Sway Question

[featherbedder]

Originally Posted by handn

I get a tiny bit of sway with my Equalizer hitch, 25 foot Safari and diesel Excursion when an 18 wheeler or Greyhound passes me at 75 mph when there is a stiff cross wind. I have a small trailer and a big truck.
The Equalizer is o.k. for normal towing but if I were to upgrade to a big trailer at or near my vehicles towing capacity, I would upgrade to a premium hitch such as a Hensley or ProPride. Any sway is too much. I would want my hitch to suppress the sway and not let it get bad enough so the vehicle corrects it. I don't want to drive at 55 mph because I am nervous about sway.

I use early model of Reese dual cam not the new one, I have 31ft A.S. pull with 2500 [3/4] chev. pickup I do not get sway plus I do not go 55mph more like 70 unless conditions will not allow, also I find that at 55mph A.S. does not handle properly to suit me. Bill

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

Bob and Doug - re: sway/oscillation - I understood Doug to be saying that the truck detected a "sway" motion and put the electronics in to gear so that initial sway wouldn't "echo" left and right multiple times (I.e., oscillate).

Do I understand that right and if so, it seems Bob is reacting to the words, not the concept - what are the correct terms (I should have searched this first - I can feel it coming...). :-)

That's right. Though it is sway whether the trailer just goes to the side once then straightens out or keeps swaying or oscillating.

You could think of sway control compared to shocks on a car. With a car if you bounce it and it stops bouncing almost immediately the shocks are fine and safe, if you took the shocks off and bounced the car it would keep bouncing for a while and be dangerous to drive.

[tailpipe]

There are so many variables when you feel instability........tire pressure...correct tires...correct tow vehicle......wheelbase...hitch, transfer bars and correct towing height....condition of road and what is passing you . I start with the simple things and progressively move up the line...tires tire pressures hitch correct height correct transfer bars and sway control system tow vehicle. I pulled for years with a DRW 3500 series truck, rock solid under all conditions. I just sold this and purchased a SWR 2500 truck very solid but not rock solid. When you are traveling say 60 mph and a big truck passes you doing 75 the trailer and tow vehicle are put through first a push then when the truck goes by you the whole unit seems to be sucked in behind the truck, now when you are on grooved pavement and not correctly hitched or you tires are a little soft or your tow vehicle is marginal with the GVWR rating, well you get the picture. The same happens towing on a road with tire ruts. Start simple and move up the line systematically. A trailer generally follows in a little different track than a truck, a trailer could be running in a rut and the truck not in a rut so the trailer is trying to pull the truck laterally. Find the best speed between 55 and 62 and don't get in a hurry....enjoy

[time2play]

Thanks everyone again for all your help. My husband and I are seriously thinking of buying a Hensley Arrow hitch. From what I understand, we have to buy directly from the Hensley company and they cost about $3,000. Wow! But our top priority is safety, and sometimes you have to pay extra for peace of mind.

I'm curious...how difficult is it to install the hitch? Or should I have our local Airstream dealer install the hitch?

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by time2play

Thanks everyone again for all your help. My husband and I are seriously thinking of buying a Hensley Arrow hitch. From what I understand, we have to buy directly from the Hensley company and they cost about $3,000. Wow! But our top priority is safety, and sometimes you have to pay extra for peace of mind.

I'm curious...how difficult is it to install the hitch? Or should I have our local Airstream dealer install the hitch?

You can buy a ProPride for about $500 less, and it's an easy bolt-on installation. It's an updated, improved version of the Hensley, redesigned by Hensley himself.

Best upgrade you will ever do for your Airstream.

doug

[time2play]

Thanks Doug, you're right. We're considering the ProPride too. I like the idea that it's easier to install.

[pmclemore]

I bought a factory-refurbished Hensley for a pretty good discount and have been satisfied. I installed it myself and recommend that you try to do so too. It teaches you a lot about how it works and how to maintain it.

Get a handy friend and follow the directions. It will involve drilling into the a-frame, so gather your courage, measure twice and drill once.

Pat

[rmkrum]

Drilling holes into the A-frame is the main reason I decided to get a ProPride.

I don't like the idea of drilling holes of any sort into a very critical part of the tow system...YMMV

[Garfield]

Originally Posted by rmkrum

Drilling holes into the A-frame is the main reason I decided to get a ProPride.

I don't like the idea of drilling holes of any sort into a very critical part of the tow system...YMMV

Drilling a ~1/4" hole into one side of an A-frame isn't going to compromise structure. Of course every hitch has it's pros and cons. There are some things I don't like about my Hensley. One thing I don't like about the PP is the adjustable "stinger"; convenient to be sure, but it's not the most robust design IMO. From a design perspective and robustness, I prefer the Hensley. Not perfect by any means, but it's pretty darned good.

Dealers choice.

[time2play]

And this is why we're getting the ProPride hitch!!

