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HowieE · 07-25-2014, 01:42 PM

Now back to the original question. You do not need what has long been considered a "Weight Distributing Hitch", ie a Reese. Ha Ha, PeePee, pull right or Equalizer. All of the afore mentioned hitches have the primary function of WD and a secondary function of sway control. You could however benefit from an Andersen hitch which address sway control first and WD second for heavier TV like yours.

Yes it is unlikely that your trailer will raise the front axle enough to change things. The Ford front end generally a leaf spring and beam and thus change in the caster angle is not the consideration it is a an A frame front end.

You main consideration should be the trailer influencing things resulting from a blow out or wind induced sway that results in additive oscillation.

**Rocinante** · 07-25-2014, 09:46 PM

We're towing our International Signature 27FB with a Ram 1500 and an Equal-i-zer hitch with thousand pound bars. It feels good when towing, even in very brisk crosswinds (up to 60 MPH). We've measured the displacement, fore and aft, before and after hitching up the trailer and it appears to be carrying evenly. Yes, we really should get her on the scales soon, though we tend to travel light - no gennie, and no big toys. So, for now, it works for us.

So, for us, we swear by WD combined with sway control via our Equal-i-zer hitch. Just seems like a good idea, as an inexpensive insurance policy. No matter what truck / trailer combo we had, we would always get WD and sway control. Again, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of fixing everything after something awful and preventable happens.

Oh, and now that we've added the bracket pads, we're hoping the bars will be less greasy and a little less groan-y. Recently, it sounded like we had a trailer full of zombies moaning and clunking behind us until I identified the source of the noise and applied just enough grease to quiet them down.

SStar · 07-26-2014, 08:15 AM

As previously mentioned, a used Reese hitch can be had at a reasonable price, and would give a lot of peace of mind. That said, I work out here in the Permian Basin Oilfields. There are many travel trailers in use, they are pulled many miles over all kinds of roads, sometimes in moderate to strong winds. I have never saw a travel trailer (or any other trailer) with WD hitch in the oilfield, they just hook up and go on. I have a WD hitch on my Airstream, but it is the first I have ever owned. If I had a 1 ton truck I would not be nervous about pulling without a WD hitch, but would probably have it anyway considering the investment.

J. Morgan · 07-26-2014, 08:53 AM

I have driven past those new RV villages that have popped up between Pecos and Sweetwater a few times, I always wonder what they are like when the alcohol starts flowing.......

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SStar · 07-26-2014, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

I have driven past those new RV villages that have popped up between Pecos and Sweetwater a few times, I always wonder what they are like when the alcohol starts flowing.......

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For the most part the people in those villages are good hard working folks from all over the US, that do a hard, dirty job to feed their families. Their work also helps to provide the fuel so that we can drag our Airstreams around.

J. Morgan · 07-27-2014, 09:34 AM

I wasn't being judgmental, I consider myself blue collar. I just know that a lot of hard working people, especially younger people, like to socialize with liquid refreshments after a hard week of work in the hot Texas sun.

There are a lot of people in a small area in those parks.....

Besides,,,, while my question was posed in a bit of humor, when I drove past those giant filled to the brim parks, well my question was out of legitimate curiosity.

Mixter · 07-27-2014, 08:56 PM

I've towed my 20 ft 3,000 lb boats for years with no WD/ Sway hitch. I now have an Excursion with 7.3 diesel @ 11,000 lb tow capacity. When I towed my 27' Overlander home for the 1st time, I though "Wow- I can barely tell this thing is behind me- feels like a john boat"....

Soooo I had the same question of whether I "need" a WD/ Sway hitch.... Then I saw this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wMkK_DVzjo

My question was answered. Clearly I dont need the WD.... but anti-sway is a no-brainer.

Have fun. Be safe.
Mic

J. Morgan · 07-27-2014, 09:03 PM

Wow, that guy had forever to get that straightened out...

He forgot the first rule of driving....

STAY COOL.

Larry C · 07-28-2014, 06:33 PM

I would imagine he was scared sh****ss, and didn't have a clue of what to do.....

Just very lucky that everyone was able to get out of the way.

Larry

rostam · 07-28-2014, 08:40 PM

What would be the best course of action in such a situation? Applying the trailer brakes alone?

