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Old 12-19-2013, 06:12 PM   #1
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Trailer sway control module?

I got this video from another forum I'm on today - .

It uses a module mounted in the trailer called the "Tuson" that detects sway and applies the appropriate side brakes to counteract it. In the video, they take a late model Ford truck with integrated sway control and test the module by loading the trailer badly (all the weight at the rear), then taking it to a wet track and steering back and forth. They do a run using just the truck's integrated sway control, then turn that off and use just the module in the trailer. The rig handles much better with the trailer sway control.

A quick web search turned up a bunch of websites with this same article. There's also a page about it on the manufacturer's site.

It looks like it's new - it's not in the manufacturer's online store yet - but it looks pretty interesting...
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Old 12-19-2013, 07:13 PM   #2
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Electronic stability control is the next big thing that will be coming for trailers.

In my opinion, it will change the game for sway control devices (you will still need weight distribution)!

AL KO is manufacturing one system that is being used in Australia now with supposedly impressive results. I have contacted them and they do have an International patent that will allow distribution in the US. They are not saying when this will take place.

The good news? AL KO aquired Axis axles, therefore this should be a relatively easy upgrade to those of us that already have Axis axles. Easily retrofitted from what I've been told and being done on many of the trailers in Australia (they call them caravans instead of trailers)

Check it out! AL-KO – Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

They have a Facebook page here

https://www.facebook.com/ALKOINTERNA...ref=ts&fref=ts
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Old 12-20-2013, 05:23 AM   #3
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The good news? AL KO aquired Axis axles, therefore this should be a relatively easy upgrade to those of us that already have Axis axles. Easily retrofitted from what I've been told and being done on many of the trailers in Australia (they call them caravans instead of trailers)

Check it out! AL-KO – Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
Interesting, thanks. Their website isn't loading for me at the moment, but that could be a problem on my end.

The disadvantage of the AL-KO system is that it does require those axles; the Tuson system doesn't seem to have any restrictions on axle brand. I'm guessing this is because they sense sway differently - the AL-KO system relies on sensors in the axles, while the other one has a sensor built into the module. I'm guessing the AL-KO would be less likely to be fooled into thinking there's a sway condition when in fact there isn't, although I don't know how likely that scenario is.
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Old 12-20-2013, 06:48 AM   #4
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Glad to see some interesting new products on the horizon. There is a lot of room for improvement.
From what I can tell, the Al-Ko 10" electric brakes in their catalog appear exactly like all of the other 10" electric drum brakes sold here in NA. They do have a parking brake function, however.
Hopefully, we'll see this in NA soon.
Thanks for sharing!
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Old 12-20-2013, 07:00 AM   #5
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Tuson Trailer Sway Control » Trailer towing advice, reviews, accessories and safety tips

I'd rate disc brakes with anti-lock [ABS] higher than this . . . sway control afterwards would be the proper order.

See the article and test protocol from mrtruck on same from about a year ago where discs and drums are compared, then ABS is added to the mix, DirecLink from Tuson RV offers ABS Trailer Brakes for fast smooth safer stops Coming to a stop upright and lane-centered tops all other concerns in trailering.

Electronic stability controls are good to have, but the design of trailer and tow vehicle far outweigh that. Setting up a WD hitch is the priority.

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Old 12-21-2013, 06:46 AM   #6
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WOW.

If they can produce this product for a couple hundred dollars it could take over much of the sway-control market.

It looks to be simple to install on an existing trailer, and I'd certainly select it if it were an option on a new trailer.
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Old 12-21-2013, 01:06 PM   #7
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What bothers me is that you have no sway control if you don't have brakes on the trailer. If you have brakes working on one side and not the other it won't work. Now if you had a totally integrated system that knew if your brakes were working on each wheel and it monitored the condition of these brakes full time. Then I would feel better about it. You would need some sort of control panel that monitored the system and would notify you if there was a problem

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Old 12-21-2013, 01:15 PM   #8
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You can use a Hensley/ProPride style hitch and have no sway to control.
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Old 12-22-2013, 06:39 AM   #9
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I am getting one of these to test in January. It is not a new concept a similar unit was very common on Holiday Rambler trailers in the 70's.

