

There is no benifit that i know of to taking off the rear stabilizer bar other than to increase axle articulation......but i doubt you are rock crawlijg with your truck....lol....mine came with a rear bar and nowhere does it say to not use it, nor have i seen or heard that anywhere.....?
__________________
2015 F350 Platinum Fx4 6.7 Diesel Dually. B&W turnover, B&W Companion, air bags and wireless controller.
2015 Heartland Road Warrior 420 Rt
2012 f250 Fx4 6.7 Diesel crew cab tinted n tuned
2012 lacrosse 318bhs touring- sold
ironj is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2012, 06:54 AM   #15
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 361
I have had 2 ford's with anti sway and towed with both. Yes, you still need sway bars and no, it will not interfere with trucks system, they work together. I have never had the anti sway kick in while towing but I never had a severe enough sway to activate the inertia sensors either. I did hit a patch of black ice going around 45 mph w/o TT, truck started sideways, sensors kicked in and straightened the truck out before I could get Oh Sh** out.
pwrstroke2012 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2012, 07:13 AM   #16
Site Team - Lou
 
Herk7769's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: South Eastern PA
Posts: 23,268
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyjoe34 View Post
Ford dealer I bought it from.told me that and that there is no need for the anti sway bar!
IMO, he was an idiot. Anything he told you is suspect.

A truck's "sway bar" is NOT trailer sway control.
__________________
Lou & Freya the wonder dog
2008 GMC Sierra 3000HD Allison Duramax
2019 Flagstaff 8529FL
Herk7769 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2012, 07:20 AM   #17
Wanna Be Camper
 
SaskCampers's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Posts: 2,420
IMO the onboard sway control is simply your last line of defence and one that you should do everything in your power to ensure you never have to use. Proper planning and installation of a good sway control hitch will go a long way to ensuring you never have to find out how good or bad any of the factory systems work. BTW it sounds like your sales person is not real familiar with towing and the forces at work. The dealer I have always gone to, all the sales people are very knowledgeable of their products and how they work. The sales people there attend workshops and do online training on the products they sell.
__________________

John & Deb
2011 F250 Lariat FX4 Crew Cab 6.2
2011 Flagstaff V-Lite 30WRLS
SaskCampers is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2012, 07:27 AM   #18
Moderator Emeritus
 
acadianbob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Posts: 3,365
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave_Monica View Post
From what I understand of the factory sway control, is that is part of the truck's stability control system that reacts once sway is detected.

Using conventional trailer sway control through sway bars, dual cam, whatever, is a preventative type of control.

Dave
Exactly!
__________________
https://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp297/acadianbob/IMG_2757.jpg
2021 F350 Lariat 7.3 4X4 w 4.30s, 2018 Wildcat 29RLX
2012 BMW G650GS, Demco Premiere Slider
1969 John Deere 1020, 1940 Ford 9N, 1948 Ford 8N
Jonsered 535, Can of WD-40, Duct Tape
Red Green coffee mugs
acadianbob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2012, 07:30 AM   #19
Moderator Emeritus
 
acadianbob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Posts: 3,365
And I believe the OP was trying to refer to the anti-sway bar for the hitch; not the anti-roll bar that is part of the truck. BTW, many people call the anti-roll bar the anti-sway bar. It is really about roll not sway.

But the person at the dealer was still an idiot.
__________________
https://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp297/acadianbob/IMG_2757.jpg
2021 F350 Lariat 7.3 4X4 w 4.30s, 2018 Wildcat 29RLX
2012 BMW G650GS, Demco Premiere Slider
1969 John Deere 1020, 1940 Ford 9N, 1948 Ford 8N
Jonsered 535, Can of WD-40, Duct Tape
Red Green coffee mugs
acadianbob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2012, 10:38 AM   #20
Junior Member
 
nyjoe34's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 7
Thanks for all the info!
nyjoe34 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
f150

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:49 AM.