Propride 3P and F150 sway control

Restcure · 06-12-2017, 09:55 AM

We've towed with the 3P since 2009; in case you're not familiar with it, the design of the hitch does not attempt to control sway, but prevents it from happening entirely.

A couple of years ago we sold our 2005 Toyota Sequoia and bought a new-to-us 2013 F150. It has the max tow package, which comes with trailer sway control. When you start the truck, sway control is enabled by default. I would disable it when I remembered, which wasn't often.

Yesterday we were coming back from an event - a six hour tow along mostly 4-lane highway with occasional crosswinds. Because the trailer does not sway, crosswinds act on the truck and trailer as a whole. It occurred to me during one of these windy periods that the F150's sway control may be reacting to the movements, so I disabled it. I can't be 100% certain but it appeared to make a positive difference in the way the truck reacted to the wind - the movements seemed less severe.

I realize I'm polling a pretty small audience, but has anyone with a 3P or Hensley hitch and a truck with built-in sway control had similar experiences?

wardster · 06-12-2017, 10:02 AM

My 150 has the built in sway control. I may be completely wrong, but I believe when the truck's sway control kicks in you will get the message on the dash stating so. If severe enough, the truck will begin ease off the accelerator too.
Again, I could be wrong but believe I read a thread on this where actual pictures were posted of the message coming on.

Restcure · 06-12-2017, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wardster

My 150 has the built in sway control. I may be completely wrong, but I believe when the truck's sway control kicks in you will get the message on the dash stating so. If severe enough, the truck will begin ease off the accelerator too.
Again, I could be wrong but believe I read a thread on this where actual pictures were posted of the message coming on.

I never saw such a message on the dash, which leads me to three possible conclusions. I list them here in order of likelihood (IMHO).

The 3P prevented sway from happening so the system never kicked in and the improvements I thought I noticed were the product of an overactive imagination (very likely)
Sway control was actively working while it was enabled but I didn't notice the indicator light on the dash coming on (possible but unlikely; I usually notice those right away)
Sway control (or the indicator light) wasn't working at all (possible but even more unlikely; I would expect some indication of the problem)

capt104 · 06-12-2017, 01:17 PM

I have an 2014 F150 with full tow package including sway control. The sway control is only activated when sway reaches a certain threshold. At this point the control dumps the throttle and applies the T/T breaks. Believe me, when it is activated you will know it. It is very effective in aligning the whole rig and the first time it can scare the heck out of you.

We have run our 2016 Coachmen 276 RKDSLE around 12,000 miles in the past 18 months and have had some real white knuckle experiences with trailer sway. This with an Equalizer E2 WD hitch using 1000# bars. This uses friction type sway control which quite frankly I did not find very effective. I recently purchased and installed a ProPride hitch with 1400# WD bars. Went for several test drives in varying wind conditions and experienced virtually zero sway.

You can leave your sway control on or off and it won't make a difference. The ProPride is definitely worth the price for safety and peace of mind. Be safe and happy motoring!

ontario_camper · 06-12-2017, 02:31 PM

. At this point the control dumps the throttle and applies the T/T breaks. Believe me, when it
is activated you will know it. It is very effective in aligning the whole rig and the first time it can scare the heck out of you.

X 2

I've had it engage twice. There's no mistaking it! You will know that the truck applied it, it's startling.

glsimms · 06-12-2017, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capt104

I have an 2014 F150 with full tow package including sway control. The sway control is only activated when sway reaches a certain threshold. At this point the control dumps the throttle and applies the T/T breaks. Believe me, when it is activated you will know it. It is very effective in aligning the whole rig and the first time it can scare the heck out of you.

We have run our 2016 Coachmen 276 RKDSLE around 12,000 miles in the past 18 months and have had some real white knuckle experiences with trailer sway. This with an Equalizer E2 WD hitch using 1000# bars. This uses friction type sway control which quite frankly I did not find very effective. I recently purchased and installed a ProPride hitch with 1400# WD bars. Went for several test drives in varying wind conditions and experienced virtually zero sway.

