Which Is The Best Weight Distribution Hitch With Sway Control?

[52HalfTon]

Originally Posted by CBWELL

For 52Halfton, you are using too heavy of bars. They should be #800 at most. With that heavy of bar you are going to cause rivets to pop in your trailer as it is too stiff. I use #800 with my 34' and had the #1200 initially and they were way too stiff and caused rivet pop and drawers and doors to open. Have you serviced the hitch as suggested by Husky? I don't have any of the issues with centering like you mentioned, but do have the "creaking" at low speed when backing into a parking spot. Chris

Chris: Tongue weight is about 1000 lbs. 800 would be too light.

[52HalfTon]

Originally Posted by lfhs68

I only use airbags on my 29ft ambassador, never had a problem, and have been all over the U.S. You don't need all that stuff .Get the right tv get good airbags and you can forget all that hardware and work.

Airbags only level your rig. All the tongue weight is right on your TV rear suspension. For a half ton truck this is too much, especially if you have gear in the bed or people if you have an SUV as I do. If you have a heavier TV it might be ok. Weight distribution is to shift some of that weight to the front axle for leveling AND steering and front braking action.

[GCinSC2]

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

52HalfTon,

Welcome to airforums lots of discussion and info avail.

Just curious about which Centerline you are using.

Husky Centerline with the compression cylinders.

Or

Husky Centerline TS. This one looks like the Equal I Zer.

No problems, just curious.

Gary

Which one please?

[sleuthin3]

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

I am confused. I have pulled my 30' Classic a number of times on short trips without bothering to hook up my Blue Ox never experiencing sway without inducement from a passing truck. Even then it wasn't anything to cause concern.
This whole notion of catastrophic sway unless you are using an anti sway wd hitch at all times is non sense.
BTW, I have tried 3 different hitches and the final and best, tried under actual crash avoidance maneuver is the Blue Ox.

What are your speeds, Frankly?

[thewarden]

Originally Posted by Just RVing

Most swaying is caused by having too much weight on the tongue of the trailer. What do you have in the front of trailer that could be shifted to the rear? Try this before giving up on your existing sway bar system!

Not correct. One of the causes of sway it too little weight on the tongue. Ideally, tongue weight should be 12-15% of the trailers gross weight to be safe. But there are a number of other variables to sway as well, wind gusts being the most prevalent.

[52HalfTon]

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

Which one please?

Husky Centerline TS.

[thewarden]

Originally Posted by Martee

I often wonder if trailer sway is indeed an overblown and over rated issue, or is trailer sway in fact a really serious problem in the RV industry that is under control by using high cost and expertly designed WD anti-sway Hitchs. Most studies on trailer sway and efforts to control it are all done by hitch manufacturers. I simply don't have the courage to tow my Airstream 500 miles without using one of these hitchs.

But the question remains: How did Airstream owners tow their trailers for the first 50 years before the anti-sway hitchs were invented and marketed.

Folks generally towed at much slower speeds than we do today. As an example, WD is against the law in many European countries. Trailers, and tongue weights in particular, are much lower, and the speed limits are quite low when towing a trailer, 50 MPH is the max in most cases.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by lfhs68

I only use airbags on my 29ft ambassador, never had a problem, and have been all over the U.S. You don't need all that stuff .Get the right tv get good airbags and you can forget all that hardware and work.

Originally Posted by wildhorses

Exactly! I just towed mine for over 3000 miles "on the ball" only and had no issues. Buy the hitch because you need peace of mind, but realize that it's something that complicates a perfectly simple system that has been used for years with no issues.




I was taught years ago that trailer sway is all about aquatics:
Porpoising: Too much weight on the tongue
Fishtailing: Too much weight in the rear


All trailer manufacturers build them balanced, so unless you add lots of things at one end or the other they should be perfectly fine without a sway or leveling hitch.


I have towed almost every type of trailer and almost every type of TV and never had the need for more than the ball (or pintle).



FYI - here is a pic of when I downsized my business rig last year when we realized we didn't need the space anymore. The trailer behind the van is rated for 10k and has been loaded to 9732 lbs with no issues.

TETO...😳😂😳 maybe start a Club. 🤗

Bob
🇺🇸

[thewarden]

Originally Posted by lfhs68

I only use airbags on my 29ft ambassador, never had a problem, and have been all over the U.S. You don't need all that stuff .Get the right tv get good airbags and you can forget all that hardware and work.

This is just plain bad advise here. First off, there are few, if any vehicle hitch receivers out there that are rated for the 1000lb tongue weight of many of our Airstream trailers, so without WD, you are well beyond the non weight distributing carrying capacity of most every hitch receiver. In addition, without WD you are taking a substantial amount of weight off the front tires of the tow vehicle which will cause braking and handling issues. Other than level your vehicle, air bags do nothing to remedy that situation. As for lack of sway control, well....

https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/ar.../#.W1hxUaQpDDu

[AlinCal]

He is referring to a vintage Ambassador with a listed hitch weight of 470lbs.
Our Bambi 19 is listed at 550lbs. and I tow it on the ball with our 1/2 ton and no WD or airbags.

So many variables in this discussion/argument.

[hoagy_007]

Good article for reference to some of the previous responses. It says some manufacturers actually don't recommend a WD hitch:

http://www.withoutahitch.com.au/cara...ibution-hitch/

'Land-Rover specifically advises against a WDH being used when towing with any of its models fitted with air suspension, as it conflicts with the system’s auto levelling system. However, Jeep says a WDH is required if towing a caravan weighing more than 2200kg (the approximate weight of a Grand Cherokee diesel) even if it is fitted with its optional Quadra-lift air suspension.

