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10-23-2017, 03:09 PM
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#1
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1 Rivet Member
2018 Basecamp
Evanston
, Illinois
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 6
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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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10-23-2017, 04:08 PM
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#2
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Rivet Master
1995 25' Excella
xxxxx
, xxxxxx
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 2,349
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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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10-23-2017, 04:31 PM
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#3
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Rivet Master
2007 27' International CCD FB
San Diego
, California
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,115
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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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10-23-2017, 04:42 PM
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#4
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Rivet Master
2006 23' Safari SE
Biloxi
, Mississippi
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 8,278
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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.
__________________
MICHAEL
Do you know what a learning experience is? A learning experience is one of those things that says "You know that thing that you just did? Don't do that."
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10-23-2017, 06:17 PM
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#5
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"Cloudsplitter"
2003 25' Classic
Houstatlantavegas
, Malebolgia
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 19,977
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Welcome Aboard!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by CRH
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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^
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
__________________
"You don't know where you've been until you leave, enjoy life" RLC
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10-23-2017, 06:22 PM
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#6
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3 Rivet Member
2016 30' Classic
Naperville
, Illinois
Join Date: Nov 2016
Posts: 138
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CamperGirls
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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Yes. Get a friction bar st a minimum.
__________________
Ed
2016 Classic (with ProPride)
2016 Silverado 3500HD Diesel drw
1995 & 2004 Gary Fisher Hoo-Koo-e-Koo emergency vehicles
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10-23-2017, 06:46 PM
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#7
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Rivet Master
2022 25' Flying Cloud
NCR
, Ontario
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,077
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i would not pull anything without an anti-sway bar
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10-23-2017, 08:32 PM
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#8
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Rivet Master
2007 27' International CCD FB
San Diego
, California
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 2,115
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AWCHIEF
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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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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10-23-2017, 09:53 PM
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#9
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Rivet Master
Currently Looking...
Walnut Creek
, California
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 3,952
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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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10-24-2017, 12:48 PM
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#10
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3 Rivet Member
2018 16' Sport
2018 16' Sport
Long beach
, Mississippi
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 105
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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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10-24-2017, 01:24 PM
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#11
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Half a Rivet Short
2017 30' Classic
2022 Interstate 24X
Carlisle
, Pennsylvania
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 15,674
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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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10-24-2017, 01:35 PM
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#12
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Rivet Master
2014 20' Flying Cloud
Sag Harbor
, New York
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 17,523
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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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10-24-2017, 03:29 PM
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#13
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Rivet Master
2011 22' Sport
Portland
, Oregon
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 657
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Is the Andersen compatible with the factory installed coupler on the Basecamp?
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10-24-2017, 10:20 PM
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#14
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:SPACE A" S/O 11 Air19745
2006 34' Classic S/O
Fort Worth
, Texas
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,766
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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.
guskmg
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10-25-2017, 04:47 AM
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#15
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Rivet Master
Currently Looking...
Mantua
, Ohio
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 7,062
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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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10-26-2017, 09:00 AM
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#16
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Half a Rivet Short
2017 30' Classic
2022 Interstate 24X
Carlisle
, Pennsylvania
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 15,674
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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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10-28-2017, 03:35 AM
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#17
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Rivet Master
2014 20' Flying Cloud
Sag Harbor
, New York
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 17,523
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Quote:
Originally Posted by uncle_bob
. . .
It is still worth remembering that the list of gotcha issues is a long one ...
. . .
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Well said!
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10-28-2017, 05:55 AM
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#18
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Rivet Master
Commercial Member
2019 27' Tommy Bahama
London
, Ontario
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,343
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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.
Andrew
__________________
Andrew Thomson London, Ontario
"One test is worth a thousand expert opinions." Tex Johnston, Boeing 707 test pilot
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10-28-2017, 06:21 AM
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#19
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Rivet Master
Currently Looking...
Mantua
, Ohio
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 7,062
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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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11-03-2017, 07:26 PM
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#20
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Liquid Cooled
2017 27' Flying Cloud
Currently Looking...
Currently Looking...
Currently Looking...
near Indy
, Indiana
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 738
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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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