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Old 10-23-2017, 03:09 PM   #1
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Does our BaseCamp need a sway bar?

Just purchased a 2018 Base-Camp. Our dealer says there is no need for a sway bar. The owners manuel says to get one. Is it necessary? What brand/type of sway bar do you recommend installing? Thank you for your help.
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Old 10-23-2017, 04:08 PM   #2
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I would buy a cheap friction away bar. They are all basically the same. Having one won't cause any harm.
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Old 10-23-2017, 04:31 PM   #3
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I personally would add one.

Additional margin of stability is always good when it comes to articulated vehicles. By nature, bumper towing anything reduces the stability of the tow vehicle, sometimes dramatically so under the wrong setup and conditions.

What type of car are you towing with? The base-camp itself is about the weight of a small car. So if your vehicle is on the smaller end, then the more reason to get an anti-sway setup.
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Old 10-23-2017, 04:42 PM   #4
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Welcome Campergirls (no real name given). For such a light tongue weight I would go light weight and simple to adjust and use. To me only one really fits those requirements, the Andersen WD system.
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Old 10-23-2017, 06:17 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CRH View Post
I would buy a cheap friction away bar. They are all basically the same. Having one won't cause any harm.

^
X2

Our first, 63 23' Safari, single axle needed anti-sway. It came with one friction bar.

I ended up adding a second. A single axle is more susceptible to sway.

Your BaseCamp should be fine with one.....KISS

Bob
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Old 10-23-2017, 06:22 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by CamperGirls View Post
Just purchased a 2018 Base-Camp. Our dealer says there is no need for a sway bar. The owners manuel says to get one. Is it necessary? What brand/type of sway bar do you recommend installing? Thank you for your help.


Yes. Get a friction bar st a minimum.
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Old 10-23-2017, 06:46 PM   #7
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i would not pull anything without an anti-sway bar
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Old 10-23-2017, 08:32 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by AWCHIEF View Post
Welcome Campergirls (no real name given). For such a light tongue weight I would go light weight and simple to adjust and use. To me only one really fits those requirements, the Andersen WD system.
I like the recommendation a lot. For a couple reasons.
1) I've had the pleasure of using this system when I rented a 23D. Effortless setup, lightweight, and certainly did the job with no sway or porpoising to speak of.
2) It's also weight distribution. Stability come from good weight distribution as much as good sway control.
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Old 10-23-2017, 09:53 PM   #9
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The Anderson is a little pricey, but easy to manage when not much weight transfer is required. It will be a fair solution in the Basecamp application.

Alternatively, suggest you get an Eaz-Lift WDH matched to your tongue weight with one friction sway control strut.

Travel safe. Pat
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Old 10-24-2017, 12:48 PM   #10
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I own a basecamp and I have a blue Ox, suggested by my dealer, just did 3000 miles to New Mexico and back. Would never drive without it. My tow is a 4 door Wrangler, Manual.
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Old 10-24-2017, 01:24 PM   #11
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Hi

What are you towing the trailer with?

Both anti-sway and weight distribution are helpful in keeping a trailer "happy". They may not be *required* simply to pull out of the parking lot. I have a WD hitch. In some cases I don't latch it up. I simply tow in non-WD / non-AS mode. If I'm going a half mile to the dump station and back, that makes a lot of sense to me. The WD/AS in my case is not *required* to be there. I would not tow long distances without it.

Why does your TV matter? In some cases the tow is simply not going to benefit from a WD hitch. Towing a Basecamp with an F-350 would be an extreme example. On the other end, a small sedan might well benefit.

Bob
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Old 10-24-2017, 01:35 PM   #12
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i would suggest asking this question in the Basecamp forum:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f404/

. . . where you will have a more focused audience and better visibility.

Peter
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Old 10-24-2017, 03:29 PM   #13
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Is the Andersen compatible with the factory installed coupler on the Basecamp?
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Old 10-24-2017, 10:20 PM   #14
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Don't forget that friction sway control devices must be loosen in slick driving conditions just when you need them the most. I would recommend Hensley's cub or ProPrides equivalent.
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Old 10-25-2017, 04:47 AM   #15
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Yes, but when it is slippery the prudent person slows down when towibg making sway control much less impoirtant. Most combos dont need sway control unger fifty mph.
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Old 10-26-2017, 09:00 AM   #16
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Hi

For whatever reason we seem to focus on sway. The takeaway is that there is only one control issue with a TT and it's name is sway. As long as that is "controlled" you are fine and will have no issues at all. Yes, I'm exaggerating a bit. No this is *not* aimed at any one person or post. Nobody should take this personally. We do this as a group.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of ways you can get in trouble driving a vehicle. All of them also apply to towing. That long list is then added to / accentuated by the stability of the lash up. Sway is not the only way a TV /TT combo can become unstable / hard to control. Sway is not even the only way to roll a TT.

I'm by no means suggesting that sway is something one should ignore. In a lot of cases the things we tweak for sway are really things you tweak to make the lash up more stable / easier to control. It is still worth remembering that the list of gotcha issues is a long one ...

Bob
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Old 10-28-2017, 03:35 AM   #17
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. . .
It is still worth remembering that the list of gotcha issues is a long one ...
. . .
Well said!

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Old 10-28-2017, 05:55 AM   #18
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The Basecamp is extremely stable. They really got the Aerodynamics right on it. Also very very easy to tow. Just for fun we have been towing ours with a 1.6 Litre 6 speed manual Kia.

Even on the Kia a sway bar has not been remotely necessary even in some very dramatic lane changes. I would recommend a light weight distribution system. It does have 400 pounds of hitch weight. We are using a 600 pound Eaz-Lift. We build our own chain hooks which are a copy of ones from the 60’s.

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Old 10-28-2017, 06:21 AM   #19
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It would be easy to use one sway bar on that system if one wanted extra security. Set up looks great.
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Old 11-03-2017, 07:26 PM   #20
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It depends both on the vehicle, your overall level experience, and your experience with this trailer.

Every vehicle combination is a compromise, and there are conditions that no combination of vehicle and hitch can navigate safely. Judgement and experience are far more valuable tools than steel and accessories.

I thought about getting one for our combination, but now having driven it back and forth to both Maine and New Mexico, I don't think I will. Slowing down 5mph in a 20-30mph cross wind is a lot better use of my time than just hooking up a sway bar.

The other thing is that a sway bar is another piece of equipment. Another item to check pre-departure, another item which needs attention and adjustment.

Somewhere between "hire someone to to it for you" and "tow it with a Fiat 500" is the place where you can justifiably feel comfortable.
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