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Mixter · 07-28-2014, 08:45 PM

Sooooo to turn this into a learning lesson. What should he have done? My towing instincts would say step on the gas. I believe brakes are a no-no- right? I dont think coasting wouldve helped at that point. Maybe you can reach down and manually activate the trailer brakes, but that would take some skill to maintain control with 1 hand...

Anyone have an official position on this situation?
Mic

dznf0g · 07-28-2014, 08:57 PM

Well, I'm not "official", whatever that means, but I would:

1)Never try and steer out of sway, reaction time is just slow enough to actually increase sway. Hold a straight course, use shoulder if need be.

2) accelerate moderately

3) stay off the brake pedal, but apply trailer brakes moderately.

J. Morgan · 07-28-2014, 09:01 PM

Foot off gas and very easy on the brake pedal while reaching down to apply a little extra trailer brakes, not too much too quick, but as much as needed to straighten up.

Also the trailer oscillations become magnified when the the driver unintentionally moves the wheel back and forth from the inertia.

The driver should brace and hold the wheel perfectly straight, any attempts at trying to correct by trying to steer the sway away is a mistake.

Above all,,,,,, REMAIN COOL.

I would say the driver should be careful to resist the urge to over correct, but in this situation there should be no correction at all.

dannydimitt · 07-29-2014, 04:03 AM

Don't claim to be an expert on camp trailers , but did for several years conduct training and safety courses for tractor trailer drivers.
In this situation " dry road , no ice or rain " the driver must get off the throttle, apply full braking to the trailer wheels just short of locking them up , maintain steering straight ahead . This will in effect use the tow vehicle as the rolling mass to pull the swaying trailer into a straight line using the trailer brakes pulling the opposite direction . like pulling both ends of a coiled string to make the string straight .
The driver must be able to apply the trailer brakes immediately without having to look for the brake application device , the same as knowing how to put the brakes on using the foot pedal , swift and immediate action .
I could not tell from the brief video as to if this was one of those toy hauler trailers that the back opens up and they load them with all sorts of their scooters and ATV's , but it defiantly was a top heavy elevated box sort of thing , and sure could not see what sort of WD hitch he was using.
Hope they all made it through their wreck without injury's .

Larry C · 07-29-2014, 06:20 AM

Hopefully, his reaction time would have been quick enough to manually apply the trailer brakes. Accelerating will make the situation a lot worse and very quickly.
It's the very same principle as trying to push a string...... you can pull it, and it'll straighten out. That's exactly what happens when you apply the trailer brakes, the big if here is to manually apply apply them quickly enough.

dznf0g · 07-29-2014, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry C

Hopefully, his reaction time would have been quick enough to manually apply the trailer brakes. Accelerating will make the situation a lot worse and very quickly.
It's the very same principle as trying to push a string...... you can pull it, and it'll straighten out. That's exactly what happens when you apply the trailer brakes, the big if here is to manually apply apply them quickly enough.

Tell me why accelerating AND applying the trailer brakes isn't like pulling both ends of the string at the same time. I'm trying to understand this, and there are many slight variations of the same methodology expressed above. Why is it different to not pull from the front while dragging the rear?

cory_can · 07-29-2014, 07:14 AM

^ I would have thought the same thing but I'm no expert. Slight acceleration while simultaneously applying trailer brakes should bring the situation inline quicker than merely applying trailer brakes alone.

J. Morgan · 07-29-2014, 08:08 AM

It is my experience that when something like this happens going slower is better than going faster.

The truck accelerating is only going to "tighten the string" a fraction as much as applying the trailer brakes.

The idea is to get the vehicle slowed down. If for one reason or another the efforts to straighten the trailer out fail, slower is better,,,,, and in my experience slowing down really helps with controlling sway.

**Rocinante** · 07-29-2014, 08:13 AM

A big question for me when your TT is trying to swing the front of your TV all over the place: in which direction would that acceleration take you?

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dznf0g · 07-29-2014, 08:21 AM

When sway starts (small oscillations) it may take you to the shoulder or in left lane. Important in any case to not put in steering input until oscillations subside dramatically. This IMO, is where another driving skill is needed....to always know what is around you. This was a big reason for my installation of a rear camera. I always make sure I know my escape routes and what may be blocking any one of them.