Anyone tow with just the ball?

[66caravel]

I have a 66 Caravel and I just use the ball hitch, no sway bars. It tows beautifully and stays straight as an arrow. Granted it is one the lighter airstreams and if you have a longer and heavier trailer you will probably need some sway bars to keep it from straying. Welcome to the forum.

[martin300662]

Originally Posted by Stefrobrts

This looks like a form of friction sway control.

So is 'snake' the euro term for 'sway'?

It is, and the leaf spring can have adjustable tension applied.

In my experience both the terms sway and snake are used commonly, although it is much more common for any snake/sway to be bought on by wind (natural gusts or more often side drafts as other vehicles pass), rather than the effect of weight.

[mefly2]

We have towed with only the ball and chains, but not for any distance ...

[NavyCorpsman]

Oh, and don't forget the grease.......I use Airstream Ball Lube.....

[cmkirkland]

My general rule is, if the TV is heavier than the trailer, then go with just the ball. Its worked well with me. First rig was 1986 25 Sovereign with 2007 F-250 crew cab short bed FX4. Second rig was 2005 28 Classic with 2011 F-250 crew cab short bed FX4. I got to say, don't try this with a regular box trailer. I would even have fun faking a handling problem to clear the way to merge in congested traffic

[larryglarson]

I have been Airstreaming for 5 years pulling an 30' Classic. The first 3 years I used a WD and Sway hitch, probably pulled it 10,000 miles. Two years ago I bought a new trailer and gave up the hitch. I have pulled this new trailer 10,000 miles with no problems on just the ball. I do not drive real fast and am careful going down a hill. I hated the chore of the hitch, the extra weight and the fact that the hitch got out of adjustment or needed fixing. The only time I ever got into trouble with sway was with the hitch and later found it was out of adjustment.

[halftimer]

I had at one time a 37 Ft pace arrow gas f 53 was going to tow a 24 Ft enclosed trailer with a car in it added the wdh and a flat bar sway controller it was the best that rv had ever drove even better than with out anything behind it I never towed with out it again.

[xrvr]

Some of the ball mounts that slide into the receiver are only rated at five hundred pounds. Be careful. Jim

[c177tx]

I have a 19' Airstream Bambi GW 4500# TW 510#, I have pulled this trailer with a 2008 Jeep Commander using an Equalizer 4way WDH. This past weekend was my first time pulling the Bambi with my 2015 EcoD Limited that has the 4 corner air suspension. I have not had the time to set the WDH up with the EcoD and was only pulling it a short distance of a 100 miles. I just hooked up using a reciever hitch rated for 6000GW/600 TW. I was very pleased with the way the EcoD pulled the trailer, no problems with power but what I did notice was the way the Bambi would sway and bounce around with out the WDH at highway speeds with a 25mph crosswind. Not only does a WDH transfer weight to the front axle of the tow vehicle but it also transfers weight back to the trailer. I never felt that the EcoD was light in the front end and the truck seemed stable, but the trailer did feel like it was moving all around behind me. The Commander, Bambi and I have traveled all over Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming and I never felt the Bambi bounce around behind the Commander with the WDH. I know that the EcoD can pull the Bambi without the WDH but I fell more confident with the WDH and will take the small amount of time it takes to set it up.

[Ahab]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

Please stop comparing European caravans to US trailers, because they're not the same. The Airstreams sold in Europe for example are not the same width and are lighter. Generally European caravans are smaller and lighter than their US counterparts.

I wasn't comparing. I was merely making an observation.

[Ultradog]

I see a lot of myths get started on the tractor boards I frequent.
Someone asks the question: "Do I need to use stabilizer bars on my 3 point hitch?"
And someone will reply: "Well, it sure makes you implement trail better."
And someone else says: "I use them on mine all the time."
And another guy says: "I really like them on mine."
So a month later the question gets asked again.
And the comments become:
"Yes."
And, "It's better if you do."
So that ultimately, when the question gets asked the comments become something like: "Yes you must use them all the time or you will surely die and your children will be tossed about like leaves on the open sea."
Never mind that the use of stabilizer bars are mostly a modern convienence and that Farmers used the tractors for 70 years without them.
Myths die hard too. Like the saying that a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth.
I don't pull my Airstream at all. It just sits there up at my land.
But I have pulled my 11K trailer, heavily loaded, all over the country hauling tractors and never gave a thought to adding an equilizer hitch.
Load them right, use your head and you can dispense with the myth that equilizer hitches are de rigueur.

[J. Morgan]

But Ultradog, your comment assumes common sense exists, and that actual experience can trump theory and hyperbole, can you prove these assertions?

<sarcastic joke>


1/2 Ton 4WD Truck, 72 Sovereign Hensley Arrow

[slowmover]

If another trailer has the same wind load problems of a travel trailer, a comparison may be apt. Not otherwise.

[Ultradog]

Originally Posted by slowmover

If another trailer has the same wind load problems of a travel trailer, a comparison may be apt. Not otherwise.

You are correct, to a point. But an equilizing hitch doesn't do a lot to control wind load.

[paulken]

I have never had any problems towing my 28 excella with my 2003 Dodge dually and just using a ball.

[Gearheart]

The old and worn out line that goes," I haven't had any trouble yet" is getting a lot of use on this thread. The fact that a lot of people have not had any trouble does not make a potentially dangerous situation safer. In 45 years of driving I have only been in a situation once where wearing my seat belt made a difference. I sure am glad I was wearing it that day. I cork screwed into a ditch, totalled off the car and walked away. Most days you don't need it but when you do it better be in place.

[J. Morgan]

But still, "better safe than sorry" has its own limitations too.

You can see from my tag line that I tow with a Hensley, so I am not against good hitches, but fact is, when I was towing on the ball I drove differently than I do with the Hensley, thus closing the perceived safety gap.

Variables matter, and sometimes, even having good modern equipment does not really make a difference....

http://youtu.be/povjJaV_aBc


1/2 Ton 4WD Truck, 72 Sovereign Hensley Arrow

[Stefrobrts]

Originally Posted by c177tx

what I did notice was the way the Bambi would sway and bounce around with out the WDH at highway speeds with a 25mph crosswind. Not only does a WDH transfer weight to the front axle of the tow vehicle but it also transfers weight back to the trailer. I never felt that the EcoD was light in the front end and the truck seemed stable, but the trailer did feel like it was moving all around behind me.

I have noticed this same difference. The thing for us was, this was actually what we wanted. When towing with the WDH on our Caravel with the full size van, the trailer was locked in rock steady behind us, and we were losing rivets every summer from the stiff ride. When we switched to just towing on the ball with the sway control, the trailer gently followed along behind us, and definitely moved around more freely, but it was always in a straight line, and we never lost rivets again. We never felt any indication of sway coming from the trailer, and towed in strong winds, with semi's passing us, rainstorms, no issues.

I am hoping the rivet-popping issue will not come up again now that we use WDH again with the Flex, because I do feel it is necessary with the softer suspension, but hopefully that softer suspension will also not beat the rivets out of it.

[Ultradog]

Originally Posted by Gearheart

The old and worn out line that goes," I haven't had any trouble yet" is getting a lot of use on this thread.

So is evidence of the overwhelming worry that some people have.
Some people wake up and wonder what they'll worry about today.
Others wake up, yawn at the risks inherent to being alive, have a cup of coffee and then set about getting something done.

[slowmover]

Originally Posted by Ultradog

You are correct, to a point. But an equilizing hitch doesn't do a lot to control wind load.

Seriously?