While I don't own a Propride hitch, I do have a Blue Ox WDH. And you are absolutely right about catching me off guard the first time it happened to me. I contacted the folks at Blue Ox and they told me to disable the built-in trailer sway control on the truck. Reason being the 2 are actually "fighting" against each other. They said to let the Blue Ox do its' thing, which does seem to have made a difference.

Restcure · 06-12-2017, 03:16 PM

Folks, many thanks for the feedback, especially on the sensation of the system kicking in. I'll just leave it on and not worry about it.

ontario_camper · 06-12-2017, 03:49 PM

glsimms

Just my personal opinion, but I wouldn't turn it off. It only engages in extreme circumstances. If it's come on, it's because your sway control (Blue Ox, or any brand) needs a bit of help in that particular situation. Leaving it on will not affect your sway control in "normal " day to day towing.

capt104 · 06-12-2017, 03:56 PM

I agree completely.

thebrakeman · 06-12-2017, 04:08 PM

Placebo effect. You turned off the truck's electronic sway control, and you subconsciously wanted to feel a difference, even though you try to be subjective/fair. It's a natural reaction.

Sway control built into a vehicle's stability control system will only kick in when yaw sensors feel the rear of the vehicle being pushed sideways, in such a way that the vehicle is no longer pointed in the direction the driver intends. If the ProPride is doing what it's supposed to do, the rig should never get to the point that the electronic system is triggered.

I say leave it on. 1 less thing to remember to do. And if something happened to fail on the Propride, you have a backup system in place. Of course, the Propride is the perfect piece of machinery, with the ability to prevent sway, alert you when LP tanks are low, and even dump your holding tanks for you. So if something did go wrong, it would have to be user error. But I digress.....

capt104 · 06-12-2017, 06:26 PM

No sarcasm here I see..........

glsimms · 06-12-2017, 09:27 PM

E-Z fellas, just relaying what the folks at blue ox and the dealer I bought it from told me

Restcure · 06-13-2017, 08:24 AM

glsimms, capt104 thanks for the feedback.

brakeman, I had really hoped that this thread would not sink to the level of trading hitch insults. There's no need for that.

DreiHunde · 06-13-2017, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Restcure

glsimms, capt104 thanks for the feedback.

brakeman, I had really hoped that this thread would not sink to the level of trading hitch insults. There's no need for that.

Restcure, I don't own a F150 nor a ProPride but this is a good thread and I learned something that I may someday be able to pass along! Thanks for starting it

Restcure · 06-13-2017, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreiHunde

Restcure, I don't own a F150 nor a ProPride but this is a good thread and I learned something that I may someday be able to pass along! Thanks for starting it

Thanks, threedogs!

I learned something too.

DreiHunde · 06-13-2017, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Restcure

Thanks, threedogs!

I learned something too.

It's a good day then!

Magdeep · 06-13-2017, 12:36 PM

Agree with above post regarding the F150 sway control 'kicking in'. I tow a 30' Windjammer using an Equi-li-zer 10K and the truck sway control has only kicked in once after 17,000 miles of towing. Scared the crap out of me until I realized what was happening! But sure enough the sway stopped as the trailer brakes were automatically activated and the truck slightly decelerated.

llr · 06-13-2017, 01:00 PM

I suspect there is something with the disengaging sway control at least on some F-150s, probably limited model years and/or options. There are a number of people on the F150 forum that report it kicking in during high winds, without notice and without towing and were able to measure differences in brake temperature and MPG with it on and off in similar winds. Of course there was about the same number saying it made no difference is why I suspect it is some F-150s and not all. I didn't notice any difference on my 2009.

thebrakeman · 06-13-2017, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capt104

No sarcasm here I see..........

Blatant sarcasm! But I do believe my prior comments speak positively of the Propride system. So, hopefully, everyone can take a joke, and not get bunched up.

thebrakeman · 06-13-2017, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Restcure

glsimms, capt104 thanks for the feedback.

brakeman, I had really hoped that this thread would not sink to the level of trading hitch insults. There's no need for that.

Oh, please! That was the furthest thing from an insult. I agreed with the OP, about how the Propride works (keeping the rig moving as a unit), and even including the little laughing dude.

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