Sway Control Question for a Newbie

[cranstonez]

Hello everyone,

I just bought a Forest Rive Cherokee M-26L. Up until this point I haven't towed anything as large. I had a small Jayco kiwi hybrid before that my Tundra towed no problem. My truck pulls the trailer with no problems however I am a little nervous about the sway I experienced. I have read that with a trailer 26' and over two sway control bars should be installed. Is this true? And if so, what does everyone recommend as a decent sway control device. I have already installed a ez-lift WDH.

Thank you!!

PS I am new to the forum as well!

[ChooChooMan74]

Welcome to the forum!
There are many opinions on WDH out there. The 2 most popular, in my opinion, are the Reese Dual Cam and the Equal-i-zer 4pt. I have the reese and tow a 22 foot hybrid with a Jeep Liberty Diesel and it tows fairly well. I have never used a friction type sway control, and maybe someone could chime in on that.

[SKnight]

First off, welcome!

The sway control is worth it's weight in gold. I don't recall the brand I had but the link below is to one that's identical. I towed without it once just to see and the difference is impressive. You should only need one sway controller.

Sway Control - Left - Camco 48381 - Sway Control - Camping World

[bikendan]

since the ez-lift is a basic WDH, you're kinda stuck with just adding one or two basic friction anti-sway bars, like the Camco one above.
unless you want to move up to a better WDH that has built-in sway control.

[mark0224]

I use the friction type on my trailer works fine easy install and inexpensive. They sell at Harbor freight for 29$ on sale and if you go online they have 25 % off coupons all the while. The first trailer I had was told we wouldn't need them and our first trip was almost a disaster, any time the trailer got over 55 mph or a truck went by the trailer would shake the heck out of our truck. Had everything level and balanced out, got to the place we were going (wife white knuckled) parked the trailer and went and bought a set. Good thing I always have tools. It worked great from then on came home at 65 mph trucks didn't bother us and when you have to run the speed up to climb a big hill, hit 75 mph and no sway. My old trailer was 25 ft. and I was pulling it with a 57 GMC Sierra.

[ironj]

What the heck is the towing cap on a 57 gmc!? Lol...

I only run one friction sway bar...crank it down tight. ...drives and tows great!....i have a second friction bar laying around. .but never felt like I needed it..

sent from fat fingers via a space dish thing with no regard to grammer.

[mark0224]

Was supposed to be 5.7 L GMC not 57 sorry hand was smashed years ago and fingers don't always do what I tell them. I also have 2 friction sway bars and use both when its windy or on interstate.

[YoungKopernik]

Welcome, this is a popular subject and an important one.
I have never used sway control but if I ever had an issue, I couldn’t resolve, I would. I don’t think you can go wrong with a good sway control system, its just one more thing to deal with. Sure, I can feel it when a big rig goes flying by but never does it feel dangerous.
I found that an important issue with sway is how your TT is loaded a light tongue and heavy backend will always have sway problems. Good tires, properly inflated can make a difference too.
I have miss loaded my TT before and found that if I start to get sway, I use the trailer’s brake controllers manual braking(no truck brakes) the trailer will straighten right out. I would never try to steer my way out of a sway problem, slow down.
I can let my truck and trailer run-out to 75mph at the end of a hill and don’t have any sway problems. As a standard I run at 59-61mph, in those other states that have a 75mph limit I do 65-69mph to not be a huge hazard.
Every TT and TV will ride differently when all is set up perfectly, do whatever is needed to be safe keeping everyone else on the road safe too.
John

[48fan]

I would not pull any TT without a sway control bar or some kind of sway control very cheap insurance

[dsrace]

prob the best way imo but a little more money than the reese or equalizer sytems.

Hensley Arrow Sway Control Hitch - YouTube

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by dsrace

prob the best way imo but a little more money than the reese or equalizer sytems.

at $1400 starting, compared to $440 for an Equal-i-zer, saying "a little more money" is an understatement!

[campingwilliamsons]

Friction sway control is cheap, but it is treating the symptoms, not fixing the problem. What causes most sway in the trailer lifting off the ball (yes, even just a little bit). This most often occurs when the trailer is trying to outrun the Tow Vehicle. At speed, that can be caused just by the aerodynamic push that happens with all square backed items. They same thing happens when the big tractor trailer is trying to pass you. Low tongue weights will also increase your chances of sway, especially on Travel trailers due to the axle placement being very close to the middle of the trailer. Finally, You can imagine if you are towing a trailer a little tongue high, the problem can be exasperated. You can also see why activating the trailer brakes manually often solves a swaying trailer, it essentially pulls the trailer back from the TV forcing the tongue back onto the ball.

The Equal-I-Zer, Reese dual cam, Hensley Arrow, Propride 3p, etc. all treat the problem. They keep the trailer tongue planted down where it belongs, and do not let it lift. The Hensley and Propride go a step further and move the theoretical pivot point of the trailer over the rear axle of the TV, essentially creating a more solid link between the TV and trailer (very much like a Fifth Wheel or GooseNeck).

