Not using anti sway bars

[aaumpine]

Hello all,
My first trip in our 1973 23' Safari was a 1000 mile round trip. I was amazed at how well it towed. I have new axles and tires which were all used for the first time. The Safari tracked perfectly. I had 750 lb weight distribution bars that I really thought I could do with out. The anti sway bar was loose on my way to Arkansas. On the way home I did not use it at all. I felt no difference.
How many Streamers out there are using anti sway bars and distribution hitches if they are not needed?
Oh, I tow with a 2000 GMC Ext.cab.
Aaron

[overlander64]

Greetings Aaron!

In my estimation, weight distribution and sway control are necessary safety investments. You never know when evasive maneuvers will be necessary and these features work together to insure the stability of the rig as a whole -- this is also the reason that I switched to the Reese Dual Cam Sway control for both of my coaches -- it does not require adjustment for changing road conditions as do the friction sway control devices. Regardless of which tow vehicle is combined with which trailer, the Reese Straight Line hitch must be connected before I pull out of the driveway.

Kevin

[eubank]

I keep our antisway pretty loose on state highways at lower speeds and only tighten it up when we have to get on an interstate (ugh!), where the likelihood of being passed by a very large vehicle is pretty high.

Lynn

[Lumatic]

I know what you mean about feeling the WD hitch or sway control bars are not necessary. They both make towing safer. To be honest with you I don't know that the WD hitch makes towing a light trailer any easier, but it is one more link in the chain between the TV and TT which is a good thing. More important, I suspect, is sway control even if your trailer does not sway. You will be glad you have it in the event of a blowout, panic stop, or other catastrophic failure especially in a single axle, which can cause your trailer to go into increasing uncontrolled sway. Worst case scenario you roll.

[RickDavis]

I am a believer in load equalizing hitches however all new trailers that are delivered by towing to dealers are delivered with out any sway control devices since this is an aftermarket product. I am not knocking the use of these, it is whatever makes you comfortable. After I started delivering trailers commercially I stopped using sway control on my own trailer. I have used both friction and straight line on different trailers in the past

I have several hundred thousand miles towing larger trailers than ours and have only had one or 2 that did not tow well. My tow vehicle is a typical 3/4 ton truck, nothing special. Common sense on the road is the most important thing

[AirsDream]

there are a number of factors that go into trailer / tow vehicle stability. A couple of those are ratio of tongue weight to overall trailer weight and location of trailer center of gravity vs. axle location and vs. center of pressure (there are a LOT of other factors) - and IF you get these things right, the rig is more stable. Airstreams tend to have these things pretty right. They've been doing it for a long time. You've also got a tow vehicle with pretty good yaw stability characteristics, even if it's the short bed version half ton. So you PROBABLY won't have major problems unless "something bad" happens ... in which case you'll want a lot of anti-sway control just at the time you don't have it.

So: if you have a set up such as a Reese dual cam, or other such rig where the weight disribution system bars also do the anti-sway duty, I would always use them. I think Lynn has a point, too: the more sway conditions you are likely to encounter, the tighter you want to run the rig.

The one caveat that there seems to be some consensus about is that the tighter the weight distribution bars, the more your trailer is coupled to your tow vehicle's rear suspension ... so the more pounding it dishes out, the more pounding the trailer takes. And in general terms, that is not good for any trailer, Airstreams included.

Good luck figuring out what is best and safest for you (and for the rest of us) as you go on down the highway!

[dlb435]

I don't use either the anti-sway bar or the load levelers. Tows great with no problems at all. I've got the 16' 8'' Safari.

[purman]

If your sway control was lose then it wasn't doing anything from the beginning.

Try running with it tight. You should tighten it tight then back of 1/2 turn..

I have ran with and without on mine and it does make a difference. In my opinion if you have it and don't use it on a trailer over 20 ft your just asking for trouble at some point....