And even though it doesn’t offer an air suspension option, Kia does not recommend the use of load levelling devices on any of its vehicles fitted with a genuine Kia accessory towbar.

The problem here is that if you are involved in an accident with a WDH attached and your vehicle manufacturer has not approved the use of them, your insurance company may disown you.

The lesson: always check with your vehicle manufacturer before fitting a WDH.'

[GCinSC2]

Originally Posted by 52HalfTon

Husky Centerline TS.

Thank you.

[Adventure.AS]

Originally Posted by hoagy_007

And even though it doesn’t offer an air suspension option, Kia does not recommend the use of load levelling devices on any of its vehicles fitted with a genuine Kia accessory towbar.

Do not reject a vehicle for towing based on OEM receivers. The issue with many OEM receivers is that they are not strong enough to take the torque that is applied when using a WD hitch. This is not likely an engineering decision, but rather a marketing decision to supply/install inferior receiver hardware and not a reflection on the overall towing capabilities of the vehicle. The solution is to purchase a class IV hitch receiver rather than the OEM product or to strengthen the receiver.

[52HalfTon]

Originally Posted by thewarden

This is just plain bad advise here. First off, there are few, if any vehicle hitch receivers out there that are rated for the 1000lb tongue weight of many of our Airstream trailers, so without WD, you are well beyond the non weight distributing carrying capacity of most every hitch receiver. In addition, without WD you are taking a substantial amount of weight off the front tires of the tow vehicle which will cause braking and handling issues. Other than level your vehicle, air bags do nothing to remedy that situation. As for lack of sway control, well....

https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/ar.../#.W1hxUaQpDDu

Weight distribution is about distributing weight evenly across all axels for braking, steering, and stability. Anti-sway built into many WD hitches is a “bonus”.

[hoagy_007]

Originally Posted by Adventure.AS

Do not reject a vehicle for towing based on OEM receivers. The issue with many OEM receivers is that they are not strong enough to take the torque that is applied when using a WD hitch. This is not likely an engineering decision, but rather a marketing decision to supply/install inferior receiver hardware and not a reflection on the overall towing capabilities of the vehicle. The solution is to purchase a class IV hitch receiver rather than the OEM product or to strengthen the receiver.

I agree!

[hoagy_007]

Originally Posted by 52HalfTon

Weight distribution is about distributing weight evenly across all axels for braking, steering, and stability. Anti-sway built into many WD hitches is a “bonus”.

Quoted from the article I previously shared.

'The aim of a WDH is to transfer weight to stop the back of your vehicle drooping down and the front lifting up, which makes steering unpredictable and the rig unstable.'

In the last 4 months since I started towing our 30' FC I've learned a lot about WD, sway and towing. I completely agree with the more experienced responses that distributing your weight on the TT and TV is key to reducing sway. I do not add additional weight to the rear or our AS, but keep anything stored (portable propane fire pit) over the duel axels or in the back of the TV towards the front or over the TV axels. I also don't put to much weight on the tongue since this can impact the TV and TT from being level. Case in point, I recently bought a Leer cap and a Deck truck bed storage system for my TV. I noticed when we went on our trip after adding those that the TV just didn't seem 'right', a little squirrelly. I had to adjust the WD hitch and bring it up a bolt hole and WaLa, it was close to level. The ride back home was smooth.

[rmkrum]

I've noticed, through very cautious experimentation with my ProPride system's weight distribution jacks that as little as 1/4 inch higher adjustment on the jack tension on the bars makes a huge difference in handling with a given load in the truck bed and trailer.

The difference with that slight adjustment was the difference between porpoising or not porpoising on the truck front end, and a corresponding change in directional stability, for shaky to solid response to steering inputs.

There are a lot of factors that effect stability of a towed vehicle and the towing vehicle. They often interact in subtle ways, and one that is very subtle is changes in loading and positioning loads in the trailer and the tow vehicle. You don't have to calculate load and balance like an airplane, but I submit that you don't want to put your anvil collection all the way in the back of the trailer...think about maintaining that 10-15% tongue weight when you load stuff.

Also consider side-to-side loading. My AS has a lot of weight built-in to the streetside of the trailer- ALL the kitchen and bath furniture and appliances is on that side. The other side is a lot lighter. Guess which side has had the tire failures? Yup, streetside. We deliberately load the heavy stuff on the curbside of the trailer to help even the loading a bit. It also tracks a lot better when I do that...

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by SilverHouseDreams

that shank looks really long and could be contributing to your problems, as it gives more leverage to "pivot" the truck on the rear axle.

I looked at that picture and thought, "My, that shank is nice and long, he can open his tailgate!" Eye of the beholder, I guess.
The good thing about a long shank is it's fairly easy to add another hole and shorten it.
But what I noticed is I don't see any sway control. Now maybe it's hidden on the curb side, but there's no indication of a friction bar.

[Adventure.AS]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

I looked at that picture and thought, "My, that shank is nice and long, he can open his tailgate!" Eye of the beholder, I guess.
The good thing about a long shank is it's fairly easy to add another hole and shorten it.
But what I noticed is I don't see any sway control. Now maybe it's hidden on the curb side, but there's no indication of a friction bar.

Blue Ox doesn't use friction for sway control. "Trunnions on each side of the Swaypro™ hitch head employ a caster effect, working with spring bars, to constantly push inward, keeping the trailer in line."

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by sleuthin3

What are your speeds, Frankly?

On Interstates I set the cruise at 72 mph. That helps me get past trucks a little quicker. On secondary roads I go at 70 or the speed limit.
This of course is all predicated on road and traffic conditions. One thing that I am religious about is keeping a safe distance. I allow myself the time to slow down gradually and avoid panic stops.
My rig of course is well balaced. F-250 6.5' bed with a little longer wheel base and the Power Stroke.