Personally, I would treat the problem and not the symptoms.
1. Make sure the tongue weight is 12-15% of the loaded trailer weight at a minimum. Keep in mind, having water in the tanks is likely going to change that tongue weight substantially. Any seasoned RV veteran that has pulled travel trailers will tell you that changing the load in the trailer and the truck will change the towing experience. So, as you set up the trailer for towing, do it with everything loaded out ready for a trip.

2. Get a WDH that has sway "control"/inhibition built in. The Equal-I-Zer is what I used, and I never had any sway issues.

[ironj]

Originally Posted by mark0224

Was supposed to be 5.7 L GMC not 57 sorry hand was smashed years ago and fingers don't always do what I tell them. I also have 2 friction sway bars and use both when its windy or on interstate.

dont feel bad...my hands work fine and i still hit all the wrong buttons...lol

but hey....you could have a 57 with a 5.7 i guess!!

[OldCoot]

Towing with partially filled water tanks will also greatly add to a sway problem. Either fill them or empty them so there is no sloshing back and forth. However, 5 gal (approx. 42#) in the fresh water will not cause much of a problem.

[cranstonez]

Thanks for tips everyone!

[jjgabe]

I use friction sway pulling my 2715. When I got it I only had one but after doing the research I too read that I should have 2 of them. It even said to use 2 in the installation instructions. So I installed another and to be honest I don't feel a difference with 2 friction bars installed. But I use both because if something were to ever happen, I don't my insurance company to not pay the claim because I wasn't in compliance with design.

[kho6658]

Another good reason to use two is if one breaks during your trip. I always remove mine when I get to the camp ground. When removing them, I notice that one of the friction bars was broke in two pieces. Don't know at what point it broke during the trip but never notice it during the trip but was glad I had two. Found RV dealer and purchased a replacement before heading home from our trip.

[dsrace]

Originally Posted by bikendan

at $1400 starting, compared to $440 for an Equal-i-zer, saying "a little more money" is an understatement!

lol well a $1k diff new is big but there are several for sale used from time to time for less and you can't deny that is a better hitch than eq or reese! I personally use an air ride fifth hitch.... not an air ride pin box .... a hitch and I wouldn't go back to a standard one! a cheap reese rated for my weight class is about $400 but cheap in every way and problems with chucking. the air hitch's are $1900 to $2500 new and weigh about 200 lbs to 280 lbs depending. no chucking and smooth of course I added shocks to the toy hauler too. extremely smooth ride in my truck now. what I am saying is..... your $440 to $1400 isn't comparing apples to apples it's more like comparing apples to watermelons! lol the post at the top of this page is correct in tounge weight and an even load being the first step. the majority of trailers don't come standard with shocks and they should! have you ever driven a vehicle with the shocks out? they are all over the place and a trailer is no diff and adding the shocks is cheap if you can do it yourself. it would also help with the problem of the OP.

[dsrace]

Originally Posted by campingwilliamsons

Friction sway control is cheap, but it is treating the symptoms, not fixing the problem. What causes most sway in the trailer lifting off the ball (yes, even just a little bit). This most often occurs when the trailer is trying to outrun the Tow Vehicle. At speed, that can be caused just by the aerodynamic push that happens with all square backed items. They same thing happens when the big tractor trailer is trying to pass you. Low tongue weights will also increase your chances of sway, especially on Travel trailers due to the axle placement being very close to the middle of the trailer. Finally, You can imagine if you are towing a trailer a little tongue high, the problem can be exasperated. You can also see why activating the trailer brakes manually often solves a swaying trailer, it essentially pulls the trailer back from the TV forcing the tongue back onto the ball.

The Equal-I-Zer, Reese dual cam, Hensley Arrow, Propride 3p, etc. all treat the problem. They keep the trailer tongue planted down where it belongs, and do not let it lift. The Hensley and Propride go a step further and move the theoretical pivot point of the trailer over the rear axle of the TV, essentially creating a more solid link between the TV and trailer (very much like a Fifth Wheel or GooseNeck).

Personally, I would treat the problem and not the symptoms.
1. Make sure the tongue weight is 12-15% of the loaded trailer weight at a minimum. Keep in mind, having water in the tanks is likely going to change that tongue weight substantially. Any seasoned RV veteran that has pulled travel trailers will tell you that changing the load in the trailer and the truck will change the towing experience. So, as you set up the trailer for towing, do it with everything loaded out ready for a trip.

2. Get a WDH that has sway "control"/inhibition built in. The Equal-I-Zer is what I used, and I never had any sway issues.

+1 and adding shocks will also help, not to a major degree like a wd hitch but to a good degree.

[dsrace]

kinda funny at times

Hensley-Hitch-RVShow-Video.mpg - YouTube