Is there a hitch that keeps trucks from "sucking" a trailer?

[Bill M.]

10 years with a Reese St Line. Pretty happy. But when overtaken by a truck it pulls the rig to it. No sway or wiggle, just the sideways pull. And it seems that it has gotten worse or I am more sensitive to it or last week it was worse because of the winds. Do all hitches allow this to happen? What about the VPP hitches? Truck is a 2500 with good tires. Even a large SUV at speed causes some "pull". I have close to full return weight on the front axle when hitched. Will less pressure on the wt bars make the pull rose or better?

[Mollysdad]

I had semi buffeting when I had leaf springs. It allowed more sideways movement.

[HowieE]

How often do you re calibrate the Reese? They ware over time and can change the way the bars sit on the saddles. Another consideration is the bars are not always the same length and if switched side to side can have the effect of actually being additive to sway rather than subtractive.

Set the hitch up and mark the bars as to side used.

If that fails get an Andersen hitch. I have forgotten about simis.

[Wingeezer]

Never noticed it with the Hensley and I would guess the Proprde would be the same

Most often, unless I am paying lots of attention to the rear view mirrors, I don't realise a truck is passing - no matter what the relative speeds - until he gets level wth the driver's window and I see it!

[dznf0g]

Very rarely do I feel it with Hensley. I did with all my other hitches. Only time now is when there is a strong side wind and the semi blocks that side wind, a steering adjustment is needed. Certainly not a push or "suck".

[lsbrodsky]

I have a ProPride and I did notice it with my 1/2 ton Silverado. I do not notice it with my new 3/4 ton Silverado.

Larry

[uncle_bob]

Hi

I notice a lot of things running down the road. Trucks passing and pushing me around (either on interstates or on little roads) has never been a big issue. I just have a plain vanilla Equal-i-zer. TV is a "horrible / worst ever" 2017 F-250 4x4 (that I'm very happy with).

Bob

[Al and Missy]

Classically, the compressed "bow wave" of air in front of the truck pushes the rear of the trailer to the right which pushes the front of the trailer to the left, steering the truck to the right. It seems like the trailer is being "sucked" to the truck. The normal reaction is to fight this right movement by steering left. The next thing that classically happens is when the compressed bow wave passes the trailer axle, it then pushes the front of the trailer to the right which pushes the front of the truck to the left, reinforcing the steering previously applied.

With my Equalizer, the sway control pretty much eliminated the effect of the bow wave on the rear of the trailer, but I still felt the truck trying to go left when the bow wave hit the front of the trailer/rear of the truck. Actually, it was really no worse than what happened with just the truck alone. The amazing thing was that some trucks did it and some didn't. Further, even some small cars would do the same thing.

You may just need to readjust your anti-sway.

I recently changed to a ProPride (for other reasons) which is supposed to eliminate this but I haven't towed with it on the highway yet so I can't offer any actual experience.

Al

[dznf0g]

Each of my hitches had progressive improvement.

1) Draw Tite with WD and a friction sway bar (However, that was with my old square box trailer)

2) Equalizer (AS)

3) Reese straight line dual cam (AS)

4) Hensley (AS)

Each was progressively better in passing trucks and sway control.

[bwoodtx]

Whenever I see a semi coming, I always move a bit farther to the right.

Seems to help.

2009 2500HD 4WD crew cab 6.5 foot bed 6.0ltr. I tow at 65mph

[dkottum]

Same truck, same Airstream, our experience went like this.

1) Equal-I-Zer. Good weight distribution, poor flexibility, pushed uncomfortably by side wind and passing semi's.

2) Andersen. Very poor weight distribution possible, very poor flexibility. Pushed badly by side wind and passing semi's. Friction sway device also uncomfortably resisted return of trailer to centerline on slippery roadways when pushed out by sidewinds and semi's.

3) ProPride. Excellent weight distribution and flexibility. No side wind or semi effect on the steering axle, it's all projected to our truck's rear axle (like a semi) where it is stopped before it begins. Absolute comfort in all driving conditions.

[Countryboy59]

Originally Posted by Bill M.

10 years with a Reese St Line. Pretty happy. But when overtaken by a truck it pulls the rig to it. No sway or wiggle, just the sideways pull. And it seems that it has gotten worse or I am more sensitive to it or last week it was worse because of the winds. Do all hitches allow this to happen? What about the VPP hitches? Truck is a 2500 with good tires. Even a large SUV at speed causes some "pull". I have close to full return weight on the front axle when hitched. Will less pressure on the wt bars make the pull rose or better?