[Beginner]

Every accident picture (rollovers) that I have seen here on the forums shows the absence of sway control of any sort. No litttle balls on the side of the tongue(friction type), no dual cam saddles, no fixtures for the load levelers and no Hensley or Propride fixtures.
To pull a trailer with as much square foot surface on the sides for the wind blast from a semi or highway bus or other large vehicle to push on is waiting for an accident to happen as the folks mentioned above found out.
If you don't care for your own safety imagine how you will feel when you lose control and a child riding in another vehicle is injured or worse either by being hit by you or trying to avoid you.
Think of how angry you would be if was your child or one of your grand children.
Beginner

[dstalzer]

My AS does not have a sway control bar, but I have towed it over 5000 miles with never the least bit of sway. With my old 18' SOB, I used a sway control bar and it really made a difference until I got the F250SD CC which made towing smooth and no sign of sway.

Dennis

[bryanl]

re: "weight distribution and sway control are necessary safety investments. You never know when evasive maneuvers" and "Every accident picture (rollovers) that I have seen here on the forums shows the absence of sway control of any sort." - These sorts of comments illustrate the pervasive misunderstanding about sway control and load leveling that some hold quite dear.

If you engage in evasive maneuvers, sway control is not going to help you one whit.

The sample of crashes with TT's is so small as to make any inference from anecdotal postings very misleading (e.g. in NV in 2006, only 2 of 111,000 crashes involved TT's).

Sway control is on a par with steering dampers and shock absorbers as far as what they do for your rig. If you have tires with stiff sidewalls, a good suspension that inhibits wallow, short rear overhang, and good loading patterns, you won't have much hassle with sway.

but, yeah, fud mongering and "imagine how you will feel" guilt tripping fantasies seem so common despite reality, measure, and actual experience. not good, IMHO.

[purman]

Originally Posted by dstalzer

My AS does not have a sway control bar, but I have towed it over 5000 miles with never the least bit of sway. With my old 18' SOB, I used a sway control bar and it really made a difference until I got the F250SD CC which made towing smooth and no sign of sway.

Dennis

Thats because your suspension is stiff and you don't feel it. It doesn't mean it isn't swaying. If you had to make a quick lane change you would notice the difference in a heart beat...

Just because you don't feel you need it, doesn't mean it won't make it safer...

And thats the point here. The sway control whether you notice the difference or not MAKES IT SAFER TO TOW>>>>>

[1cericks1]

I was always under the impression that the weight distribution was as important as the anti-sway. Without it, all the tongue weight sits on the back axle. In those bouncy situations with no weight distribution it can get amplified and the back tire acts as a fulcrum. I suppose for most trucks the added wear of no weight distribution is pretty limited?

[RedSHED]

Mom and Dad delivered trailers for one of the northern Indiana contractors for a couple years. I think they did about 250,000 or 300,000 miles worth before they re-retired. They used a 2wd Dodge 2500 w/ a Cummins & manual trans.

They only used load bars if the thing was a real monster, and I think they used anti-sway like twice or never (I seem to recall a phone call regarding a toy-hauler on a windy day). They did this March-Jan, taking Feb off for a couple years. All kinds of weather, many I-way miles. They got rear-ended once in the snow in MN, but other than that had no events.

That said, I like our dual cam, and use it except for pulling out of or backing into the drive.

[aaumpine]

I'm glad my original post did't bring too many arguments. If I ever were to be involved in an accident I'm sure i would have a whole lot of " ifs" to ponder. I have been towing as long as I have been driving. Not as much as some but more than others. We lost our 23' Thor Lite when Katrina came through. It was about the same weight as our 23' Safari with dual axles as well. Towing the Thor with out anti sway was out of the question. I actually bent the rod trying to get as much out of it as
i could and was thinking of getting another anti sway to alleviate the swaying problems. Now my AS on the other hand did not sway once. Not even a little bit.
I'm not defending my set up, I just feel that I am well within my towing limitations with my GMC half ton that the anti sway isn't really benefitting me.

[DreamStreamr]

This is another clear example of we can do versus what we should do. It isn't very complicated in this instance. We can tow without wd bars and without sway control. For that matter you hardly can tell, from how it tows, whether the safety chains and breakaway cable are attached. Like Bryan says, in the absence of evidence, why make arguments one way or the other?

