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02-11-2010, 06:03 PM
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#1
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A.K.A "THE STREAM"
2010 25' FB International
Arlington
, Texas
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,308
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Do I NEED sway control??
I will tow my Airstream with a 2007 Powerstoke diesel Crew cab 4x4. It has the camper/towing package. But no sway bars. Is this required? Is it a necessity? Noone at the dealer even recommended it.
Here is my T.V.
Shane
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02-11-2010, 06:04 PM
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#2
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Naysayer
1968 24' Tradewind
Russellville
, earth
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 4,961
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Yes, you need sway control.
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02-11-2010, 06:07 PM
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#3
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3 Rivet Member
1960 24' Tradewind
Riverside
, California
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 189
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Another YES!
Greg
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02-11-2010, 06:11 PM
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#4
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Rivet Monster
1975 31' Sovereign
1980 31' Excella II
Sprung Leak
, North Carolina
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 7,172
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Sway control, yes WDH not necessarily.
Aaron
__________________
....so many Airstreams....so little time...
WBCCI #XXXX AIR #2495
Why are we in this basket...and where are we going
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02-11-2010, 06:13 PM
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#5
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A.K.A "THE STREAM"
2010 25' FB International
Arlington
, Texas
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,308
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wdh????
Shane
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02-11-2010, 06:24 PM
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#6
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1972 Travelux Princess 25
Cobourg
, Ontario
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,059
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Sway control on the hitch yes, sway bars on the truck no.
You should add some cushioning to the hitch too before you shake your Airstream to pieces.
__________________
Living in the trailer park of sense, looking out the window at a tornado of stupidity.
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02-11-2010, 06:25 PM
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#7
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Rivet Master
Airstream Dealer
Corona
, California
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 16,497
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Quote:
Originally Posted by THEPILL
wdh????
Shane
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Shane.
WDH ?
Weight distrubting hitch.
Sway control?
Absolutely.
DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT.
What it does is give you an added degree of safety, for you and whoever may be in your truck.
Don't ever think, that a loss of control can't happen to you, just because you have a big truck. A Peterbilt would be safe for no sway control.
The investment for a sway control, is very small, when you consider the cost of the trailer, the cost of the truck, and the lives that depend on you when your towing the trailer with them as passengers.
Your question, is of the "UTMOST" in serious.
Andy
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02-11-2010, 06:25 PM
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#8
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Wise Elder
2010 30' Classic
Vintage Kin Owner
South of the river
, Minnesota
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,169
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{Crossposted with Ganaraska}
Wait a sec. Sway bars are different from a sway control hitch.
Sway bars are torsion rods that connect the left and right suspension of the truck, usually for the front wheels.
A sway control hitch is something that reduces the incidence of trailer oscillation at the hitch in the yaw axis, traditionally through friction damping, though recent hitches use springs (Reese dual cam) or changes in the yaw point geometry (Pullrite, Hensley, Propride).
Now what is it we were talking about?
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02-11-2010, 06:36 PM
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#9
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A.K.A "THE STREAM"
2010 25' FB International
Arlington
, Texas
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,308
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jammer
{Crossposted with Ganaraska}
Wait a sec. Sway bars are different from a sway control hitch.
Sway bars are torsion rods that connect the left and right suspension of the truck, usually for the front wheels.
A sway control hitch is something that reduces the incidence of trailer oscillation at the hitch in the yaw axis, traditionally through friction damping, though recent hitches use springs (Reese dual cam) or changes in the yaw point geometry (Pullrite, Hensley, Propride).
Now what is it we were talking about?
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Sway Control hitch.
So I need one, right? Anyone tow without one?
My Airstream is 26'...well, 25'11".
Shane
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02-11-2010, 06:38 PM
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#10
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Wise Elder
2010 30' Classic
Vintage Kin Owner
South of the river
, Minnesota
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,169
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Yup. You need one.
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02-11-2010, 06:45 PM
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#11
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Rivet Master
1969 23' Safari
New Orleans
, Louisiana
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 699
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Big trailer go flip-flip boom-boom on highway without sway control on hitch...
Big truck may decide to follow suit... ouch-ouch..
Big expensive new trailer, btw... ;-) get 'em
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02-11-2010, 06:47 PM
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#12
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Wise Elder
2010 30' Classic
Vintage Kin Owner
South of the river
, Minnesota
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,169
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Rick I think a creative soul such as yourself should be able recast that sentiment as a Haiku.