Maybe too much weight taken off rear axle by the WD? I feel it, more so with the WD than without.

[AIRHEDS]

2016 RAM 3500 and ProPride 3P with 2017 Classic 30' - zero sway, zero push/suck and zero wind effect thus far (albeit only about 3K highway miles) ... I needed to dangle a piece of paracord from my visor to remind me that the trailer's there because it's that easy to forget. There might be PP haters out there but I suspect it's because they've never used one. Good luck.

[Royce]

I tow with an Equal-I-Zer and only notice that effect when being overtaken by a semi-truck car hauler, or when I pass any truck and there is a significant cross wind. Apparently, the aerodynamics on car haulers is horrible.

[Boxite]

I tow with an ordinary naked ball with friction-anti-sway and have virtually no effect from passing 18 wheelers. (Pulling with a 1500 Ram that has coil springs all-around.)

[rmkrum]

Tow a 2007 23 International with a ProPride hitch and a 2012 Toyota Tacoma crew cab. Absolutely no sway from trucks passing. I get a slight push of the whole rig, but NO induced sway. Crosswinds, headwinds, tailwinds, climbin or descending it solidly tracking. As far as I am concerned, its the only way to go, having tried other systems (In particular the 'came with the AS' Blue Ox WD-only system--GAVE it away to get rid of it)

The one thing I do have some difficulty with is that the trailer tracks the truck like its on a 5th wheel hitch, so you see the front of the trailer going strongly toward the inside of a turn instead of pivoting at the bumper. That can make close quarter maneuvering a bit tricky until you get used to this. As far as the so-called "Hensley bump", properly adjusting the brake controller prevents this from happening...

Properly set up, the combination tows level, never sways, and handles great. The only reasons we plan to go the a more powerful Tundra CrewMax in a year or so is that the Tundra has fully-adjustable power front seats on both sides, and a bunch more horsepower to climb hills. I'm patient, but not that patient climbing long grades....and the Tacoma seat is not adjustable enough.

[Bgibbs]

In spite of the wonderful claims made concerning their TV and choice of hitch, I don't think you can ever totally eliminate the push and pull effect from semi's and crosswinds. Just the flexibility in the sidewalls of the TV and TT tires will allow for some push and pull.

I only have the Equil-i-zer setup on my rig. I can feel a little push and pull at times, but nothing that bothers me. I think most drivers overreact to the initial push and then have to compensate again for the pull. I don't think I make any conscious effort to these effects. It is all over before you know it and everything's fine.

You get the same effect when not towing.

[rmkrum]

Its very true that you can get some slight push/pull even with a Hensley design hitch. Its probably exactly what was described as tire flex effects. No matter what the hitch, you still need brakes properly adjusted, trailer properly loaded, and drive at reasonable speeds. Hitch technology does NOT compensate fro stupidity, IMHO.

The big thing is that I have sway prevention all the time, in whatever conditions, and don't have to disconnect or reduce sway control in the rain or on snow. Icing, however, the only safe thing to do is stay off the road--I'm not crazy.

The big thing I saw with trucks passing and pushing the rig was that it is minimal, and you really don't need to correct much--sway never starts from a close pass by a big rig...

[Projet2907]

Has anyone tried a Anderson No Sway Weight Distribution Hitch?

I was considering going with for weight reason, looks easier to handle but wilt do the Job and help with Pulling effect?

I am new at this, and do not know if I can ask this question here but the subject is interesting since I have no wd yet.

[rmkrum]

Hitch preferences get to be aking to discussions about politics and religion.

THere are tons of strongly held opinions (Guilty as charged, your honor) covering anything from bare ball and a huge truck, to undersized truck and a real expensive hitch (My preferred mode and current situation).

All I can suggest is read the threads, form your OWN opinion, then get what your comfort level and wallet can handle.

I went with a ProPride setup because it totally eliminated the sway issues I was having, and the installation does NOT require drilling holes in the A-frame, like other Hensley designs require. Even with a 10% ex-military discount, it was admittedly NOT cheap. But, as they say in the commercial, "Peace of mind--priceless"

Your mileage may vary.