Big tug

[Snedwid]

I was poking along 60mph in the slow lane , watching the folks go past me, and I got to thinking about tow vehicles. Most of the travel trailers have sway control and weight distribution hitches. However, I see a lot of utility trailers, car haulers, and big cargo trailers being pulled by a wide assortment of PU trucks, and none of them have sway control or weight distribution stuff. My set up is a F-150, towing a 23 Ft AS that is 6000 lbs with a Hensly arrow for sway and weight distribution. It works fine, but I wondered if I was using a 1 ton F-350 or Silverado 3500, long wheel base , maybe even a dually, could I get away without the sway control and weight distribution. What say the opinion of the board?

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Snedwid

I was poking along 60mph in the slow lane , watching the folks go past me, and I got to thinking about tow vehicles. Most of the travel trailers have sway control and weight distribution hitches. However, I see a lot of utility trailers, car haulers, and big cargo trailers being pulled by a wide assortment of PU trucks, and none of them have sway control or weight distribution stuff. My set up is a F-150, towing a 23 Ft AS that is 6000 lbs with a Hensly arrow for sway and weight distribution. It works fine, but I wondered if I was using a 1 ton F-350 or Silverado 3500, long wheel base , maybe even a dually, could I get away without the sway control and weight distribution. What say the opinion of the board?

A sway control provides additional towing safety, especially when you least expect it.

Towing a travel trailer is very different from a cargo trailer, car haulers and the like.

Andy

[Mr & Mrs S]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

A sway control provides additional towing safety, especially when you least expect it.

Towing a travel trailer is very different from a cargo trailer, car haulers and the like.

Andy

You are quick to say they are different, but you dont elaborate on the subject. Deliver to us your words of wisdom, if I were to tow a thirty foot enclosed square box cargo trailer or my twenty nine foot Excella 1000 (assuming they were loaded equally in a perfect world) with them just sitting on the ball, what would be so different? Everyday you see cargo trailers just dropped on the ball and go.
I tow with a 2011 Dodge 1 ton 4x4 Dually, everywhere I go people tell me "take off that WD setup, you dont need that with that truck"!
But still I use it because it makes me feel safe, and most of all my loved ones traveling with me.

Im not trying to take a poke at you Andy, just wanting to know for my own general knowledge so if someone tells me to "take that stuff off you dont need that" then I can tell them "well this is why I use it..........."

[DKB_SATX]

Joshua:

Maybe it just means you're smarter than the average redneck pulling a 30' 10k lb cargo trailer without any WD? I'd certainly vote for that explanation.

[Mr & Mrs S]

Originally Posted by DKB_SATX

Joshua:

Maybe it just means you're smarter than the average redneck pulling a 30' 10k lb cargo trailer without any WD? I'd certainly vote for that explanation.

Thanks David!

I just been going by the old saying "listen to your elders and they will teach you something"

Most things that come from someone older than you is not because its just something they heard or happen to know, its becasue it happened to them!

Still Id just like to hold the general knowledge of the question asked....

[RUMSHIP]

You may not need the weight distribution, because of your 1 ton dully, but the sway control will help your trailer, cargo or other wise, from sucking out into the #2 lane when that bus, 45 foot class A, or tractor trailer goes wizing by at 65+. Andy gets so much crap on this site. Keep typing Andy, some of us may not always agree with you, but we still like to hear your experience. From what I've read on here lately, you should be able to tow your trailers with a VW Jetta with airbags and a stronger bumper and a piece of double mint gum to chew on. Now stop wasting all our fuel. Lol. Enjoy

[dkottum]

On the other hand, the fuel you save may warm and help produce food for your grandchildren. Not so funny.

doug k

[vswingfield]

Gee. Last time I pulled a car trailer (years ago) I took the chain hooks for my WD system off my Airstream and put them on the car trailer for the trip. Worked great.

I also learned that if you put just one link's pressure on the bars when the car trailer is empty, it keeps the car trailer from bouncing around on bumps and give you a much smoother ride.

[overlander64]

Greetings vswingfield!

Originally Posted by vswingfield

Gee. Last time I pulled a car trailer (years ago) I took the chain hooks for my WD system off my Airstream and put them on the car trailer for the trip. Worked great.

I also learned that if you put just one link's pressure on the bars when the car trailer is empty, it keeps the car trailer from bouncing around on bumps and give you a much smoother ride.

I was shocked when purchasing a wide-body, steel-decked, 21-foot tandem axle car trailer last June (direct from the manufacturer) when the sales representative tried to tell me that I didn't need brakes on both axles nor a break-away device; and when I mentioned utilizing my Reese Strait-Line Hitch with Dual Cam Sway Control -- he said "you'll never need that!".

The quality of the build was such that we went ahead with the trailer -- only we insisted upon having one built to our specifications. It was obvious that they weren't accustomed to installing tandem axles with brakes nor break-away devices as we had to entirely rewire the connectors to get everything to function properly. I handled the Reese Dual Cam Installation after making the 60 mile drive home as the empty trailer was no problem for my K2500 Suburban. The Reese Hitch is definitely a necessity when loading a 5,000 pound automobile onto the trailer as the loaded trailer approaches 7,000 pounds with that car.

Kevin

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by overlander64

Greetings vswingfield!



I was shocked when purchasing a wide-body, steel-decked, 21-foot tandem axle car trailer last June (direct from the manufacturer) when the sales representative tried to tell me that I didn't need brakes on both axles nor a break-away device; and when I mentioned utilizing my Reese Strait-Line Hitch with Dual Cam Sway Control -- he said "you'll never need that!".

The quality of the build was such that we went ahead with the trailer -- only we insisted upon having one built to our specifications. It was obvious that they weren't accustomed to installing tandem axles with brakes nor break-away devices as we had to entirely rewire the connectors to get everything to function properly. I handled the Reese Dual Cam Installation after making the 60 mile drive home as the empty trailer was no problem for my K2500 Suburban. The Reese Hitch is definitely a necessity when loading a 5,000 pound automobile onto the trailer as the loaded trailer approaches 7,000 pounds with that car.

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Good points all. On that trip, I got into a situation where I needed trailer brakes and didn't have them. On US 69 in southern Oklahoma I took an exit that slanted gently toward the frontage road, then made a sudden turn. I was expecting to merge onto the frontage road and was unprepared for the sudden change to a 90 degree turn. I was unable to slow down enough and jumped the curb and, fortunately, only went through some grass before returning to the road. I bounced so hard that I damaged my van's front suspension and shook a piece of trim off the side of the car on the trailer.

The attendant at the gas station at the exit told me that they sold a lot of tires because of that exit.

I remember thinking, "If I had been pulling my Airstream, I'd have made that corner."

You'll never convince me that car trailers don't need brakes.

Oh, also "... give you a much smoother ride." was supposed to be "...gives you a much smoother ride."