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02-11-2010, 06:55 PM
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#13
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Rivet Master
1969 23' Safari
New Orleans
, Louisiana
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 699
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big trailer make flip
lacking sway control on hitch
airstream no like ditch
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02-11-2010, 06:57 PM
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#14
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Moderator
2015 25' FB Flying Cloud
2012 23' FB Flying Cloud
2005 25' Safari
Santa Rosa Beach
, Florida
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 13,159
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We pull our 25FB (7400#) with a 2500 3/4 ton Suburban. We have towed our Aistream over 50,000 miles in the last three years. We would not consider towing our Airstream without a high quality sway control/weight distribution hitch system.
Brian
__________________
SuEllyn & Brian McCabe
WBCCI #3628 -- AIR #14872 -- TAC #FL-7
2015 FC 25' FB (Lucy) with ProPride
2020 Silverado 2500 (Vivian)
2023 Rivian R1T (Opal)
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02-11-2010, 07:05 PM
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#15
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A.K.A "THE STREAM"
2010 25' FB International
Arlington
, Texas
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,308
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02-11-2010, 07:06 PM
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#16
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Rivet Master
Airstream Dealer
Corona
, California
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 16,497
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moosetags
We pull our 25FB (7400#) with a 2500 3/4 ton Suburban. We have towed our Aistream over 50,000 miles in the last three years. We would not consider towing our Airstream without a high quality sway control/weight distribution hitch system.
Brian
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Smart? Well maybe.
Wise? Hell yes, super big time.
Atta way Brian.
Unfortunately, some differ with you and I.
Someday, maybe, families will also know what "should be done", and refuse to ride if not done.
Life is so very precious. Why do some kick it to the curb, to save a few bucks? Beats me, and always has.
Andy
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02-11-2010, 08:17 PM
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#17
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Rivet Master
2006 25' Safari FB SE
St. Cloud
, Minnesota
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,280
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Your Airstream weighs a major part of the weight of your tow vehicle. Your truck has only one axle doing the steering. An RV without sway control might want to veer out of alignment during a sudden emergency maneuver for instance. There's no way your one steering axle is going to overcome that. Best to buy yourself better odds by keeping the truck & Airstream lined up like they're one long school bus...
Or at least that was my experience in how it felt on a gravel road when a big roadhog logging truck appeared over a rise. The ditch and forest 4' from the road edge were not an option. I made a move into the soft gravel right at the margin of the road. The sideways inertia was too much for the conditions. Ice cream in the freezer banged the freezer door open. I was freaked for a second and then noticed how both truck axles and both trailer axles continued to work as one unit. There was a bit of swing to the rig but they stayed tied together in a straight line and I steered right through it. And this problem occurred at 20mph or less... The birch and fir were too close for anything less than good antisway gear. Reese HP Dual Cam. At the very least....
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02-11-2010, 10:21 PM
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#18
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Wise Elder
2010 30' Classic
Vintage Kin Owner
South of the river
, Minnesota
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,169
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fotochop
big trailer make flip
lacking sway control on hitch
airstream no like ditch
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Very nice. I approve.
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02-11-2010, 10:59 PM
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#19
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Rivet Master
Airstream Dealer
Corona
, California
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 16,497
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Quote:
Originally Posted by THEPILL
Shane
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Your original title was "Do I need sway control".
Not really. I have never seen a sway control on a human.
But for your rig? Absolutely!! Bet your boots. Seriously.
Ah, a little humor this time of night.
Andy
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02-11-2010, 11:07 PM
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#20
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Rivet Master
1975 29' Ambassador
Reno
, Nevada
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,351
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No you do not need sway control. You also don't need scare stories, FUD mongering and all the rest that seems to go along with sway inhibition device advocacy.
What should guide you is your driving experience.
Sway control will not prevent accidents and may or may not provide a handling edge when you need it. If you find that you are not comfortable with how your rig handles going down the road and you get buffeted around by other vehicles on the road and you can't feel comfortable at highway speeds, sway control may help improve handling.
read the stories given above carefully and critically and you'll note that the problems described weren't matters of sway control. A sway control device is a damper like a shock absorber. It does not prevent rotations around the hitch and won't compensate for improper driver response (a major cause of sway problems is understeer and poor driver response to trailer perturbations).
A long wheelbase, short overhang, and proper suspension and tires should receive first attention in handling improvement efforts.
There is a lot of heated discussion on this topic causing a lot of smoke and very little clarity. The fact is that only a very small segment of the TT population uses effective sway devices yet the crash rate for TT's is not sufficient to make much of an impact on insurance rates. The implications of those facts should be clear to those who have an open mind and can think things through.
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