Why not test for propane leaks with a match, like many before us have successfully done? Why not tow with over-loaded axles like many before us (and many among us, apparently) have done? Why not drive as fast as all the other Interstate Highway traffic, although oem trailer tires are only rated to max of 65 mph? A far better question is, what risks are reasonable compared to the consequences, regardless of how low you might estimate the probability of occurrence.

The reason to make the argument for wd and sway control is because you increase your chances of avoiding an unnecessary failure. However low the probability of a loss of control of your rig, the wd bars increase steering control for the tow rig and sway control reduces the severity of trailer sway.

You sure can tow without these. You can tow without mirrors too. And you will be fine until stuff happens. Then you can explain to the opposition as well as to your own counsel why you thought this was reasonable. And you will not have a defensible position. And no, I cannot provide evidence this is what will happen to you. It is clearly in my best interests to mitigate my risks, within reason.

One small caveat -- having dual-cam wd/sway control doesn't mean you have an acceptable towing set-up. I towed a 2005 31 Classic behind a Super-Duty 250 for 2,500 miles last year. It was the scariest setup I've towed -- realized later the owner had moved all his gear into the trailer's rear bedroom before I picked the trailer up.

The Airstream was apparently tongue-light. Every time I crested a hill the trailer would start dancing back and forth behind me. I was then reaching for the brake controller and pushing a little on the gas pedal. And puckering big-time. The Airstreamer behind me asked me what the h I was doing up there. I mentioned it to him and he has since made adjustments to his "storage" and improved his trailer's stability.

We each need to know the right selection and application of safety gear for our rigs. It won't be the same for everyone: our rigs, weights, tires, hitches all vary. Make the best selections you can, and use them in the most reasonable way you can. But should you? All the safety gear in the world is worthless unless applied and used the right way.

Sure, you can go light on this stuff, just as you can tow far faster than the speed rating on ST tires. In fact, I just remembered a relevant story -- as police raided a ninth floor dorm room at a college campus the student backed up quickly and fell or jumped through the window. And he survived the landing. He probably isn't the only person to have survived such a fall, either.

Some would argue we could base tow gear decisions upon the successes mentioned in some of the above posts (about successfully towing without customary safety gear). Then couldn't we as reasonably argue it is probably safe and survivable to jump out of a ninth floor window? Doesn't sound reasonable to me, thanks anyway. I'm consistently using the weight distributing and sway control equipment for my rig (and the safety chains and breakaway switch too, btw).

[Diesel1]

Originally Posted by aaumpine

Hello all,
My first trip in our 1973 23' Safari was a 1000 mile round trip. I was amazed at how well it towed. I have new axles and tires which were all used for the first time. The Safari tracked perfectly. I had 750 lb weight distribution bars that I really thought I could do with out. The anti sway bar was loose on my way to Arkansas. On the way home I did not use it at all. I felt no difference.
How many Streamers out there are using anti sway bars and distribution hitches if they are not needed?
Oh, I tow with a 2000 GMC Ext.cab.
Aaron

No W/D or antisway, not a recomendation for or against.I just don't feel the need. Nor do I feel I am endangering innocent women and children.Adios, John

[lvcat2004]

Sure you can drive without anti-sway. And sure you can drive just as well withiout wearing a seat belt.

It's when bad things happen that you need those things, whether you feel the difference or not. I rather spend a little and stay away from badness, although I do agree that a little common sense and how you drive is probably more important, but a little help doesn't hurt.

[bredlo]

My theory is: if there's no major evidence for or against, and the item in question (WD bars, anti-sway, seat belts) isn't an unreasonable additional cost, then why not? Why skip on something for a few hundred dollars that was designed to protect your vehicle and trailer, which cost tens of thousands of dollars?

It seems silly (and arguably negligent) to skip that last bit of extra insurance that could avoid an accident.

[garry]

What I have noticed;

Sway control on those windy days does make a difference or when a tractor trailer passes you at 75 mph and you are only doing 60.

Normal driving you really don't notice the anti sway since it isn't doing anything.

For weight distribution I set it up so there is no TV rear end drop and some weight is transfered to front end. If your rig sits level you may not need it!

Garry