It does not replace a sway control as it will not come on until you are already in trouble. A sway control will keep you out of trouble. Similar to anti lock brakes or ESC on a car.

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Old 12-22-2013, 01:13 PM   #10
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I am getting one of these to test in January. It is not a new concept a similar unit was very common on Holiday Rambler trailers in the 70's.
I'll be interested in what you find.

Quote:
It does not replace a sway control as it will not come on until you are already in trouble. A sway control will keep you out of trouble. Similar to anti lock brakes or ESC on a car.
Yeah, I didn't take it to be a replacement for a sway control hitch... I'm not sure where that idea came from.
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Old 12-22-2013, 03:08 PM   #11
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---It does not replace a sway control as it will not come on until you are already in trouble.---
Andrew, can you elaborate on your statement?

Are you comparing the operation of the Tuson unit with the operation of the units used in the '70s?

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Old 12-23-2013, 06:40 AM   #12
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What bothers me is that you have no sway control if you don't have brakes on the trailer. If you have brakes working on one side and not the other it won't work. Now if you had a totally integrated system that knew if your brakes were working on each wheel and it monitored the condition of these brakes full time. Then I would feel better about it. You would need some sort of control panel that monitored the system and would notify you if there was a problem

Perry
If a trailer has faulty brakes, the operator will have more immediate and profound problems than a lack of sway control.

In any case, it seems to me that this type of concern applies to any type of equipment. For instance, if a control rod on a Hensely is broken, it would cause problems with sway control and even create a few on its own, ie, the routine bump could become an outright shove right off a downhill curve.
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Old 12-23-2013, 07:25 AM   #13
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Andrew, can you elaborate on your statement?

Are you comparing the operation of the Tuson unit with the operation of the units used in the '70s?

Ron
Ron,

I don't think there is a relationship....the Tuson is an ABS system for trailers.

ESC or sway mitigation, (Ford), initiates after the system senses sway.

Bob
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Old 12-23-2013, 11:15 AM   #14
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I don't think there is a relationship....the Tuson is an ABS system for trailers.

ESC or sway mitigation, (Ford), initiates after the system senses sway.
I don't think that's correct - the Tuson doesn't do ABS, just sway control, and it corrects it when it detects sway using the brakes, rather than trying to prevent it in the first place. (The manufacturer does make ABS modules for hydraulic brake systems.)

The point of the video was to test the Tuson sway control against the Ford sway control system - they found the Tuson was better, or at least that's what I took away from it.
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Old 12-23-2013, 12:36 PM   #15
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Red face My mistake....

....both systems must sense sway before mitigation begins.

IMHO...better to not have it from the git-go.

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Old 12-23-2013, 02:11 PM   #16
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....both systems must sense sway before mitigation begins.

IMHO...better to not have it from the git-go.
Well, yeah... I don't think anyone is looking to increase their potential for sway.
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Old 12-23-2013, 02:22 PM   #17
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Well, yeah... I don't think anyone is looking to increase their potential for sway.
He might be arguing for a mechanical non-sway solution, e.g., virtual pivot point projection hitches such as HaHa or PPP.

Or maybe both - belts and suspenders...?
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Old 12-23-2013, 04:50 PM   #18
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The point of the video was to test the Tuson sway control against the Ford sway control system - they found the Tuson was better, or at least that's what I took away from it.
That's what I took away from it also.

IMO, it always will be better to sense the accelerations of the trailer directly -- which is what the Tuson and AL-Ko systems do.

A TV-mounted system must sense the accelerations of the TV and use that information to predict what the trailer is doing. This is an indirect approach which, IMO, cannot work as effectively as the trailer-mounted system.

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Old 12-23-2013, 04:55 PM   #19
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You can use a Hensley/ProPride style hitch and have no sway to control.
Marketing language aside, "eliminate" vrs "control", I thought that was the point.

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Old 12-23-2013, 05:05 PM   #20
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....both systems must sense sway before mitigation begins.
Both systems must sense some amount of lateral and/or yaw-axis acceleration before mitigation begins.

I'm guessing that both systems are sensitive enough and fast enough to react to and mitigate the accelerations before they reach a level at which most people would consider "sway" to be happening.

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