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Old 12-13-2013, 05:24 PM   #1
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Sway Control or Coil Sumo Springs?

If I only $150 to drop before my next trip, which of these 2 items will give me more stability on my 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee w/ WD hitch.

1. Draw Tite Sway Control

or

2. Coil SumoSprings

Thanks for any help! I am also adding a Transmission Cooler to mix. Any other recommendations are welcome.

Thanks!
Chris
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Old 12-13-2013, 05:44 PM   #2
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Neither of them are used anymore, there are better ways of getting a stable rig. Without more details of tow vehicle, trailer, hitch, etc it is impossible to comment further.

Suggest you read some of the threads on hitches and setting up a rig.
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Old 12-13-2013, 06:49 PM   #3
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All of those details are listed in the post.

1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 6 cyl.

Drawtite WD Hitch

1976 22' Argosy

I am only looking for improvements on this setup. not a recommendation on a new vehicle.
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Old 12-13-2013, 07:03 PM   #4
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Hi Chris

Is your Argosy a rear door model? You should not need any springs with the Jeep, if it is low at the back when you are towing you likely need to reconfigure your weight distribution not add springs. A friction sway control would be a good idea on this combination.

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Old 12-13-2013, 07:10 PM   #5
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No, it is not too low in the back of the jeep. In fact the whole rig is almost even. I was only trying to improve handling and since this is my first experience with heavy towing, I was unsure what to use or add for a better ride and handling.
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Old 12-13-2013, 08:02 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by crabbey1 View Post
If I only $150 to drop before my next trip, which of these 2 items will give me more stability on my 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee w/ WD hitch.

1. Draw Tite Sway Control

or

2. Coil SumoSprings

Thanks for any help! I am also adding a Transmission Cooler to mix. Any other recommendations are welcome.

Thanks!
Chris
Hi Crabby,

Have you towed the rig yet at all? If you did, did you notice any problem in particular? If you didn't, maybe tow it out for a test drive. Keep your speed down to 55 until you are sure how it is handling is comfortable for you. \

Some type of sway control is usually a good thing. Good luck on your trip!
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Old 12-13-2013, 08:30 PM   #7
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Yeah, I have had it out on 4 separate trips. It tows great but it does have sway issues especially when larger vehicles pass or when I hit large bumps. I always stay around 55-60.
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Old 12-13-2013, 10:37 PM   #8
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The sway control may be a great way to spend the $150 then. I hope t helps.
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Old 12-13-2013, 10:39 PM   #9
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Absolutely. I would like to hear what Ganaraska has to offer since he says that both methods are outdated...
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Old 12-14-2013, 05:02 AM   #10
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If your 22 Argosy is a rear door model it has the wheels moved forward to allow space for the door behind the axles. The result is a hitch weight that is too light for this size trailer. You can help mitigate it by always towing with the fresh water tank full and any heaveir articles you are carrying towards the front of the trailer.

When we encounter these today we put a little twist in the rear axle mounting so that more weight is carried on the rear axle, the rear axle has plenty of capacity to carry a little more.

Since the hitch weight is so light on this trailer a friction sway control is the best way to go for sway control.

If you like take a picture of your weight distribution set up and we might be able to suggest some tweaks.

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Old 12-14-2013, 05:41 AM   #11
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I use that sway control because I do not use WD. It works fine. You can also use two if you have a heavy trailer, one on each side of the hitch. Jim
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Old 12-14-2013, 08:17 AM   #12
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Modern weight distributing hitches have built in sway control. If you do not have WD and don't need it then the friction sway control is a good addition.
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Old 12-14-2013, 10:32 AM   #13
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Here is a photo of my rig on the road. It is not a rear door model. I know this photo does not have a lot of detail but at least you can view you how sits. I do not have a close up of teh hitch setup but I will grab one next time out.
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Old 12-14-2013, 10:57 AM   #14
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I read somewhere that the Sway Control Bar doesn't stop sway but it lessens the effects of the sway once it happens. Is there a product that actually can prevent sway?
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Old 12-14-2013, 11:26 AM   #15
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I read somewhere that the Sway Control Bar doesn't stop sway but it lessens the effects of the sway once it happens. Is there a product that actually can prevent sway?
I wouldn't phrase it that way. Sway is an oscillation that builds like this:
s s s s. I think the best way to think of add-on friction sway devices is that they prevent, or help prevent, the vehicle from experiencing too much sway build up. In my example, they would hold it to the first or second "s" and prevent the third and fourth.