This is scary:

Overturned trailer snags traffic on I-10

URL: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local/up...-i-10-1.192862


Yolanda

[Skater]

Originally Posted by overlander63

If the truck detects sway, it will apply the trailer brakes to stop the sway, and the "sway" message will be displayed.

Okay, that's really cool. How does it detect that the trailer is swaying?

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Skater

Okay, that's really cool. How does it detect that the trailer is swaying?

"Our trailer sway control feature works with AdvanceTrac® with Roll Stability Control™ (RSC®), using the sensor that measures yaw motion to determine if the trailer is swaying. If necessary, trailer sway control applies precise asymmetric braking or adjusted engine torque to help bring both vehicle and trailer under control.*"

IMHO....

It would be best to do everything you can to minimize sway from the start.
ie. Proper weight distribution/loading, WD hitch with sway control, tire pressures etc.

Depending only on the "auto" system for sway, constantly applying TV brakes doesn't seem like a prudent course of action. Your trailer could be moving around quite a bit and you may be completly unaware.
With a proper set-up it would only be activated under extrodinary situations.
Just my 2cents.

Bob

[Hoonanea]

My TV is a Ford Expedition with the same built in anti-sway control. It was a white knuckle experience the first time I towed the trailer home. I then contacted the very experienced dealer that did the set-up of the anti sway hitch, brake controller, and calibration. They looked into a few things then called back advising me to turn OFF the Ford anti sway feature. They said it was not designed to work with anti sway/WD hitches like my Blue Ox system. The two systems fight each other. The friction system of the hitch says "go this way" and the Ford system detects that friction as sway and says "no, go that way".

It's as if the two together create sway. I turn mine off (before reaching highway speed or you have to slow down to disengage it) and it's been as smooth as can be since then. Has anyone else experienced this with Ford's anti sway?

The RV dealer said Ford's system was designed for towing boats or utility trailers where a WD/anti sway hitch would not be involved.

[ROBERT CROSS]

^
X2

Now that makes sense....

Bob

[Pileus]

Dump the Pirelli, problem solved.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by Pileus

Dump the Pirelli, problem solved.

??????

Were they the OEM P's on your KR?

Bob

[dkottum]

Originally Posted by Hoonanea

My TV is a Ford Expedition with the same built in anti-sway control. It was a white knuckle experience the first time I towed the trailer home. I then contacted the very experienced dealer that did the set-up of the anti sway hitch, brake controller, and calibration. They looked into a few things then called back advising me to turn OFF the Ford anti sway feature. They said it was not designed to work with anti sway/WD hitches like my Blue Ox system. The two systems fight each other. The friction system of the hitch says "go this way" and the Ford system detects that friction as sway and says "no, go that way".

It's as if the two together create sway. I turn mine off (before reaching highway speed or you have to slow down to disengage it) and it's been as smooth as can be since then. Has anyone else experienced this with Ford's anti sway?

The RV dealer said Ford's system was designed for towing boats or utility trailers where a WD/anti sway hitch would not be involved.

There may be some new info here but I don't understand it. Your friction sway control simply adds "drag" to sideways movement, it doesn't initiate any movement. How might they work against each other, if the hitch is not working but just resisting movement?

We have a 2012 Ram electronic sway control, there is no switch to turn it off. Never detected such a problem with three different hitches.

Is it possible the dealer was referring to shutting off the auto leveling system, if you have one? The auto leveling and w.d. system do fight each other when trying to set it up.

doug

[boilermaker]

I have a '75 Sovereign 31 with parts of the old style Reese sway control. Old Style Reese Sway Control OK?
Can I purchase new Reese trunnion bars, head and shank that will be compatible with the old sway control, or would it be better to invest in a new, complete system? How do I determine which parts, if any, will work?

Ken

[Hoonanea]

Originally Posted by dkottum

There may be some new info here but I don't understand it. Your friction sway control simply adds "drag" to sideways movement, it doesn't initiate any movement. How might they work against each other, if the hitch is not working but just resisting movement?

We have a 2012 Ram electronic sway control, there is no switch to turn it off. Never detected such a problem with three different hitches.

Is it possible the dealer was referring to shutting off the auto leveling system, if you have one? The auto leveling and w.d. system do fight each other when trying to set it up.

doug

No, they weren't referring to auto leveling. My Expy doesn't have that.

When you say "drag" I'm thinking "resistance" and that resistance has to have a base point to be applied against. That point is the hitch or stinger and that's where Ford's system seems to detect it as the beginning stages of sway that it feels it needs to correct when actually it's the anti sway hitch doing its job. For patent reasons I would imagine Dodge's system has to work a little bit differently. Bottom line I guess is that we can both feel comfortable that the systems are doing what they are designed to do and that's a good thing.

[Pileus]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

??????

Were they the OEM P's on your KR?

Bob

Yes. My sway problems went away when I dumped the stock Scorpions on the KR and went to a better tire.