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Old 07-23-2016, 01:08 PM   #1
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friction sway bar

I 'm new to towing and hauling a 13 Shasta Revere 27bh with an 08 F150 5.4 Lariat 3.73 With tow package.Using a Husky WDH with 1k bars and Pro Series sway bar. My question is that Pro Series doesn't give any guidance as to how much to tighten the sway bar.I've been keeping it fairly snug but sometimes get a very occasional sway. should I crank it good and tight? anyone else use these and if so how tight. Thanks
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Old 07-23-2016, 01:23 PM   #2
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Friction sway bar

When I was using a sliding friction type sway bar it seemed to be a simple trial an error method of adjustment. Snug it up good and if it sways more than you want tighten it some more at the next stop. Not sure you can ever get all the sway out with a sliding bar but I was able to make it comfortable to tow.

(note: mine had two adjustments on it, one was a hex nut for course adjustments and the other had the handle welded to it for fine/quick and adjustment.)

My new Trekker Hitch has built in sway control that you can and just with a torque wrench, I still use the old method of tighten it up and adjust as needed until I get the trailer as stable as I am comfortable with.
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Old 07-24-2016, 07:52 AM   #3
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Those slider bars are ehh and a oain to adjust as you have found out. My buddy tried everything with his Pro Series w/ slider and finally stepped up to the Husky Centerline TS. That thing is amazing. With th old setup he was white knuckling all the time. This new Husky makes it a breeze to tow. May want to look into that. Very cost effective as well. He went with the 12k/1200lb bar setup. His trailer is about 8500 but wanted room to grow.
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Old 07-24-2016, 08:06 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mulher View Post
I 'm new to towing and hauling a 13 Shasta Revere 27bh with an 08 F150 5.4 Lariat 3.73 With tow package.Using a Husky WDH with 1k bars and Pro Series sway bar. My question is that Pro Series doesn't give any guidance as to how much to tighten the sway bar.I've been keeping it fairly snug but sometimes get a very occasional sway. should I crank it good and tight? anyone else use these and if so how tight. Thanks
The "Friction Bars" require you "Tighten by Hand/Bottom out" the lever bolt! I would also think if your Set up requires 1000# Bars that you would use (2) Friction Bars also! Youroo!!
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Old 07-25-2016, 11:47 AM   #5
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like others have said - it takes some trial/error to figure out how tight.

but let me caution you - don't go too tight.

My old trailer had a similar setup. One one trip I got it too tight (it pulled great!) and when I got to the campground I found that I had bent back the small ball that the sway bar attaches to.

Luckily I was able to find a machine shop in that town... for a small fee they bent it back and welded it with an extra piece of steel to support it better.
(I would not be comfortable doing this with the towing ball, but this was just the sway ball)
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Old 07-26-2016, 02:12 PM   #6
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First: actual sway bars provide much, much more sway control than the "sway control" feature built-in to the WD hitches (Reese SC, Reese dual cam, Equalizer, Husky Centerline, etc.).

Second: people tend to not tighten the sway bar enough. I tighten mine as tight as it will go... on my 38' TT.

Third: a second sway bar is recommended for long TT, like mine (although I only run with one).

The friction and leverage of a sway bar far exceeds that of the WD systems. Plus, they are easy to replace if/when they get worn out.


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Old 07-26-2016, 03:08 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by youroo View Post
The "Friction Bars" require you "Tighten by Hand/Bottom out" the lever bolt! I would also think if your Set up requires 1000# Bars that you would use (2) Friction Bars also! Youroo!!
Right. Turn the on/off handle until you can't turn it anymore, which indicates it is fully bottomed out against the main body. If you need to make adjustments, don't fuss with the handle. Make adjustments with the adjuster bolt, which is a few inches from the on/off handle. Make adjustments in 1/4-turn increments, then do another test drive.

In my opinion, if you flick the steering wheel, and the trailer swings 1 way, then a smaller amount the other way, then settles back straight, you are good. Oscillation more than once in each direction means you should tighten 1/4-turn and try again.
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Old 07-26-2016, 03:18 PM   #8
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I run a friction sway control on my 32' TT and never had any issues. Right now I run 1 on the drivers side and ran from CT to VA Beach with no issues. Though I do have a second one for the pass. side, just never put it on yet.
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Old 07-26-2016, 03:30 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by 325BH View Post
First: actual sway bars provide much, much more sway control than the "sway control" feature built-in to the WD hitches (Reese SC, Reese dual cam, Equalizer, Husky Centerline, etc.).
This is not a factual statement...it is an opinion...and an overblown one at that. There are too many advantages for using a WDH with sway control built in not to consider them...but one of the disadvantages is NOT lack of sway control for a well tuned WDH...no matter which WDH with built in sway control is chosen.

Flame on...
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Old 08-14-2016, 09:05 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by windsurfdog View Post
This is not a factual statement...it is an opinion...and an overblown one at that. There are too many advantages for using a WDH with sway control built in not to consider them...but one of the disadvantages is NOT lack of sway control for a well tuned WDH...no matter which WDH with built in sway control is chosen.

Flame on...


It is factual. The sway control built in to the weight distribution system relies on pressure from the bars, which can be a lot... but not near the same as the clamping force of a sway bar.
I never said to not consider a WD system with sway control... and I certainly didn't advocate not using a WD system. However, a sway bar controls sway much more. I've used WD systems without built in sway control both with and without a sway bar and I have used WD systems with built in sway control both with and without a sway bar. No flame intended, but I stand by my comments.

A sway bar provides more friction through its clamping force and more leverage than the built-in sway control of WD systems.

I use both.

This post of course is not discussing the Hensley type systems. Those are a different animal.


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Old 08-15-2016, 11:37 AM   #11
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It is factual. The sway control built in to the weight distribution system relies on pressure from the bars, which can be a lot... but not near the same as the clamping force of a sway bar.
Technically speaking, it would be difficult to judge this without seeing both systems and making measurements of the actual forces.

All sway control systems work by apply force that prevents the trailer from pivoting about the ball.

Friction based systems use clamping force on a friction material to resist any change in trailer angle.

Non-friction systems use camber angles in the WD bars to apply a force to keep the trailer straight.

Whether the friction force is higher or not would of course depend on the setup and design.

(FWIW - on my 2 data points, which are different trailers, the SwayPro hitch performed much better than friction sway control on my old hitch. And this trailer is bigger and heavier than my old trailer...)
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Old 08-15-2016, 06:25 PM   #12
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Thanks for all the great tips pulled a few more times since and seem to have found the "sweet spot" in tightening it.Thanks
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Old 08-23-2016, 02:17 PM   #13
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Yes, too many variables to say that friction sway control will always provide more friction than any integrated system. Friction sway controller is a strong clamp for sure, with friction material on both sides of a large surface-area bar. But most integrated systems have smaller friction points at multiple points, at both ends of both bars.


I used to tow a large popup with minivans. Used a 400 lbs rated Single Bar WDH, plus a friction sway controller. Lots of others with similar setups liked the "mini-350" WDH, which had integrated sway control. I never switched, because what I had already worked so well. But when I went to a larger vehicle and camper, and needed to get a new WDH anyway, it only made sense to go straight to something with integrated sway control. Works as a system, takes less time to set up, etc, etc.
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Old 08-23-2016, 02:45 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 325BH View Post
... This post of course is not discussing the Hensley type systems. Those are a different animal.
Indeed they are. The Hensley and ProPride hitches do not use friction sway control because the design prevents sway from occurring.
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