The device to prevent sway is the basic claim of the 3P hitches like Hensley and ProPride, and perhaps a couple others. It's a very different kind of hitch principle. Check it out.

Some rigs seem to be more susceptible to sway than others because there are quite a few factors that contribute to it.
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Old 12-14-2013, 12:45 PM   #16
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Glad to see you have the front door model.

The sway control does reduce the ability of the trailer to sway. Your combination should be stable without one but on the otherhand they are really cheap insurance. The picture of your set up is a little fuzzy but it is possible to see that you have most of it right. If you rebolt your ball mount you should notice a substantial improvement.

You need to lower it 2 hole positions on the shank and tip the ball back away from the tow vehicle 10-15 degrees.

Then you need to ajust the torsion bars properly so that the jeep is pushed straight down. If you like send me an email and I can send you the file that explains the proceedure in detail. andy@canamrv.ca

What size tires are on your Jeep?

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Old 12-14-2013, 01:04 PM   #17
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I wouldn't phrase it that way. Sway is an oscillation that builds like this:
s s s s.
I have to disagree with this. I believe sway is when the entire trailer moves to the side or the trailer rotates compared to the axle(s) independent of the tow vehicle.

With this definition of sway, sway is rarely dangerous on dry roads unless it starts to oscillate. The main purpose of sway control is to prevent sway from starting to oscillate.

Friction sway control and conventional WD hitches with sway control reduce sway and try to prevent oscillation similarly to the way shock absorbers keep a vehicle from continuously bouncing from the time you hit a bump.

The pivot point projection hitches (ProPride and Hensley) claim to eliminate sway entirely.
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Old 12-14-2013, 01:13 PM   #18
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If it were me, I would get the sway control rather than the springs. You most likely can find something similar to the product in your original post for lest cost if you shop locally. Here is one. Search results for: 'sway control' I have one of these the that I use on my 25', and have two DrawTite friction bars that I use on the 34'. I can not tell the difference.

If it were me, I would spend some of that $150 on weighing the rig at the CAT Scales when you start out on your trip. Try to have the tongue weight at least 10%, or more. The chances of sway increase as tongue weight decreases. Though, to much tongue weight might overload the tow vehicle. I like 11-12% of the gross weight of the trailer for tongue weight when I am towing.

Hope you have safe travels!
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Old 12-14-2013, 01:34 PM   #19
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How does the scale process work? I rolled into one on out first trip because I thought we had to but they said we could scoot on through...

I saw a few sway arms at different price points. It's one better than another or are they the same? I chose this one because it is the same brand as my WD hitch.
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Old 12-14-2013, 05:02 PM   #20
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How does the scale process work? I rolled into one on out first trip because I thought we had to but they said we could scoot on through...

I saw a few sway arms at different price points. It's one better than another or are they the same? I chose this one because it is the same brand as my WD hitch.
This tells you how to use the scales How To Weigh | CAT Scale This is a privately owned scale at a truck stop, not the DMV scale you see along the highway.

This is what I do:
Go inside and tell the scale master I want to weigh at least three times. Where I live, it's $10 for the first, then $2 for each time you weigh again within 24 hours.
1. Weigh #1 - pull onto the scale both tow vehicle and trailer, with weight distribution tensioned.
2. Weigh #2 - stay on the scale if they let you or drive around if they insist. loosen the weight distribution.

  • The differences in these two weights will tell you how much weight you are transferring from the rear axle of the tow vehicle to the front axle and to the trailer axles.

3. Weigh #3 - drop the trailer in the parking lot and weigh the tow vehicle.

Using all of these you can:
  • calculate if you have exceeded tongue load limit of your hitch
  • calculate if you have exceeded the gross load limit of your hitch
  • calculate if your tow vehicle axles are overloaded.
  • calculate if your trailer axles are overloaded.
  • calculate if your tires on either vehicle are overloaded
  • calculate if you have exceed the tow vehicle GVRW
  • calculate if you have exceeded the trailer GVRW
  • calculate if you have exceeded the tow vehicle payload capacity
  • calculate if you have exceeded the trailer payload capacity
  • calculate if you have exceeded the tow vehicle GCRW
If something needs to be adjusted, you may want to shift some weight around, then weigh a 4th time.

Unless you weigh each wheel/tire individually, the tire load and axle load calculation is still an approximation. This cannot be done at the CAT Scale. That is why most people allow a safety factor. I use 10% to 15% for tires and axles.
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